Five Books Considered; Three Make the Cut

I did finish Making Gray Gold and found it to be very informative and a little bit scary, especially when I got to the part where the author talks about how nursing homes make their money, treating care of the elderly as a commodity, using "beds" as shorthand for the people who were being cared for as if they were objects to be sold. This book was published more than twenty years ago; some things have gotten better, thanks to patients' rights advocates and changes to laws, but other things have stayed the same. And with the tsunami of baby-boomer elderly looming, it's likely that states will not be able to afford to care for those who need it. Those who sell these services may find that they've priced their customers out of the market. It's going to be interesting to see how this problem will be solved.

After that book, I began reading Jared Diamond's Pulitzer prize winner, Guns, Germs, and Steel, which was well received when it first came out in 1999. After a while, though, the book seemed a bit dated and perhaps just a tad too scholarly for a popular history, so I decided to let it go and moved on.

Granite Quarry

Next I turned to a couple of small volumes dealing with Deer Isle in Maine--both historical accounts. One is an Images of America: Deer Isle and Stonington, the other a history of granite quarrying in Stonington and other towns of the island, Stone Slabs and Iron Men. Both were interesting, especially the book about granite, since it contained more history than the other. I learned a lot that I didn't know about stone quarrying. It is much more complex and intensive than I had imagined. I gained more respect for those who did this work, especially before the introduction of powerful machines. Both books are worth reading.

Following the Deer Isle books, I turned to A Book of Common Prayer, a novel by Joan Didion, a famous writer of the 20th century. It started out interesting enough, but ultimately, the characters failed to elicit my sympathy. All seemed rich and whiny and deserving of their fates, so I put it down about half way through. I've never read any of her books before, but I know that she is popular among some readers, so if you are a fan, you will probably enjoy this book. As for me, I won't be returning to Ms. Didion's work.

Alexandre Dumas

Finally, I thought I'd check out a classic novel I'd never read but heard much about: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, who also wrote The Three Musketeers. Monte Cristo was published in serial format from 1844-1845 in France and later translated into English. The book has a historical backdrop: the post-Napoleon period in French history. It is already quite entertaining and that's a good thing, because at 783 pages, it's very long!

So, as you can see, though I haven't written here for more than a month, I've been very busy! Until next time, happy reading!