SMag36ppFall11 REV p9_Layout 1 10/14/11 10:28 AM Page 31
Fieldguide For owls: advice, tips, and words of wisdom from an expert in the southern community. “Moonwalking with einstein” by Joshua Foer (nonfiction)
Great reads from best-selling author and book critic, John Searles, ’91
What really compelled me to pick up this book was the subtitle: “The Art and Science of Remembering Everything.” Like lots of people, I constantly forget where I put my keys or the names of people I’ve just met, so this subject called to me. Foer is a science journalist who attended the “Memory Championship,” held annually in the U.S. There, he encountered people capable of memorizing endless amounts of poetry or lists of strangers’ names or complex mathematical formulas. Many of them did it by using ancient techniques to improve memorization. Foer became fascinated and spent a year working on his memory and trying to understand it. He then returned to the competition and won.
“Tiger in the Kitchen” by Cheryl Tan (memoir) There are so many “tiger” books out right now, and this is my favorite — a magical blend of beautiful writing about food and a thought-provoking look at family secrets and traditions. Tan grew up in Singapore, where she never showed any interest in cooking or learning recipes from her grandmother and “aunties.” As soon as she turned eighteen, she moved to the U.S., where she eventually became a journalist. When Tan unexpectedly lost her job as a reporter for the Wall Street Journal a few years ago, she returned to Singapore, where her beloved aunties taught her how to make dishes like flaky pineapple tarts and Hainanese Chicken Rice. I had the pleasure of first meeting this writer a year ago when she read from this book while it was still a work in progress. In fact, I snapped a picture of her that the publisher used as her author photo on the back! What makes a book great? by Eleanor Brown (fiction) John Searles, ’91, has explored the I often ask people on my Facebook author page what they are reading to make sure I am not missing topic from several angles. The anything. I always get lots of different answers, but this time around, one title kept popping up again and best-selling author of “Boy Still again: “The Weird Sisters.” This is a funny, touching story about three — I guess you’d call them weird — Missing” and “Strange But True” sisters who are fully grown, but move back to their childhood home in Ohio. The first line of the book is: (William Morrow/HarperCollins), “We returned home because we were failures.” In actuality, their mother is sick and we discover they have a lot Searles is also a book critic on NBC’s of family business between them to sort out. This is Brown’s first novel but she tells the story like a master. “Today Show” and the editor-at-large of Cosmopolitan magazine. He is by Stuart O’Nan (fiction) currently revising the manuscript for O’Nan is an incredible writer who gets glowing reviews of his work, but has yet to cross over into the his third book, which will be out next mainstream. His first novel, “Snow Angels,” was about a teenage boy whose babysitter is murdered. year. Following he shares some of his Another of his earlier novels, “The Speed Queen,” is about a woman on death row who is recording her recent top book picks. For more on what story for a writer. Both of those books are dark tales, jam-packed with plot twists and surprises. And Searles is reading, “Like” his author page now with “Emily Alone,” O’Nan tries his hand at a much quieter story. The novel follows one woman, on Facebook at http://tinyurl.com/24grm8d Emily, at the end of her life. It is a beautiful read full of tender, intimate moments. or on twitter @searlesbooks.
“The weird sisters”
“emily Alone”
lain for nearly five years, including work at Unity Health System in Rochester, N.Y., and Greenville Health System in South Carolina.
BARBARA SNYDER, M.A. ’91, has been named 2010-2011 president-elect of the American Medical Writers Association. Snyder is director of medical writing at Warner Chilcott of Rockaway, N.J.
KEVIN DONOVAN, ’92, is the finance lead for the Naval Hawk program at Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation.
“Between shades of gray” by Ruta Sepetys (young adult)
GARY MALA, 6th
So many current young adult novels feature vampires or werewolves or post-apocalyptic settings,
Yr. ’93, is the but in this book people are actually human. Nobody drinks blood or grows fangs! Instead, it tells superintendent of the story of a young girl during World War II who is forced from her home in Lithuania and sent schools in Avon, to Siberia. I gave the book to a friend who is Lithuanian and happens to have survived a very Conn., having previsimilar experience when she was a girl. This friend praised the book for its authenticity. ously held the same position for the Region “Hush: A Novel” by Kate White (paperback) 17 School District. Mala Here’s the set-up: a woman named Lake Warren has a one-night stand with a handsome has also served as a doctor. Afterward, she wanders out onto his terrace. It’s late, she’s a little tipsy, so she sits superintendent in Southwick, Mass. down and drifts off to sleep. In the middle of the night, Lake wakes and goes back inside
ROBERT CAPALBO, ’94, has joined CRT Capital as vice president of operations. Capalbo lives in Fairfield, Conn.
the apartment to find the handsome doctor dead in his bed. Rather than call the police, she panics, and flees the scene. This is a fast-paced, suspenseful page-turner — that happens to be dedicated to me!
Fall 2011 | 31