Book Report

Since I'm not working many hours yet, and since I'm living in apartment with quite a few books I've never read before (and close to a bunch of awesome libraries)... I've been reading a bunch.

I'm sure that you're all shocked.

So here's what I've read in the past month.

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The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin.

Since Mom reads the Happiness Project blog and sends me random things from it sometimes and talks about it, when I saw her book sitting on the shelf, I decided I may as well read it.  It was fun -- she writes very conversationally and has some good and motivating ideas.  I wouldn't say it was life-changing, but there you go.  It's worth reading, or skimming at least... but probably not buying.

Lulu in the Sky by Loung Ung

After being in Asia, I find that I'm way more interested in reading other books about... Asian things.  Duh.  Anyway, my friend Dominic's passion for Cambodia made me really curious to learn more about the country, culture, and people.  This book was heart-breaking because there is so much pain in the recent past of the Khmer people, but I really enjoyed getting to read a personal story.

River of Stars by Guy Gavriel Kay

See the note on the above about reading books about/set in Asia.  However... not my favorite book.  Kay is a decent author, but he often uses far more words than I think necessary or beneficial.  So while it was an okay read, it wasn't something I'm likely to pick up and read again.

Maze Runner/Scorch Trials/Death Cure by James Dashner

No.  Not worth it.  This is a sort of dystopia/sci-fi trilogy, and while the first book had some good ideas, the story and characters got increasingly flat and the ending was disappointing.  I finished it because I was curious and all three of them were sitting on the shelf, but my recommendation is just don't bother starting.

Jam by Yahtzee Croshaw

What would you do if you woke up one morning to your city being flooded with man-eating strawberry jam?  This is a fun story (if you like things in the zombie apocalypse vein, minus the zombies, plus a lot of sticky cannibalistic jam).

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski

Okay, so I had never heard of this book or this author and had no idea what genre it was in, but this was a really good read.  Warning: it's definitely sad, a little suspenseful, and a little creepy.  But I enjoyed his style of writing and story telling a lot.

And I want a dog.

Also, I miss sign language.

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

Jonathan recommended this book with something close to a blissful ecstasy in a time when I was in dire need of books.  Knowing how he was sometimes inclined to be, uh, more rapturous than I would be about certain experiences (such as eating food), I took his recommendation with a grain of salt.  We do have fairly similar tastes in stories though, so I kept it in mind.

He did not exaggerate.

This is probably the best book I've read in the past year.  The author's use of language was masterful and the story was solid.  Usually I am content with reading books quickly, but this one I was torn between not wanting to set it down and wanting it to last forever.

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So, that's what I've been reading... there are a couple more that I haven't finished yet, so they'll have to wait for another day.

Any new recommendations?