What I've Been Reading Lately

So much for being good about updating this thing... the midwinter blahs definitely set in around mid February.  I've been reading a lot, but not too much else.  My recent bout of strep throat/laryngitis probably didn't help to much either (is it bad if I thought strep was just a kid's illness since I haven't had it since 6th grade?).

Anyways, here's what I've been reading lately.

Book 6 of 52:  People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks

I loved this book!  It was everything I love in a book: a slight conspiracy theory, jumps back and forth between multiple plots, slightly fragmented, a little mystery, and of course a little romance.  I also have to make a confession about this book.  Part of the reason I liked it so much is because this book talks a lot about Jewish history and I have a slight obsession with Jewish history.  If I had to be born into a family of a different religion, I would like to be born into a Jewish family.  I love the fact that I have an ancestor way back there who was Jewish (unfortunately it was a male so I can't claim to be Jewish in any way shape or form).  There's just so much history and culture in the Jewish religion to be proud of!  Sure, there are not so good things as well, but could you imagine growing up with the stories of the Old Testament and knowing that your family took part in that?  I just think it's phenomenal!  Hopefully I'm not the only one who feels that way.

Anyways, end of confession, this book tells the story of a modern day woman who is a book preserver and is called in to verify the authenticity of a an old Jewish haggadah (the book used to tell the story of Passover every year).  She finds a few random items in the book and starts wondering how they got their.  The rest of the story goes back and forth telling the story of these items and how they got into the book at various points throughout history as the book was created and also how the woman is researching the items in the present day. 

Is it worth reading?  YES!  This author tells a very good story, and this story is worth telling!

Book 7 of 52: The History of Love by Nicole Krauss

This is another very good book.  It has a fragmented story line about this one man's life.  It's very interesting to see how it all comes together at the end. 

Is it worth reading?  I enjoyed it and it does have some very pretty passages.

Book 8 of 52: The Lost Hero  by Rick Riordan

If you enjoyed the Percy Jackson books, you'll love this book!  It's a new series that uses many of the same characters from the previous series and introduces some new ones as well.  It's a YA book, so it's a very enticing read.  Riordan definitely knows how to get kids reading.

Is it worth reading?  Absolutely!  This book, like the Percy Jackson books, made me feel like I was learning something about the Greek/Roman gods.  This book would be great for a kid who's learning about Greek history in school!

Book 9 of 52: The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

This is the first book in the Kane Chronicles by Riordan.  It's much like the Percy Jackson series, except it talks about Egyptian gods.  The first book seems to move a little slow while he's setting up everything, but the second half is action packed!  In case you haven't noticed I've developed a bit of a thing for books by Riordan and have decided I feel comfortable buying any YA book by him without feeling like I need to read it first to see if I like it.  There are very few authors I feel comfortable doing that with, but Riordan has proven he can write good stories consistently!

Is it worth reading?  I think so!  If you're looking for a good easy read, this is definitely a good one!

Book 10 of 52: Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale

I've been on a bit of a YA kick lately, so this is another YA book.  I really liked it.  The book tells the story of two girls in the Asian steppes a long, long time ago.  It kind of has a Repuzel-esque story line, but much more interesting.

Is it worth reading?  If you like retellings of fairy tales, you'll probably like this book.  It's also a fairly quick read.

Book 11 of 52: 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles C. Mann

I just finished this book today.  It's a non-fiction book about recent discoveries about life in the Americas pre-Columbus.  If you're LDS and reading this book, you'll definitely have to put away your Book of Mormon timeline in order to appreciate the book--otherwise you'll drive yourself crazy trying to decide how everything fits together.  I really enjoyed the book though, it took me awhile to get through (nonfiction and illness do not go well together!), but it was definitely worth it.  I feel like I learned a lot not only about the Indian populations pre-Columbus, but also how they interacted with the environment and what that means for us today.

Is it worth reading?  Yes and no.  It's definitely a nonfiction book, so if you don't enjoy those, I would stay the heck away from it.  However, if you're interested in the topic then it's definitely worth reading.

If you've made it this far, Congratulations!  Now go get yourself some ice cream as a reward!