The Walking Dead

I believe a true bibliophile loves all forms of books and writing...and I have always loved comics and graphic novels in addition to traditional novels. This is different than what I normally read - a graphic novel series specifically about zombies (if you couldn't guess from the title). But it really is about the people going through it, and the characters are really well developed. It paints a grim portrayal of human nature during times of crisis, and it is really well done - though not for the faint of heart. It actually reminded me several times of Cormac McCarthy's The Road. It's not over yet, and I look forward to finishing the series. It is also going to be a show on AMC this fall, which I'm looking forward to. Thanks to my friend Aaron for recommending it!

A Game of Thrones

A Game of Thrones is SUCH a good read. Different than your typical fantasy books - while there are fantastic elements, they are more of a background component than the main subject matter (though I suspect that will change a little in the next 3 books). There are lots of characters to keep track of, but really if you focus on the main players, you can't help but really have a vested interest in what happens to them - even the ones you love to hate. His ability to tell stories from such different points of views is extremely impressive. It's full of political intrigue and while I was initially skeptical of the plot, it sucked me in. It's mind boggling that authors such as he can create whole worlds like they do. Thanks to my brother for recommending it.

The Lost Symbol

Really enjoyed this one. Had to get past a serious sense of deja vu, as Dan Brown is a little more formulaic than I prefer. That said...I got over it. While the adventure pulls you along, it is his ability to weave his historical mix of fact and fiction that turns it into a thoroughly entertaining read. It was a really fun topic to read about, and will probably spend some time researching what was real and what wasn't. I also found a fantastic blog containing images of most of the places and buildings in Washington D.C. that are described in the book. I wish I had found it earlier while I was still reading it to fuel my imagination.

I also started doing a teeny bit of research on the Scottish Rite - certainly not quite as exciting as the book...but good to know.

Mythology

I've been reading this book off and on for some time now, and finally did a push to finish it. I really enjoyed it, probably my favorite mythology book. Edith Hamilton does an incredible job pulling from all the ancient poets and putting together the mythological stories so they are readable, digestible, and really fun. She explains where she gets each of the stories, and if from multiple poets/authors, then she explains which one she pulled from most and why. For a lover of mythology, this book is a must.

Pillars of the Earth

I have had this book on my shelf for a while, after my Grandmother told me it was one of her favorites. I decided to pick it up after her passing because it made me feel a little closer to her. I loved it. It is a behemoth book, but it reads faster than it looks like it might. I have never really read anything about the middle ages that didn't seem dim and dark, but this was vibrant and full of life, drama, fantastic characters, and of course, a cathedral. Fascinating historical novel, and a great read.

A Thousand Acres

It's a known fact different books can affect you differently based on your own current life experiences. I don't know if it was the right time for me to read this book...it deserved the Pulitzer (her writing is phenomenal and beautiful), but the story is not exactly...uplifting. The family in this book lives and runs a farm in the late 70s, early 80s, and follows what happens to them over the years. How one decision ended up being extremely momentous. She delves deep, deep into the characters, their motives, and their interactions with each other. All of which I liked, but also found stressful. After thinking about it for a while, I am glad I read it...if only to serve as a warning and reminder to myself of what I do not want. Which is probably one of her points.

The Lovely Bones

This book starts with a horrible, very descriptive bang and doesn't really stop. I read this right on the tail of The Alienist, and so had already been up to my eyeballs in crime and violence - and yet this one was of a totally different nature and feeling. So much of it was about the effect it had on the poor family, the neighborhood, and her friends. I appreciated her ability to tell this story...and I did like it. I loved her creative and rather beautiful viewpoint on the afterlife. Though the topic is harsh and some parts are difficult to read about, it was definitely worth reading. It's so easy to forget such things happen all the time...all around.

The Alienist

It's turning out to be that one of my favorite historical times to read about in this country was in the late 1800s, and this book fits right in with Devil in the White city (which I adored), though as genius historical fiction written of that time. It was fascinating to read how psychology and mental disease were viewed in that time, not to mention the crime solving techniques just coming out, and how one in particular used his skills to create a profile (the first of its kind) for a serial killer. The main characters of course use this radical concept and go after him, making the story extremely gripping - I couldn't put it down. Well written and historically relevant and accurate - I really, really liked it and thank my husband for the recommend. Caleb Carr is an author I intend to read to the exhaustion of his works.

The Road

Oh...this book. I had so many mixed feelings reading this book. It is so bleak and dark...even the way he writes just envelopes you in this dark world. But I couldn't help but love it...I loved the light inside these two characters - father and son. I loved the inherent goodness in the child, and the heartbreaking desperateness of the father to protect and save him. It's hard to read at times, but I felt totally worth it. The message McCarthy sends about human nature made an impact on me - how we can be awful, evil, and inhuman, or virtuous, beautiful, and pure, or...for most of us...somewhere in between.

March

This was a story that was very original and one that I am glad was finally told. It is an interesting portrayal of the father of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women in his life while he was at war as a Yankee in the South. It was a perfect tie in as he read their letters, and yet still told quite the story of a Civil War experience that made it very real. I hadn't read anything on the Civil War in a long time, and it was refreshing to read the tragic story under such an artful literary guise. It reminded me why I love historical fiction so much and I plan to read more in the future.

The First King of Shannara

A prequel to one of my favorite series....though it was weird reading a story whose ending I already knew (I don't read too many prequels). But still fun, and good to get to know some of the archetypes from the original series.

The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-Time

This was a fabulous read - really, really fun. A perfect travel book. It is written from the perspective of an autistic young man, and it was just so amazing to see the world through his eyes. He is amazingly intelligent, and just sees things so differently....and in some ways that I wish I saw things. Loved it.

My Grandfather's Blessings

This is a sweet, beautiful, and touching book. It is full of stories and thoughts by this woman (Dr. Remen) that are very insightful and thought provoking...I would recommend it to anyone and everyone. I dog-eared some of the ones that meant the most, made an impact, but I expect that different ones will be impactful at different times. I kept it by my bedside for months and months and it was a great way to end the day.

Let The Right One In

Soooo, this is kind of a messed up book. I don't know that I can really recommend it to anyone actually. A couple of my friends at work read it and said it was ok, that it was about a little vampire girl who befriends a boy and that it was going to be made into a movie. So my curiosity was piqued and even though they didn't love it I thought I'd read it just for the change of literary pace. And that, it definitely was. I think I'm glad I read it (I do love vampire stories)....but it's not for the faint of heart, and there are some truly disturbing subject matters (completely aside from the whole idea of creatures subsisting on living blood, of course). I simply cannot comprehend what the movie will be. At all. The Swedish author definitely has story telling capabilities though, I'll give him that...but a lot of it was just a deer-in-the-headlights feeling where I wanted to know where it was going, but at the same time really didn't.

The Heritage of Shannara

So after all of these deep, brain-intensive, thought-provoking books, I was desperate to read something that flows easily, grips my imagination, and turns into a movie in my mind. A good friend told me that Terry Brooks has continued to perform and write excellent books, so I decided to pick him back up. I recently re-read his first trilogy, so I decided to pick it up where I left off - his 4-book series The Heritage of Shannara. I'm sure you'll be surprised to hear that I loved, loved, loved them. I couldn't put them down and often stayed up to 2am because I couldn't make my hands close the book. I finished all 4 in about 2 weeks, and would recommend it to anyone that wants a smart adventure story with great characters, magic, conflicts, fantastic villains, and the descriptive power of an author that can spin words and stories like a literary spider, drawing you into his web.

The Glass Castle

I loved this book. It made me so much more aware of what I have and what I have been given my whole life. This is an extremely interesting and heartbreaking story of a crazy family (well crazy parents) and the amazing kids who survive it all. It's a testament to the resiliency of children, and I am extremely glad I read it. I recommend it to anyone, if only to put things in perspective. It's told in such a matter-of-fact manner that you can really see it from the point of view of the little girl telling the story (Jeannette Walls), a girl who has grown up to be an amazing woman.

Foucault's Pendulum

This is one of those books that has caught my eye for years and years, always curious. So I finally borrowed it from a friend when he said it was one of his favorites. It really was an extremely interesting book, and I really enjoyed the journey - it's rich with history of Templars, Rosicrucians, and all kinds of secret cults and groups, all woven into an amazing tale today. Sometimes I found it a little hard to follow, and there are several phrases in the book that are in different languages and they are never translated (I choose to think they must not have been crucial to the book...but I will never know!). I was also slightly disappointed in the ending...but I can also see that he ended it the only way it could have. So I am glad I read it, but ultimately have mixed feelings.

Plain and Simple

The story of a woman's journey to the Amish. A short and sweet book, with a beautiful portrayal of the Amish people. Their simplicity, joy in life, joy, and peace. This is ironic given their lack of many things we consider necessities in the modern world. It was a great break from the behemoth I had just finished - giving me a sense of my own peace and quiet. I recommend it for anyone that wants to know a little more about those amazing people, and what they have to offer us in their simplicity.

Cryptonomicon

This book is good. My biggest complaint is that it is is really, really long (over 900 pages), dense, and amazingly wordy (he likes tangents that are completely nonessential to the plot). Other than that, there were a lot of great aspects to it. First, it was very different from my usual reads in that it is completely geared towards (and obviously from) the male perspective - as evidenced by his descriptions, euphemisms and anecdotes. Second, it's historically fascinating. Set in both WWII and today, it covers a lot of ground and really cool topics I was previously unfamiliar with. Last, it's truly and fantastically nerdy. Lots of computer stuff, most of it Linux (nice), old computer stuff (like the character that built the first RAM), and when one of them programmed his laptop to communicate with him via morse code through the LED. Dang cool. All of the crypto math went over my head, but I feel ok about that because how they used the crypto was fascinating.

So, being a computer geek and having lots of guy friends, I totally got it (I think) and I enjoyed it even though it became a personal challenge to finish it. I don't plan on recommending it to any of my girlfriends, and certainly not my mother, but all you guys out there - dig in.

She Got Up Off The Couch: And Other Heroic Acts from Mooreland, Indiana

This was just as fun to read as A Girl Named Zippy
! She is a such a great writer, and really puts you in the mindset of this crazy, tenacious young girl, and you can't help but just adore her (and secretly want to be like her)! I also was super impressed by her mom and all she accomplished given her situation - it was very inspiring. A great read.