Books for the Holidays

As you might expect I asked for an received a big stack of books to celebrate the arrival of the mid-winter holiday. Here are some highlights.


Musashi: An Epic Novel of the Samurai Era by Yoshikawa, Eiji. It's an epic tale about 17th century samurai and picks up at the time when James Clavell's Shogun ended.



Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain by Oliver Sacks. This book takes a fascinating look at the relationship of music to the human mind. Sacks explores this relationship through case studies of his patients, like the doctor who became passionate about music after being struck by lightning.



And what would Christmas be without a dose of sports memorabilia. My youngest daughter gave me Cardinal Nation: 4th Edition (Cardinal Nation) by Sporting News is a very well done history of the Cardinals franchise.


My eldest daughter gave me Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, which was cool because I saw Adichie speak the Wisconsin Book Festival. See my post Book Talks


I was not allowed to give any books as gifts this year, but I did anyway: Animal Farm (Signet Classics) by George Orwell to my son and Water for Elephants: A Novel by Sara Gruen for my spouse.