December 2003
Book Now
Popular titles for this holiday season
Top Ski Resorts
of the World****
by Arnie Wilson
New Holland Publishers, 2002
This exquisite coffee-table book couples as a useful guide. In it Arnie Wilson, a well-known ski and travel writer, presents a stunning collection of the world’s top 40 ski locations. Destinations have been chosen that cater to every kind of skier, from novice to expert. Featuring resorts in France and Scandinavia, Argentina and Japan, Australia and even India, the book takes a global approach, as skiing is a sport enjoyed all over the world. For obvious reasons, such popular holiday resorts as Kitzbühel in Austria, Aspen in Colorado and St. Moritz in Switzerland are included in the book. However, it also boasts a wealth of information and lavish photographs of such lesser-known locations as La Grave in France, Fernie in Canada and Portillo in Chile. Each is accompanied by a map of the region, stunning shots of both mountains and resorts and lengthy historical and descriptive commentaries. Regardless of ability (there are even heliskiing resorts for daring athletes), fans of this particular winter sport will find something to please them in this beautiful and informative book.
Leap of Faith****
by Queen Noor
Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2003
Born and raised in America, vivacious and politically outspoken Lisa Halaby graduated from Princeton in 1978, with a degree in architecture and urban planning, an intellectually curious mind and a keen desire to explore her Arab roots. While visiting Jordan, she caught the eye of King Hussein, and after secretly seeing each other for several months, they were married. This autobiography looks behind the scenes, allowing the reader to discover what lies beyond the picture-perfect images of the beautiful and devoted wife, mother and queen. While much of the book is concerned with the recent political history of the Middle East—Queen Noor’s writing on this complicated topic is elegant and accessible—it is also the story of a woman’s loyalty to her husband and dedication to her duties as a monarch. She writes with feeling of the difficulties that marrying a powerful man at such a young age can create: becoming stepmother to eight children and then having four more, adjusting to the claustrophobia of palace life and the constant threat of danger, having no privacy and learning how best to help the people of Jordan. Much more than just a supportive wife standing quietly by her husband’s side, Queen Noor is an activist, a woman of great strength, compassion and dedication. This is an excellent and moving account of her life.
Brick Lane**
by Monica Ali
Doubleday, 2003
Monica Ali’s debut novel, shortlisted for the Booker Prize, is the story of 18-year-old Nazneen, sent from Bangladesh to London to marry Chanu, an older Bangladeshi man whom she has never met. Though kind, Chanu is conservative, has little desire for Nazneen to learn English or leave the house and is constantly making idle plans for a better future. In the meantime Hasina, Nazneen’s younger sister back in Dhaka, who long ago eloped in a “love marriage” and was disowned by the family, has fled from her abusive husband. Her letters to Nazneen describe the hardships she must endure in Bangladesh, circumstances that both compare and contrast to Nazneen’s life in London’s East End. And, finally, there is Karim, whose sudden appearance in Nazneen’s life makes her question her identity as a woman, as a Bangladeshi and as a wife and mother. Unfortunately, the prose can be sluggish in places. One is too often aware that this is Ali’s first novel. The characters are well portrayed, but pages of flowery text serve only to distract the reader from what would otherwise be a powerful portrayal of Bangladeshi immigrant life in Britain.
Between You and I—
A Little Book of BAD English***
by James Cochrane
Icon Books Ltd, 2003
Irregardless, equally as, not only … but also and the title of this book—all these are examples of how native English speakers use the language incorrectly. There are, in fact, so many mistakes of this kind now being made that it seems few people can claim to be speaking or writing English properly. While many of us are happy to overlook such errors, James Cochrane, the author of
Between You and I, is on a mission to set the English-speaking world straight on a few points. While he concedes that it is only normal for the English language to be in flux, Cochrane believes “it must also be protected.” The incorrect use of nouns as verbs, the filling up of sentences with empty words, the mixing of e-mail phrases with spoken language, the mimicking of “politician speak,” etc.—all these should be eliminated. Both funny and informative, this book is an easy way to recognize one’s own linguistic misdemeanors as well as those of others. So whaddya think, man?
