Here is our list of Books for Grownups August 2009 AARP The Magazine
Here is our list of Books for Grownups August 2009 - AARP The Magazine Books
By Jill Ciment (Pantheon, $23)
Ciment's spare and smart novel details one long weekend in the life of Ruth and Alex Cohen, a New York couple hoping to sell their apartment of 45 years while dealing with an ailing dog and a gridlocked city. Sound too close to home? The domestic details play out with a thriller-like tension.
By Robert Cohen (Scribner, $26)
Cohen explores the terrain of male middle age in a novel that keenly observes the dissatisfactions of contemporary life, tracking the missteps of a 53-year-old school principal from New England to Ethiopia.
By Attica Locke (Harper, $25.99)
Set in 1981, Locke's compelling debut charts the moral struggles of Jay Porter, a black lawyer in Houston, Texas, who knows far more about a murder than do the local police. Will resonate with the generation that fought for civil rights and follows keenly the challenges successful African-American professionals face in our society today.
By Jed Mercurio (Simon & Schuster, $25)
Mercurio's third novel is a riveting imagining of the inner life of a satyrlike John F. Kennedy as he beds a steady stream of starlets, interns, and prostitutes. Granted, JFK's life is far from unexamined, but Mercurio's take is fresh, bold and surprising.
By John Updike (Knopf, $25)
Updike's final book, a collection of short stories, is heavy with mid- and late-life troubles, from the mundane to the crushing. He’s in fine form here, and reading these might have you reaching for your old copy ofRabbit, Run. NONFICTION
By Doug Anderson (Norton, $25.95)
Anderson recounts his amazing life—before, during and after serving as a Marine in Vietnam in 1967, which led to his drug abuse, PTSD and, ultimately, his becoming a poet.
By Patrick Raden Keefe (Doubleday, $26)
Keefe's real-life thriller tells the story of the rise and fall of "Sister" Ping, a notorious smuggler of Chinese into America, using her tale as a lens onto this country's relationship with immigration.
By Craig Nelson (Viking, $27.95)
As we mark the 40th anniversary of the moon landing, Nelson vividly recounts the flight of Apollo 11 against the backdrop of the Soviet-American space race, and the personal toll the mission took on its celebrated astronauts.
By Matthew B. Crawford (Penguin Press, $25.95)
Philosopher and motorcycle repair shop owner Crawford extols the value of "manual competence," or the ability to work with one's hands. Unlike today's "knowledge worker," Crawford claims, whose work is often abstract, the person who works with his hands submits to standards inherent in the work itself: the lights either turn on or they don't, the toilet flushes or it doesn't, the motorcycle roars or sputters.
Read a of this book.
By Mark Seal (Random, $26)
A sweeping and atmospheric biography of the conservationist and wildlife filmmaker, Joan Root, who was brutally murdered in her home on Lake Naivasha in Kenya. Intrigued by Root's suspicious death and cinematic life with husband and nature documentarian Alan Root, journalist Seal mines Joan's diaries to recreate their love story amidst the heyday of British colonialism in Nairobi. LIFESTYLE/SELF-HELP
By Howard Gleckman (St. Martin's, $24.95)
Longtime Business Week health reporter Gleckman does an impressive job of explaining our current elder-care system—from Medicare to nursing homes and assisted living—and those of other developed nations, proposing possible solutions to an issue of growing importance as boomers move from giving care to getting it.
By Leeza Gibbons, James Huysman, and Rosemary deAngelis Laird, M.D. (LaChance, IPG dist., $14.95 paper)
Overwhelmed boomers will find this book immensely useful as Gibbons describes learning to deal with her mother's dementia, while also offering excellent advice for family caregivers on how to take care of themselves both physically and emotionally.
By Michael J. Berland and Douglas E. Schoen (Collins, $24.99)
Berland and Schoen take on a familiar subject—examining the common traits of highly successful people—with a fresh twist, arguing that success is achieved not by remaking your personality but by enhancing the skills you already have. Useful information for those of us seeking re-invention for the next chapter.
By Lamees Ibrahim (Interlink, $35)
Iraqi food is simple, homey and thanks to this sensibly presented cookbook, easy to prepare. Ibrahim—who was born in Baghdad and now lives in London—presents more than 200 recipes in what was initially an attempt to capture for her children in written form the cooking traditions handed down orally through the generations. Illustrated by color photographs.
By Mark Bittman (Simon & Schuster, $26)
Bittman here offers a sampling of 404 inspiring recipes. But don't expect another How to Cook Everything. This newest is of a different kind—simple and snappy, and rarely calls for measuring spoons. The no-sweat recipes capitalize on the freshest ingredients of each season while whittling down the prep time of ordinarily elaborate dishes, like coq au vin, to 10 minutes or less. Featured AARP Member Benefits See more Entertainment offers > See more Entertainment offers > See more Entertainment offers > See more Entertainment offers > Cancel You are leaving AARP.org and going to the website of our trusted provider. The provider’s terms, conditions and policies apply. Please return to AARP.org to learn more about other benefits. Your email address is now confirmed. You'll start receiving the latest news, benefits, events, and programs related to AARP's mission to empower people to choose how they live as they age. You can also by updating your account at anytime. You will be asked to register or log in. Cancel Offer Details Disclosures
Books for Grownups August 2009
What Our Generation Wants to Read
AARP The Magazine and Publishers Weekly have teamed up to let you know about the latest fiction, nonfiction, and lifestyle/self-help of interest toyou. Once you've checked out the selections below, visit Publishers Weekly's and pages for reviews, author Q&As, and more. FICTIONBy Jill Ciment (Pantheon, $23)
Ciment's spare and smart novel details one long weekend in the life of Ruth and Alex Cohen, a New York couple hoping to sell their apartment of 45 years while dealing with an ailing dog and a gridlocked city. Sound too close to home? The domestic details play out with a thriller-like tension.
By Robert Cohen (Scribner, $26)
Cohen explores the terrain of male middle age in a novel that keenly observes the dissatisfactions of contemporary life, tracking the missteps of a 53-year-old school principal from New England to Ethiopia.
By Attica Locke (Harper, $25.99)
Set in 1981, Locke's compelling debut charts the moral struggles of Jay Porter, a black lawyer in Houston, Texas, who knows far more about a murder than do the local police. Will resonate with the generation that fought for civil rights and follows keenly the challenges successful African-American professionals face in our society today.
By Jed Mercurio (Simon & Schuster, $25)
Mercurio's third novel is a riveting imagining of the inner life of a satyrlike John F. Kennedy as he beds a steady stream of starlets, interns, and prostitutes. Granted, JFK's life is far from unexamined, but Mercurio's take is fresh, bold and surprising.
By John Updike (Knopf, $25)
Updike's final book, a collection of short stories, is heavy with mid- and late-life troubles, from the mundane to the crushing. He’s in fine form here, and reading these might have you reaching for your old copy ofRabbit, Run. NONFICTION
By Doug Anderson (Norton, $25.95)
Anderson recounts his amazing life—before, during and after serving as a Marine in Vietnam in 1967, which led to his drug abuse, PTSD and, ultimately, his becoming a poet.
By Patrick Raden Keefe (Doubleday, $26)
Keefe's real-life thriller tells the story of the rise and fall of "Sister" Ping, a notorious smuggler of Chinese into America, using her tale as a lens onto this country's relationship with immigration.
By Craig Nelson (Viking, $27.95)
As we mark the 40th anniversary of the moon landing, Nelson vividly recounts the flight of Apollo 11 against the backdrop of the Soviet-American space race, and the personal toll the mission took on its celebrated astronauts.
By Matthew B. Crawford (Penguin Press, $25.95)
Philosopher and motorcycle repair shop owner Crawford extols the value of "manual competence," or the ability to work with one's hands. Unlike today's "knowledge worker," Crawford claims, whose work is often abstract, the person who works with his hands submits to standards inherent in the work itself: the lights either turn on or they don't, the toilet flushes or it doesn't, the motorcycle roars or sputters.
Read a of this book.
By Mark Seal (Random, $26)
A sweeping and atmospheric biography of the conservationist and wildlife filmmaker, Joan Root, who was brutally murdered in her home on Lake Naivasha in Kenya. Intrigued by Root's suspicious death and cinematic life with husband and nature documentarian Alan Root, journalist Seal mines Joan's diaries to recreate their love story amidst the heyday of British colonialism in Nairobi. LIFESTYLE/SELF-HELP
By Howard Gleckman (St. Martin's, $24.95)
Longtime Business Week health reporter Gleckman does an impressive job of explaining our current elder-care system—from Medicare to nursing homes and assisted living—and those of other developed nations, proposing possible solutions to an issue of growing importance as boomers move from giving care to getting it.
By Leeza Gibbons, James Huysman, and Rosemary deAngelis Laird, M.D. (LaChance, IPG dist., $14.95 paper)
Overwhelmed boomers will find this book immensely useful as Gibbons describes learning to deal with her mother's dementia, while also offering excellent advice for family caregivers on how to take care of themselves both physically and emotionally.
By Michael J. Berland and Douglas E. Schoen (Collins, $24.99)
Berland and Schoen take on a familiar subject—examining the common traits of highly successful people—with a fresh twist, arguing that success is achieved not by remaking your personality but by enhancing the skills you already have. Useful information for those of us seeking re-invention for the next chapter.
By Lamees Ibrahim (Interlink, $35)
Iraqi food is simple, homey and thanks to this sensibly presented cookbook, easy to prepare. Ibrahim—who was born in Baghdad and now lives in London—presents more than 200 recipes in what was initially an attempt to capture for her children in written form the cooking traditions handed down orally through the generations. Illustrated by color photographs.
By Mark Bittman (Simon & Schuster, $26)
Bittman here offers a sampling of 404 inspiring recipes. But don't expect another How to Cook Everything. This newest is of a different kind—simple and snappy, and rarely calls for measuring spoons. The no-sweat recipes capitalize on the freshest ingredients of each season while whittling down the prep time of ordinarily elaborate dishes, like coq au vin, to 10 minutes or less. Featured AARP Member Benefits See more Entertainment offers > See more Entertainment offers > See more Entertainment offers > See more Entertainment offers > Cancel You are leaving AARP.org and going to the website of our trusted provider. The provider’s terms, conditions and policies apply. Please return to AARP.org to learn more about other benefits. Your email address is now confirmed. You'll start receiving the latest news, benefits, events, and programs related to AARP's mission to empower people to choose how they live as they age. You can also by updating your account at anytime. You will be asked to register or log in. Cancel Offer Details Disclosures