Books Read (Dec, Jan, Feb)

Since I've been reading a lot more lately, I decided to write about all the books I read. It would be fun to look back at the end of the year and see them all. So, here are a handful (I am including some from December as well) that James and I have read in the past few months and our "reviews" about them.

The Glass Magician by Charlie N. Holmberg. It's the second in a series, the first of which is called The Paper Magician. The stories are great and fun to get into, but the characters don't always act in believable ways. Like, really traumatic things will happen, but the people don't have enough emotion about it. They kind of just roll with it. It feels a lot like the author wants to have certain events happen in the storyline, but doesn't really think about what effect the events would actually have on an actual person. Still, I'm reading the next one when it comes out.
--Miranda

Notes of a Russian Sniper by Vassili Zaitsev. I've always liked reading about World War II and this book has been on my list of books to read since reading about the author of the book. To me it was very interesting to read about the gritty and raw situation that the Russians were in while trying to repel the attack from Germany in the Battle for Stalingrad (now Called Volograd). The book follows Vassili Zaitsev, a peasant hunter/farmer from the Ural Mountains, as he was deployed to the front lines in Stalingrad. The book follows how he goes from a regular soldier to being part of a very successful group of snipers. For his work he was awarded "Hero of the Soviet Union" which is similar to the Medal of Honor here in the US.
--James

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie. I've gotten really into Agatha Christie books over the past several months, especially ones with the character Hercule Poirot. Which is super weird because mystery novels were never really my thing. But these are really fun because they don't really focus at all on the murder, or anything scary or creepy. It's really thinking about how all the different clues and bits and pieces of information end up fitting together until it all makes sense and the whole case is revealed. I think Agatha Christie is a master. I love that she reveals everything and ties off ALL loose ends. One time I read a Sherlock Holmes story, and it didn't explain anything. Bogus.
--Miranda

Boys Adrift by Leonard Sax. My dad recommended this to me because it applies to future children and future students. It was written by a doctor who has noticed that the current generation of boys and young men have a huge problem with being motivated to do anything with their lives. More than ever before they are living with their parents, not dating, not getting jobs, etc. It talks about his research and reasons he's discovered about why this may be happening. It's a good eye-opener and was super interesting to read. Also, I thought it had a good mix of large scale scientific studies and personal stories.
--Miranda

The Word Eater by Mary Amato. Yeah...this book is for middle-schoolers. I read it when I was a lot younger. But I love the story and writing style so much. It's about a worm who eats words off of the paper, and whenever he eats a word, that actual thing disappears in real life. It's super cute and deals with what C. S. Lewis calls "The Inner Ring." The desire to get into a group and become one of them.
--Miranda

Well, that's where I shall have to stop, because otherwise it will be book overload. Next time there will be more. If you've read any of these books, you should definitely let us know what you think of them! And suggestions for others would always be welcome :)