Some time ago I did some research on book-swapping sites and I liked Bookmooch best, I use it infrequently - most of my books get donated to the library - but I keep a few points available in case something on my wishlist pops up.

www.bookmooch.com

Does anyone else use it, or is there any other site you prefer for book trading?

The first thing I did after finishing this book was text a note to my brother, a worker's comp attorney, thanking him for what he does.  The second thing I am going to do is recommend this to everyone I know.  One caveat, if you're going to read this book, you need a strong stomach.  What happened to these women is bad enough physically, and the author doesn't pretty up her descriptions.  More horrific is what was done to these women in the name of profit.

Two new books from Bookmooch sit on my coffee table waiting to be announced, cataloged, and shelved.

The Vein of Gold: A Journey to Your Creative Heart by Julia Cameron - This feels like a "sequel" to the Artist's Way, full of creativity exercises that engage your sense of "play." Like The Artist's Way, it looks to be a rather comprehensive and intense study; the book is much thicker than I expected it to be.

The Color Master - Stories by Aimee Bender - I've never been interested in Bender's novels, but these short stories seem to be infused with a sort of magical realism, fairy tale quality that piqued my interest. They would even fit my Year in Reading Suggestions August theme to read outside my normal genre, that is, if I ever manage to finish reading Rusalka so I can get to my August theme.

Another book referenced in The Feminine Mistake. It seems I can never read a non-fiction book without coming away with half a dozen new books to read! This one examines why American motherhood is particularly anxiety-inducing.

Two new books in one day. Lucky me!

This is another from Bookmooch, and honestly, I don't remember how I learned about this book. I have a vague sense that maybe I came across it while I was working at the library in my home town, perhaps saw it in an email promotion. I know I found out about it while I was engaged, and hungry for stories about lasting love, so that I could imagine such a path for myself, believe that it was possible to have it come true in real life, not in the romanticized, solve-your-conflicts in two-hours Hollywood way, or the non-specific, full-of-platitudes pop music way. Being engaged is what really drove me toward non-fiction for that reason -- I needed to know what was possible for real, not what our culture's ideals are.

So although I don't know where I first came across this book, I love the mission of Storycorps, and the short story on the back cover already brings tears to my eyes:

Leroy A. Morgan, 85, remembers his late wife, Vivian:

"My wife and I were in Philadelphia, and we saw a sign that said SUCCESSFUL MARRIAGE. I will never forget it: It had six points to always say to your wife or husband and the first one was YOU LOOK GREAT. The second one was CAN I HELP? The third one: LET'S EAT OUT. The fourth one was I WAS WRONG. And the fifth one was I AM SORRY. But the last and most important one was I LOVE YOU. That was it. There were six statements, and it said if you follow that, you'll have a successful marriage. So we followed it, and we did have a successful marriage.

 

"It lasted fifty-three years, two months, and five days. It's been rough, but every morning when I wake up she's included in my prayers, and I talk to her every night when I go to bed. She was something. One thing: If they ever let me in those pearly gates, I'm going to walk all over God's heaven until I find that girl. And the first thing I'm going to do is ask her if she would marry me, and do it all over again."