More Summer Reading!

Yesterday during a meeting at work I inadvertently made a comment about how I had read like "30 books" this summer. So, the reality is I didn't actually read 30 books, but I did read quite a few (closer to 20)! The very first list of books I read is in the article titled Opinion Blog #2 and the second list is in the article titled, Summer Reading. Here are a few more I've read in the last few weeks.

Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata
This was a very interesting book targeted young adult readers. It is about a poor Japanese family living in Georgia during the 1950's. There are two sisters in the story and one develops cancer. It is told from the perspective of the younger sister.

The Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
Also targeted at young adult, it was not what I excepted at all! This is a very cute story about a small mountain mining town. All of the girls are summoned to attend a "Princess Academy" from which the prince will choose his bride! It is a sweet story about one determined little girl who has all the odds against her.

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
Adult Fiction, not for the faint of heart. It is a Columbine-like story told from the perspective of the shooter and those around him. The interesting part of this story is that the shooter lives to tell his part of the story. Very moving.

No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency Series by Alexander McCall Smith
I've read books 1 through 4 of this series (there are 8 books total). I've really enjoyed the first few, but was given a heads up by my mom I might not like the last few. Very cute story about a woman in Botswana, Africa who opens a detective agency. I love how she is no-nonsense and there is no violence in the books. I'll let you know how the last 4 turn out! Interesting side note, I was able to walk through the "Botswana" exhibit at the Denver Museum of Natural History. It was fun to see pictures/displays of what I had been reading. The books are very accurate!

The Heavenly Man by Paul Hattaway
Adult nonfiction about a Chinese Christian's (Brother Yun) struggle to spread the good news throughout communist China in the 70's, 80's and 90's. If you've ever doubted God's ability to perform miracles in the present day, you need to read this book. Brother Yun is still alive and helped contributed to this book. All of the remarkable and amazing (almost unbelievable) stories in the book have been corroborated by others.

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of A Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah
Excellent Read! This is a non-fiction book written by a 25 year boy who was forced to fight in the guerrilla warfare in Sierra Leone. It is incredibly moving, but has taken me a while to read because it is so powerful. I became interested in this book when my parents told me about a couple who came to stay with them at their Pastor's Retreat Center, Cedarly. They are from Sierra Leone and told my parents that the recent movie, Blood Diamond was incredibly accurate. I had dismissed the movie as silly and overly violent. Anyway, it's still on my list of movies to watch, but got me interested in reading this book in the meantime.

On my list to read soon:
--Book #7--Harry Potter (please don't tell me how it ends!)

--The remaining four books in the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series

--On My Swedish Island by Julie Catterson Lindahl My mom recommended this
book about Swedish lifestyle. Her entire family is from Sweden and she found that she had made of the characteristics talked about in the book. Unfortunately, my local library doesn't have it, so I'll have to track it down!

--Gardening Books--I am really on a kick to get my yard & gardens in order in the next year (hey, at least I'm trying to be realistic!). I'm going to try to put in a veggie garden in the spring and some hosta in yet this fall. Joel & I are working on getting our yard under control, too!

Let me know if you've read any good ones--I always love suggestions!