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August 28, 2006
Weird with a Capital "W"
My September book club book is Running with Scissors, which I've already read, so I thought that my dysfunctional family reading quota would be filled, but I was wrong! This weekend, I read two thoroughly enjoyable and weird with a capital "W" nonfiction titles. The first was called Remember Me: A Lively Tour of the New American Way of Death by Lisa Takeuchi Cullen. Turns out, death rituals and funerals are a changing industry. DId you know that cremated remains (or cremains, as they're called) can be turned into diamonds? Believe it or not, I know someone who had her father's cremated remains turned into a barrier reef. But, I hadn't heard of "green burials," which are environmentally friendly coffins (or no coffins at all) and use a tree instead of a headstone, and... well, you get the idea. Anyway, the author interspersed sections about the funeral industry with personal stories of people who had chosen one of these unique rituals. It was like reading a script for that HBO show, Six Feet Under!
The Glass Castle, a memoir by Jeannette Walls reminded me a lot of Running with Scissors. There were parts that were so sad that I wished it were fiction. The good news is that she not only survives her dysfunctional family and bizarre upbringing, but she ends up succeeding academically, professionally, and it seems, personally.
If you're in the mood for something different -- these are two good choices!
Posted by Michele at August 28, 2006 9:53 AM
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