Three Cups of Tea (more or less!)

My book club read Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson just as a controversy erupted over this nonfiction story.  A Sixty Minutes documentary accused the fundraiser author of misrepresenting the facts and financial wrongdoing.  It led to an engaging discussion on the nature of heroism. 

The autobiography tells the story of how nurse/mountain climber Greg got lost climbing down the mountain K2 in Pakistan.  In thanks to the local people that rescued him, he promised to return and build them a school.  His seat of the pants planning and dogged persistence are charming.  The writing, however, is not so skilled, but passable.

Despite the controversy, everyone in the club enjoyed the book except me, who found it a bit too banal and predictable.  Maybe I should rename myself the grumpy librarian!

Two easy reads that are popular choices

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

This first novel has been flying off the shelves of the library where I work.  It's the story of two black maids and an aspiring white writer in Missisippi in the early 1960's.  It's a likable and easy read.  There have been better novels on the topic, but this approach brings it to a wide audience. Segregation lite!  Interest peaked in the summer of 2009, but will rise again as a movie is due out in August 2011.

The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
This is a non fiction self help book about a yearlong program to find more happiness.  Self help books generally make me cringe, but this one is appealing for several reasons.  One is that the author once wrote a spoof on self help books.  Two is that many women share the mania for self improvement programs, myself included, and this tackles the impulse with humour, credible research, and great quotes.  My favourite is, "Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good."

If you like Oprah Winfrey, you will like these two books!