Books!

I've been doing quite a bit of reading lately thanks to my kindle and our local library. Here is some of what I've read:

In the middle school/elementary category:
1. 100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson - I actually read this entire series a few months ago and couldn't put them down. The author is the son of Doug Wilson, a well-known pastor/author. These are such great books full of adventure, drama, and truth. Christian elements are present but not in a cheesy or forced way. I think anyone would enjoy it, but I do think it's an especially great book that boys would enjoy. Here are the second and third books in the series as well.

2. The Girl who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of her own Making by Catherine Valente is another fantasy/quest/adventure story that is somewhat reminiscent of Alice in Wonderland, but in a less creepy and stoned sort of way.

3. the Girl who Ruled Fairyland - for a Little While is a short novel that is a prequel to the previous book and only 0.99 on kindle!

4. The Dragon's Tooth - also by N.D. Wilson - I just finished this book this week and I am also adding it to my list of books that I want to own actual, physical copies of. I loved it and can't wait for the rest of the series to come out. This is another that will be a fun read aloud with Judah in years to come.

Speaking of great read-aloud kid's stories, Did you know that Andrew Peterson has a series of kid's novels out? Called The Wingfeather Saga, these are similar in feel to Nate Wilson's books but even better.  Right now there are three of them, and he plans to write one more. I only mention them here because I was looking back at the blog and couldn't find where I'd ever blogged about them before even though I finished the third one months ago. These are probably the best reading I've done in the last year. (Although The Emperor of Maladies (see below) was outstanding in a totally different way.) Andrew Peterson is super talented because not only did he write the books, he also illustrated them. Writing + singing + guitar + drawing = more talents that one guy should have. Anyway, if you don't get anything else I post about, please, please do yourself a favor and get these.

Regular fiction:
1. Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson is a fantastic book about family and relationships. I thought it started a bit slow, but I definitely go into it by the end. I had debated about purchasing this for the kindle, but then found it at the library. As much as I enjoyed it, it's not one I'd rush out to buy, unless you can find it used.

2. The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai. Another library find. I stuck it out and finished it, but can't say I really enjoyed it. It won the Booker prize so I thought it would be good, but it was a little too disjointed for me, and then ended without any kind of satisfying resolution.

3. The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht -  There are some fantastical elements in this story within a story that I really enjoyed. This was a bit of a slow start, but this would be a good library pick up.

Non-fiction
1. Harry Truman's excellent adventure by Matthew Algeo -  Honestly, I read this one because it was cheap on the kindle. I did learn a lot about Harry Truman (did you know he was the last person to be president who only had a high school diploma?) and the stories of his road trip adventures are somewhat quaint and humorous. The writing left a little to be desired, but it was a fun read.

2. The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee is an incredible biography of cancer - as a disease, in society, treatments, research, etc. As a doctor I thought it was some fantastic medical history, but I think anyone could enjoy it.

3. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand - The Biography of Louis Zamperini, olympian and WWII POW. An incredible story of survival and finding faith. I'm not normally a big biography person, but this was a great story.


So there you have it. Anyone else read anything good lately? I decided to re-read all the Borrower books since a new movie just came out. As Jeff and I never make it to the movies, I probably won't see it, but I'll enjoy the books regardless.

Comments

Emilie said…
Unbroken is on my "to read" list! A friend of mine really liked it and I'm glad to get your recommendation too. I finally just read the Hunger Game series since the movie is coming out soon and totally got sucked into it. In the same genre - The Maze Runner - which is also a trilogy. It's not my usual style but I enjoyed it. I'm determined to cross more books off my list this year.
Aubrey said…
I read Hunger Games last year sometime. They were totally enthralling, but I'm not sure it was in a good way. Overall, they left me somewhat disturbed and unsettled. you know? I'll have to at least check out The Maze Runner.
Debra Taylor said…
Thanks for the reading list. I always like to hear of good reading from a fellow Christian.
I read Letters of a Woman Homesteader by Elinore Pruitt Stewart a few weeks ago and thoroughly enjoyed this collection of letters from the early 1900s about a woman living on the US prairie. It reads like a novel. It's free on Kindle.
Emilie said…
yes - I was a bit disturbed by The Hunger Games. Same with The Maze Runner. It's not really my favorite genre but I'm trying to push myself out of the box. :)
Sue Tell said…
Thanks for the list.

I've been needing something ~ the book I'm reading that I thought I'd enjoy, I'm needing to push myself to finish.

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