I've decided to skip most of the prologue I had written back in 2005 before writing these reviews (they were longer than I remembered). So I've decided to just provide you with the reviews.
THE STUPIDEST ANGEL : A HEARTWARMING TALE OF CHRISTMAS TERROR by Christopher Moore – Okay, so I was a month off reading this book. But still, are you tired of reading “A Christmas Carol” or listening to one more verse of “Twas the Night Before Christmas”? Take a journey into Christopher Moore’s demented mind as an incompetent angel tries to work a miracle by granting a child’s wish. Moore’s books are always full of humor and you will once again meet characters from all of his previous novels gathered in this story. A goofy Stephen King and part “Dawn of the Dead” story will keep you entertained enough to survive any holiday.
THE BOOKSELLER OF KABUL by Asne Seierstad – Asne Seierstad spends nearly an entire year with a family that continued to sell books before and after the fall of the Taliban. The story is not only about the bookseller but about his entire family as well. It gives you an inside look of what life must have been like in Afghanistan even through the reign of the Taliban.
READING LOLITA IN TEHRAN by Azar Nafisi – Azar Nafisi was a professor at the Univeristy of Tehran. After the Iranian Revolution, the role of women in Islamic society, makes them second class citizens. Western teachings or anything related to Western influence was seen as evil, a product of the Great Satan (U.S.A.). However, under such circumstances, Professor Nafisi gathers her best students and continues to discuss Nabokov, Jane Eyre, and other classics of literature in the privacy of her home at great risk to herself and her student.
THE HEMINGWAY BOOK CLUB OF KOSOVO by Paula Huntley – Paula Huntley follow her husband to Kosovo after the NATO bombings force the Serbian army out of the area. Her husband is there to help build Kosovo’s legal system while Ms. Huntley begins to teach many of the Kosovars English. For an area that most people have probably already forgotten about – against all odds and extreme poverty, it’s refreshing to read about a difference once person can make in the life of many people who are far less fortunate.
WRONG ABOUT JAPAN : A FATHER’S JOURNEY WITH HIS SON by Peter Carey – Peter Carey takes his 12 year old son on a journey to find the “real” Japan. What is the “real” Japan? Who knows. It could be temples, geishas and yakuza or it could be Gundam and Studio Ghibli. I always enjoy reading other people’s impression of Japan. As it’s my adopted country and the home of my mother, the “real” Japan to me is always changing. I feel comfortable going to a sento (public bathhouse) as I do walking the streets of Kabukicho (Shinjuku’s Red Light District). It’s all a matter of attitude.
YOU GOTTA HAVE WA by Rober Whiting - More about Japan as seen through the Americans who came here to play baseball - Japanese style. This book is great even if you don't enjoy one of Japan's national pastimes. Of course, this was before a lot of the Japanese players started going to the States to play in the Major League. Also gives you a history of Japanese baseball. I really enjoyed this book.
ADVENTURES IN A TV NATION by Michael Moore – Do I need to say anything? Michael Moore and crew make television the way television should be made.
UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN by Frances Mayes – Ever have the desire to buy an old house to renovate in a foreign country? It sounds like more work than I want to do but it was fun to read about. I’m sure most home owners would find this a great read too. Tuscany just sounds like a beautiful place. I can picture the countryside and this makes me want to go out for Italian food.
THE STUPIDEST ANGEL : A HEARTWARMING TALE OF CHRISTMAS TERROR by Christopher Moore – Okay, so I was a month off reading this book. But still, are you tired of reading “A Christmas Carol” or listening to one more verse of “Twas the Night Before Christmas”? Take a journey into Christopher Moore’s demented mind as an incompetent angel tries to work a miracle by granting a child’s wish. Moore’s books are always full of humor and you will once again meet characters from all of his previous novels gathered in this story. A goofy Stephen King and part “Dawn of the Dead” story will keep you entertained enough to survive any holiday.
THE BOOKSELLER OF KABUL by Asne Seierstad – Asne Seierstad spends nearly an entire year with a family that continued to sell books before and after the fall of the Taliban. The story is not only about the bookseller but about his entire family as well. It gives you an inside look of what life must have been like in Afghanistan even through the reign of the Taliban. 
READING LOLITA IN TEHRAN by Azar Nafisi – Azar Nafisi was a professor at the Univeristy of Tehran. After the Iranian Revolution, the role of women in Islamic society, makes them second class citizens. Western teachings or anything related to Western influence was seen as evil, a product of the Great Satan (U.S.A.). However, under such circumstances, Professor Nafisi gathers her best students and continues to discuss Nabokov, Jane Eyre, and other classics of literature in the privacy of her home at great risk to herself and her student.
THE HEMINGWAY BOOK CLUB OF KOSOVO by Paula Huntley – Paula Huntley follow her husband to Kosovo after the NATO bombings force the Serbian army out of the area. Her husband is there to help build Kosovo’s legal system while Ms. Huntley begins to teach many of the Kosovars English. For an area that most people have probably already forgotten about – against all odds and extreme poverty, it’s refreshing to read about a difference once person can make in the life of many people who are far less fortunate.
WRONG ABOUT JAPAN : A FATHER’S JOURNEY WITH HIS SON by Peter Carey – Peter Carey takes his 12 year old son on a journey to find the “real” Japan. What is the “real” Japan? Who knows. It could be temples, geishas and yakuza or it could be Gundam and Studio Ghibli. I always enjoy reading other people’s impression of Japan. As it’s my adopted country and the home of my mother, the “real” Japan to me is always changing. I feel comfortable going to a sento (public bathhouse) as I do walking the streets of Kabukicho (Shinjuku’s Red Light District). It’s all a matter of attitude.
YOU GOTTA HAVE WA by Rober Whiting - More about Japan as seen through the Americans who came here to play baseball - Japanese style. This book is great even if you don't enjoy one of Japan's national pastimes. Of course, this was before a lot of the Japanese players started going to the States to play in the Major League. Also gives you a history of Japanese baseball. I really enjoyed this book.
ADVENTURES IN A TV NATION by Michael Moore – Do I need to say anything? Michael Moore and crew make television the way television should be made.
UNDER THE TUSCAN SUN by Frances Mayes – Ever have the desire to buy an old house to renovate in a foreign country? It sounds like more work than I want to do but it was fun to read about. I’m sure most home owners would find this a great read too. Tuscany just sounds like a beautiful place. I can picture the countryside and this makes me want to go out for Italian food.
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