What She Read: October

October came and went and with it came a whole pile of book that I have somehow worked my way through. Whether for school or just for pleasure, here's what I read this month!

Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder

Sophie's world is really less of a book and more of a short history of philosophy in about 300 pages, which granted may not sound very exciting and at times was definitely hard to get through, I don't think I've ever learned so much from a single book!

The Stranger by Albert Camus

This translation of Camus' brilliant novel poses some really interesting questions about consciousness and forces us as readers to think about questions that we don't necessarily want the answers to. A short read but worth the time.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Now I have never been into fan fiction, but this novel opened my eyes to that whole culture. I really connected with the main character, who finds new environments daunting but learns to find her niche with people that love her for who she is. I read it in one sitting!

The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid

This is definitely the best book I've read in a long time for many reasons. First off, it is presented in the form of a conversation, but we are only given one side of it, the main character's. We never hear from the man he is telling his story to except for what he chooses to share with us in his conversation. The story follows the main character's life as he tries to find a place for himself in american society without fully giving up his culture and traditions. It also leaves you with a lot of questions worth thinking about.

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Okay so maybe I'm not completely finished with this one yet, but I don't have much to say other than that it is pretty much what I expected going into it. Nothing too earth shattering here!

What have you been reading lately?

xx

What She's Reading: January

This month's books were, well, basically dominated by John Green. With the debut of the The Fault in Our Stars movie trailer, there's been a constant spotlight on the hilarious author and I thought it was high time for me to read some of his other books.

An Abundance of Katherines is a lighthearted and quirky story of a boy who was just dumped for the nineteenth time by a girl named Katherine. The book was a quick read littered with footnotes and graphs which add character to the story. 

Looking for Alaska fits in line with The Fault in Our Stars in that it absolutely broke my heart. John Green has found another way to make you have an emotional breakdown over fictional characters, thats for sure. Fantastic book.

Sum it Up by Pat Summitt Pat Summitt recollects her life as a basketball player and head coach at the University of Tennessee until an retirement after being diagnosed with early onset dementia. The book starts out slow and at times is tedious to get through, but when you remind yourself that it was written by someone with altzheimer's, you're absolutely floored by the detail by which she is able to recall players and teams, the people she loved. Here's an excerpt that I hope will help explain:

I don't remember records, final scores, and statistics. Numbers have a strange slipperiness; they suggest nothing. If you ask me how many games we won in 1998, or what happened in the 2008 NCAA national championship game, I struggle to remember which one it was.

But  if you tell me who was on that team, or show me an old team photo, I'll remember: "That's Linda Ray- she didn't play much but she was a great teammate, and smart. Biochemistry major."

Pat Summitt is a remarkable woman and I highly recommend reading her book, regardless of if you're a basketball fan or not! (I'm not and I have thoroughly enjoyed reading it thus far!)