november! this month i read:
the professor and the madman, by simon winchester (this is a story of the creation of the oxford english dictionary. having spent time in oxford, this appealed to me, and it's got a great title and a great premise: one of the biggest contributors to the oxford english dictionary was locked in an insane asylum. i like a good non-fiction book every now and then, and this book did the trick. it's not a book you're going to be rushing home to continue reading, but i enjoyed it nonetheless.)
cutting for stone, by abraham verghese (i had this book for more than a year before i picked it up to read - the 670 page length was daunting, but this book was SO readable, with lots of twists and turns that kept me really interested. i read the whole second half lying on the couch at home in north carolina over thanksgiving break, with the tv on or other conversations going on around me; i usually can't do this - i can't concentrate well enough. somehow it was easy to do with this book. this is a story of twins in ethiopia who grow up in a hospital (their parents are doctors), but (of course) it's so much more than that. there is some medical mumbo jumbo, but not so much that i was confused. i would definitely recommend book to others!)
the giver, by lois lowry (this is a re-read; i first read this book in 5th grade. i remember that because a woman my mom worked with questioned if a 5th grader should be reading this book. yo, i was an advanced reader. back off, other person. though i will say: i enjoyed it more now than i did as a 10 year old. it was sadder, more poignant somehow. i really GOT it. though some things stuck with me from the first time i read it - i could vividly remember the final scene where jonas is sledding down the hill in the snow, for example. if you haven't read this book you absolutely should. someone brought this book up at my book club last month when we were talking about the hunger games, so that's the reason i re-read it now.)
OHMAGAWD I LOVE THE GIVER.
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