Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Lynness: reading for Aug-Sept

I posted about the bios I read in August, but while searching for bios to read, I came across Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace...One School at a Time.  I didn't get around to reading it for August and I almost returned it, but decided to renew it and maybe I'd give it a whirl.  I was just starting it last week when I decided to look for some books that would fit the bill for this month.  I clicked around a bit and found Powell Book's Puddly Awards list.  What was the non-fiction winner?  This book.  Turns out it's won a fair number of other awards as well (pasted from the Wikipedia article on the book):

  • Kiriyama Prize
  • Time Magazine Asia Book of The Year
  • Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association – Nonfiction Award
  • Montana Honor Book Award
  • Borders Bookstore Original Voices Selection
  • Banff Mountain Festival Book Award Finalist
  • Dayton Literary Prize Nonfiction Award – runner up
  • People Magazine – Critics Choice
  • Publisher’s Weekly – Starred Review
  • Mom's Choice Award 2009 [14]
  • 2009 Italy: Premio Gambrinus “Giuseppe Mazzotti” [15]
  • Powell Book's Puddly Award (nonfiction), Portland [16]
  • 2010 The Christopher Award: "To affirm the highest values of the human spirit" [17]
  • 2010 The Mason Award - Extraordinary contribution in literature (George Mason University DC)[18]
I finished it and requested the next.  It's the kind of book that makes you want to do good and change the world too.  I highly recommend it.

I also read the Hunger Games trilogy.  I liked the first book, but each successive book left me a little more dissatisfied than the one before.  I'm not sure why.  I don't know if it was the plot or the writing or the characters or what.  I wanted to finish the books because I wanted to see how it all turned out, but not because the reading compelled me like it did in the first one.
I know one thing: if they ever make this into a movie, I will not see it.  Waaaayyy too graphic.  I don't want to see what I read about.  (Good thing I don't visualize what I read about unless I make an specific effort.)  I agree with Rae- not for kids.

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