Thursday, March 14, 2013

More Books

Recently I read most of  the non-fiction book The Warmth of Other Suns.  It was recommended on a list of best books for 2012, a list I am working on.  

This is the historical account of the great migration of African Americans from the south to the industrial north and west during the 20th century.  It follows three individuals from three different decades as they struggle in the Jim Crow south and then meet different challenges after migrating.

Many of the experiences are harsh, and the readers empathy builds as these good people face one injustice after another.  That they persevere and sometimes succeed is remarkable. 

At first the book reads like a novel, and is easy to get absorbed in.  I didn't finish it because it was an e-book from the library and it expired, and also because I got bogged down in the repetition of the message.  That is not to say that I don't recommend this book.  I do.   There is much to be learned and much insight to be gained in these pages.

But it led nicely into the last book I just finished, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks.  Henrietta was a poor black tobacco farmer who migrated to Baltimore in the 1940's.  When she was diagnosed with cervical cancer, from which she soon died, cells from her tumor were harvested at Johns Hopkins University Hospital, and because they grew so well in culture, they became known as HeLa and were vital in developing polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping and much more.  They are still used widely today.  Those cells are immortal.


15 comments:

  1. I don't think I could handle the first book but I did read the book about Henrietta Lacks. It was a wonderful book. The author, Rebecca Skloot, has strong ties to the Pacific Northwest. She may even have grown up in Portland. Her father lives here. I was amazed how long she kept Henrietta Lacks in her heart before releasing a beautiful book about her. Well worth a read.

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  2. "The Immortal Life..." has been on my list for a while now. Perhaps you have given me the little nudge I need to track it down and actually read it.

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  3. I'm like Olga. Henrietta has been in my over stocked Kindle for too long. Thanks. I will pull her up to be read next.

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  4. If I wasn't no busy writing and editing my book, I'd read more...lol!

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  5. I have heard of both of these books, they do sound interesting. I should check my library but I doubt they have them.
    Hubby has just started borrowing e-books, he is enjoying his new kindle.
    Me, I still like to check out the old fashioned books, maybe it is because my dad was a printer.
    Is your head from the museum at the Armory? We will be spending a day and a half near there in July and was wondering if they allow photography.

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  6. I read the first book from cover to cover and was sorry when it was over. I'll put the second one on my list. Right now I'm reading the third book in the trilogy of memoirs written by Jennifer Worth of "Call the Midwife" fame. They are hard to read at times and I've cried and laughed over her memories.

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  7. I read both of these books in the last year. I especially loved "the Warmth of Other Suns". It really personalized the trials of African Americans.

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  8. I have so many half-read books on my Kindle and really should get to them soon. I prefer to buy books than borrow them from the library because I am a slow reader and put down books for weeks at a time before reading them again.

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  9. I will put that on my reading list.. thank you..Michelle

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  10. Great review of a very interesting and readable book.

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  11. That sounds like an interesting book but I'm having a hard time finishing what I have borrowed right now. It's hard to keep up with blogging and read borrowed books before they expire.

    I have to feel that the family should have been given some kind of compensation or recognition for that contribution.

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  12. Like you Linda, I also like to occasionally read true-life novels, like people's life stories. They are an interesting insight into other people's lives - Dave

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