Well it's been a while since I blogged about the books I've read. And I've read a bunch of books of them. Some good, some not so good. Instead of highlighting every one of them, I'm going to give a top level review of some of my favorites.
Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
This was a good easy book to get through. The novel is put together by Bernadette's daughter Bee with emails, letters, and other correspondence in order to find her mom, who has disappeared. Bernadette is slightly eccentric and actually has an assistant in India that does all her everyday errands, but she is her best friend and is determined to find her, no matter where she is. It's a cute story and a quick read.
World Without End by Ken Follett
This is the follow up to The Pillars of the Earth, which I really enjoyed reading. The setting is the same town as before, Kingsbridge, but two centuries after the cathedral was completed. You get to know some of the descendants of the characters from the first book and one character I really like and admired was Caris. She goes through a lot and to be honest some of the crap she has to deal with pissed me off from a gender equality standpoint. Even though it would make me frustrated on her behalf, I still enjoyed the book and am looking forward to reading other books by the same other. Next up is Fall of Giants.
Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight
This was a book club recommendation and a page turner. Kate's daughter has committed suicide and after getting a text saying that Amelia didn't jump, Kate is determined to find out what happened to her. She goes through texts, emails, and social media to get to the bottom of Amelia's life and what happened at the end of it.
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
This was a really great book from Death's point of view about a young girl, Leisel, who becomes the book thief outside of Munich, as the Nazi regime is building momentum and enters World War II. She builds relationships with her foster parents, her father in particular, a neighborhood boy, and a Jewish man that's hidden in their basement. This was the 1st of 3 books that I read about WWII and I highly recommend it.
The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes
This was another page turner about a woman, Kirby, who survives a serial killer attack. Harper has been traveling through time and murdering women and doesn't even realize that Kirby has pulled through and is now determined to find him.
Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks
This is a fictional account of the first Native American that graduated from Harvard. Bethia befriends Caleb on Martha's Vineyard in the 1660s and you see how their friendship takes them from the island off of Cape Cod to Boston. I thought it was a very interesting historical portrayal of early American history.
Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption by Lauren Hillenbrand
This was a great nonfiction story about Louis Zamperini. You learn about his childhood and what brought him to the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, where he raced the 5,000m. And then what happens after the Olympics, when he enlisted in the Air Force during World War II. What happens after is so interesting and heart-breaking, especially knowing that he could have gone after the elusive 4-minute mile. As a runner and a person, I highly recommend this book.
There were a few others that I thought were interesting and would love to have a discussion about, but had to limit this blog post to some degree.
In the upcoming months, I'm going to try to be better about my book updates, especially as I have some good ones on the to read list.
26/45 books in 2013.
