Funny like a Crutch

From the moment young Sarah Thyre gives a fake name to a security guard in a shopping mall while he announces her name ove the loudspeaker to the time she sweet talks a dentist into giving her braces her father will pay for, Sarah's attempts at a better life are not just fraught with peril, but humiliation and laughter. Dark at the Roots is her memoir of a life in pursuit of doing better and getting out. None of the incidents are extraordinary, but they are recognizable for their ordinariness and made unique by Sarah's quirky worldview. Follow the formative years of an alum of "Strangers With Candy" and "Upright Citizen's Brigade." Readers who are looking for their next funny, irreverant and witty read after A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel or works by David Sedaris can continue to tickle their funnybone with Thyre.

Leg of Wood, Heart of Steel

Every surgery, every pain and every hurdle involving Emily Rapp's degenerating bone disease is chronicled in a heartfelt and inspiring memoir. The Poster Child lost her foot when she was four and the rest of her leg when she was nine. By the time she was ten, Emily was the Midwestern spokeskid for the March of Dimes project and spoke enthusiastically at church suppers, rodeos and county fairs about how "normal" she was. Emily has always been aware of how she didn't quite meet the standards of normal, but her indefatigable memoir shows readers a person who had no other choice but to be extraordinary since normal wasn't an option. Readers who enjoyed Born on a Blue Day by Daniel Tammet will be pleased with the lack of sentimentality and the brutal honesty of this life story. They will also appreciate Emily's very human emotions of frustration and anger with herself and her prosthesis.

Welcome to the Condemned Monkey House

Books about animals make me wary. I won't watch/read/listen to anything in which an animal suffers unnecessarily. I'm not fond of those stories where it's necessary, either. Although I recall not minding much when Cujo bit the dust.
I approached Babylon's Ark: The Incredible Wartime Rescue of the Baghdad Zoo with much trepidation. I knew I'd be reading about horrific wartime conditions of the exotic animals trapped in the zoo in the midst of shelling, bombs and looting. I also knew there would be plenty of moments of redemption and salvation. There are equal parts of both in Lawrence Anthony's memoir of his harrowing journey to war-torn Baghdad in order to save and protect the world renowned zoo. Anthony discovers his own survival is in jeopardy as well as that of the animals he attempts to save. With help from steadfast American soldiers and loyal, ingenious Iraqi zookeepers, Anthony begins to create a livable habitat for the animals left behind when the city was evacuated. Each day is fraught with new and life-threatening challenges that Anthony meets with righteous indignation and canny problem-solving skills. Heartfelt, but never treacly, readers who are animal lovers will shed tears; readers who are not will find their souls stirred with the injustice doled out to defenseless creatures. Readers who enjoyed other unusual humanitarian missions such as those recounted in Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson or Pride of Baghdad by Brian K. Vaughn, will be intrigued by the animals' stories.

Playing Our Songs

Rock journalist Rob Sheffield was completely happy with his life as an up and coming writer for Rolling Stone and his wife, a witty, punky, Appalachian girl, Renee. On Mother’s Day, after only six years of married life, Renee stood up from her sewing machine and suffered a fatal aneurysm. Love Is A Mix Tape is Rob’s heartfelt story of his life before, during and after Renee, told through the music and mix tapes the two of them made for each other and listened to with joy and appreciation for each other's tastes. The author uses music to trigger overlooked details and emotional background for the important events in his life. Full of pop culture, musical references and witty repartee between author and reader. Teens will appreciate Rob’s great affection for his wife and music of all genres. But after the author's tone, the writing isn't really compelling enough to support the story. Less a memoir and more a personal writing exercise in grief counseling from one of the commentators on VH1's Best Week Ever.

Wrestle-zania!

The third time was NOT the charm for Jay and Dan in Four Days to Glory: Wrestling with the Soul of the American Heartland by Mark Kreidler. Both of them are three-time Iowa State Champions in wrestling and while this is no small feat, it is not enough to raise either boy from the ranks of the "merely good" to "excellent." For that distinction they will need to become "four timers" and join an elite group of Iowa wrestlers who achieve mortality on a social and athletic par with that of Olympian gods. In addition to struggling with the pressure to exceed in the ring and the classroom, both student athletes face added pressures. Jay is an exceptional wrestler who feeds off his criticism from Internet fans and local sports journalists. Dan is a legacy--his own father was a wrestling champion. Dan's brother, Chris, is entering the sport in Dan's shadow but without Dan's talent. Jay is virtually ignored in his school and town for his prowess and Dan is pointed out as his rural town's one chance for notice on a regional scale. The author does an adequate job of bringing both boys, their families, friends, school mates and other community figures to life, but rarely, and without much interest, examines their lives in other arenas besides the gym. Otherwise the writing is very accessible and flows easily. The suspense is marginal for a story told with a straight reportage tone rather than a breathless narrative one. Not as memorable as Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger, but fans of that book will find something to like in this one.