Looking for a Book?

Right now, I am reading a fat blue book with an earth on it by Bill Bryson called A Short History of Nearly Everything and a novel by Anna Quindlen called Rise and Shine. I joke that I have to read a pink book at the same time I read a non-fiction to have a little mental relief. A lot of times novels meant for female readers have pink somewhere on the cover whether the whole book is fuscia, the text is rose colored or the publisher’s emblem is a light ballet hue. The pink is like a little subliminal signal that the book has some sisters, cell phone conversations about relationships and pregnancy inside.

I have acquired the love for reading that I have always wanted but never had. It is how I feel about art I am working on and others feel about playing music, baking, or sports. You genuinely want to do it to do it not because you feel like you should. I have always trudged through books about homelessness, development efforts, fallen addict to a few novels and taken to my text books seriously with a highlighter. Through my Peace Corps experience, I can honestly say that I love to read and admit to loving novels way more than science books and memoirs with happy endings worlds more than true tragedies.

Bryson’s A Short History is reminding me of all of those things that I have found interesting about geologic history and biology but haven´t thought about for at least two years. It makes me feel good but I have to force myself to crack it and read for hours at a time so that I will finish in a timely manner and can move on to the next thick one. I read Anna Quindlen when my project partner doesn’t show up for a meeting yet again, when I eat my breakfast eggs and tea, or ride to wear I am today four across in the broken truck. I have to tear myself away from the lives of the elaborate charachters. I have to start another one before I finish to avoid that really sad feeling. He’s a bit of a job and she’s the reward.

You can see all the books I’ve read so far on the side but I have categorized them in case you feel the need to read! Please read with a bran muffin and a hot drink, apple pie or a smoothie... it will make it so much better... ooh, dark chocolate.

General Non Fiction:

• Animal Vegetable Mineral, Barbara Kinsolver- Good one about food!
• Eat Pray Love, Elizabeth Gilbert
• Nickel and Dimed, Barbara Ehrenreich- Interesting about low income US.
• The Things They Carried, Tim O´Brien
• Pledged, Alexandra Robbins- very quick read about sororities, loved it.
• Marley and Me, John Grogan
• Genome, Matt Ridley- Read it in two days because it was so fascinating.
• Jesus Land, Julia Scheeres
• The New New Thing, Michael Lewis
• The 100-Mile Diet, Alisa Smith, J B MacKinnon- Made me homesick.
• Desert Solitaire, Edward Abbey
• Essentials of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Manya Magnus
• The Color of Water, James McBride- Very well written and inspiring.

About development:
• Mountains Beyond Mountains, Paul Farmer- Highly recommend.
• Why the Cocks Fight, Michele Wucker
• Eyes of the Heart, Jean Bertrand Aristide
• Nine Hills to Nambakaha, Sarah Erdman
• In the River They Swim, Michael Fairbanks...- This took me forever to read.
• On That Day, Everybody Ate, Margaret Trost
• Banker to the Poor, Muhammad Yunus- Really informative about micro-finance.
• Kabul Beauty School, Deborah Rodriguez
• Dead Aid, Dambisa Moyo and Niall Ferguson

Notable novels:
• Little Earthquakes, Jennifer Weiner- Pink book that I couldn't put down.
• The Friday Night Knitting Club, Kate Jacobs
• Prep, Curtis Sittenfeld- I couldn´t believe this wasn´t non fiction.
• Garden Spells, Sarah Addison Allen- Set in Washington.
• Belong to Me, Marisa de los Santos- So well written, I cried when I was done.
• Best Friends, Martha Moody- Awesome but a pink book for sure.
• The Namesake, Jhumpa Lahiri- Recommend it to anyone.
• A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini- I haven't read the Kite Runner yet.

Take care and comment on my blog!