Book Recommendations

The first lists itself as a true-life novel.  It's Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls.  It describes her grandmother's life growing up in the early 1900's in west Texas, southern New Mexico, and Arizona (with a brief sojourn in Chicago).  Her grandmother was Lily Casey Smith and she was a real person and a distinct character.  Walls calls it a true-life novel because her grandmother died when Walls was 8 years old and therefore she couldn't confirm conversations.  However, most of the novel is based on stories told by her grandmother to her mother.  An entertaining read.

Another recommendation is 365 Thank You's by John Kralik.  At the time he wrote the book Kralik had his own law firm and was having problems both professionally and personally.  One day while hiking, it came to him that he needed to use gratitude to turn his life around.  He resolved that he would hand write 365 thank you notes over the next year (yes, and mail them also).  It actually took him 15 months, but he completed all the notes.  Although he kept track of how many notes and to whom they were written, this is not a diary but rather a recap of what happened to his life and attitude over the course of the note writing.  It's an interesting twist on the Law of Attraction.

Papillon