A few titles recently read

1) "The White Tiger" - Aravind Adiga. A wry story about India, capitalism, the caste system, entrepreneurial spirit told from the seat of taxi driver. What is your animal spirit? I am the lion... roar.

2) "The Street of 1000 Blossoms" - Gail Tsukiyama. I have a love for all things Asian, in particular Japan. In fact, at times I do wish I had been born Japanese, what with those lovely girl names, blossoms and sushi. And really, doesn't the phrase "Chrysanthemum Throne" sound equally impressive and darling? This is a story about two brothers growing up in Tokyo, before, during and after WWII. One is training to be sumo wrestler, the other studies the art of making Yo theatre masks.

3) "The Emperor's Children" - Claire Messud. A tale of young adults living in the city, blindly (?) trying to make their mark in the work and love. I was surprised at how much i liked this book, despite the lukewarm reviews it received. Maybe the inner hesitation and self cajoling of each character spoke to me.

4) "Notes on the Making of Apocalypse Now" - Eleanor Coppola. Why does filming making seem to inspire maniacal behavior and demand such a stiff price from the film makers family? This is a brutally honest book that "leaves you feeling drained". Mrs. Coppola is a saint whose light, searching voice permeates the pages

5) "The Elegance of the Hedgehog" - Muriel Barbery. This is a book that in many ways reminds me of "A Wrinkle in Time" by Madeleine L'Engel. I think at certain points that I understand what is being said and at other times, I am clueless. The setting, a fancy apartment building in Paris, serves as a protective shield for its female concierge to live out her highly cerebral existence while surrounded by her atrociously behaved tenants, none of whom would ever imagine her capable of a tender thought or sadly, even an emotion. She is soon found out by a highly intelligent girl who lives in the building and a new tenant. For me, this book is a joyous, if not sad example, of how long we harbor our misconceptions about other people's existence and when someone is finally freed, their freedom is not always eternal.