THE YEAR WE LEFT HOME by Jean Thompson

 

Beginning in Iowa in 1973 and ending in Iowa in 2003, this story follows four siblings through their own family’s upheavals and also the national turmoil, from Vietnam to Iraq.  Thompson uses illuminating details to describe the American conflict between wanting to move on and wanting to be home.

814.54 Trillin, Calvin: QUITE ENOUGH OF CALVIN TRILLIN

Trillin:  humorist, essayist, biographer, novelist, poet, observer of human nature, eager eater.  This wonderful book collects and sorts the very best of everything.  Smart and tart, Trillin is a delight to read.