Category Archives: Books

Dog Years : A Memoir

Posted on June 18, 2007 by Elizabeth Thomsen

Dog Years is poet Mark Doty’s story of his two dogs, Arden and Beau, and their shared joys and sorrows. Mark and Arden are living alone with Mark’s lover Wally, who is dying of AIDS, when Mark decides to get … Continue reading →

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Born on a Blue Day : A Memoir

Posted on June 16, 2007 by Elizabeth Thomsen

Born on a Blue Day is the story of Daniel Tammett, a young man with an extraordinary mind. He has a rare combination of Asperger’s Syndrome and synesthesia, a condition which blurs the usual distinctions between the senses. In his … Continue reading →

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Are We Addicted to Fame?

Posted on May 27, 2007 by Elizabeth Thomsen

Fame Junkies: The Hidden Truths Behind America’s Favorite Addiction — by Jake Halpern Jake Halpern grew up in the unglamorous Rust Belt city of Buffalo, New York, where he briefly found himself fascinated by Robin Leach’s celebrity show Lifestyles of … Continue reading →

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George and Sam : A Mother’s Story

Posted on May 8, 2007 by Elizabeth Thomsen

George and Sam: Two Boys, One Family, and Autism — by Charlotte Moore Charlotte Moore is the mother of three sons, George, Sam and Jake. George and Sam both seem bright and healthy as babies, but eventually their behavior raises … Continue reading →

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Catch Me & Kiss Me & Say It Again

Posted on May 3, 2007 by Elizabeth Thomsen

Catch Me & Kiss Me & Say It Again — Rhymes by Clyde Watson; Pictures by Wendy Watson This is a collection of original rhymes that have the nonsensical charm of Mother Goose’s nursery rhymes. These are poems for the … Continue reading →

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Beyond the Medical Model

Posted on May 3, 2007 by Elizabeth Thomsen

The Culture of Our Discontent: Beyond the Medical Model of Mental Illness by Meredith Small I’ve been interested lately in books like The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down and Unstrange Minds: Remapping the World of Autism that look … Continue reading →

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Unstrange Minds: Remapping the World of Autism

Posted on April 1, 2007 by Elizabeth Thomsen

Unstrange Minds: Mapping the World of Autism — Roy Richard Grinker Roy Richard Grinker and his wife Joyce were as devastated as any couple would be when their first child, Isabel, was diagnosed as autistic at the age of two, … Continue reading →

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Falling Off the Map

Posted on March 22, 2007 by Elizabeth Thomsen

Lonely places, according to Pico Iyer, are the places that don’t fit in, “the places that have no seat at our international dinner tables.” Falling Off the Map : Some of the Lonely Places of the World is a collection … Continue reading →

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Sticky Ideas

Posted on March 11, 2007 by Elizabeth Thomsen

Made to Stick : Why Some Ideas Stick and Others Die, by Chip and Dan Heath This is a bright and readable book about how to express ideas in a way that sticks in the mind and spreads from one … Continue reading →

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Bowling Alone : The Collapse and Revival of American Community

Posted on January 18, 2007 by Elizabeth Thomsen

Bowling Alone : The Collapse and Revival of American Community — By Robert D. Putnam Putnam writes about the decline in America’s social capital, the sum total of the formal and informal connections among members of a society. The book … Continue reading →

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