March 2015 Book Report

Adventures of the Artificial Woman (2004) by Thomas Berger

Very interesting read. Ellery is an electronics wizard who decides to build himself the perfect woman. He makes Phyllis. She is perfect. Then she develops a mind of her own. The ending caught me by surprise, which does not happen very often.

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I’ll Trade You an Elk (1967) by Charles A. Goodrum

Autobiography of life as the son of a zookeeper in 1930s Wichita, Kansas. I really learned a lot about animals with this book. Well written. Goodrum later worked for the Library of Congress and wrote some mysteries dealing with libraries. I will have to look those up.

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Beggar’s Daughter (1963) by Mabel Leigh Hunt

In 17^th century England, Quakers were persecuted by the Anglican Church. A servant girl from a rich house runs away with her baby daughter and sells her to a Quaker girl. The girl shows the baby to her parents, who try to find the servant girl with no success. They name her Innocent Mary and raise her to be a Quaker, even though Quakers are imprisoned, stolen from and beaten. When she is grown, Mary has to choose whether she wants to remain a Quaker or become part of “the world”. She chooses to be true to the faith she was raised in.

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Song of the Waterfall (1970) by Elisabeth Kyle

Wonderful biography of the Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg. Look for his stuff on youtube and you will recognize it.

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Tarnished Angel (1980) by Phyllis Leonard

Another book full of the history of Gold Rush San Francisco. Penniless, but with a golden voice, Lily sings and captures the hearts of the men. Especially the heart of ship’s captain Wild Jake Thorpe.

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A View From the Zoo (1987) by Gary Richmond

Another book about zoo life. I borrowed this one from the church library. Biography of Pastor Richmond’s years as a zoo keeper. Wonderful pictures and includes Bible passages relevant to the message of the story.