What I’m Reading

I’ve read some pretty good and thoughtful books lately.

I recently wrote about some of the books I was planning on reading during the summer. I found some real gems.

The Ledge: An Adventure Story of Friendship and Survival on Mount Rainier

I really enjoy adventure books. I’ve always been interested in stories about harrowing survival. I’ve also been interested in stories about Antarctica, mountaineering and exploration. Maybe it’s the solitude of a world of ice that I find intriguing, not sure. This book was not a disappointment.

It’s the story of two friends who are expert climbers who decide to climb a glacier on Mount Rainier (in Washington). It ends in tragedy but the surviving friends writes the story of his survival. It’s a page-turner. I stayed up late too many nights reading this book!

Secret Daughter: A Novel

I loved this book. It was really well written and the story was interesting. It was heartbreaking but the writing style also had some funny aspects to it. At first I was unhappy with the ending but the more I mulled on it, I liked it. It was a fast read (I read it in 2 days).

Driving with Dead People: A Memoir

I’m glad I kept reading this book; I almost gave up. I had a hard time trying to get into it in the beginning, in fact I put it aside and read another book first. But I am glad I picked it up again. The book became really engrossing after a few chapters. The atrocious parents Monica had continued to shock me. The father was a monster and then mid-book the mother turned into (almost) a worse monster than the father. It’s a miracle any of the children survived to be productive adults.

The book implies that it’s about a morbid girl fascinated with death and dead people–and in a way it sort of is. At least the first few chapters are. But really it has nothing to do with physical death. It’s an enjoyable read and the ending was completely out of nowhere. I was not expecting the revelation that happens at the end.  Worth a read.

The Ghost at the Table: A Novel (Shannon Ravenel Books)

The Ghost at the Table is about a writer living in San Francisco who goes home to the East Coast for Thanksgiving with her family. Her ailing father whom she hasn’t spoken to in years is there, and so is her sister who apparently wants them to have the picture-perfect family and picture-perfect Thanksgiving. The story is about their dysfunctional family. It’s an interesting read because the dynamics within their little family are so bizarre. The sister, Frances, has a very different view from her sister (main character, Cynnie) of their childhood, their father and the death of their mother.  I found the topic of varying realities really interesting. It’s worth a read for the relationship aspects of it. I found her writing style easy to read.

Other Good Reads

In the blog and news world, there were some really good reads I wanted to pass on too.

• Katy Hanson of Vancouver, WA decided to lose 120 pounds in order to join the Army. Her story is pretty amazing.
• Sarah from Run Sqrl Run wrote a heartfelt post about her life then and now. Check it out here.
• Jen from Running Stories wrote about her experiences running a 50k. She had signed up for the McKenzie River 50k but the recent forest fires here in Oregon changed that. She ended up not participating. Instead, she ran her OWN 50k in Washington Park! She had her friends and family along the trail as “race support” with food and water and she did it on her own. It was a very cool read and an inspiring idea.
• I love what First Lady Obama is doing! Olive Garden and Red Lobster are going to revamp their menus to make some healthy options for kids! This is fantastic!
• Finally, if you aren’t reading this blog, you should be. I like her posts because she’s local for me but mostly because her photos are amazing. They are beautiful and perfect!

And now I am out of books to read. Send me some of your favorite titles!

QUESTION: What have you read lately that you really enjoyed? And if you wrote something on your blog you are really proud of, post the link here.