I bought The Kite Runner about 1 year ago and finally picked it up to read, almost never being able to put it down and it ran into my time I was supposed to be reading the Omnivore's Dilemma for my book club. However, this book by Khaled Hosseini took me back to wanting to re-read "Lay Down with Lions" by Ken Follett, as his book follows more of the war and Hosseini's book is strictly from the perspective of an Afghanistan family. After reading this book, I was able to understand a bit more of the Taliban, Pakistan and Afghanistan, but the family and friendship and corresponding guilt are underlying every aspect of this novel as the narrator grows older and has to deal with his own and his family's demons.
The Ominvore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan is something that every American should read. Although the book contains a lot of Mr. Pollan's musings about the subject at hand, when you read about corn for 119 pages, you start to get tired of corn. However, if you get past the first 60 pages, it gets more and more interesting. Anyone who has watched or read "Fast Food Nation" only got about 1/5th of the information about our nation's food supply. The more people I have told about this book, the more that want me to pass it along when I finished. The organic section of the book was about 150 pages and it makes you want to seek out all the local sustainable farmers in the area and just buy your food from them. This book is on the top of my list of books that everyone should read.
Pillars of the Earth, by Ken Follett, was my second time around with this book. It was just as amazing and fascinating as the first time, almost 20 years ago. It something for everyone in it...love, death, war, God, all woven around the building of cathedrals. I actually picked this one up again so I could read the sequel that just came out.
Simple Genius by David Baldacci: This book was interesting but I should have picked up something simpler to read after reading Pillars of the Earth, because my mind was not ready to try to figure out what was going on with the characters, the secret, government operations and brainy mathematicians. However, this was an enjoyable book and would make a great movie.
Fool me Once by Fern Michaels was sitting on my shelf and I wanted something I could read in a day. I didn't realize that Ms. Michaels lived in South Carolina and although the overall ending was predictable, there were some great surprises preceding the ending of the story. It is a good book to pick and read quickly.
The Looking Glass by Richard Evans was a bit too poetic for my tastes, but it is short enough and the story was good enough to keep me reading for two nights. I have read a few other of his books and they seem to all make good stories for the Hallmark Hall of Fame movies.
What Matters Most, by Luanne Rice: This book was a sequel to "Sandcastles" and followed the lives of the Nun and the caretaker of the convent and takes place mostly in Ireland. What impressed me more about the previous book is that after I read it, I started seeing some articles about the "real-life" artist that makes temporary sculptures all over the world, takes photographs of his creations, then destroys them. Although this person has a minor role in this book, the story seamlessly pulled you into the new one using the same characters and adding a few new ones.
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
