Summer Reading List

Because I have had the same list of books that I am "currently reading" along the side of my blog ever since I started it a year and a half ago - I figured it was time to update my reading list.

These are the books I've read this Summer, at least the ones I can remember off the top of my head.

I went ahead and linked to their listing on Amazon, in case any sound interesting to you!

Summer:
Mennonite in a Little Black Dress, Rhoda Janzen, Great title, terrible book.

The Maker's Diet, Jordin S. Rubin A friend recommended this book to me, and I found it interesting, but a little too intense for me. (I like bacon.)

What Difference Do It Make?, Ron Hall and Denver Moore The sequel to Same Kind of Different As Me. This book is a collection of stories of how the first book impacted the lives of those who read it. I really enjoyed the first one, so this was a little disappointing.

The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins I'm pretty sure this is young adult fiction, but Chet and I both loved it. Quick summary: Post-apocalpytic America is separated into districts run by a centralized government. Each year, one boy and one girl from each district are selected at random to compete in the Hunger Games - a fight to the death to win food for their district. I know, it sounds bizarre. But it is a quick read, and creative.

Catching Fire, Suzanne Collins Sequel to the book above. (Still waiting for the third to come out this month.)

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson Loved this one because of the intrigue, though it was very dark. Not a church book club kind of book, is what I'm saying.

Laura Rider's Masterpiece, Jane Hamilton I usually love Jane Hamilton's novels, but this one was too weird for me, and focused on adultery. Wouldn't recommend it, or read it again.

Infidel, Ayaan Hirsi Ali The autobiography of a Somalian woman, as she leaves Islam and her family and escapes to Europe. Very eye-opening, about a way of life that is unfamiliar to me. What is super cool is that she is now a member of Parliament in the Netherlands.

The Help, Kathryn Stockett Pretty sure everyone has heard of this one, so I won't say much, other than I enjoyed it and would recommend it.

Honeybee, C. Marina Marchese This book is all about raising honeybees. I enjoyed it because it was informative and truthful about what life with bees is like. It details exactly how to go about installing and maintaining hives, which I am hoping to do next April!

How Green Was My Valley, Richard Llewellyn I loved this book. It is an absolutely beautiful book. There is so much beauty, both in the tale Llewellyn tells and in the language he uses that I by the time I finished it, I felt refreshed and glowing. Sorry for all the superlatives, but it is really wonderful. Definitely one of my favorites this year. From Atlantic Monthly, "Llewellyn's tale of a young man's coming-of-age in a small Welsh mining town--a beautiful story told in words which have Welsh music in them . . . a book which will live in the mind and memory of its readers."

There Are No Children Here, Alex Kotolowitz A journalist spends a year in the Chicago projects, chronicling the lives of two brothers, as they struggle to survive. Sometimes my jaw would drop open, because I almost couldn't believe it happened here, in our country.

Real Food, Nina Planck The title is pretty self explanatory. I found this to be a practical, easy to read, and informative book about the values of eating, you guessed it, real food. This is one I would recommend to friends who are interested in the topic, but haven't done much reading on it yet, because it's not overwhelming, even though it's packed with info.

Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer, Novella Carpenter I wrote my thoughts on this one here. Absolutely LOVED it.

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox, Maggie O'Farrell I honestly don't know how to describe this one - I wasn't really into the style of this novel - the prose was too choppy for me. Publisher's Weekly says it's "an intricate, eloquent novel of family malice, longings and betrayal...it maintains a high level of tension throughout, and the conclusion is devastating." True. But I wouldn't read it again.

What is the What, Dave Eggers I've liked what I have read by Dave Eggers before, so I checked this one out, not knowing what I was getting into. It is a fictionalized account of the Lost Boys of Sudan, based on the experiences of one boy in particular. It was particularly moving, because it is structured as a novel, which gave the author the freedom to create dialog, and be more creative in the telling. (This book was the first thing I read about the Lost Boys, and now I keep searching for more, if that tells you anything.)

Julie and Julia, Julie Powell Loved the movie, hated the book. 'Nuff said.

God Grew Tired Of Us, John Bul Dau The memoir of a Lost Boy of Sudan. Horrific and hopeful, all at the same time. The author's faith in the Gospel, despite all he went through is inspiring. (Why do words like "inspiring" sound cheesy? But seriously. It's worth reading - even if you cry the whole way through.)

Open, Andre Agassi Andre Agassi's autobiography. Fascinating, especially because I remember watching him play when I was little. Did you know that he dropped out of school in eighth grade, only to have his greatest work be the creation of a school? Good reminder of the tensions within each of us.

In The Sanctuary of Outcasts, Neil White
After being convicted of bank fraud, Neil White spends a year in a prison in Southern Louisiana that also houses the last leper colony in the United States. In the Sanctuary of Outcasts chronicles his time there, and how his perception of himself and life in general is altered by his interaction with the people he meets.

So that's that.

I am always on the look out for new books to read, especially if they are recommended to me. So what have YOU read recently? Or what do you hope to read?