May - What I Read

Thanks to a cold and a lot of time spent sick in bed, I plowed through a lot of books this month. I feel very accomplished:) Working on some longer reviews of some of these, so expect those soon.

Requiem (Delirium #3), by Lauren Oliver
[my review]

What Good Is God?: In Search of a Faith That Matters, by Philip Yancey
I listend to this as an audiobook, read by the author. And since much of the book is based on his sermons, it was an enjoyable and inspiring listen.

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, by Susan Cain
So good! Everyone should read this. [my review]

The Mystery of Mercy Close (Walsh Family #5), by Marian Keyes
[my review]

Queen of the Air: A True Story of Love and Tragedy at the Circus, by Dean N. Jensen
Thanks to the publishers who were kind enough to send me an Advanced Copy of this book. I really, really enjoyed it. This book will be available June 11. [my review]

Screwed, by Laurie Plissner
Also got an ARC copy of this book from the Publisher. I may not be the right audience for this book (I'd recommend for high school and college age), and I had some issues with the writing, but the story was interesting.

Absent, by Katie Williams
Thank you Chronicle Books & NetGalley for the ARC, I really enjoyed this. [my review]

The Last Summer of the Camperdowns, by Elizabeth Kelly
Such a great book! Was so glad yo get it as an ARC. I often value books based on how much I like the cover, and this one held up to my high standard. [my review]

Storybound (Storybound #1), by Marissa Burt
Cute story about a normal girl who is reading one day, and is sucked into Storyland. Sometimes felt that it was trying too hard to be a great series like Harry Potter, but I'd recommend for elementary and middle school kids. (I got an ARC from NetGalley)

April - What I Read

April was a great month. Lots of beautiful sunny weather here in SF, both my sisters came to visit for a week, and I somehow still read 6 books this month.

Bitterblue, by Kristin Cashore
A fantastical novel, about a distant and mysterious kingdom. For fans of The Infernal Devices & A Song of Ice and Fire. [post]

Winning Balance, by Shawn Johnson
Johnson shares her early gymnastic years, her experience at the Olympics, and how how her life has changed since then. Easy and fun to read.

Clockwork Prince, by Cassandra Clare
Just as good as all of Clare's other books, she creates great characters and plots to pull the reader in. [post]

Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea, by Barbara Demick
Good, but not my favorite book on North Korea. [post]

Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief, by Lawrence Wright
Amazing book. Read my review for more thoughts, but I recommend you read it and decide what you think about Scientology. [post]

Scarlet, by Marissa Meyer
This sequel was better than the first, go read it!

Only 4 months into the year and I am 50% done with my goal of 50 books this year. I guess I underestimated myself. Maybe I should aim for 100 next year!

Nothing to Envy - Book Review

Book: Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea
Author: Barbara Demick
Genre: Nonfiction / Politics & Social Sciences 
Publisher/Publish Date: Spiegel & Grau / December, 2009
Source: Audio Book from SF Public Library
Pages: 314
Rating: 2/5
GoodReads  •  Amazon

I got this book from the library based on reviews I read (it has 358 5-star reviews on Amazon), but I wasn't that impressed with it. This book was a good look at North Korean lives and cultures through the lens of six citizens over 15 years, through the rough period surrounding Kim Il-sung's death, and the famine of the mid-90s. Demick mixes stories from the small villages with that of life in the capitol city of Pyongyang, providing a thorough over view of how life was different depending on your political and social standing.

I was surprised how many historical events I didn't really know, and this book was good with facts. I have read other books about North Korea in which I've felt connected with the people and more concerned with their welfare. Where I think it hit some bumps, was the quantities of lives it was following. Some of this may have been due to listening to it, since I don't think I can follow a book as well on tape as I can on paper. And though it says a person read it, at times it sounded like a computer reading the book. The one benefit of the audiobook, I know how to pronounce all the names of people and places.

For me this was a good addition to the other books I have read on this topic, but not that great as a stand alone.

Escape from Camp 14 - Book Review

Book: Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West
Author: Blaine Harden
Genre: Non-Fiction, History
Publisher/Publish Date: Viking Adult / March 2012
Source: Audio Book from SF Public Library
Pages: Hardcover, 205
Rating:3.5/5
Other books from author: A River Lost & Africa: Dispatches from a Fragile Continent
GoodReads  •  Amazon

When I see videos of the Holocaust it moves me to tears. I think I am still evolving--from an animal to a human. - Shin Dong-hyuk

Imagine growing up in a prison camp; not knowing any other way of life. Having very little to eat, only one set of clothes which are replaced just once a year, and being forced to work 12 plus hours a day.

Shin Dong-hyuk is the only person known to have been born in a North Korean prison camp and later escape from it. It's a fascinating look into a secretive world, and what life looks like when you have no knowledge of a loving family, God, civilization, comfort, or joy. Born the second son of parents who were only allowed to see each other a few times a year, he was in the prison camp to atone for the sins of his grandparents.

The book covers his time in the camp, how he was able to escape, and then, once he made it to South Korea, how he worked on settling into his new way of life.

In South Korea, he was placed in a program that would help assimilate him to culture outside of North Korea. Teaching him and others who had left North Korea the truth about the world and the truth about their country. Unlike other defector's from North Korea, he was in some ways starting with a clean slate. He had not been taught the propaganda that the others grew up learning, so for example, when he was told who really started the Korean war, he easily accepted it.

With the help from people in the US who heard about his story he had the opportunity to travel and eventually moves to California, working as a human right activist. He struggled with guilt his discomfort in telling his story and being able to relate to the American's he would speak to. And since his escape was in 2005, this is still an ongoing story, so it sort of leaves us hanging at the end.

Though I had read the original Washington Post article about him (also written by this author), I appreciated that the book also covers recent events, such as how he's adjusting to life in the US. Now free, he's racked with guilt, finds it challenging to stay at one job, is learning about social norms and how to love. He is still working as a human rights activist, living in Washington state and Seoul, South Korea.

February - What I Read

Boy did March sneak up on me, but I think I did a pretty good job this month considering it's a short month.

At the beginning of the year I made a goal to read 50 books this year, which I though was a conservative goal. I may have underestimated myself. So far I've read 13, and according to GoodReads I am six books, 11% ahead of schedule. Maybe I can get that percentage up for next month.

More Or Less: Choosing a Lifestyle of Excessive Generosity, by Jeff Shinabarger
A recently published boom and my first ARC review. My review (FYI: I really loved it!)

Disco Bloodbath, by James St. James
I blogged about it last week.

Prodigy, by Marie Lu
I have a review of this coming out later this month.

Forgotten God, by Francis Chan
A book I've been wanting to read for awhile, and I got my hands on the audio book at the library. While I don't love listening to audio books that often, it's great how quick it is to get through a book. This book focuses on the neglect of the Holy Spirit in today's church. How it's the true true source of the church's power and calls for us to refocus on the forgotten God.

Cinder, by Marissa Meyer
Loosely based on the story of Cinderella, though in this story she's a cyborg. As crazy as that may sound, this was actually a really great book. And unlike most other dystopian novels, this wasn't based in North America, but in New Beijing. Scarlet, the second book in this series (Lunar Chronicles) was published February 5th and I am looking forward to reading that soon.

Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West, by Blaine Harden
I have a review of this coming out later this month. I highly recommend reading this.

This Book is Not Good For You, by Pseudonymous Bosch
How can you not love a title like that. This is the third book (out of five) in the New York Times bestselling Secret Series. Two adventurous 11-year olds, Cass and Max-Ernest head off to track the Midnight Sun organization, after they kidnap Cass' mother. While I enjoy this series, the plot tends to be pretty shallow and repetitive, but I really enjoy the characters. And they are easy and fun to read, so I think I'll stick with the series. Recommended for 3rd - 5th graders (or thirty-somthing adults).

In process...
Infinite Jest: going to work on this book a little at a time. Only 51 pages in so far, but I am really enjoying it.
Red Carpet Burns: a memoir about moving to LA for love.
The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict: one of my favorite contemporary series which I consider a cross between J.K. Rowling and Roald Dahl.