Most of the books I read this year were recommended by someone else--either Bridget, Craig, The Oregonian, or Book Group. There were only a few disappointments. The lineup of fiction and non-fiction was 10 fiction to 16 non-fiction, which is more fiction than the usual for me.
The bin Ladens (Coll)--NF; delves into ObL's extended family and points out that ObL is an outcast in certain parts of his own family; a newer book called Growing Up bin Laden is on my list for this year
Lone Survivor (Luttrell)--NF; you couldn't make up a thrilling yet tragic book like this but be warned about language
Found--F; strange tale of a plane full of babies; intriguing but weird at the same time
Red Sky in Mourning (Ashcraft)--almost pointless NF story about a man lost at sea in a storm, written by his surviving wife; it should have been shorter; don't confuse w/ an excellent coming of age story called Red Sky at Morning
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society (Shaffer)--F; loved it and wish there was a sequel
The Hunger Games (Collins)--F; imaginative, suspenseful and well-written work about a society that annually sends two of its teenagers to a gladiator-style exhibition; stand alone first-in-a-series
Mornings on Horseback (McCullough)--NF; who knew Teddy Roosevelt became the accomplished person he did against such great odds?
A Long Way From Home (Brokaw)--NF; Tom Brokaw's youth; I say he was meant to achieve great things
Follow Me Down (Foote)--F; Civil War historian Shelby Foote's novel about nothing; I didn't care for it much
Shiloh (Foote)--F; Foote is in his element here when he describes a scene of dead and wounded as barrels of God's creation mistakes dumped out onto the battlefield [he says it more eloquently]
Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times (Brands)--NF; re: T. Roosevelt above; who knew a man with a lousy life could take care of our national business?
A. Lincoln (White)--NF; what doesn't he say about honest Abe? Didn't know he abhorred slavery from childhood
Ablaze (Read)--NF; as bad as Chernobyl was, we're lucky it wasn't worse; can thank some who gave their lives to get the plant under control
In Plain Sight (Smart)--NF; Elizabeth Smart story thoroughly covered by her uncle
Firelover (Wambaugh)--NF; fire department arson specialist who creates his own job security, if you get my drift
Massacre at Mountain Meadows (Walker)--NF; no agenda or whitewashing here; it's the real deal
The Dark is Rising (Cooper)--F; this was on a list of must-reads so I obeyed and read it; in the light of some of the good juvenile literature we've seen the past decade it pales because it's too far-fetched and hard to follow
The Shack (Young)--F; popular fiction that's too weird for my tastes
The Worst Hard Time (Egan)--NF; Depression dust bowl 101; itwas shocking to me to read how much that area suffered--I just didn't know
A Matter of Chastity (Yocom)--NF; chronicle of a young woman who committed murder to avenge her rape over 100 years ago
Sarah's Key (DeRosnay)--F; ok fast read involving the Holocaust in France, but too manipulative and contrived
Three Weeks in October (Moose)--NF; Charles Moose, former PDX police chief writes about the Washington DC sniper he dealt with as Montgomery County MD police chief
Sudden Sea (Rossi)--NF; 1938 New England hurricane which made landfall without warning as a category 5; people peacefully eating lunch on their sunny terrace were drowned in 25 feet of water a few hours later
The Princess Academy (Hale)--F; great YA story about a young woman who wanted 'more' than to be a princess
Skeletons on the Zahara (King)--NF; amazing story of survival by sailors shipwrecked on the African coast
Catching Fire (Collins)--F; sequel to The Hunger Games . . . leaves you hanging and the third book doesn't come out until August!
I liked The Dark is Rising back in the day (you probably have an old copy sitting on the shelf in Spare Oom).
ReplyDeleteI want to ask you more about The Shack.
Although I do end up reading some decent books for my courses, I will be happy to have a chance to read more books for pleasure this summer, and especially when I am finished with school! When that time comes, I will have to revisit this list.
ReplyDeleteI think The Shack would be of more value to someone without strong religious values--someone who is lacking in core beliefs and convictions. It would be reassuring to them to know that God loves them and is aware of them and their pain.
ReplyDelete