When You Can't Sleep: "Sleep Demons" by Bill Hayes

Bill Hayes is an insomniac. It's been a problem since childhood. In this hilarious memoir Hayes explores the role that sleeplessness has played in his life. When you can't sleep, you have to do something else with the time. How people

He seamlessly weaves in all kinds of research about sleep, mattresses, flannel sheets with anecdotes about standing over his partner to make sure he was still breathing or being discovered watching the couple that lived across the street when he turned on the lights to put fresh batteries in his Walkman.

This was a book that clipped by, another read that I missed when I had finished it. It is no longer in print, but numerous copies are available used through amazon.com

By the way, if the cover art seems familiar, that's because it was done by Maurice Sendak, who is a friend of the author. I believe that it's a painting of Hayes' late partner Steve. I met them both; Steve was a sweet man whose life was cut short by AIDS.

Hayes has also authored "The Anatomist: A True Story of Gray's Anatomy" and "Five Quarts: A Personal and Natural History of Blood".

Another Cold Adventure: Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer

Ah, climbing Mt. Everest. Yes, it had crossed my mind once or twice, even though, in general, I don't spend much time climbing mountains.

But Jon Krakauer is one of those rare writers who leaves his armchair and wanders the wilderness. In this particular case, Outside magazine had given him the opportunity to take any adventure he wanted, all expenses covered, in exchange for an article. Who can say no? So Krakauer settled on Everest and signed on with an expedition group.

But this was, coincidentally, no ordinary summer on Everest. It was May 1996, when a number of climbers would end up dead on the mountain.

What struck me in reading this book was how little wilderness experience most of these climbers had. These were not people who spent leisure time camping, hiking, backpacking, climbing. They are more the kind of people who want to push themselves to achieve extreme goals, like climbing the five highest mountains on earth. And for a price, there are those who will guide people up those highest peaks. The figure
$40K comes to mind. But the $40K doesn't guarantee that you will even see the top, because there are numerous factors which need to line up - weather and health being the two main ones.

Krakauer expanded his Outside article in writing Into Thin Air. He isn't preachy, but it doesn't take much for the reader to question the ethics of these climbs and climbers. Some climbing teams refused to help those who were in trouble, not lending needed equipment, such as radios, or walking right over the bodies of the dying on their own way to the summit. On the other hand, those who could easily make excuses, such as the team working on an I-Max film, were extremely generous with all of their resources, putting their own agenda aside to aid fellow humans.

Since "Climbing Everest" has such power as an experience and as a metaphor in our culture, reading this is a good way to get perspective on what exactly is involved. At the moment, debates continue about what restrictions, if any, should be placed on these expeditions, and the bodies of those who died remain where they fell, because bringing them back down is all but impossible.

Krakauer is also the author of Into the Wild, which was recently made into a film of the same name, and Under the Banner of Heaven.

Laugh Out Loud: Winterdance by Gary Paulson

Many things amuse me, but few make me laugh out loud. You can ask my friends - I get a wry smile and nod my head at their jokes. But Gary Pauson's book is an exception. At times I put the book down because I was laughing so hard I needed to wipe tears away.

I ran across Winterdance in a used book store, where someone had left it in the wrong section. I opened it and couldn't stop reading. It was a cheap copy, so I figured, what the heck.

Gary Paulson stumbled into putting together a team of sled dogs and entering the Iditarod, which is, to say the least, a punishing ride across Alaskan tundra. The dogs get a kick out of it, indeed, seem to live for it, but some humans don't survive. Now that I think of it, some of the dogs don't either.

Don't let the pretty cover or the sweet, poetic title of this book fool you. This is a bawdy romp of a memoir; Paulson and Chaucer could easily keep company with each other. While Paulson is as crude as he is honest, this makes the beautiful and poignant moments stand out that much more. There are wondrous things to encounter in the wilderness.

Also do not be fooled - the movie Sled Dogs is "based" on this book. Let's say that they are both about guys who run the Iditarod. The movie is a far cry from the book.

Read it. You'll learn something. You'll laugh. You'll be awed by the power of our earth. If you have thought of running the Iditarod, at least you'll know what you're getting into. As for me, this vicarious experience was very satisfying and I was sorry when it was over.

The Parrot Who Owns Me: The Story of a Relationship by Joanna Burger

When I first picked up this book it was on a whim, since I've never had any interest in parrots. You've had that experience of reading the opening sentences of a book and then losing yourself in it, right there, standing in the bookstore. That's what happened.

So, in spite of the parrot, I decided to give it a try.

Burger's neighbor inherits a parrot when an older relative has to enter a nursing home. As it turns out, parrots can live to be eighty years old (who knew?), so it is common for them to become orphaned in this way. The new owner doesn't have a clue about the creature and leaves him in a smallish cage in a dull room. But Burger understands how depressed and heart-broken the fellow is. Eventually, Burger is asked to take him off of her neighbor's hands.

What follows is the story of her relationship with Tiko, who is allowed to fly freely around the home that Burger and her husband open to him. Eventually, Tiko decides that she is his mate, her husband's presence notwithstanding.

Because Burger is an ornithologist, this goes beyond a simple memoir. Fascinating information is woven seemlessly into the narrative alongside the retelling of her own stories both in the field and with individual birds she has known.

I have given away numerous copies of this memoir because it is so beautiful. If you have ever had a close relationship with an animal, any animal, you will relate to the author's story. This is a beautiful love story.

What this blog is about

Hello. I'm glad that you found your way here!

This blog will be a venue for me to share with others some of the best books which I've read. Most of these will be memoirs. Some will be general nonfiction. And there will be an occasional fiction book as well.

Ah, the internet world. I tried other blognames. The name"bestbooks" is taken, although the blogger merely set up the site and has done nothing with it yet. Also taken is "bestnonfiction," by a young woman who is writing nonfiction about her own life. Bully for them, I say. Perhaps there would have been another, better, name for this blog, but this is what I thought of in the moment. This is how we end up with our strange names for ourselves these days - email addresses, screen names on boards and YouTube, names for blogs.

I've never been able to use my own name, Anne McCoy, as an email address. Every ISP that I've ever been on has already had the name in use. If you happen to be one of these other Anne McCoy's, drop me a line. I'm curious about you. Just free associating, that reminds me of a documentary I saw once, where the filmmaker went across the country meeting other women who shared her name. Hm. I might have to try to find out the name of that film. Hm. Maybe this blog will include films as well as books. We shall see. You could add me to your favorites and stop back to see what happens.

Until next time.