What Chicks Are Reading

CLICK on book titles to get more information from online booksellers. This month's reviews were submitted by Chick Susie.
  

Crypto - How the Code Rebels Beat the Government Saving Privacy in the Digital Age by Steven Levy

Cryptography - the use of secret codes -- was until recently the province or as Megan would say, the milieu of government spies and geeks. But just prior to the Internet explosion a band of outsiders triggered a revolution in this field. Those "crypto rebels" are presented in Levy's account through riveting true stories that are well-researched. Levy weaves an intriguing account of cryptography's "eccentric patriots" and their dedication to the craft. It's primarily a story of people and the government politics that tried to ensnare them, not a treatise on ciphers and hashing algorithms. Explanations of cryptography are lucid, even if math wasn't your best subject, and it wasn't mine, but I enjoyed this and the subject matter thoroughly. Learned a lot by reading this and now want to get his first book, Hackers.
  

Martin Duggan is a local celebrity of sorts, who is still active in civic affairs at the local and national levels. Under President Reagan he served as chairman of the Advisory Committee on Federal Pay. His wife is nationally recognized as a pioneer leader in the school choice movement, being cofounder and president of Citizens for Educational Freedom and of Parents Rights, Inc. She also served during the Reagan administration on the President's Adult Education Commission.

They co-authored a hilarious book about familles, children. It is hard to capture their humor and hilarity, you simply have to read the book. My favorite chapters include, Soup on the Ceiling, Breakfast in Bedlam, A Refill for Phil (the gorilla, not the husband of our head hen) and The Abominable Snowcone Man. (Not available online. Order from your local book store: ISBN 0-9707106-0-7)
  

Dr. Susan Love's Breast Book by Susan M. Love, M.D. with Karen Lindsey

Not hard to figure why I read this tome (all 632 pages) it pulls no punches. It is chock full of the latest info on breast cancer diagnosis, treatment and research. I recommend it for anyone who has been diagnosed with breast cancer and wants the total picture at their disposal, it is also a must read for family members as well. It is not sugarcoated, but it is truthful.
  

I know Chick Karin wrote an article on this book which is currently being passed around our club, but I thought it appropriate to write a review of the book in addition to her comparative analysis of the Larksdale Ladies Independence Club (LLIC) to Chicks Laying Nest Eggs Investment Club (CLNE).

The book begins in 1983 and the setting is Larksdale, Minnesota (a fictional town). The book's characters are the women of the Mostly Methodist Club, a group of eight mostly middle-aged women. The had a similar epiphany to the Chicks - it was time to start taking care of their financial future. Between pensions, social security and meager savings, these ladies were looking at a pretty miserable retirement and old age. So with a little research and self teaching, they organized themselves into the Larksdale Ladies Independence Club (LLIC), put up $1500 each and carefully and cautiously began investing. But, when their youngest member, Skye, befriends a computer geek who tells her all about this amazing Seattle software company that is going to revolutionize the whole industry, they decide to buy Microsoft on opening day and the rest, as they say, is history. By 1986, the LLIC had over 1 million in their account and things were really beginning to take off for everyone. The author has written a delightful and entertaining novel that pulls you into the story from page one and doesn't let you go until the very satisfying end of the novel. Her fast paced plot is full of great, witty writing and vivid scenes. But it's her strong, endearing and unique characters that make this novel stand out and you'll find yourself rooting for these Midwestern ladies to the end as they take control of not just their financial lives, but their entire lives and make all their dreams come true. This novel contained a bit of everything that an entertaining book should, including laugh-out-loud humor.