I decided to keep track of the books I've read this year so that I can remember my favorites! If you're ever looking for a book recommendation, here's the place to check out!
1. 11/22/63 - Stephen King
1. 11/22/63 - Stephen King
- This was the first audio book I ever listened to. It's about a man who goes back in time to stop te assasination of John F. Kennedy. I enjoyed it but it moved pretty slow and I kind of hated the female protagonist. It was a great mix of history and fiction and I would recommend it. B
- For the life of me, I don't understand how they're going to make this book into a movie. The subtitle is "An Oral History of the Zombie War" and it's written from a series of narratives of people who survived the Zombie War. I haven't jumped on the zombie bandwagon, but if you have, I recommend it. From the perspective of an International Relations professional, it was interesting to see how modern technology could play a role in another full-scale world war. B+
- Written by the author of Chocolat, this book alternates between two time lines - that of Framboise Dartigen as a 9-year-old girl and as an older woman who has returned to the village of her childhood and opened a restaurant. Throughout the entire book, you keep learning of this big family secret that plays a really important role in the book but never fully materializes. I kept waiting to find out what the secret was and then the secret ended up being a lie and not as big of a deal as it was made out to be. I wasn't impressed. D
4. Runaway Girl - Carissa Phelps
- At 12-years-old, Carissa had run away from home, dropped out of school and fell to 'Icey,' a brutal pimp who raped her and forced her into prostitution on the streets of California. Even when she managed to escape him, she fell into a hard life of abuse, neglect and abandonment. Facing prison - or worse - Carissa found herself with the opportunity to attend a live-in group center, where, with the help of her Counselor and Math teacher, she turned her life around and managed to graduate from college and go on to pursue a dual MBA/JD from UCLA. Today, she is fighting to help kids just like her escape the lives they are living and find their own ways to a better life. This is all a true story and was unbelievably told. Carissa has faced an incredible journey and her commitment to helping others is truly remarkable. A
5. The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver
- Add it to the library, this is one of the best books I've read in a long time and I will definitely go ahead and add it to my list of favorites. Set in the Congo shortly before Independence, the book is told from the perspective of four sisters from Georgia (ages 5-16) living in Congo as missionaries with their parents. The book follows the sisters through 3 decades of their lives both in and out of Africa. I couldn't put this book down. It was so beautifully told and was absolutely riveting and I really don't think I can give an accurate description of it. Just read it. A+
6. The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown
- If you've read "Angels & Demons" or "The DaVinci Code," I want to know your thoughts on this book. It follows the same character, Robert Langdon, on a whirlwind adventure through Washington, DC trying to solve the Ancient Mysteries tradition set forth by the Freemasons. Had I not read his other books, I think I would have loved this one. It was just as suspenseful and well-written as the others, but having read them, I found it to be slightly predictable and I found the end to be somewhat anticlimactic. Still, I couldn't put it down. B
7. The Art of Racing in the Rain - Garth Stein
- This book was incredible. Told from the perspective of Enzo, the Golden Retriever of an indy race car driver, The Art of Racing in the Rain tells of Enzo's belief that when he dies, he will be reincarnated as a human. He spends his life as a dog being a faithful pet, taking care of his owner and his family, especially when illness unexpectedly and tragically strikes the family. A beautiful story that will bring any animal lover (or really any one with a heart) to tears. A+
8. Bossypants - Tina Fey
- I love Tina Fey. I didn't love this book. I think Tina Fey is hilarious but the humor in this book felt forced. C+
9. Angela's Ashes - Frank McCourt
- A beautiful memoir written by Frank McCourt about the struggles of growing up in absolute poverty in Ireland. This book is raw, real, yet incredibly true and humbling. A great read that I highly recommend. A
10. The Bean Trees - Barbara Kingsolver
- I adored this book. It tells the story of Taylor who, itching to get away from home, buys a car and heads West with no particular destination in mind. On her way, she finds herself with a small child that has been unexpectedly left to her. Naming her Turtle, the book is about how Taylor adopts motherhood while also trying to find her roots. A+
11. 'Tis - Frank McCourt
- It was ok. Just a continuation of Angela's Ashes. It almost seemed as though the books were written as one and it was an editor decision to separate them. I agree that the book would have been entirely too long if it had been both, but the continuation included some parts that would have been better in Angela's Ashes. C.
11. Prodigal Summer - Barbara Kingsolver
- I liked this book. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who hasn't read Kingsolver though. The book follows three different characters and their lives over the course of one summer. Offering small snippets into who they are and where they're going, the book has well-developed characters but is somewhat anti-climactic. The book doesn't really ever build to a climax, it just follows the characters through the summer, creating their relationships and how they intertwine. I was really only engrossed in one of the characters' stories though. It was beautifully written and I enjoyed the read but recommend reading some of Kingsolver's other work before reading this one. B
12. Saving the World - Julia Alvarez
- I love Julia Alvarez but this wasn't one of her best books in my opinion. The story follows Alma, an author with a bad case of writer's block who starts to write about the expedition that brought the small pox vaccine to the Americas. Creating a beautiful story based on the factual expedition, the book weaves between this story that Alma is writing and her own story, dealing with her writer's block, her husband working in her native Dominican Republic for a humanitarian aid company and supporting her neighbor who is dying of cancer. I liked the way the stories wove together, but wasn't a fan of how Alma's own story in the book played out. B.
13. The Stolen Child - Keith Donohue
- Wow, I really liked this book. It's been a really long time since I've read Fantasy and I loved this. The book is about 7-year-old Henry Day who is abducted by changelings, one of whom takes his place and lives his life. The book alternates chapter between the real Henry, who is living his life as a changeling, struggling to remember the details about his former life and the imposter, Henry, who is trying to learn his true identity as memories of a former life, before he was abducted himself, continue to surface. The book was very well written and a great story. A.
I'm a 30 year old new-ish runner (working on my first 10k) and avid reader. just stumbled onto your blog from pinterest. I LOVED the Poisonwood Bible.
ReplyDeleteFollowing your blog as of now!
Check out Goodreads.com it's an awesome site that lets you track and rate what you read and then suggest books, it's great!
ReplyDeleteGoodreads is super great!
DeleteI've kept a list of books read since high school; when I reached 499 I had to take 4 months to read 500 which had to be special and took awhile to read, Moby Dick. Favorite book ever, The Stranger by Camus. Favorite American book The Scarlet Letter. I mostly read non-fiction though; favorite autobiography, Growing Up by Russell Baker; favorite war book, Goodbye Darkness by William Manchester; favorite books about battles, eithr Blackhawk Down or Hell In a Very Small Place (Dien Bien Phu) although We Were Soldiers Once...And Young is very good. In SciFi the Forever series by Joe Haldeman is very good. In the Heart of th Sea by Philbrick is excellent (Moby Dick was based on that incident) and The Perfect Storm is also riveting.
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