Book It!

Regardless of the noise levels over the summer, I was able to sneak in some great reading and thought I'd share. (Although, the majority of them are from Leanne's blog, if you'd just dig around there under "literature".)

Between Two Worlds- by Zainab Salbi. This is a true story about the daughter of Saddam Hussein's pilot. One line in this book pretty much sums up the strongest message (IMHO) of this book. "Any society that stops questioning its leaders is vulnerable to dictatorship..." It's amazing what can actually happen in our world. We need to take a stand against the things that we don't agree with. This book will open your eyes to the way women suffer in this world and how it's accepted as the norm in some cultures. It should be at the top of your list.

Kate Morton- great author. Read her books. You will not be disappointed.

Slave My True Story- by Mende Nazer and Damien Lewis. According to the date of publication and the "about the author" section of the book, this girl is approximately my age. It's horrifying to me that in this day and age, there are actually slaves. My age, no less. This is a must read book. Meaning, you MUST READ IT. I am so fortunate to have been born when, where and to whom I was born.

Dancing Under The Red Star- by Karl Tobien. Another true story that makes me thankful for the when, where and whom of my birth. This story is about a young girl whose family was transferred, by Henry Ford, from Detroit to Gorky, Russia right before the reign of Stalin. Another example of a tyrant running a country. It's amazing how easy and blessed my life is. And how we, thus far, have had relatively decent leaders who have not completely overturned our lives, as a whole. Another must read.

The Hunger Games, Catching Fire and Mockingjay- by Suzanne Collins, I think. It's crazy the imagination some people have. Seriously. I kept thinking that through this series. While it's so unlike my usual books, I could not put the books down. They are so good.

Look Me In The EyeMy Life With Asperberger's- by John Elder Robison. So interesting. Maybe not the actual storyline itself, but it gave me a greater understanding of Aspberger's. I recommend this book. It would be interesting to get this perspective from someone on the other end of the autism spectrum. I realize that is unlikely. But I would love to read that book.I do not, however, recommend his brother's book, Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs. I'm sorry. It was creepy and made me uncomfortable.

The Book Thief- by Markus Zusak. Why aren't you at the library getting it?

Sing Me Home- by Jodi Picoult. Hmmm. It wasn't as good as some of her others, but it wasn't the worst, either.

Bringing Adam HomeThe Abduction That Changed America-by Les Standiford. This was interesting because it's a true story about John Walsh's son that was abducted. It was hard because it's a true story. And you hear things you don't want to hear. But I wanted to know the story. And I got the story.

Dirty Sexy Politics- by Meghan McCain. So-so. Nothing earth-shattering. I'm actually not 100% sure why she felt compelled to write a book. Basically, she went on the campaign trail and didn't conform to rules that go with campaigning. And she didn't like everyone. Other than that... Oh! One thing that did confuse me- I'm pretty sure that she said in this book that she was a straight woman. Didn't she come out of the closet? I read the sentence more than once to make sure my eyes didn't deceive me. Even still, I feel like I must be mistaken. Anyone else catch that? It was at the end of the book, so maybe you didn't get that far... ;)

The Diary of a Wimpy Kid-by Jeff Kinney. SO FUNNY. You don't even have to be 9. Although, it helps if your 9 year old checks out the book at the library. I'm just sayin.

Mrs. Mike- by Benedict Freedman. One of my mom's favorite books of all time. It's a good book.

I'm always looking for a good book to read, so please recommend a few to me. My list is dwindling, causing me to have a small anxiety attack.