Interesting items

Well, ok, maybe just interesting to me, but they involve books, so others may have some interest!

I heard from my mother's cousin (my 1st cousin once removed), Joan, the other day. She wrote to me about the books she has read this year and I found it quite interesting. Here is what she wrote:

"In the meantime, I wish I had kept a log of all the books I have read over
the many, many years of reading. Here are a few of the ones I have read this
year:
Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin (outstanding)
Outliers by Gladwell (fascinating, as a psychologist I think you'd like it)
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortensen (inspiring)
The Hemingses of Monticello (very dry and like a doctoral thesis)
Still Alice by Lisa Genova (about Alzheimer patient-- I recommend it)
Everyman by Philip Roth (I still think his writing is wonderful)
All 4 "Rabbit" books by J. Updike (sure took me back in time to when I first
read them)
The Good War by Studs Terkel (best account of war I've ever read--about WW2)

And about 4 more that I can't recall at the moment."

Almost all of the books she listed I want to read! I have not read any of the "Rabbit" books and don't really know anything about them, so don't know if I would be interested in them or not. I have Team of Rivals sitting on my TBR pile, and have wanted to read The Hemingses of Monticello. I have also heard very good things about Still Alice.

Isn't it fun to hear what others are reading?

The other interesting thing is that the latest Newsweek magazine arrived today and it is about Books You Should Read. If you have a chance, pick it up. They list their top 50 books, and most of them, I have no interest at all in reading, but there were a few that either I have read or want to get to. I was very pleased to see that one of my very all-time favorite books, Gilead, was included!