Book List

OK,OK...I don't review books well but I will list the ones I've read lately so you can have a go at 'em if you so wish.

1. Rachel (English teacher's child who prefers not to read) recommended the Suzanne Collins series The Hunger Games and Catching Fire. (New book coming out in Aug.) Said she liked them better than Twilight series. She hates violence, so don't ask me how she made it through these. Weird future world where one child from each impoverished family is pitted against opponents to fight to the death. One survives. I know, it sounds ugly and sort of is. It has some kind of draw once you get past the gore and darkness. I'm not selling it well, I know. I'll probably read the third in the series but I won't be paying money to buy it. It's mildly entertaining but grim. Not cheerful or redeeming.

2. I think I got the next title from Goodreads or someones blog--These is my Words: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine by Nancy E. Turner. A young girl goes west to the Arizona Territories in the 1880's. Reads like a diary and seems very authentic though it's fiction. It's filled with troubles (naturally) that would confront anyone who went west during the unsettled pioneer days. I loved Sarah's character and felt I knew her and was going through the travails with her. Charming voice and style. Sad in parts but not gut-wrenchingly so. I liked it better than most books I've read lately.

3. The book I'm reading now is an old title that I just got around to: Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson detailing his struggle to build schools in Pakistan's remote villages where the Taliban was born. It's slow in places. The point that the Pakistanis are a patient, long-suffering people was just a bit too drawn out for me. I'm wading through it, but it's not my favorite book. Well worth reading, however, to better understand the land of terrorists and the people who struggle in this harsh land. Stresses the importance of education and sticking to a promise.

4. First book on reserve that I haven't read yet is The Financial Lives of Poets by Jess Walter. Reviews on it are mixed. Some loved his satire and humor as he starts over in a career. Some thought he was a humorless twit. I'll let you know. Going to the library today.

5. The Help--Kathryn Stockett. Set in the South in 1962, this book follows three women through stages and social layers of life. The title comes from the idea of servants attending to the white southern families, but I take it that the help teaches the boss a few things. A lady on the plane was reading it and seemed to enjoy it. I see the book every where. Hope it's good. I reserved this one, but gave up and bought it before the library let me know it was available. I paid money. It better be worth it. I will let you know. Have any of you read this?

Maybe this will give you an idea of something you might check out. I hesitate to recommend because every ones taste is so different. Some times I like a book at one time that I might hate if I'd read it at a different phase of life. Feel free to tell me what you're reading. I need to read more, watch tv news less, and breathe--right, Bridgette? ;o)