January Reading List

One of my favorite activities outside of yoga, painting, eating apples (hehe) and CrossFit, is reading. Since I haven't done a book review post since the summer, I thought I'd share a few of my recent reads today. Also, I have to say that I've recently hooked my new Kindle up to the library and it's eBook collection, and it's amazing! If you have a Kindle and haven't tried it yet, give it a go! To me, free books are always better than the ones you have to pay for ;)

Peruse my recent reads below, and please do share if you have any good recommendations for me!

_Recent Reads

Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
Grade: B-
Thoughts: I enjoyed reading the book and thought that the story line was well constructed, but I actually didn't like the writing that much. I felt that the modern parts (not the flashbacks) weren't very well-written or believable, although the flashbacks felt much more realistic to me. It's recently been made into a movie, though, so I'm interested in seeing that and think it could be a great movie...

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Grade: A+
Thoughts: Amazing book. Heart-wrenching and sad--even made me cry at one point while reading it in bed--but it's really, really good and paints a very realistic portrait of Afghan history and the horrors that have occoured over the years (and how difficult it is to be a woman there). I'm a BIG fan of Khaled Hosseini (author of The Kite Runner), and definitely recommend both of his books.

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_Incantation by Alice Hoffman
Grade: A-
Thoughts: Beautifully-written and again, a very sad and realistic story, this one about Jewish Spaniards living undercover in Spain in the 1500s. Sad but eye-opening and quite the page-turner. Also, it's written from a young girls perspective, so has a very interesting point of view.

Lucky by Alice Sebold
Grade: A-
Thoughts: As a true story/memoir about being raped in college, this book is a tough read. I don't recommend it to those who have a hard time reading about difficult subjects or tragedies, but I do think that it's very informative and taught me a lot about what rape victims go through after the rape. Plus, I love Alice Sebold so it was interesting to read her memoir.

And if you haven't read them yet, I have to admit that I recommend The Hunger Games series. I promise that I am NOT usually into sci-fi OR teen books (and never have been!), but they're a really fun read. They're kind of like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series--page turners, you can't put them down, and you end up reading one after another over 3 or 4 days until you're done. Might as well take the dive, as you know that they're going to be made into a movie soon and you're going to have to read them then!

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Current Read

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
Grade (thus far): A+
Thoughts: Although I'm only 1/4 of the way through this thick book, it's a must-read. Put it on your list! It's the story of a young boy who is born mute, and can only sign, and it is amazingly constructed and well-written. Just read it! Do it. 

Upcoming Reads/Wish List:

Happy Yoga: 7 Reasons Why There's Nothing to Worry About by Steve Ross: Gifted to me by one of my students, I hear it's great and am excited to read it!

The Tiger's Wife by Tea Obreht: I've been hearing about this book for months so I've put the eBook on hold. I think I'm number 89 on a wait list of about 100, so I'll tell you about it when I read it in 2013 ;)

The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides: Another one that I've read many reviews about, but haven't gotten a chance to read yet. I've never read any of his books, but hear that he's great. On my list for 2012!

So what's on your reading list? What have you read recently that is a must-read? Please let me know! I'm always looking for new books and want to add lots of new books to my eBook library queue :)

Happy reading!

Namaste,
Mary Catherine

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