Still Kindle-ated

     The faint glow of the Kindle still smolders on my side of the bed until long after midnight.  Besides reading a few more books, I've begun listening to audio-books.  Before I received the Kindle, audio-books were for long car trips.  They eliminated the frustration of losing the radio station every 35 minutes.  Previously, I didn't listen to audio-books at home because the TV and the stereo components are in the same room.  TV trumps books every time.  There are commercial breaks for going to the bathroom, working on loads of laundry, or vacuuming in three minute bursts.  With the Kindle, I can listen to the narrator in any room of the house, or outside in the yard, while busying my hands with all manner of tasks.  Talk about multi-tasking - the other day, I listened to a book, washed a load of clothes, baked a low fat quiche, and sewed, all at the same time.
     Here are my reviews:

Audio-books

     The Killer of Little Shepherds: A True Crime Story and the Birth of Forensic Science  by Douglas Starr  - A gory story about Joseph Vacher, a french serial killer operating from 1894-1897.  Vacher's crimes occurred at the time French doctor Alexandre Lacassagne was developing modern forensic science.  It's C.S.I. - France.
     Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris - Really funny, at times really sweet, and at other times sadly insightful.  Sedaris draws his material from his family, a pretty quirky bunch.  
     A Beautiful Truth by Colin McAdam - The only work of fiction on this list.  It's the story of a childless couple who raise a chimpanzee (with nearly fatal results) and also the story of a fictional primate facility in Florida.  The stories are told from the human and the ape perspective.  My take away is that contentment is finding our place in the world.  I'm glad when Louee, the chimp finds his.

Regular Reading

     Lit by Mary Karr - Ms. Karr is a professor at Syracuse University.  She's also a recovering alcoholic.  She has written two other books.  The first book was about being raise by alcoholic parents.  The second, about her teen age coming of age, which was fueled with alcohol and drugs. Lit, the third, carries her addiction to alcohol into adulthood.  After marriage, motherhood, and a stalled careeer, Ms. Karr gets sober and gets religion.  I've long held the opinion that Alcoholics Anonymous is a religion.  Ms. Karr reinforces my belief.
     At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson - This is a history of the world channeled through the way people have housed themselves through the ages.  From open fires in caves to modern furnaces, from poop running down the castle wall and into the moat to modern sewerage treatment, from straw mattresses housing nests of mice to Tempurpedics, we've come a long way.
     Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan - Funny.  Mr. Gaffigan is a stand up comic and actor.  Every day life with his wife and five children in a two bedroom New York City apartment is the source of the jokes.  
     The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness, and Murder by Charles Graeber - I love gory stories.  This one hits close to home since Nurse Charlie Cullen, who spent his career offing patients, is a Jersey boy doing most of his dastardly deeds in various Northern New Jersey hospitals.
     Dog Songs by Mary Oliver - It's a collection of poems about her dogs.  It didn't grab me, so I sent it back after the first three poems.