Here are some books I have recently read:
1) Issac's Storm by Erik Larson
This is a non-fiction book about the huge hurricane that hit Galveston in 1900. Excellently written - it reads like fiction, not non-fiction. It was weird reading this book and knowing exactly the area that was being described, having been on those beaches and walked those streets (I live about 30 miles from Galveston). And having experienced the aftermath of a hurricane (thankfully not as deadly as the 1900 storm) made the book more personal. As the storm gets closer and closer to Galveston, the intensity and suspense in book grows, I found myself reading faster and faster :). I was almost shouting out loud at some of the characters as they made life and death decisions and was astounded by how far meteorology has come since those times. Mr. Larson manages to jam-pack his works (I'm currently reading his "The Devil in the White City" right now - about the World's Fair in Chicago in 1893 and can't wait to read his new one "The Garden of Beasts - Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin" that recently came out) not only with historical trivia, but with personal accounts from those who lived in that time. It doesn't read like a history book. Love this author!
2) Radical - Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream - by David Platt
I think every Christian should read this book. It was a big lightbulb moment book for me, challenging and convicting in several ways. I don't think I can do this book justice in a review, but the long and short of it is a challenge to look at your faith from what the Bible tells us to do and not manipulate it to fit what our culture tells us to do. Convicting.
3) Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
Easily the weirdest book I have ever read. It was disgusting. It was fascinating. Mary Roach gives the detailed history of cadavers and their use in research - from the early days of grave robbing and apothecary uses, to modern time anatomy lab, car crash and land mine research, and she does it, like several other reviews have noted, in a humorous and yet respectful way (I especially appreciated her chapter on organ donation). Her writing style, like Erik Larson, reads like fiction, rather than a dusty old history book. She mixes in run of mill historical facts with some sensational trivia about cadavers. If you have a sensitive stomach, I wouldn't recommend this book - there were definitely some "ewww" factors to this book. But if you are looking for an interesting, outside-of-box, gross-your-friends-out-with-some-morbid-factoids, gaining an appreciation for all of those scientists and doctors out there who work with cadavers to make our lives better book, then you should read this book.
4) Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
I read this on the flight back from Moscow. This book was well written, I like Sara Gruen's style. The story is told in past and present - an old man reflecting on his experiences in the circus. The chapters that take place in the present were heart-wrenching (I got teary) as the main character, Jacob, candidly expresses his opinions of aging and assisted living and I enjoyed learning about circus life, the lingo and the social hierarchy that exists. Some of the harsher scenes in the book (sensual and animal abuse) were a bit much for me though and I found my skimming (and at times skipping!) some parts. I'm glad I read this book for the historical perspective it provides on circus life, but I found the main plot to be pretty run-of-the-mill and "been there, done that".
