June and July reads

So I've fallen behind on my reading list, here is what I've been up to since May. A good few weeks of reading!

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn Betty Smith - FAVORITE book of the year. Amazing. Loved every single page. A+
The Tipping Point Malcolm Gladwell- I'm a little post peak on this one, but an interesting read. B
Three Cups of Tea Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin  - Inspiring and wonderful story telling! A
Twilight Saga book 4 Breaking Dawn Stephanie Meyer - hard to put down, but not great writing. B

Beach Books

In April/early May I cranked through a number of books. Most of the reading was on the beach in Florida - great reading time!

Empress - Shan Sa
I didn't like this writing style at all,  I think the book was translated into English. I felt the story was really over-sexed, and the narration was so passive. I was just happy when I finished reading it. C-

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - Rebecca Skloot
This was a great read! I found myself really questioning if I should sign up to be an organ donor when I transitioned my license to Ohio this week. I thought the intertwined stories made it a really engaging/memorable story. I wish I read this book with a book club, I think it would have led to great discussion! A

MWF Seeks BFF - Rachel Bertsche
I loved the narrator, she sounded like the voice in my head! I have been consistently looking to build new close friendships since my first year out of college. I have several wonderful friends who are there for me, but sometimes it can be tough to connect with friends who are not in town, have children(big responsibilities), or are just tough to get time with. I felt like I was making the friendship journey with the narrator, and enjoyed every step of the process. Great memoir. A

Animal Dreams - Barbara Kingsolver
The last Kingsolver book I read was pretty disappointing, so I was incredibly excited by this story. The description was amazing. I could see the dappled orchards filled with peacocks like I was there. I picked up three more of her books at Half Price Books last week, this was that good! I felt like I connected well with the narrator and I enjoyed all of the different story lines. A

I'm working on A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. It's great so far.

Kafka on the Shore

My former book club read Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami in January. In an effort to keep up, I also wanted to read this book. It was a very weird story. I don't know enough about traditional Japanese literature to really understand the nuance, let alone follow the story line and connections between all of the characters. This book was translated into English, and I thought the grammar translation was excellent. However, the spirit characters transcending time and space was just too deep for me. I found this blog with comments that that summed things up nicely for me.

http://blojj.blogalia.com/historias/45884

I can agree with the premise that there were two halves for all people/spirits. What I don't understand is HOW it works. How do they go back and forth in time? How do they circumvent space? How do they use another as an empty vessel? What is the magic of talking to cats? How does it all fit in with the kids in the war who passed out near the soldier's camp? This book left me with so many questions and not enough answers. I just feel kind of lost.

I guess based on my general confusion I'm rating this as a B-. Because despite everything being totally over my head, it was interesting, even though it was uncomfortable reading throughout.

I'm reading Empress by Shan Sa now, and I'm not enjoying it either. I need a great book to curl up with, get lost in, and fall in love with. Any suggestions? I want to be inspired. Suggestions welcome.