Charity's Reading Log

Long Summer....Few Books :(

This summer was filled with lots of writing and lots of dog-sitting, but not enough reading for my tastes. However, just to keep you up-to-date, I will tell you a bit about the books I did get the time to read...

1. Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett - Our Rival Readers Book Club Summer Selection, this book seemed like a daunting endeavor when I began because it was 1,000 pages long! Even so, Follett introduces so many different characters up front in his novel that the reader wonders how in the world he is ever going to weave them together into one story. However, he does it and does it amazingly well. The story, set in 1200s England, tells the tale of many people, from the prior of Kingsbridge Priory who is struggling to build a cathedral, to the many knights, builders, and common people of the day. Follett provides the reader with a lens that transports them back in time and envelopes them in the medieval lifestyles that led to our current day architecture and culture.

*** I am now reading the follow-up to this story, World Without End. It's also very long, and a little intimidating, but so far the writing is just as masterful!

2. Don't Make Me Choose Between You and My Shoes by Dixie Cash - Oye. Not my favorite book as I saw from chapter 3 exactly what was going to happen. I HATE that when it happens! I endured only because it is the first book for our new book club...Wonder Writers and Rebel Readers. I'm excited about our new adult book club, even if I wasn't so thrilled with the first book!

3. Such a Pretty Fat by Jen Lancaster - IMHO, Jen Lancaster is the funniest person on the face of this planet. No Lie. This memoir, written as she struggles to lose weight...specifically for the book. Her accounts of attempting first Jenny Craig and then Weight Watchers is nothing short of bitingly brilliant. I was in stitches the entire time I was reading, at times because I could relate and at time because I was dumbfounded at her antics!