Amy Tan

I was going to blog about Aristotle and soteria tonight. However, it just didn't happen. I decided to kick back and continue to enjoy some of the books I was given for Christmas. I read The Broker by John Grisham a few days ago. It's great to read a book that you can share with the whole family and learn a little Italian while you're at it. Now that I have finished The Broker it has been handed off to the kids.

Another book I was given for Christmas is Saving Fish From Drowning. This book is part of a very special collection. A friend and colleague and myself have a list of select authors who have managed to do 'It'. By this we mean that the author has written successfully about both men and women. An author does not always get it right, but sometimes in one book in particular, we agree that they succeed in this task. I am nominating Amy Tan for this achievement in Saving Fish From Drowning.

We also recognize Donna Tartt for The Secret History and My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk. George Elliot is a member of this elite group. I was sheltered from Elliot's books, kept from reading her novels, as a teenager. Imagine my surprise when many years later I found a set of her books with my grandmother's name in them.