• My Account
• Email notices

Marta's Reading InSight

number 6

Reading essays is an acquired taste. To explore the possibility of enjoying essays, here are a few of my favorite titles.

Dogs Bark, but the Caravan Rolls on: Observations from Then and Now by Frank Conroy	Dogs Bark, but the Caravan Rolls on by Frank Conroy is about writing - (he is Director of the Iowa Writers' Workshop), music - (he is an accomplished jazz pianist and friendly with many famous performers), fatherhood - (he became a father again, when his first children were grown), politics - (he testified to Congress about National Endowments to the Arts), and New York- (where he has lived and observed as the city changed). Graceful writing especially interesting to those involved in the crafts of writing and jazz. Conroy's other books include the memoir, Stop-Time and the novel, Body & Soul.
Portrait of my Body by Phillip Lopate	Phillip Lopate, Professor of English at Hofstra University has written a candid and eloquent book of personal essays in Portrait of my Body. His portrait of his father and his relationships with the rest of the family is unforgettable. He examines the ambivalence of getting married, the moods of traveling alone, the experience of his daughter's birth, and the peculiarities of his own body. An intelligent look at the ordinary life written into an entertaining, but profound meditation.
High Tide in Tucson: essays from now or never by Barbara Kingsolver	Biologist turned writer, Barbara Kingsolver's book is High Tide in Tucson: essays from now or never. As in her best-selling novels, (the most recent was Poisonwood Bible), she explores the themes of family, community and the natural world. She has the attention to detail of a scientist and the vision of a poet. "How Mr. Dewey Decimal Saved My Life" is a paean to the librarian who "…snatched me from the jaws of ruin…". In "The Spaces Between", she and her daughter explore their Cherokee ancestry together. Keen observations and honest reporting give new dimensions to understanding life.
Pure Drivel by Steve Martin	If you giggle at the quirky humor of Steve Martin, you will enjoy Pure Drivel. Martin satirizes many aspects of our culture and, as in his New Yorker pieces, his wit does not depend on his stand-up routine. Not intellectually challenging, but guaranteed to provoke a "second think" about the life you take for granted.
Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman	Anne Fadiman reveals a lifelong love affair with books and reading. Daughter of Clifton Fadiman, the author's childhood blocks were her father's twenty-two volumes of Trollope. Her marriage required the merging and organization of two personal libraries to make the union official. She acknowledges her parents' reading aloud to her and "transmitting with every syllable their own passion for books." That passion survives in this book and the anecdotes and memories here will resonate with anyone to whom books are irresistible.

	Marta Campbell, Head of Collection Management
	Tel: 203-291-4842	E-mail: mcampbell@westportlibrary.org

Updated 7/5/2002