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| Power Style Wellness Connections |
What Is She READING?
By Elaine Rooker Jack •
Photos by Ewa Wojtkowska
Who She Is: Susan Lindsey, 50-something, lives in
the Highlands, and works as a communication
manager for a global manufacturing company.
When She Isn’t Reading, She’s: …traveling, working
on home-improvement projects, gardening, going to
movies, hanging out with friends and family.
Her Reading Life: She enjoys mysteries/suspense, historical fiction, literary fiction, humor,
and non-fiction. She travels some for work so she reads a lot in airports, on planes, and
in restaurants.
Her Louisville Leap of Faith: Susan was born and raised in Olympia and Seattle, Wa.,
and lived for a time in Hawaii, where her household included her daughter, son-in-law,
and grandson. When her daughter divorced in 2000, they both felt strongly that they
needed a change. So they researched a dozen cities. Without knowing a soul in
Kentucky, they chose Louisville, packed up and moved. “Stepping on that plane was a
leap of faith,” says Susan. “But I really like it; it was a good choice.”
How She Picks Her Next Read: She’s a Book-of-the-Month Club member because she
enjoys the book descriptions that come every month. She likes the book lists of famous
people featured in The Week magazine. When traveling she reads the local newspaper’s
book page. She also angles her head so she can see what others are reading on planes
and doesn’t hesitate to ask strangers what they are reading.
Her Recommendations: The Great Deluge by Douglas G. Brinkley — The story of
Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. “It’s not everybody’s cup of tea. I
found it appalling, about people not being rescued. It wasn’t pleasurable but intriguing
and enlightening, and well-researched.”
Saving the World by Julia Alvarez — Based on a true story of orphans who were used as
live “carriers” of smallpox vaccine from Spain to the New World. “This book blew me away.
It isn’t a beach read. But it was remarkable. And a little creepy.”
The Culture Code: An Ingenious Way to Understand Why People Around the World Live
and Buy as They Do by Clotaire Rapaille — A Frenchman was hired by a corporation to
do research on how cultures perceive different concepts, then build an international
marketing plan around the results. For example, in Germany, a car represents
engineering. In America, it represents identity. “I found this book interesting because I
work for an international company. I proofread English translations from other languages
and make sure it reads smoothly to a North American audience. It was interesting to me
to learn where peoples’ heads are.”
Other Recommendations:
• What Falls Away: A Memoir by Mia Farrow
• Truth & Beauty: A Friendship by Ann Patchett
• Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt
• She Got Up Off the Couch: and other Heroic Acts from Mooreland, Indiana by Haven
Kimmel
• All Over but the Shoutin’ by Rick Bragg
• The Girls by Lori Lansens
• The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
• Abundance: A Novel of Marie Antoinette by Sena Jeter Naslund
Books She’s Re-read:
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• Southern Discomfort by Rita Mae Brown
• Red Sky at Morning by Richard Bradford
Authors of Her Favorite “Airplane Books”:
Janet Evanovich, Lisa Scottoline, and Northwest authors Earl Emerson and J.A. Jance.
Book She Disliked:
The Corrections by Jonathan Frazen. “It was a popular book. I kept thinking ‘What’s
wrong with me? Why am I not pulled into the magic?’”
Reading as timing:
She enjoyed Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and
Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert. She bought it after seeing the author on Oprah. “It was
about her spiritual journey as she put her life back together,” says Susan. “There would
have been other times in my life I would not have been into this book.
“When I finished Gone with the Wind (Mitchell) for the first time in my teens, I threw it
across the room. Scarlett didn’t change. Now I see it differently. She isn’t someone I’d like
to hang out with, but she was strong, and she did what she had to do.
“You have to find the right match between a book and where you are.”
Her grandfather always said: “You can tell a lot about a person by looking at his
bookshelf.”
Why she’d like to be in a book club:
“I’d like the opportunity to get excited about a book with other people, to share
enthusiasm, to talk with other people who are passionate about reading.”Are you an avid
reader? Are you in pursuit of the next great read? We're introducing some exciting
changes to this feature for 2008. We're calling it "What is She Reading?" and we'd like to
feature you! Contact Elaine at elainejack@iamtodayswoman.com.
By Elaine Rooker Jack •
Photos by Ewa Wojtkowska
Who She Is: Susan Lindsey, 50-something, lives in
the Highlands, and works as a communication
manager for a global manufacturing company.
When She Isn’t Reading, She’s: …traveling, working
on home-improvement projects, gardening, going to
movies, hanging out with friends and family.
Her Reading Life: She enjoys mysteries/suspense, historical fiction, literary fiction, humor,
and non-fiction. She travels some for work so she reads a lot in airports, on planes, and
in restaurants.
Her Louisville Leap of Faith: Susan was born and raised in Olympia and Seattle, Wa.,
and lived for a time in Hawaii, where her household included her daughter, son-in-law,
and grandson. When her daughter divorced in 2000, they both felt strongly that they
needed a change. So they researched a dozen cities. Without knowing a soul in
Kentucky, they chose Louisville, packed up and moved. “Stepping on that plane was a
leap of faith,” says Susan. “But I really like it; it was a good choice.”
How She Picks Her Next Read: She’s a Book-of-the-Month Club member because she
enjoys the book descriptions that come every month. She likes the book lists of famous
people featured in The Week magazine. When traveling she reads the local newspaper’s
book page. She also angles her head so she can see what others are reading on planes
and doesn’t hesitate to ask strangers what they are reading.
Her Recommendations: The Great Deluge by Douglas G. Brinkley — The story of
Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. “It’s not everybody’s cup of tea. I
found it appalling, about people not being rescued. It wasn’t pleasurable but intriguing
and enlightening, and well-researched.”
Saving the World by Julia Alvarez — Based on a true story of orphans who were used as
live “carriers” of smallpox vaccine from Spain to the New World. “This book blew me away.
It isn’t a beach read. But it was remarkable. And a little creepy.”
The Culture Code: An Ingenious Way to Understand Why People Around the World Live
and Buy as They Do by Clotaire Rapaille — A Frenchman was hired by a corporation to
do research on how cultures perceive different concepts, then build an international
marketing plan around the results. For example, in Germany, a car represents
engineering. In America, it represents identity. “I found this book interesting because I
work for an international company. I proofread English translations from other languages
and make sure it reads smoothly to a North American audience. It was interesting to me
to learn where peoples’ heads are.”
Other Recommendations:
• What Falls Away: A Memoir by Mia Farrow
• Truth & Beauty: A Friendship by Ann Patchett
• Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt
• She Got Up Off the Couch: and other Heroic Acts from Mooreland, Indiana by Haven
Kimmel
• All Over but the Shoutin’ by Rick Bragg
• The Girls by Lori Lansens
• The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
• Abundance: A Novel of Marie Antoinette by Sena Jeter Naslund
Books She’s Re-read:
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• Southern Discomfort by Rita Mae Brown
• Red Sky at Morning by Richard Bradford
Authors of Her Favorite “Airplane Books”:
Janet Evanovich, Lisa Scottoline, and Northwest authors Earl Emerson and J.A. Jance.
Book She Disliked:
The Corrections by Jonathan Frazen. “It was a popular book. I kept thinking ‘What’s
wrong with me? Why am I not pulled into the magic?’”
Reading as timing:
She enjoyed Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and
Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert. She bought it after seeing the author on Oprah. “It was
about her spiritual journey as she put her life back together,” says Susan. “There would
have been other times in my life I would not have been into this book.
“When I finished Gone with the Wind (Mitchell) for the first time in my teens, I threw it
across the room. Scarlett didn’t change. Now I see it differently. She isn’t someone I’d like
to hang out with, but she was strong, and she did what she had to do.
“You have to find the right match between a book and where you are.”
Her grandfather always said: “You can tell a lot about a person by looking at his
bookshelf.”
Why she’d like to be in a book club:
“I’d like the opportunity to get excited about a book with other people, to share
enthusiasm, to talk with other people who are passionate about reading.”Are you an avid
reader? Are you in pursuit of the next great read? We're introducing some exciting
changes to this feature for 2008. We're calling it "What is She Reading?" and we'd like to
feature you! Contact Elaine at elainejack@iamtodayswoman.com.