Laurie

Laurie loves a good story, and there's nothing she likes better than hearing, telling, or reading one. She is fond of poetry, fiction, essays, memoirs, children's picture books, art books, and short story collections, particularly the work of Lorrie Moore and Amy Hempel. In addition to books, Laurie is crazy about her children, travel, drawing and painting, scrabble, shuffleboard and oysters at the Edison Inn, and being on or near the water. Her dream is to be Miss Rumphius.

The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel
by Amy Hempel
Named one of the ten best books of 2006 by the New York Times, this collection gathers together four of her previous volumes, written over three decades.
There is no one like Hempel. Her compact stories are by turns luminous, dark, witty, somber, dazzling, dense, spare, funny, and disquieting.
This is a master at work.

Birds of America
by Lorrie Moore
The twelve stories in this collection are twelve of the most original, laugh-out-loud funny, and heartbreakingly poignant stories I've ever read.
Darkly comic and beautifully written, with dialogue that snaps and crackles with pithy one-liners and droll wit, Moore is a master of the absurd, and a shrewd chronicler of the vagaries of the human heart.

The Bone People
by Keri Hulme
Winner of the 1985 Booker Prize, this novel, by New Zealander Keri Hulme, is one of the most inventive and intriguing books I've ever read. It has unforgettable characters, brilliant use of language, and a story that will keep you guessing.
A great read.

Miracle in the Andes
by Nando Parrado
If you're looking for a great page turner, a riveting true-life adventure packed with perils, unimaginable travails, and evidence of the triumph of the human spirit, then this book is for you.
The author, one of the survivors of the 1972 plane crash in the Andes, emerged from this ordeal with the kind of insights and wisdom that can only come from facing down death.
This is a beautifully written and gripping tale of survival, courage, faith, and love. Parrado reminds us that we each have the strength within us to confront our "own personal andes."

Still Life with Oyster and Lemon
by Mark Doty
Doty begins by exploring his rapture at experiencing the painting "Still Life with Oysters and Lemon" by the Dutch artist Jan Davidz de Heem at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. What follows is a luminous meditation on the pleasures of perception and the consolation of objects. A beautiful and tender hymn to intimate encounters in the immensity of time. Gorgeous writing. I loved this book.

The Year of Magical Thinking
by Joan Didion
In December of 2003, Didion's 36 year old daughter was hospitalized in a coma. A few days later her husband, the writer John Gregory Dunne died unexpectedly of cardiac arrest. Didion's book is a raw, unflinching chronicle of the difficult year following her loss.
In a culture that wants to pretend that death doesn't exist and stumbles awkwardly in the presence of grief, Didion's candor is an act of grace and courage. Her story will offer the comfort of recognition to those who have endured loss, and provide illumination to those who must comfort others. This is a beautiful, important, and unforgettable book.