Books in 2012: Return and Report part 2

I felt like I hadn't read much since my last post about what I've been reading. But thanks to Goodreads, I was able to look back and remember these books that I have read since August. Are you on Goodreads? I love it so much. You can find me here. 

So, here we go! This summer, I went on a kick of reading Mormon memoirs (seen below). Each one was completely different and captured completely different Mormon/life experiences, which is to be expected. I still have a blog post draft talking about my views of all these books. Maybe some day I will publish it. 

 Heaven Up Here by John K. Williams: a mission memoir of a young man who served in Bolivia in the late 80s. I liked this book mostly because I had so many experiences that were almost identical to his, and he was very honest about the LDS mission experience.

Yearning for the Living God by F. Enzio Busche: autobiography about Enzio Busche, who grew up in Nazi Germany and was a German POW in WW2. He reflects on what that was like, and why he eventually converted to Mormonism. I thought it was good.

Book of Mormon Girl by Joanna Brooks: I read this and then had the chance to meet Ms. Brooks, which I wrote about here. Overall, I was left disappointed by this book. Joanna Brooks is usually a great writer (I like her blog), but her book was a disorganized mess. And just kind of annoying.


These are the books that I read for my Book Club this fall:

 Finding Alice by Melody Carlson: This book was meh. Not bad, but not great. An interesting book if you're into understanding mental illness. Like I said, just ok.

Life of Pi by Yann Martel: We read this before the movie came out, and I really liked this book! A great story with religious undertones that really get you thinking. I thought the movie was beautiful, but I liked the book a lot better.

Two From Galilee by Marjorie Holmes: I'm just about to finish this one, so I figured I would just include it. This is a pretty good book: an interesting insight into Mary and Joseph, parents of Jesus. It's historical fiction, so I assume the writer is assuming a lot, but I liked this book.



And for some others:

Ok For Now by Gary Schmidt: this is kind of a sequel to the book The Wednesday Wars, but you don't have to read that first before reading Ok For Now. I liked this book better. In fact, I really liked this book. Highly recommend it. 

Son by Lois Lowry: The final book in The Giver series. Lois Lowry is a great writer, and this book was interesting, but it still wasn't as good as The Giver. I really like the cover art though!

Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson: The sequel to Chains, and I wasn't crazy about it. 

And now for a random one to throw into the mix... The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman. I saw this at the book store for like $3 and a friend recommended that I read it. I thought it had some very valuable information about relationships in general, and not just between a husband and wife/ boyfriend and girlfriend. I would recommend it. 

The most recent book I read was Young House Love by John and Sherry Petersik. I love their blog, so I guess it makes sense that I would love their book. If you are looking for some great DIY and decorating ideas for your house, I would suggest it. Or you can borrow my copy. It got me really excited to do some decorating!

My good friend Holli and I picked this book up when we went to their social/book signing they had in D.C. last week. It was so much fun, and we loved getting to meet John and Sherry. Super nice, super cool people. They even agreed to a hammy picture with us, per Holli's request. 

So, there you go! 

I also feel the need to say that most of these books were "actual books," because my Kindle suffered an early and tragic death back in October. I miss it so much.   cough Christmas Hint cough!!

Feel free to share your suggestions, please! I need some good recommendations. 

Happy reading!