Summer Reading

at the beginning of this summer, I decided to start reading more. I'd fallen into a rut of watching too much television - brainless, mindless TV - instead of reading. so, this summer, I decided to read... lots. I wanted to read both classics and, well, brainless, mindlesss books. Here's my booklist & reviews so far:
kite runner: incredible book. absolutely incredible. it's heart-wrenching from beginning to end. it's set mostly in Afghanistan during the time of the Taliban. but, even though you get some insight to what life was like then, it is more of a personal account of the main character as he grows up. i think both men and women, readers and nonreaders, would like this book. the author also wrote a book called "a thousand splendid suns," which is supposed to be equally incredible and is my next read.
a lesson before dying: this book would be considered a classic and I read it after a student recommended it that I teach it next year. this book was really, really good. it's about a young African-American boy who gets found guilty for a murder he doesn't commit. It's set in a time of racism. the boy's attorney, in an effort to get the jury to lessen his sentence, says that sentencing him to death is no better than killing a 'hog.' the boy is sentenced to death, and it becomes his aunt's mission in life to teach her nephew that he is a man, not a hog. it is a deep, emotional novel that was easy to read. again, a book i'd recommend to both men and women.
lovely bones: this is a book that has caught my attention for a long time. however, this one was slightly disappointing. it kept me reading and i was anxious to continue the story, but it wasn't as complex as the previous two. it's about a young girl who gets murdered and she watches her family from 'heaven' and narrates their story. interesting concept, but I think the audience was a younger crowd. i think girls would enjoy the books more than guys. it's a good summer read, although it is a sad concept.
twilight: yet another book that i've heard a lot about. and yet another letdown. my review of this one may not be fair because this book was compared to harry potter so i had high expectations. and it most definitely did not live up to that. eclipse is definitely geared to high school girls. it's a love story between a young girl and a vampire. it's as much a 'vampire' book as harry potter is a 'wizard' book but it's still much more simplistic. again, i wanted to finsh the story but i was disappointed.

that's it for now. i'll keep you posted!