What I read in February (2012)

Woman: An Intimate Geography by Natalie Angier

At the start of 2012, I tried to join in both a non-fiction and a classics reading challenge. Each one had a list of themes to stick to, and I went through and chose books for each theme. I think it's safe to say that I've failed miserably at each of these, because I've only read a couple books from these lists, but this book was by far my biggest victory. Despite this being full of medical, biological, heavy information, it was entertaining, enlightening, and interesting. Natalie Angier proved, for me, that it is possible to write informatively and entertainingly at the same time. I LOVED this book so much - more than I expected to, and it became a reference for life as a woman. I really think that every woman should read this book to help them understand exactly why we are the way we are, and how truly amazing it is to be female!

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Confession: I have a true, deep, embarrassing love of YA fiction. It is my favorite guilty pleasure in life. I LOVE IT. Give me sparkly vampires, star-crossed struggling teens stuck in dystopia, and poverty-stricken obliviously good looking youth fighting to the death. So where else to get book recommendations than my 16 year old sister? She'd gotten a Nook color for her birthday this year, so I asked to see it...and then of course, inquired about every single book she had on it. I even made notes in my phone's notepad so I could go back and chose things to read later on. I rented this book from the library, and because you only get 14 days to read a library ebook it flew to the top of my TBR list (What's with that? I fly through books in a couple days usually, but when I'm given 14 to read a temporary file I CAN'T GET IT TOGETHER!). We were vacationing in Florida at the time, and Henry had not yet discovered the art of sleeping on his own, so I'd spend nap times reading about a teen that committed suicide and left behind a haunting-taunting tale for each of the people who ruined her life, so they could forever suffer with their guilt (and likely spend the rest of their lives in therapy). The premise was creative and interesting, and of course I just HAD to know who came next in the story and why. Teen suicide is such a horrid, baffling epidemic, and people are usually left to wonder "WHY?". This book gave the reader an opportunity to see why one girl went through with it - and much like a car accident on the thruway, we just need to know. The only downside to this book was that it was extremely, dramatically, and embarrassingly written with stereotypical "teen speak". It was so exaggerated and so bad in some parts, that I'd stop to shake my head at the ridiculousness. I'm thinking that perhaps, the author was a bit too far removed from his teen years to get it right. But still - an intriguing read.

Also Re-Read:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by JK Rowling
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by JK Rowling

These need no review, as they are the most awesome books of all time, of course.