I've been reading a lot lately and finally actually read some good stuff! Here are some of the highlights.
For February, the book I picked off my shelf to read was
Bridget Jones's Diary, by Helen Fielding. I have no idea why I own a copy of this, but now I can say I have read it. It's the story of a year of thirty-something and single Bridget Jones's. In diary format it follows the ups and downs of her love life, weight gain (and loss), family crises, etc. Frankly, the character of Bridget makes me tired, probably because I have a hard time separating the character in the book from Renee Zellweger's portrayal in the movie adaptation. It's not terrible, but it's not great, either. If anyone wants a copy, I won't be sad to part with mine.
Reached by Ally Condie. This is the final book in the dystopian
Matched trilogy featuring the characters of Cassia, Xander, and Ky. It is a little slow getting started, but the last half is good. Unfortunately, I've read so many similar young adult dystopian novels in recent months, that I had a hard time keeping the plot lines of this series straight. I can't say more about the story without giving things away, but if you have read the other two books, this one is worth reading, too. I like that it kind of ends on a hopeful note.
Penelope by Rebecca Harrington. This book is funny. I laughed out loud several times while reading it. Sadly, it doesn't have much of a plot, but the laughs make up for it. It's the story of Penelope O'Shaunessy, an awkward, socially-inept freshman at Harvard. It follows her attempts to fit in at school - socially, academically, and romantically. There's really not much more to say. It's one of those books you just have to read. 3.75 stars.
Astray by Emma Donoghue. This is a book of quite enjoyable short stories which span several centuries of history. All of the stories have in common that the characters have some aspect of their lives in which they have gone astray. In some cases it is in the literal sense, like taking a journey, while other times is is in a more figurative manner. What really makes these stories interesting is that they are all based on fact - some more than others, but at the end of each one is a snippet of actual history on which each tale is based. Check this one out.
Speaking of Jesus by Carl Medearis. This is an interesting book about sharing Jesus, or "not-evangelism", as the author calls it. The main premise of the book is we need to chuck the evangelism tools we learned about in Bible college like the Roman's road and four spiritual laws and just talk about Jesus. He believes people are much more willing to listen if Christians (he won't even refer to himself as such, just as someone who is trying to follow Jesus) don't focus on trying to evangelize someone away from their team/religion. It is an interesting book. While I'm not sure that I agree 100% with what he says, it did give me some things to think about.
