Some Books

So, I have only read 4 books during 2009. (I've started a few more, but not finished for lack of interest or time.) I kind of stopped reading last fall when our lives got a bit complicated, but I am getting back into it. I am finding that I have less and less time to read with the 2 kids, but enjoying it nonetheless. Here they are:

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch - This is a very quick and motivational read. I enjoyed it and took away a few snippets of wisdom.








The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows - I loved this book. It shared a very interesting aspect of World War II (the German occupation of Guernsey) that I knew nothing about previously. The characters were excellently developed.






A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith - I've wanted to read this for a while since a few of my GoodReads friends have recommended it. I got the tapes from the library and it took me a while to listen to it. (I'm not in the car as much as I thought I was and Abby is to the age that she likes to have a say in what we listen to. Also, I don't consider the book inappropriate, but there are discussions and words that I don't think a 2-year-old needs to hear.) But I liked it. The story reveals a world that I don't really know. It was definitely worth the time.




Complications by Atul Gawande - This was last month's Relief Society book club book, but I didn't get my copy from the inter-library loan system in time, but I still read it and just finished moments ago. It was fascinating! It is a collection of essays on different aspects of the medical field that prove we don't have all the answers. It isn't a doctor-bashing book by any means. (Dr. Gawande is a doctor.) It is also a reminder though that the medical knowledge we have (although incomplete in many arenas) is nothing short of miraculous.




PS In my last post I listed some good things about Thursday. Here is one I forgot to list. I found my Greatest Hits Carpenters CD that had been lost for years. (It was actually Abby who found it in another seldom used CD case.) It might be outdated music, but I love it!