The Dressmaker of Khair Khana

This is a really amazing TRUE story of Kamila Sidiqi, who not only survived life in Afghanistan under the Taliban but started a successful home business that helped dozens of other women as well.

Kamila had just graduated school when the Taliban took power in Kabul and her life changed. When her parents flee to the north to avoid being prosecuted for their service in the previous regime, it is up to Kamila to support her family. But how does a woman who can't go out in public without a man, who can't interact with men, do that? She sets up a dressmaking shop in her home, and brings in other neighborhood women to help.

Kamila is an amazing woman who selflessly risks jail, beatings, or worse to support her family AND to help other women support their families. One doesn't really consider what the Taliban's view of women did to Afghan society: women couldn't work outside the home, couldn't interact with men outside their families, and weren't even allowed in public without a male escort. Afghan men were either pressed into service with the Taliban or left the country to avoid being pressed into service, so the economy basically collapsed. But Kamila is a tenacious, dedicated woman, and she does what she has to do.

I highly recommend this book... in addition to being an intriguing story, it was also an educational story.

http://www.amazon.com/Dressmaker-Khair-Khana-Remarkable-Everything/dp/0061732370/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1319812267&sr=1-1

You Had me at Woof: How Dogs Taught me the Secrets of Happiness

This is a really sweet memoir by Julie Klam, a Manhattanite who loves Boston Terriers. Over the course of the book she owns (and rescues/fosters) a number of Bostons, notably Otto, Beatrice, Moses, and Dahlia. If you are a dog lover this is really a must read.

I am a dog lover who has never owned a dog - most apartments don't allow them, so it's just never been a question - but I love other people's dogs, and one of the things I love most about Arlington is that it's a very doggy community. If I could have a dog I would have a French Bulldog or a Boston Terrier. Anyway, New York is different from Arlington, because apparently a lot of apartment dwellers in NYC have dogs - and Klam actually had FOUR in her apartment at one time, two of whom were puppies. She's a very good writer with a great sense of humor (I think that's a requirement for BT owners) and I really enjoyed her stories about life with her dogs. There are some sad moments, but there are far outnumbered by the by the funny stories.

I admit to crying twice, but I laughed twenty times, and that's a pretty good ratio in my opinion. I highly recommend this book even if you aren't a dog lover, just because it's a story that I think we can all relate to.


You Had Me at Woof

The Raven's Bride

I thoroughly enjoyed this fictionalized story of Edgar Allan Poe and his child bride, Virginia "Sissy" Clemm. You don't really have to be a Poe fan to enjoy this novel, which is told by Virginia from her perspective. It is a beautifully written, a haunting tribute to Poe's writing, and a sad story of a great love.

Virginia is half Poe's age when they marry - 14 to his 28 - and his cousin. Their families are impoverished but mannerly and educated, and Virginia is a strong-willed young lady. Eddy, as she calls him (which I initially found a little jarring but soon got over it) is a troubled genius, with a dark imagination and deep sensitivity. The story follows them from Baltimore to Richmond, to New York, to Philly, and then back to New York. Eddy is always looking for the next great opportunity, and he seems to ruin every good opportunity he gets. When he does find literary success, there seems to be very little monetary success to accompany it.

I enjoyed reading about the reactions to Poe's writing during his lifetime, and seeing him as a real person, not the character that he has become in the century-and-a-half since his death. The author, Lenore Hart, was named for a Poe poem (she says in the afterword) so she obviously has some affinity and affection for her subject. I like the way she portrays Poe as, not an alcoholic opium-addict, but as a troubled soul who has troubled times. And I like that young Virginia, his child bride, is the one person who can keep him from going too deep inside of himself.

Lenore Hart made Edgar Allan Poe human for me, not just a name on a book jacket, and I very much enjoyed meeting him.


http://www.amazon.com/Ravens-Bride-Novel-Lenore-Hart/dp/0312567235/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1318943923&sr=1-1

Stories I Only Tell My Friends

I really, really enjoyed this memoir of Rob Lowe's - thanks Rhonda for recommending it. Lowe comes across as funny, smart, self-deprecating, and generally interesting. He accepts blame and doesn't point fingers (okay, maybe just a little). This is just a really well-written and enjoyable book.

If you are a person of a certain age (like me) who grew up watching Brat Pack movies, then you will really get a kick out of a lot of what Lowe writes about. If you are a film lover, then you will really get a kick out of the behind-the-scenes movie making stuff, especially Lowe's description of working on The Outsiders with Coppola. And if you are just into Hollywood celebrity insider info, then you will enjoy all the cameos and walk-on appearances.

With this book, I think, Rob Lowe proves that he is more like Sam Seaborne than he is like Billy Hicks - though he's definitely lived like both characters at one point in time, and that's what makes him who he is today.

Stories I Only Tell my Friends

Turn Right at Machu Picchu

I saw the author of this book, Mark Adams, on The Daily Show, and he made me want to read his book. I am not one of those people who has always wanted to visit Machu Picchu, for adventuring or mystical reasons or whatever.  It always seemed like an interesting place that would be very difficult to get to (and without things I enjoy, like showers and air conditioning). And it still seems like one of those places to me, and I have no greater desire to visit. But this was a really good book.

Adams basically tells the story of following the footsteps of the explorer who is credited with discovering Machu Picchu, Hiram Bingham. Along the way he learns about the history of the site (and other Inca sites), of the Inca empire, and of Peru. Adams is a really good writer, humorous, warm, and conversational. He is very good at bringing the landscape to life and, more importantly, bringing the people he meets to life. Because although this book is about Machu Picchu, I think it's equally about the people he spends time with, particularly John Leivers, his primary guide.

I highly recommend this book for travel buffs, history buffs, and anyone who has been or wants to go to Machu Picchu. It's just a really good read.

http://www.amazon.com/Turn-Right-Machu-Picchu-Rediscovering/dp/0525952241/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1317647352&sr=1-1