Dorrit is 50 years old, self employed, unmarried and childless.  Her society has labeled her as “dispensable.”  Dorrit and others like her are required to submit their bodies to physical and psychological experiments, drug tests and even organ donations.  When their usefulness as experimental subjects has passed, the final donation is scheduled and the dispensables are euthanized.

Dorrit is resigned to living out her remaining days in the luxurious facility which houses the dispensables.  Although she misses her independence, privacy, the outdoors, and her beloved dog, she begins to make new friends, works on her writing and tries not to think about the future.  Then she falls in love with Johannes, and everything changes.  Although society claims Dorrit and Johannes are dispensable, the couple now have everything to live for.

This book is haunting.  It describes a society that is horrifying both for its brutal definition of “usefulness” and for its similarity to our own.  Abortion on demand, mercy killing, rationed or unaffordable health care and slurs against persons with disabilities are ordinary occurrences.  How much longer before we take the next step and begin writing our own definition of “dispensable persons?”

The time has finally come in my reading career when I can no longer review every book that I read.  I use the term “review” lightly, as most of my reviews are just a few sentences about the book.  But even finding the time to write a few sentences about each book that I read has become impossible.  However, I still want a record of everything that I’ve read, which is where Library Thing comes in.

Library Thing is a database where I can keep track of the books I’ve read.  It has some really neat features.  You can:

• add your own tags to the books you’ve read
• sort books into “collections.”  For example, some of my collections are entitled Read, Read but Unowned, E’s Library Favorites (my daughter’s favorite library check-outs), M’s Library Favorites (my son’s favorite library check-outs), To Buy, and Favorites.
• write reviews or link back to your blog review
• rate books
• read other reader’s reviews
• search for other readers who enjoy similar books
• request review copies of select books
• design widgets for your blog

You can have up to 200 books in your collection(s) for free.  Once you reach the 200 mark, you’ll need to upgrade your account to a paid membership ($10/yr or $25/lifetime.)  So far, my only complaint about Library Thing is that I can’t find an iPhone app for them.  If you know of one, let me know!

Back to reviewing books.  From now on, I’ll only be reviewing select books on my blog.  I’ll focus on the books that made the biggest impression on me, either because they were well-written, enjoyable, made me think, or were unique in some other way.  Feel free to visit me at Library Thing to see everything I’m reading.

Homeland is told entirely through letters.  Susanna, a Southerner, and Cora, an islander from Maine, meet briefly in Tennessee before the start of the Civil War.  They strike up a correspondence that spans the duration of the war.

It took me a 20 pages or so to get into the book and get some characters sorted out.  But once I got going, I couldn’t put the book down.  It’s one of those books that just keeps getting better and better as you go on, and then the ending is so perfect, you wouldn’t change a thing.

Through Susanna and Cora’s letters, Hambly dives into some huge issues: the effects of the war on women; the competing loyalties that people felt as they were torn between love of homeland, their state, the Union, family and their family’s land and livelihood; the choices, or lack of choices, that women had to support themselves and their families; the power of books to teach and comfort; the power of writing to bring clarification and healing during times of pain; the power of friendship to sustain through the darkest times.

Ernest Shackleton’s quest to cross Antarctica could not be completed by the Endurance crew alone.  The Ross Sea party, led by Captain Mackintosh, were tasked with depositing supplies for Shackleton to pick up on the other side of the South Pole.  Without these supply depots, Shackleton and his men would starve to death half-way through their journey.

While the Endurance and her crew were beset in ice, Mackintosh and his men were facing their own life and death struggle.  They were separated from their ship and supplies and stranded on the Ross Ice Shelf.  Knowing that Shackleton’s life was in their hands, they refused to give up, and at great sacrifice to their own health and lives, managed to deposit all of the supplies that Shackleton would have needed, had he been able to begin his cross-continent journey.

Once again, I am overwhelmed by the strength, devotion and sheer determination that these men showed in the face of such a great challenge.  It’s haunting to think that their supply depots, laid at such great cost, were never used, and remain encased in ice and snow to this very day.

Most 8th grade boys spend their time thinking about girls, homework, friends and music.  Steven used to do that too, until his little brother was diagnosed with leukemia.  Now, his annoying little brother could die, and Steven doesn’t know what to do.

Sonnenblick clearly remembers what it was like to be in middle school.  Steven’s worries are real (Will he make a fool of himself in front of the prettiest girl?  Will he embarrass himself playing his drum solo?  Will his family make him look dumb?  How can he think about homework when his life is falling apart?) and middle schoolers will easily be able to relate.  The adults in Steven’s life are real too.  They’re far from perfect, but in general, they do their best for Steven.  I’m eager to read the sequel, After Ever After, available this spring.

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