Summer Summary

I never got around to blogging about these, but here are the other books I read this summer with a "Mini Blog" about them:

What Happened To Goodbye, by Sarah Dessen

This is a really cute summer-y book (as all of Sarah Dessen's novels are) and an enjoyable, quick read. If you're looking for a chick flick in book form, this is a great option!

Innocent Traitor, by Alison Weir

I'm really interested in the Tudor family of England, and this is a novel about Lady Jane Grey, who was Queen of England for nine days at the age of 16. It's an incredibly well written book, bringing to life all the historical characters; it's well researched, and a fascinating story. As always with the Tudors, it feels like someone couldn't have made up a better story! Weir writes from multiple characters' points of view, which is extremely helpful in understanding the intricate power plays and motives at work behind putting the unwilling Lady Jane on the throne.

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer

My whole high school had to read this book over the summer, which I think is really fun, especially since the books we've had to read have been really good so far. This book, chosen by our Science Department, is the true story of a boy, William Kamkwamba, growing up in Malawi who learns how to build a windmill to give electricity to his home, all without instruction and without having gone to high school. Not only is William's drive and invention an inspiring story, but the background he gives on what it's like to grow up in rural Malawi among poverty and famine.

Hannah Coulter, by Wendell Berry

Now this book, I could write a whole long blog post about, but it's one of those books that I feel like there's so much meaning to it, I could reread it every year and understand it better each time. It is told from the perspective of Hannah Coulter, an elderly woman looking back on her life and telling the story of her first husband, Virgil, killed in World War II, and her second husband, Nathan, and the life they built together. It's a sweet story that feels very real, not over dramatized (though the events could certainly be told dramatically). The most important difference between this book and so many other books about romantic relationships is that Hannah emphasizes the importance of people in love being rooted in their community: that their relationship is not only about the other person, but their families and people they have grown up with; they don't cut themselves off from everyone else. A beautiful book.