Books: Sun a Fun Age

 This book reads like a chick lit but goes in deep. On top level it's a contemporary story of two different women and what happens when their lives intersect. But when you look deeper, it's really a commentary on racism, bourgeoisie culture and white privilege, in other words, it is perfect for the NOW. I read this book over a weekend. It's a quick read that hooks you in and keeps you with well nuanced characters and fast pace story line. This is a Reese Witherspoon book club pick, which is a good thing because it created a lot buzz for this book. I've mostly liked everything Witherspoon picks, and same goes here. Such a Fun Age is Kiley Reid's debut book, and I will definitely keep an eye out for other books coming from her. 

Books I have read recently: The Story of a Beautiful Girl

Clarification: Take the term "recently" in the title to mean a timeframe meaning the past few months. I've been so lazy blogging that I haven't documented any of the books I've read, which have been numerous. Anyway, I will try to remedy the situation by picking a few of the best books to share.

The first is the Story of the Beautiful Girl by Rachel Simon. This book came out in 2012, and my cousin mentioned it to me a while back. I finally read it this past summer and it's a lovely book written about a topic that hasn't got a lot of coverage in the world of literature. It's the story of a girl with developmental disability, and her love story with a deaf man. It's also the story of the institutions that housed people with developmental disabilities, and the horrible things that happened in those places. I felt the book captured the voice and feeling of its subjects well although it's not the most sophisticated writing. It's full of humanity, and understanding. I highly recommend this book.

All the Light We Cannot See

Ok, time to catch you guys up on my reading again. Gosh, it's been so long I don't even remember all the books I've read in between, but let's start with a good one. All the Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr. It's been on the best seller list for a long time, and for a good reason. It is a beautifully written, almost poetic book that goes very deep in its characters. The story has many layers but carries one particular story as a red string through-out the book. I'm usually not too crazy about reading war-time stories, but this one was different because of the choice of the main characters, a blind French girl and a genius German orphan boy. It's not an easy book to read, and especially in the end, it's quite sad, and that is why I usually avoid the war stories. But this book is definitely worth the trouble and heartbreak. I had first borrowed this from the library, but it's a hefty book and I ended up loading this on my iPad so it was easier to carry on the commute. Amazon gives this book 4 and 1/2 stars, and I would agree.