Here are the books waiting for me ever so patiently on my table, waiting to be opened and read, bought with much anticipation.

An ecclectic bunch, to be sure.

Twelve Mile Limit by Randy Wayne White.  CarolinaBlue50 turned me onto these books and they are so much fun to read. Here's what CarolinaBlue had to say:

"Sanibel Island is the principal setting for the books of one of Florida’s best novelists, Randy Wayne White.  An Ohio native who moved to the area in 1972, White has seen work as a fishing guide, magazine contributor, and as a student of natural history, archaeology, and anthropology.  He has traveled on assignment around the world, helped refugees flee from Cuba, and played on semipro baseball teams.  A resident of Pine Island adjacent to Sanibel, he is the author of sixteen novels featuring his main protagonist, Marion “Doc” Ford, and his unlikely pal and helper, Tomlinson.  His first Doc Ford novel, Sanibel Flats, was selected by the American Independent Mystery Booksellers Association as one of their Hundred Favorite Mysteries of the Twentieth Century."

I've read 3 in the series so far and this one awaits me. Doc Ford is a smart, serious, sexy protagonist and I love all things Florida! 

Infinite Possibilites: A Haiku Journal. If you love Haiku Thursdays at Open Salon you'll love this book.  It is written by Laurie Wagner Buyer who is the sister of one of my friends. She is an accomplished published poet and author and this is her first book of Haiku's. She wrote a haiku for each day of the year. They left space for the reader to write their own Haikus when inspired and it did get me thinking in Haiku for awhile. Here is one of hers:

White world pristine earth

snow has fallen all night long

nothing dares to move.

I did start reading this but haven't finished. It is one of those books you can pull out anytime and start reading anywhere. 

Mean Mothers by Peg Streep. My sister sent me this even though she hasn't read it. The author writes about being raised by a mean mother, one who couldn't or wouldn't show her love to her and all the complications that ensue. One complication is that mean mothers often are very charismatic to the outside world so nobody believes you when you tell them she isn't like that at home! The author raised her own daughter and to keep her sanity, broke off her relationship with her mother. This book delves into the taboo that exists when women say they had/have mean mothers and how society cluck-clucks and tells them that couldn't possibly be true. Fascinating dichotomy since "Psychology" blames mothers for everything! I have just started reading it, it is one of those books where I read a chapter and put it down for awhile. I use a pencil and highlighter going through it, one of my favorite book reading rituals!

The Importance of Living  by Lin Young. This book is a classic that "introduced millions to the Noble Art of Leaving Things Undone." You can imagine my excitement at finding it! Have I even started reading it yet? No! The author is a Chinese Philosopher. Chapter Six is entitled: The Feast of Life and is broken down into: The Problem of Happiness. Human Happiness is Sensuous. Chin's Thirty-three Happy Moments. Misunderstanding of Materialism and How About Mental Pleasures? There are 462 pages to this book and I need to carve out an hour and sit down and start it!

The Caged Virgin: An Emancipation Proclamation for Women and Islam by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. I'm actually on page 105 of this book, in the chapter titled "Genital Mutilation Must Not Be Tolerated". The rewarding part of reading Hirsi Ali's works is that she can articulate so clearly what is wrong with the misogyny and oppression rained upon Islamic women and stop the apologists in their tracks. I highly recommend her books to anyone who considers herself a feminist. Read this and her bestseller Infidel. Here is one quote: "The fight against genital mutilation in the Netherlands and Canada and the U.S.  is primarily a matter of enforcing the law. After all, genital mutilation falls under the criminal offense of "willful, grievous bodily harm" as well as an "unqualified practice of medicine." Under our law, a doctor who has circumcised a woman, or assisted in such a procedure, can be brought before the medical disciplinary tribunal. Moreover, genital mutilation of girls falls under the definition of child abuse." She cuts through the cultural dogma and tells it like it is. 

A Beautiful Blue Death by Charles Finch. I haven't even glanced at this one. My father sent this in the mail to me. He mails me books every month and I pluck the ones that look good to me. This is a mystery, an Agatha Award Nominee.

The protagonist, Charles Lenox, is a Victorian gentleman and armchair explorer. His friend Lady Jane asks for his help. Prudence Smith, one of Jane's former servants is dead of an apparent suicide. But Lenox suspects something far more sinister: murder by a rare and deadly poison.

This is the authors first book. Charles Finch is a graduate of Yale and Oxford. A Beautiful Blue Death was named on of Library Journal's best books of 2007, one of only five mystery novels on the list. He lives in New York.

Murder In Amsterdam by Ian Buruma. Okay, I confess, I have read this in its entirety. This book is a revelatory look at what happens when political Islam collides with the secular west and tolerance find its limits. The author is originally from the Netherlands but is now a professor in the U.S. He went back to Amsterdam after the murder of Theo Van Gogh by a political Islamist and writes an insightful, much needed book all of the issues this brings up for not only the West but for Muslims all over the world. I highly recommend this book.

Close Range. Wyoming Stories by Annie Proulx. Annie is one of my favorite authors ever since I read The Shipping News, one of my all time favorite books! I'm on page 87, having stopped there months ago. I'm stuck in a short story entitled "Job History" about a young married couple in Wyoming. Proulx lives in Wyoming and Newfoundland - how's that for a weird life? So she writes about each place with precision and grace. If you like Annie Proulx, you'll like Close Range.

Share with me any books you highly recommend & I'll add them to my pile of To Be Read.