Books, Glorious Books.

 

I  have had one glorious week off from graduate school and I have stuffed my brain (and my stomach) full of stuff I wanted.


First off, I read Possessing the Secret of Joy, by Alice Walker (she also wrote The Color Purple). Light reading it is not. Unless you consider a story about a girl who experienced female genital mutilation in a tribal village in Africa and then tries to have a life in the US with an American husband light reading. In which case, you need to seek professional help.

Anyway, liked it, loved it, couldn't put it down.












And then I read Speak in the car on the way to Texas. It is a National Book Award finalist and it was worth the hype. If I tell you what it is about it will ruin it so mums the word.

It is in the "young adult" category but there is nothing Twilightish about this book, I promise. It's the opposite of Twilight. If it wasn't, I would have thrown it across a hotel room just like I did Twilight. It's deep and personal and there is no teen romance to speak of, thank goodness.

There is nothing I dislike more than a teen
romance - in books or in real life. Blech.

Let me stop right here and point out a very crucial detail: I read an entire book in the car with two children present and both of them were awake and breathing. I will pause for my standing ovation.....I have waited almost nine years for this moment and it finally happened on Monday, August 5th. 

Mommas, if you would rather have a lobotomy gone terribly wrong than go on a road trip with your kids, take heart! Give it a good nine years and your kids will finally be able to entertain themselves and you will have perfected the art of completely ignoring them. It's so awesome.

And finally, I read City of Women. This story takes place in Berlin during the second world war. I really enjoyed the history and the story. Suspenseful and fascinating.

















Either I have absolutely no standards, or I lucked out with these three. I would recommend them all, but if I had to choose a winner I would give the gold to Speak.

Happy Reading, Friends!