Things I've Been Reading...

Welll its been a while since I blogged.....  I've been working lots at Barnes & Noble, where I am constantly finding new book titles that I want to try.  So when I haven't been at work, I've been reading, and I thought I would share with all of you the great and marvelous literature that I have discovered this summer!

I have been intrigued by The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht ever since I first shelved at B&N last year.  What makes this book particularly remarkable is that Obreht is only 25 years old, this is her first novel, and it is hands down one of the best books I've ever read. If any of you have ever read 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, or The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende, Obreht's book follows a similar pattern of Magical Realism.  But instead of a Latin Culture, this tale takes place in the Balkans and tells the story of a young girl and her grandfather, how both of their lives have been shaped by war, and the peculiar mythical events that happened to the grandfather when he was a young boy growing up in a small village in the mountains.  The story is also semi-autobiographical since Obreht was raised by her grandparents in Yugoslavia.  This story has a tiger, a deathless man, a secret buried in a vineyard, a castle that is now a zoo, a plague, a doctor, and an old frayed copy of the Jungle Book.  This is one of those books that I never wanted to finish, and I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone and everyone.

A Walk Across the Sun by Corban Addison is not a feel good book by any means.  However, I really feel like everyone (well, everyone over at least 16) should read it.  The book begins in India with the Tsunami of 2005 that devastated Southern Asia.  17 year old Ahalya and 15 year old Sita are the only ones in their family to survive the wave.  In their struggle to reach safety in the aftermath of the tragedy, they are kidnapped, sold into prostitution in Bombay.  The book follows these sisters as they struggle to survive in the brothels of India, Paris, and....Atlanta?  Addison does an excellent job of telling a heart wrenching story that gives his readers a clear picture about the reality of prostitution across the world, but he does it without being too graphic.  Addison also tells the parallel story of lawyer Thomas Clarke and all that he does to help rescue girls like Ahalya and Sita from the hell in which they live.  So while its difficult to read about the reality of the modern day sex trade, its encouraging to also read about all that is being done all over the world to bring it to an end.  The book also manages to remain hopeful, and it has a happy and sweet ending.  There are 27 million people who are currently enslaved around the world today.  That's more than at any other time in human history.  In other words, educate yourself.  Read this book.

On the one hand I want to recommend Wild by Cheryl Strayed.  On the other hand, I feel like I can't with an entirely clear conscience.  Its like that R rated movie that would be perfect if it wasn't for the excessive language and that overly explicit sex scene.....  So I'll tell you what I got out of it and I suppose you can decide for yourself!  For the first 23 years of her life, the only consistent, stable, trustworthy thing in Cheryl's life was her mother.  And as long as she had her mother, life made sense, but she didn't realize this about herself, until she lost her mother to cancer.  Cheryl's grief at the loss of her mother is excruciating, and because she is such a good writer, you feel it with her.  Cheryl's life then goes into an absolute tailspin.  She destroys her marriage, sleeps with anything male that moves, and ends up addicted to heroin.  She knows she needs help, she knows her life is not going well, and on a whim she decides to walk away from her life (what's left of it) and backpack along the Pacific Crest Trail, even though she's never gone backpacking in her life.  As someone who loves to hike, camp and backpack, I really enjoyed reading about her daily struggles and triumphs on the trail.  She also describes in vivid detail the beauty of the nature around her as she hikes through the Cascade mountains.  Though the experience physically breaks her down, she finds that it helps her to emotionally heal and figure herself out.  The only thing this process is missing is Jesus, but Cheryl does discover that there is more to life than just her and her pain- and that realization helps her to cope and move forward.  Its raw, its honest, and its real.  Which is probably why I liked it so much despite its very rough and very difficult moments.

When I went to see the Vow in April, I had a vague idea that it was based on a true story.  The movie tells the story of newlyweds who get in a car crash.  Rachel McAdam's character suffers a brain injury which leaves her with amnesia.  She wakes up with no memory of the last several years, and no memory of the man she's married to, but despite that, her husband continues to love her and honor the vow he made to her.  While it made a great movie, I was intrigued when at the end of it I saw that it was inspired by a real couple that are still married today and have two children, despite the fact that the wife, Krickitt Carpenter, never regained any memory of meeting or marrying her husband.  The book tells the true story of the Carpenters, both of whom are committed Christians.  The book is not particularly well written, the prose is not gripping.  Come to think of it, the movie was not particularly overwhelming either in terms of acting or script.  I think the reason that I loved both the movie and the book so much is because its a picture of what real love looks like.  Real love is not always touchy-feely, and it almost never looks like the latest chick-flick.  Kim Carpenter (and yes, that's the husband's real name) chose to honor his vow to love and cherish and honor his wife, even when she hated the sight of him.  He chose to take care of her and to woo her all over again, even when she was not particularly lovable.  In a culture where marriage vows have become almost meaningless, and most couples get divorced over far less than a traumatic brain injury, Kim Carpenter took his vow to Krickitt seriously.  And its really beautiful.

If you decide to read any of these, I'd love to hear what you think! :)