Good Reads

Looking for something to read out by the pool? Something to do during the approaching long, hot summer days? Here are some good, easy reads I recommend. Take a trip to your local library and check 'em out!

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon


This book is written from the perspective of an autistic teenager. And what a treat it was! It was hilarious and fascinating and also a little sad.


Atonement by Ian McEwan



I know this is a little behind the game, but this book is really good. Really good. The movie was disappointing because it couldn't track the shifting characters and didn't include any inner dialogue. This review is a perfect description of why the book is better:

"...Their movie is abundantly attractive, every scene serenely composed, and
every character so fair in love and war that, when the lights come up, it's too
easy to say, ''That was good and sad and romantic and classy, now what's for
dinner?'' Turning the last page of McEwan's book, in contrast, you're more
likely to be shaking from direct devastation and intensity of experience."

I wouldn't go so far as to say "shaking from direct devastation," but it does make a bigger impression than the movie.

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman

This is my new favorite set of books. It's a trilogy and I've just started the third book. Rarely do I become completely absorbed in a book anymore, but I can hardly put these down. Spirit animals, beautiful witches, gypsies, polar bear kingdoms, alternate dimensions, and a hot air balloon-flying Texan. It's a story about the battle between good and evil, and it. is. awesome.