Despite my relatively slow pace through most novels and stories, I've managed to read a number of amazing books this summer. Call it a reading rampage if you wish, but I adore the ability to enter other worlds while sitting on my bed or in the big blue chair in the kitchen. I've decided a more rounded reading experience would involve switching back and forth between fiction and non-fiction. Here are some of the most recent books I've read.
At Night We Walk In Circles by Daniel Alarcon
I read this book while I was in Paris, and though it wasn't a page-turner for about the first third of the book, I stuck with it and am glad I did. It's the story of a theatre group in South America that gets back together after a couple decades and decides to put on an old play. The theatre group disbanded decades earlier after the lead actor and playwright was imprisoned for writing a politically scandalous play that criticizes the government. Now a young actor joins the rejuvenated theatre group (which is made up of only three people) on tour throughout the countryside, and he discovers another side of his homeland that he never knew existed. I love Alarcon's writing style, and the narrator, who has more to do with the story than initially thought, is detached and aloof, but you still get the sense that he is trying to persuade you to believe something about the main character. I recommend this book if you have a minute and a half to read a 500 pages.
Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer
Oh, how I loved this book. Not only does Krakauer write with beautiful details and crisp narrative, but the story is so compelling I couldn't put it down. I know I'm a bit behind the times with this (it came out almost 20 years ago) but there's a reason people are still talking about this incident, and why they're
making a movie about it,
again, that is scheduled to come out next year. In the book, Krakauer tells his version of the 1996 Everest disaster that killed almost a dozen people. It's truly amazing what they went through and I couldn't even begin to describe it, but I'd tell anyone looking for a good read to pick up this book.
Your Fathers, Where Are They? And the Prophets, Do They Live Forever? by Dave Eggers
This was a really interesting book that I read on the flight from San Francisco to Dallas. The main character kidnaps six people that have had some impact on his life, and he has conversations with them in abandoned warehouses in Monterey Peninsula in California. It's all dialogue, which is actually refreshing. I was blown away with how successfully Eggers illustrates a rich and full story with only the characters' words. Very impressive.
The Longest Way Home by Andrew McCarthy
Not only was McCarthy at the travel writers' conference that I attended in San Fran, but he wrote a chapter on climbing Kilimanjaro, so obvi I wanted to read it. (He was also in Pretty in Pink, so there's that.) He is a good writer, but I had a little trouble getting into the story. The destinations were interesting and the descriptions very nice, but I had a hard time relating to a man who is struggling with the idea of settling down with his girlfriend of 7 years. Not that it isn't interesting and relatable to many people, but since I am nowhere near that point in my life, it was harder for me to stick with that common thread woven throughout the book. But it is a great travel book and a good educational read for someone who loves travel reading and writing.
The English Girl by Daniel Silva
This novel is part of a series about an Israeli spy who is tapped to help save an English girl who is kidnapped by a group of French mafia. Her kidnapping also makes waves for the Prime Minister of England. The main character goes all over Europe, and Silva's descriptions of London and Paris and Jerusalem brought me back to those cities. It's fun to relive them without paying for a plane ticket. This is a quick read with big text, and I enjoyed having a thrilling story to read in bed at the end of the day.
Next on the list: Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
I've read 8 pages and I'm hooked. If you haven't heard of this book, get your head out from under that rock. I know the general outline, but am excited to get into it and learn more about this man's incredible story.
Aren't books the best things ever?
I'd love to know, what are you reading right now that I should be reading?
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