Books Read Recently: Part 1

Another month has passed and another pile of books has been read.  I read 8 books in the last month which I think is pretty good.  If I keep this up, I might be able to reach 100 books by the end of the year!  That would be amazing but I am not holding my breath.  Once the weather warms, walking will take a priority over curling up with a book.

Like last month, I wanted to give a brief assessment of what I thought of each book in case you might be inclined to read it.  Here goes:


The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell

As you might have noticed, last month I read Assassination Vacation by this author.  I liked that book so much that I quickly picked up this book to read.  At first I was disappointed.  It does not have the sarcastic dry humor that I loved so much in her other book.  Plus, it is about the Puritans, a subject I know little about.  However, once I got used to the characters (early 1700s political figures in Puritan New England), I found myself unable to put it down.  I recommend pushing through and reading it.  While it seems a dull subject matter, Puritan thought has had a tremendous effect on American politics and rhetoric.  Read it if you like American history and would like to see a time period that is often overlooked.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo

This book took me completely off guard.  Paulo Coelho is an author that a friend recommended to me.  One day at the library I noticed this book and picked it up, not even paying attention to what it was about before I started reading the first chapter.  I liked it so much that I read the whole book in just a little over 24 hours.  It is a story of a shepard on a journey to find his personal treasure, set in Spain and Northern Africa.  A lesser writer would have put me off with the spiritual tone of the book but Coelho managed to strike the right balance between the mystical and the personal.  I would recommend this book to anyone and I am excited to read more of his books.

Thanks for recommending Coelho to me, Tanya!

Infected by Scott Sigler

This happens about once a month.  I go to the library, see a book with an interesting cover ("A triangle shaped iris?!  Well heck, I'll read about that!"), title or review and I take it home.  Then, after about 50 pages I am just frustrated and annoyed by the poor writing.  Then, for the remainder of my time reading the book, my poor husband has to endure my constant groans, copious use of expletives and long-winded diatribes aimed at the disaster that is that book.

This was the case with Infected.  I do not recommend this book.  For some unknown reason I saw this book through to the end and I can tell you straight out: it is not worth reading.  The end was dull.  The story was full of cliches.  The action was sparse and predictable.  Just avoid this book.  Please.


Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer

I normally do not like arguments in favor of vegetarianism.  This one I liked.  In this book, Foer struggles with the question of whether or not to feed meat to his young son.  Foer has been an off again, on again vegetarian his whole life and debates which path to lead his son down.  He discusses the issue with farmers and activists, eventually coming to the conclusion that he does not want to feed his son meat. 

I am not a vegetarian, nor will I ever be one.  The world would have to run out of meat first.  What I liked about the book, however, were two things:

1. He did not try to force his views upon me.  He acknowledges that vegetarianism is a personal choice.
2. He really advocates just eating less meat.  I can get behind that.  

He really made me think about my consumption and its effects on corporate farming.  I definitely recommend this book to those who like to consider the food they eat and where it comes from.

That concludes part one of this month's installment of "Books Read Recently."  Coming up in Part 2: Junot Diaz, Steig Larrson and Paul Auster books are summarized and briefly expounded upon.