10 Books in a Summer - Will I make it?

If I don't have enough time to blog about reading, can I really read 10 books by the end of August?

I hope so.

Reading continues to be a joy. I have read four books since the beginning of June and I'm about to complete a 5th.

"My Name is Memory" by Ann Brashares was one of those frivolous, escapist reads. I needed something lighter after "The Green Mile" and thought this paranormal romance (which, despite what reviewers said, is nothing like "Twilight") would be a good fit. It worked. I definitely enjoyed it for what it was - not a profound or stirring read, but a nice gateway to thinking about other-worldly things while not letting reality cloud anything.

"Room" by Emma Donoghue was the complete opposite. It was a story ripped from the headlines Law & Order style, except told from the perspective of a five year old boy. I read it in a few short days mostly because during the middle I couldn't put it down.

"Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall was a random book I found while aimlessly wondering Barnes and Noble one weekend. I was immediately intrigued by the author's focus on a native tribe in Mexico of ultra runners - a people who run for days without rest and are some of the healthiest people on the planet. The book also details some of America's super-athletes, ultra marathon races through the highest points of the Rockies and in the depths of Death Valley, CA. Every chapter had some story that blew my mind and it ultimately convinced me not that I will master the skill of running but that that we, as humans, can be capable of anything as long as we love what it is we want to do.

And now I am 100 pages shy of finishing "What is the What" - a gripping account by David Eggers of one of Sudan's lost boys. The lost boy actually worked with Eggers on the book. It is one of the most powerful texts I have ever read - so many short passages that leave me stunned, emotional, breath-taken, or simply taken aback. Eggers brilliantly weaves history, personal and gripping accounts of Deng's life in Sundan, alongside very modern American issues, conflicts over human rights, and the age-old literary arch of growing up. Simply, I still have not finished, but I love this book. In terms of how it has affected me, it is on par with "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver. Not only did it open me to a story about Africa, but connected me explicitly to history not spoken of in textbooks and affirmed to me why everyone else in my life has told me I need to read these books. Yes - both Poisonwood and What should be required reading.

And with that, I encourage you to read my next post, where I will simply relay two of my favorite parts of the book because they are most salient to my personal and professional life at the moment.

To reading,

~MJ