In order to achieve my goal of 30 books this year, I need to read 2.5 books a month. This month I was able to stick with that quota and read the following (My Rating Scale: *Ok **Good ***Great):
Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace... One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin
Rating: **
I really liked this book. I don't normally get into books about war and historical type stuff, but this was actually very well written and engaging. It gave me a much different perspective of the normal civilian population in the middle eastern countries.
It also made me feel so inadequate in my contributions to society. I don't think I could ever have as much patience and motivation as Mortenson does. It's very awe inspiring. This book got me to think a little bit more about what I could do to make the world a better place. Sometimes donating money just doesn't seem personal enough to me and I hope to be able to find a way to help other people and make a difference.
Just as a final note... I thought this would be a chic type book because of the title. It is far from it. If you're a guy, you'll like this too. It's probably one of the least girly books I've read in a while.
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
Rating **
This book was among the classics collection I received as a kid. I'd never read it before and thought it might be fun. It was entertaining and would be a good read for anyone who likes adventure-type stories. I read "Hatchet" as a kid and thought this was a similar story, though maybe a little more grown-up as there were scenes of cannibalistic behaviors and more fighting and such. I was surprised at how much the attitudes in the world have changed since this book was written (early 1700s). There are definitely some racist leanings which are spoken of in a way that you can tell it was common, acceptable thinking in those days. It made me a little angry sometimes, but also makes me feel better knowing we have come a long way in improving racial equality.
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5 comments:
Karen - I haven't read Three Cups of Tea yet, but I am a huge fan of the author and his work. I've heard him interviewed several times and I wish there were more people with his amazing energy in this world. Great recommendation!
Hey, question for you...do you buy your books or check them out from the library?
Funny you should ask. For some reason I always forgot about the library, so a lot of the books I got in the past I purchased. However, I just realized that it's gonna be a heck of a lot cheaper to read 30 books this year if I just check them out at the library. I've reserved quite a few books online and they let me know when they come in and give me a few extra days to come pick them up. I'm sure I won't be able to find everything I want there, but probably pretty close to it. Plus I decided that checking them out from the library gives me motivation to read them faster before I have to return them!
Oh, and I know you won't believe this, but I have actual books AT HOME that I've never read! So sometimes I go all crazy and take one off the bookshelf! HA!
Totally off subject, but everytime you "say" HA! It reminds me of Grandpa Holley's letters. That is what he always wrote.
On subject, do you know how much it is to ship a book using "media mail"? I've heard it's cheap. I thought maybe we should do book exchanges if we find something that is decent! I just bought a few (which I never do!) I normally reserve them at the library. Anyway, just an idea.
I've never even heard of "media mail" but I'm all for book exchanges. Let me know if you've seen something you want to read on my list!
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