My Amazon Wish List

(The holidays are coming...) Some (but not all) of the books I have on my Amazon wish list: Team of Rivals : The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin This one is most recently added. Doris was on The Daily Show recently and I heard her interviewed on Fresh Air today. I have not read any of her previous work but something about this story and her personality make me want to dive into all 944 pages of it. Did I already mention I love history? I did and I do. YOU: The Owner's Manual : An Insider's Guide to the Body that Will Make You Healthier and Younger by Michael F. Roizen and Mehmet Oz Dr. Oz is often on Oprah and I like his enthusiasm and expertise. He seems also to be open to ideas outside of straightforward traditional western medicine. Always good to hear. There is a quiz at the beginning of the book about what you know about your own health. I'm curious to take the test and see how on or off I am about my health. Complaints and Disorders : The Sexual Politics of Sickness and For Her Own Good : Two Centuries of the Experts Advice to Women by Barbara Ehrenreich, Deirdre English I love Barbara Ehrenreich's work. Have you read Nickel and Dimed: on (not) getting by in America? What a great, brutal, honest, harsh look at the working poor. Her most recent book, Bait and Switch: The (futile) Pursuit of the American Dream was also eye opening. So the above titles seem like they will be fascinating, especially the "expert advice" -- can't WAIT to read that. It will be a gut-buster. Probably totally depressing in its reality, but funny none the less. Looking forward to it. Broken for You by Stephanie Kallos My mom recommended this one and it sounds like a great read. A Crack in the Edge of the World : America and the Great California Earthquake of 1906 by Simon Winchester Simon (I call him Simon, for no good reason) also wrote "Krakatoa" (among many other books) and I was riveted. It spanned topics from history of the region to politics, geography, geology, plate tectonics, rise of muslim extremism and oh yeah, a giant exploding volcano and subsequent tsunami. I heard him interviewed on NPR over the weekend and I couldn't wait to read this new book. The Pencil : A History of Design and Circumstance by Henry Petroski This kind of book is right up my alley. First of all, history. Second of all, quirky history about things you NEVER think about. (Well, I think of them often and am glad there are books to read about them.) Third, more random factoids to stuff in my crossword puzzle addled brain. I read Mr. Petroski's book The Book On The Bookshelf and really loved it. Did you know that books were chained to bookshelves in libraries because they were so valuable? Along the same lines (quirky history) I read a similar book called Salt a World History by Mark Kurlansky. Lots of history, but not enough quirky good writing to keep me riveted. What's on your Amazon wish list?