I have already read two books in the first month of 2011. So far, so good. I still seem to have a list a mile long, and growing each day but at least I am making progress. And progress with excellent reads at that!
The first book I read was the January Book Club selection, 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. This was the choice of my good friend Liliana. I have to say I would never have picked up this book on my own. That's the true beauty of book club. Reading this book was a bit of a struggle for me. The characters are all named similarly and it's hard to keep track of who is who. The family tree in the beginning of the book is invaluable as you read it, but it became a bit tedious to flip back and forth between that and reading. I also felt like I got the basic story but there was so much deeper underlying plot lines and implications that I should have gotten. Now that I know the story, I actually think I could read it again and get a lot more out of it. I never read books more than once though so that's probably not going to happen. I also really liked this book more once I got to discuss it at Book Club with my friends. And now James is reading it so we can discuss it too. He reads books of this sort all the time though so he's understanding it all and not having as much trouble with the names. He does agree that it is a slow read though. To describe the basic story, the book is about one family throughout 100 years and 5 generations living in a little town in Colombia called Macondo. There's not much more I can say without spoiling it or going on forever...but there is a little bit of everything in the book. I do recommend it, and stick with it because it's worth it to get to the end.
The second book I read is one I did pick, and James got it for me for Christmas. While I was reading 100 Years of Solitude, he read it first so I guess it was a gift for both of us. :) The book is Where Men Win Glory by Jon Krakauer. I love all of his books, and this one did not disappoint. It is the story of Pat Tillman who voluntarily left a successful NFL career to join the Army Special Rangers and serve in Afghanistan. He was then killed in action, the true reason covered up and this book details his life, death and the aftermath. It also details the history of Osama bin Laden as well as Afghanistan going back to the Cold War times when the Soviets were at war with the Afghans and the events leading up to 9-11. As usual, he is objective with his writing and does not take sides, merely presenting facts. I was especially shocked by some of the details of how our government works and what is hidden from the American people. Friendly fire and fratricide are scary aspects of war, and Tillman was the victim of this horrible fate. I also recommend this book, and frankly all of Krakauer's books. He is an excellent writer, he has a way of captivating his audience and presenting a well balanced story.
The first book I read was the January Book Club selection, 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. This was the choice of my good friend Liliana. I have to say I would never have picked up this book on my own. That's the true beauty of book club. Reading this book was a bit of a struggle for me. The characters are all named similarly and it's hard to keep track of who is who. The family tree in the beginning of the book is invaluable as you read it, but it became a bit tedious to flip back and forth between that and reading. I also felt like I got the basic story but there was so much deeper underlying plot lines and implications that I should have gotten. Now that I know the story, I actually think I could read it again and get a lot more out of it. I never read books more than once though so that's probably not going to happen. I also really liked this book more once I got to discuss it at Book Club with my friends. And now James is reading it so we can discuss it too. He reads books of this sort all the time though so he's understanding it all and not having as much trouble with the names. He does agree that it is a slow read though. To describe the basic story, the book is about one family throughout 100 years and 5 generations living in a little town in Colombia called Macondo. There's not much more I can say without spoiling it or going on forever...but there is a little bit of everything in the book. I do recommend it, and stick with it because it's worth it to get to the end.
The second book I read is one I did pick, and James got it for me for Christmas. While I was reading 100 Years of Solitude, he read it first so I guess it was a gift for both of us. :) The book is Where Men Win Glory by Jon Krakauer. I love all of his books, and this one did not disappoint. It is the story of Pat Tillman who voluntarily left a successful NFL career to join the Army Special Rangers and serve in Afghanistan. He was then killed in action, the true reason covered up and this book details his life, death and the aftermath. It also details the history of Osama bin Laden as well as Afghanistan going back to the Cold War times when the Soviets were at war with the Afghans and the events leading up to 9-11. As usual, he is objective with his writing and does not take sides, merely presenting facts. I was especially shocked by some of the details of how our government works and what is hidden from the American people. Friendly fire and fratricide are scary aspects of war, and Tillman was the victim of this horrible fate. I also recommend this book, and frankly all of Krakauer's books. He is an excellent writer, he has a way of captivating his audience and presenting a well balanced story.
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