Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith, by Anne Lamott

Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

While many people grew up knowing, and growing into, their faith, whatever faith their lives lead, others didn't find their route to God/Allah until later in life. In Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith, Anne Lamott wrote about her path from unbeliever to believing in God, and becoming a liberal Christian.

The early part of the book describes her youth, playing tennis, growing up with liberal parents (her dad, a writer, mom, who became an attorney later in life) who happened to be nonbelievers. In the book, Lamott wrote about her years of heavy drug and alcohol use, of having several abortions, and, finally, deciding to keep one of her pregnancies. During this time, she would go to a large nearby weekend flea market, which happened to be across the street from a Presbyterian church. Eventually, the singing coming from the church drew her in, though she wouldn't stay for the sermon. But the message, music, and love she felt from the parishioners drew her to God.

This isn't a straight-forward "this is how I got saved and never messed up ever again" type book. Far from it. Anne Lamott is still a lefty, still into causes, has an irreverent sense of humor, and is still trying to find her way in this world. A good part of the book deals with having her son, Sam, while still muddling through the early days of her faith, bringing Sam to church with her, where some of the older women insist that Lamott "let me see my baby."

For anyone who wants to read about someone else finding their own path, whether or not the reader is a believer, Anne Lamott's Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith is a satisfying read.

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Prince Caspian, by C.S. Lewis

Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I recently decided to read the seven books in C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia. My son had been telling me how much he loved the books for several years.

Recently, after finishing The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, I started reading Prince Caspian. It took me a little longer to finish thus second book in the Narnia series.

Prince Caspian was raised by his uncle Miraz, but has to escape after Mirax's son is born, putting Caspian's live in danger. The book tells how Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie meet up with Caspian, then help Caspian take his rightful place as the king of Narnia.

When the children leave England, only a year has passed since The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, while 1300 years have passed in Narnia, leaving the children struggling to determine where everything from the first book is.

While the plot of Prince Caspian is a little convoluted, it is still interesting. Part of the charm is following the plot and seeing how it fits with the first book.

All in all, Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis is a decent read, whether read as part of the series, or by itself.

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Becoming Odyssa: Adventures on the Appalachian Trail, by Jennifer Pharr Davis

Becoming Odyssa: Adventures on the Appalachian Trail by Jennifer Pharr Davis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I've been interested in the Appalachian Trail since I was 12 or 13, when I first heard of it. For a while, I wanted to hike the trail. Unfortunately, it never happened. But that doesn't mean I can't live vicariously through books about the trail. That's where Becoming Odyssa: Adventures on the Appalachian Trail by Jennifer Pharr Davis comes in.

Jennifer started hiking the trail shortly after finishing college, picking Odyssa as her trail name. She started at the southern end of the trail, hiking alone, making it all the way to the end in Maine.

The book describes the trail, the thru-hikers she met, along with assorted others. One thru-hiker appeared to stalk her for several days, while other hikers were more acceptible.

At one point, she met two young men (Nightwalker and Mooch) who were hiking together; Jennifer managed to hike on and off with them, finally finishing the AT with the pair. She even managed to give Nightwalker's mom a trail name of Magic Mama, as Magic Mama periodically met up with the three to offer trail magic (helping out with food, etc).

There was one part of the book when Jennifer thought of quitting, as she ran across someone who died on the trail. But after taking a few days off, she was able to complete her hike.

If you're looking for a good read dealing with the Appalachian Trail, I highly recommend Jennifer Pharr Davis's Becoming Odyssa: Adventures on the Appalachian Trail. Definitely one of my favorite AT books.

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Trash, by Dorothy Allison

Trash by Dorothy Allison
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I've been known to devour books of short stories. What's not to love? Rather than chapters all advancing a novel forward, you have stories that are long enough to get (and keep) your interest for a short while, but not so long that you put the book aside and either lose track of the story line when you come back or lose interest altogether. It's like a platter of appetizers, all just a little different.

Trash, by Dorothy Allison, is a beautifully gritty book of short stories, each told of women who grew up in rural Southern poverty, struggling to escape their situations and their past, while loving their hard families. The rural poverty itself is almost alive in these stories, practically another character to be dealt with.

In the opening story, "River of Names," the narrator tells of being almost an outsider in a large extended family, "born between the older cousins and the younger, born in a pause of babies and therefore outside, always watching." She alternates telling about her family and talking Jesse, her lover, describing her family to Jesse. She is, in turn, talking to the reader, letting the reader, like Jesse, think, "How wonderful to be part of such a large family."

Except, of course, it isn't, the way the narrator describes it.

Fourteen other stories follow "River of Names," each showing the reader how difficult rural poverty is for many of its inhabitants. Each story will worm its way into the reader's mind, not wanting to be displaced or disrespected.

Of each of the fifteen stories, my favorite has to be "Mama." Allison describes growing up with a younger sister, their Mama, and their step-father, a small, violent man whom Mama states she'll leave just as soon as her daughters are grown. The reader gets the sense that Mama never does leave her husband; in fact, we're told point-blank that she is still with him, years after her daughters have grown up and moved out.

The story shows the bond between daughters and mother. At the end of the story, Allison describes how, on her stepfather's birthday, she'll make coffee and bread pudding with bourbon sauce, tell wild stories to her friends, and wait to talk on the phone with her mother.

If one is looking for a good read with pretty stories, this might not be it. But if one is looking for a really good read with the grittiness of life, the grittiness of love, Dorothy Allison's Trash fits the bill well.

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Turtle Moon, by Alice Hoffman

Turtle Moon by Alice Hoffman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Welcome to Verity, Florida, where the month of May is a dangerous time: long-time residents know better than to make any life-altering decisions during May, as everyone seems to "go a little crazy."

It is where Lucy Rosen and her son Keith have landed after leaving New York in Alice Hoffman's wonderful book, Turtle Moon.

While Lucy has come to Verity to escape an unhappy marriage, 12-year-old Keith is miserable in Florida, and gets into non-stop trouble - stealing, skipping school, and more - with a new friend.

One night, a single mother in the Rosen's apartment complex is murdered and her baby disappears. The "meanest boy" in town finds the baby in the complex's laundry room, realizes that no one is coming for her, and takes off with the baby, becoming her protector.

Julian Cash is the police officer assigned to solving the murder and finding the baby. He, too, was once considered the "meanest boy" in Verity, and can relate to Keith when he (Cash) finds the boy.

What transpires in Turtle Moon is a fast-paced story of complex people trying to find what will give their lives direction, while learning how to trust, as well as growing and letting go.

If you're looking for your next satisfying fast read, Turtle Moon by Alice Hoffman is sure to please.

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Tampa Bay Noir, edited by Colette Bancroft

Tampa Bay Noir by Colette Bancroft
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There are short story collections that are mildly interesting, then there are collections that grab the reader's attention and won't turn loose until the last page. Tampa Bay Noir is definitely the latter.

Edited by Colette Bancroft (former book editor for the Tampa Bay Times), Tampa Bay Noir is one of two books representing Florida in publisher Akashic Books's noir series. (Miami is the other Florida city.) As with the other noir anthologies, this book has all new short stories; these are based in different areas of the Tampa Bay area, mainly Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties. Michael Connelly's "The Guardian," set in Hyde Park, opens the anthology; Tim Dorsey, Lisa Unger, and a host of others add stories/mysteries to this quirky, dark collection, ending with Colette Bancroft's "The Bite."

While some of the stories here may not be for the faint-of-heart, I found the book difficult to put down. Each story, each writer, took the book to another level that ensured that I will definitely put this into my rotation of books-to-reread-and-reread, year after year. It also left me with a list of writers who novels will soon be in my to-be-read pile.

For anyone who has lived in the Tampa Bay area, thought about living here, or just plain wants a book to keep one captivated, Tampa Bay Noir is definitely the book to pick up and read, cover to cover.

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The Dharma Bums, by Jack Kerouac

The Dharma Bums by Jack Kerouac
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ever since originally reading On the Road by Jack Kerouac, I knew I'd have to follow up with Kerouac's The Dharma Bums. I'd read the first couple of pages several times, then put the book back on the shelf. This time, I read all the way through.

As with On the Road, Dharma is loosely based on Kerouac and shows others he knew. The narrator, Ray Smith, is based on Kerouac, while Japhy Ryder (the other main character) is based on Gary Snyder, who was instrumental is steering Kerouac towards Buddhism. There's one point when Smith and Ryder go to a poetry ready where Alvah Goldbook (based on Allen Ginsburg) reads his poem "Wail." (Yes, that is referrencing Ginsburg's "Howl.")

The book follows Smith and Ryder as they seek Truth, from San Francisco to mountain climbing in the High Sierras, keeping the reader thoroughly engaged.

In some ways, The Dharma Bums reminds me of On the Road: a lot of traveling, pages of exceedingly long paragraphs, some several pages long (sort-of the anti-Ernest Hemingway's short, concise writing); the writing occasionally leaving me a little ambivalent (Do I love it? Do I want to put it down before finishing?). But in the end, as with On the Road, I did finish The Dharma Bums.

The punchline is that if you're looking for an interesting book highlighting part of the 1950s, Jack Kerouac's The Dharma Bums just may be it, especially after reading On the Road.

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