Saturday, June 28, 2008

Hey book clubbers!  I have been remiss in my blogging.  But, I have been trying to keep up with reading something.  Right now I am reading "Momma Might be Better Off Dead."  It is the story of one Chicago family living in poverty and their interaction with the healthcare system.  So far, I have learned about SSI (supplemental security income), Medicare and Medicaid regulations, and end-stage renal disease/dialysis.  The only problem is that the book was written in 1993, so it's pretty much history at this point, although I think a lot of the policies are still in place and the main themes are pretty much the same...  Needless to say, this is not an uplifting book, so to speak, but it is really well written (basically it's like reading a novel written in the third person), and it is based in Chicago.  Anyway, I'll add it to my list of good books about the healthcare system.

I also found on my shelves a book I bought at a used bookstore many years ago called "Woman Warrior" by Maxine Hong Kingston.  It's pretty much a memoir.  I'm not sure why I didn't read it when I bought it (there's a lot of fantastical story telling in it about her being a warrior, that's probably why) but I was looking at it the other day and plan to read it when I'm done with the above.

I know I'm totally out of sync with the book club now, but maybe as someone suggested we could all read different books and then review them for each other (especially during the summer when we're all on different schedules).  Eventually we'll all get around to reading the ones that sound good to us.  I am going to borrow "Unaccustomed Earth" from you Jeanne, and maybe I'll read that before "Woman Warrior."

OK, that's it for now.  

1 comment:

Jeanne said...

Maxine Hong Kingston...I haven't heard that name in a long time. I saw her speak in college. She came to our auditorium and it was packed...hundreds of people. When was "Woman Warrior" written? Maybe she went on a speaking tour for that particular book because I do remember her speaking about it. But, maybe she was just referring to it.

I'm happy to take the summer to read whatever we would like to read and then maybe get back on track in the fall. I'm really digging this blog to be a space to share ideas.