Book Review

I haven't had much time to read lately. This past month, I have started trying to read a little each night before I go to bed. When Nicole brought up the book club idea back in November, I thought it would be great motivation for me to make time to read right now. I might not get to read as much as I use to pre-baby days, but 12 books a year isn't to shabby.

Last night we had our first book-club meeting. Several people flaked out on us and we only had four people, but it ended up being kinda cool because it ended up being a Mother-in-law/Daughter-in-law book club meeting with just Vicki & I and Nicole & Darlene. (Side note: One thing Nicole and I have in common is that both of our Mom's live out of town, but we both live down the street from our Mother-in-laws. We are both very fortunate to have a close relationship with our Mother-in-laws and we're always saying how thankful we are for our mother-in-law's after hearing others stories). But, we're hoping to have a bigger crowd next go round. Nicole made a yummy dinner and even though we were kinda fumbling around at first, once we got into it, it was interesting to hear every one's thoughts on it. We're always sharing and recommending books, but we never talk much that in depth about any of them.

Our first pick was The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak.

It's a story about the Holocaust and Nazi Germany, but from the German perspective. It can be compared to Ann Frank, but instead of the Jewish view, it's the story of a German girl. It's an hard book to explain, especially in the way the story is told. The story is told by death's voice (I'm sure that makes no since, but if you read it you'll understand). It's one of those that when I first finished it, I liked it, but the more we talked about it last night, the more I liked the book. I know this is probably the worst book review, but it's hard to explain. Just read the book. It's good and you'll enjoy it. It's an easy read and can be found in the young adult section.

Over the holiday's, I also finally got around to reading another book Nicole lent to me. Same Kind of Different As Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore.

I've seen a lot of talk about this book in the blog world and I can say that it was all true. I LOVED this book. This is hands down one of my absolute favorite books now. It's the true story of a homeless man, a wealthy art dealer, and the woman who brought them together. It's one of those books that I think everyone should have to read at some point in time in their lives. It is a life changing book and makes you stop to re-examine yourself and how you treat others. It's short (I finished it in less than two days) and an easy read. If you only have the chance to read one book this year, let this be it.