Book Tag

I was encouraged to get caught up on my summer reading by a recent tag (okay, not that recent) where you list 10 good books you have read. It sent me on a reading frenzy, so here they are in order. I tag the two Melanies, Ariana and whoever else reads who hasn't already done this. I need some more recommendations.

1. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen - Okay, so this one is a re-read. Whatever. Who doesn't like multiple doses of Mr. Darcy.
2. Atonement, Ian McEwan - I loved this book. Needless to say I wasn't a big fan of the movie in comparison. Regardless, I thought that the author did a superb job of painting believable characters. What intrigued me most was how I sympathized with all of the characters even though they all are at odds with each other at one point or another. Touching and depressing, but worth my time.
3. Light on Snow, Anita Shreve - This book was an easy to read, easy to understand, but not particularly enthralling, exhilarating or entertaining novel about a young girl who, when hiking in the woods with her father, stumbles across a newborn left in the snow. For as heavy as the subject matter should have been, I didn't find any of the characters or story line convincing enough to draw me in.
4. The Other Boleyn Girl, Phillipa Gregory - My mom lent me this one, and I was pleasantly surprised. Although it is a historical novel based on King Henry VII and the Boleyn sisters. It's pretty juicy and I'm sure that the author has taken more than a few liberties to create a very compelling story. Writing is so-so, but I would recommend this book as great airplane reading (which just happens to be where I read it).
5. Waiting for the Light to Change, Annette Haws - This was the weirdest book I have ever read. Not because the book itself is weird but more due to the subject matter. It was written by my debate coach in high school and is a supposedly fictional novel about a debate coach's experience, with the conflict centering around a mischievous policy debate team. It seems loosely factual rather than fictional to me, and I therefore remove myself from critiquing the actual contents of the book. Probably a particularly interesting read for anyone who graduated from my high school or who was ever involved in debate.
6. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas, Frederick Douglas - This book blew me away. I had no idea that he was such an absolutely incredible individual. If I had to recommend just one of these 10 books, this would be it. He wrote this narrative himself when just in his late 20s as an escaped and later emancipated slave. It is just a testament to my belief that there are just some people who are truly unstoppable and that putting your mind to something is a very powerful thing. Seriously, check it out.
7. Kim, Rudyard Kipling - This one was not an easy read, but I am now a big fan of Kipling's writing style and will probably check out some others by him. The book is set in colonial India and as I am not an avid history buff, have a terrible memory, and am an imbecile when it comes to the details of Hinduism and Buddhism, I kept having to look things up. It took me a while to get through, but the language is so rich that I really felt like I was there and was also well worth my time.
8. The Stranger, Albert Camus - This was a VERY bleak book with a main character who IS the stranger. It's a short read, and very interesting. I won't get into all the literary analysis about this book, but it is out there. So bizarre is the main character that I couldn't help but like him even though he is pretty detestable. Anyway. Bizarre.
9. A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini - I became a huge fan of Hosseini's after reading the Kite Runner. I know so little about the middle east generally, and Afghanistan specifically that both of these books have been fascinating. This book, however, struck a number of powerful chords with me, probably because I am a woman. I thought it was a realistic portrayal of unbelievable conditions that the women in Afghanistan must live through, and made me so grateful that I live in a much different world. Since the beginning of time, ladies, since the beginning of time. And to think that the world I enjoy really only began changing a few decades ago in just some parts of the world is a very eye-opening reminder of how lucky I am.
10. Katharine Graham Autobiography - I actually just recently started this book, but can hardly put it down. Graham is the woman who ran the Washington Post after her husband committed suicide. I feel like I am reading the story that Atlas Shrugged was based on. She was right in the middle of high-society and the political goings on in Washington from such an early age that the people she is connected to, things she saw and was involved in are truly inspiring. It also helped put me on planet earth about how much I, as someone who can't currently afford maids, and nannies, and butlers, can honestly expect to accomplish in a day or even a lifetime. It reminded me that even having the time to read 10 books is a luxury for people who spend their whole day trying to put food on the table. Also a must read recommendation.

Phew.