What I've been reading #15

Reading is a great relaxation for me.  I enjoy both fiction and non fiction.  In both cases they allow you to see and "experience" things that you haven't dealt with in your life and allow the insight that can come with that added experience.  This time I read a couple of non-fiction books.  Sometimes I just get tired of reading something made up and want to read something real.  However, I must admit that the best fiction comes from authors who make their characters into real people, or rather people that I can connect with and understand.  When that happens I think that then I can empathize with what is going on and maybe even feel some of the feelings that go along with it.  when that occurs then it is more than writing on paper but indeed an experience felt and remembered.

Extremes: A Retrieval Artist Novel by Kristine Kathryn Rusch

 

Well as you can see I was enjoying the Retrieval Artist series so much I wanted to read the next one right away.  This one is probably the best of the ones I've read so far.  Flint plays a good part but almost becomes a supporting character in this one as his previous partner comes to the fore.  It is enjoyable with a few surprises as you learn to think like a moon resident who lives in a dome.  A death at a marathon race on the moon may be just a first step in a science experiment.  If you like science fiction and mysteries and police procedurals I think you will like this.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

This book has a story I enjoyed a lot about a boy and his father entwined with another story that I didn't enjoy too much.  As far as entertainment it wasn't as enjoyable as I had hoped.  As far as a treatise on fatherhood however it did give some accounts of both good and bad fathers that could be valuable.  To see more about this book click here to read my previous blog about this book.

Who's at the Door?: A Memoir of Me and the Missionaries by Dan Harrington

This was a very enjoyable book written by a Catholic man and his experience being taught by and being a friend to several sets of missionaries.  Dan Harrington is a journalist for a local newspaper when he gets the idea to learn about the missionaries.  In the process he gets intrigued by the religion and investigates honestly what the missionaries teach.  He is respectful and curious and reminds me of the King who is nearly converted by Paul int he New Testament.  Although you wonder if he will be converted and many Mormons will find his reasons for not being converted...yet to be odd, he nonetheless appears to give it real thought.  In the meantime he is kind and caring to many sets of missionaries who I am sure appreciated his realness as they dealt with so much unkindness from many as they endeavor to find those who want to know more about the gospel of Jesus Christ.  This book was both enjoyable and instructive as to what an investigator notices in the doctrine and when attending church.  Click here for another review of this book by author Danyelle Ferguson.

I am In Here: The Journey of a Child with Autism Who Cannot Speak but Finds Her Voice by Elizabeth M. Bonker and Virginia G. Breen

I enjoy reading books written by people who have had different experiences than I have.  This book is written by a woman who has two of her three children who have autism.  She focuses on her daughter who cannot speak despite the mother's and the child's desire to do so.  Instead the young girl finds the talent of writing poetry.  The girl with autism is in her early teens as the book is written but the insight that shows through in her poetry is unique for one so young.  Possibly her autism has given her a focus to see what many of us miss.  This was an enjoyable book to read to see the world in a way that I have not seen it.  Click here if you would like to read a review by a mother who has a child with autism. 

“No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance.”

- Confucius

So you wanted a unique book shelf?