No comments about Other Days Around Me (Ulverscroft Nonfiction).

5 comments about Why God Has Gray Hair.

1. What a refreshing getaway from the here and how. WHY GOD HAS GRAY HAIR, by Sophia Zufa is a collection of short stories about living during the depression era of the 30's and attending a Catholic parochial school. The pieces are lighthearted, some hilariously funny, but a few will leave a lump in your throat. This author does not waste words. Behind each story is a bit of shrewd wisdom. It was an uncomplicated life then, a time when everyone knew their neighbor. If someone needed help there was always someone there. And when kids got into mischief or taunted their teachers, everybody knew it. I remember my own parents, reminiscing about the old days long ago and also about some of the adventurous episodes they got themselves into. This is a refreshingly good read written by an accomplished author.



2. This is has been one of the best enjoyable reads in a long time. Sophia Zufa writes a collection of short stories about living during the depression era of the 30's and attending a Catholic parochial school. A time when everyone knew their neighbor, and what their neighbor was usually up to. The pieces are lighthearted, some hilariously funny, but also a few that may sober one. It was an uncomplicated life then. Some of the characters never lacked for cooking up something to amuse their teachers or peers. It is easy to see why God may have gotten gray hair and not just necessarily from just the Catholic kids. The book is only 176 pages. The author's writing is very refreshing. She will not disappoint!



3. This is one terrific paperback. It is a collection of well written short stories, done with expression of knowledge of living during the days of the Great Depression, and attending a Catholic parochial school. Telling of michief kids get into. The author expresses in words, wonderful reminicense of days gone by, times many of us would like to bring back, although not all, for there were many hardships to endure as well. It is a book to be enjoyed by young and old, a book of humor, of simple pleasures, but also tucked in are stories that are serious. Very uplifting. Excellent job by the author, Sophia Zufa.



4. 'WHY GOD HAS GRAY HAIR' by Sophia Zufa was a delight to read. It is a paperback of short nostalgic stories. I can recall my parents telling of some of the same sort of events; epidemics, kids playing with marbles, making up their own creative games, teacher's pets, and all types of pranks kids could think of. By the author's storytelling, I could almost envision the setting and the characters. A truly enjoyable read. Don't pass this one up.



5. This is one of the best little books I've read in a long time. It reminded me so much of my own school days - another time, another placeto be sure, but so much in common! Sophia Zufa tells charming stories that had me laughing out loud. Her schoolmates and her neighbors become very real as do the times of the Depression Era. I highly recommend this book!

2 comments about Today I Am A Boy.

1. This is one of those books that you could borrow from your library, or from a friend, but you will likely need to buy your own copy since there are so many passages that are either so wise, so funny, or so meaningfully touching that you will need to use your pencil in order to happily jot checkmarks, brackets, and asterisks throughout the book. I know that I did.

   David Hays has a surfeit of academic, personal, and professional accomplishments. In his sixties, he was semi-retired, kids grown, had good health and a happy family life. His mind is unquestioningly fertile (yet organized) and he seems to embrace new experiences. As a child he gazed into a mud bubble, and glimpsed eternity. As an adult he throws himself into the grass in his back yard, in order to look more closely at the earth. His life was full, and meaningful, but he does not brag, and he is likable from the outset.

   Rather than rest on his not inconsiderable laurels, he decides to become a Bar Mitzvah, joining a class of local eleven and twelve-year olds - in order to devote himself to study with his congregation's rabbi, Doug, for more than a year. It is this journey - and there is a steady unfolding, with no outburst of religiosity - that forms the starting point for this wonderful narrative.

   Hays has an ability to tell you a lot about himself by telling you about other people. He respects himself, and he respects others. He is never boring. His parents, in-laws, grown children, grandchildren, his wide circle of friends and acquaintances, and his classmates are interesting to him, and worthy of reportage. He lets you in on these people and their lives and their histories with unstinting (and never maudlin) respect, even awe. In doing this you find out a lot about Hays and his subjects. Their privacy is never violated, and their dignity is sustained.

   There is uncloying, laugh-out-loud humor throughout. Family lore emerges, and it is often funny. Hays delights in his wife Leonora's knack of elegantly summing up a situation with a trenchant malapropism. Of his new-found fervor for religious study, she says, "He hooked, line and sinker!" Of the Bahamas: "It's a third-war country." He also shares his family history, including a terrific (true) story, "How my family saved Israel." His feelings and observations as a sensitive member of his class (of the kids at recess he marvels, "They always know where to go.") - and his relationship with his wonderful rabbi - are a pleasure to watch unfold.

   Hays includes a piece on Anne Frank that is dramatic, thoughtful, and not at all funny. It is appropriately included, given that the concerns of an adult approaching his bar mitzvah are different from those of a child. And at one point, he attends a Harvard reunion - which maybe could have been left out of this book, with no loss of substance to this great story.

   In all, a wonderful book.




2. The topic of this book as stated is highly misleading. Yes, Mr. Hays traces some of his experiences on becoming a Bar Mitzvah at age 66. However, he digresses so much from this theme that it was downright annoying!

   I was really looking forward to reading about a 66-year-old man's journey into spirituality and rediscovery of Judaism, rather than a name-dropping autobiography.

   What little Mr. Hays did write about his spiritual journey back into Judaism was sparse, and even his way off-topic autobiographical sections didn't include much of his family's, friends',or peers' reactions to his becoming a Bar Mitzvah, which to me would have been very interesting.

   He also didn't talk much at all about contemporary Jewish renewal and problems of assimilation and how others might, as he did, find meaning in a religious path they've ignored or rejected.

   Why, instead, should I care that he went back for a school reunion and one of his class members won the Nobel Prize? Why should I have to wade through the life stories of some of his uninteresting relatives who are not even marginally part of his spiritual story?

   In this catch-all manuscript, Mr. Hays also tangentially subjects the reader to an entire fantasy theatrical piece he has imagined about a grown-up Anne Frank (for which I wouldn't buy a ticket, BTW).

   What we also get is too much information and commentary about the 12- and 13-year-olds in his class, including an inappropriate (IMO) dwelling on one of the pubescent girls about whom Mr. Hays admitted over and over he had major sexual fantasies.

No comments about The Green Years (Isis Nonfiction).

No comments about Portland Passages.

No comments about Mesquite Creek to Michigan: Around the World in Wartime.

5 comments about Sleeping Arrangements.

1. Like another reader, I was drawn to the unusual cover of this book--a sweet lil' girl's face superimposed over a faded shot of two older men--in these pedophiliactic times of Michael Jackson and Catholic priests, I assumed it was yet another sad story of abuse. Wronnnngg! This is so outrageously funny that you can almost laugh through the sad passages, while still appreciating the depth of tragedy that befell Shaine's unusual childhood. Her uncles really did sound like a couple of Marx brothers, but the love this odd family shared always shines. I'd teach it in my high school classes, but a few passages here and there probably make it questionable--although the haunting description of her continuing search for her father would resonate with many kids. A great find that I stumbled on while hunting for something else at B and Noble.



2. This book's emphasis on prurient material turned me off. Also, the "characters" did not seem to behave in an age appropriate manner, which led me to wonder if the author didn't exaggerate many of the escapades described in the book.



3. I cannot wait to read more of her work. I loved this book! I loved her writing. This is a must read!



4. Very well written. I felt I had met these people. The writer's words flow smoothly, and I had to slow myself down or the book would have ended too soon. Some of things very young Lily and friend did were hair-raising (in a dark park, cavorting with perverts). What I liked best about this book were her uncles, particularly Uncle Gabe. In fact, I have now purchased Laura Cunningham's book "A Place in the Country" so I can read more about her uncles. I enjoy memiors that deal with unconventional families that provide a nurturing environment and a great deal of love, and this book is that sort of memior.



5. I found myself struggling to finish this book. I almost gave up several times. The first several pages were quite good then it looses steam.

No comments about The Ghosts of Yesteryear (Isis Nonfiction).

1 comments about Octagon, The Early Years.

1. Although I'm not an avid reader, and this is not the type of book I would normally read, I found myself unable to put the book down. Ryan's writing style , switching from past to present, and his ability to make me feel like he was talking directly to me were amazing. I would not classify this as a gay book since he covers the entire gambit of growing up experiences. Very interesting reading.

   I thought that offering an email adress and website to visit was a very nice touch. And the photgraphs were amazing, allowing me to visualize him. I look forward to the second book in this series. I would reccomend this book to anyone.

No comments about Hangchow, My Home: Growing Up in Heaven Below.