June Reads

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini - 06/04/09
Excellent - Fiction (999 Category: 9 and Counting)
Mariam and Laila are two very different women, brought together by war and cruelty, but they forge an enduring bond.
Finally finished this. Had to actually get the novel instead of finishing the audiobook, as audiobooks don't fit well into my life right now. That aside, this was WONDERFUL! Poignant, eye-opening, terrifying, hopeful, and more. I recommend it whole-heartedly, and actually several of my friends have also read it and concur with my assessment.


The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde - 06/12/09
Excellent - Play (999 Category: Vintage Volumes)
Jack and Algernon both pretend to be Ernest Worthing, a fictional wastrel of a younger brother, and both fall in love with women who only will marry someone named Ernest.
I've read this before, but read it again for book club. It's a quick, easy, humorous read. LOVE the movie; it's one of my favorites. Wilde was wrote it as a satire; the subtitle is "A Trivial Comedy for Serious People."


Mr. Knightley's Diary by Amanda Grange - 06/14/09
Good - Romance (999 Category: Serendipity)
First-person account of Mr. Knightley's love for Emma Woodhouse (Austen's Emma, retold in diary format)
Emma was my least favorite Austen novel, and I wasn't sure I'd like Mr. Knightley any better in this diary told from his perspective. However, I found him quite endearing and even liked Emma better by the end!



Roadside Crosses by Jeffery Deaver - 06/17/09
Good - Suspense (999 Category: Kindred Spirits)
Kathryn Dance, a CBI agent and kinesics expert, tracks down a serial killer who leaves roadside crosses before killing his victims.
Kathryn Dance is an interesting protagonist; she isn't your garden-variety 'perfect' cop. I find the addition of the kinesics (the interpretation of body language) an intriguing addition to the suspenseful novels Deaver is known for.


The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini - 06/24/09
Excellent - Fiction (999 Category: Screen Time)
Amir grows up motherless in Kabul, Afghanistan, and his father seems to favor Hassan, the son of his longtime servant.
No, I haven't seen the movie yet. Hope to soon, now that I've read the book. I preferred A Thousand Splendid Suns, but this book was equally as gripping. The protagonist was less likable, but very well-sketched and the clash between the American and Afghani cultures was compelling.


The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger - 06/29/09
Good - Fiction (999 Category: Screen Time)
Re-Read: The relationship between Henry and Clare is complicated by his genetic abnormality that causes him to time travel involuntarily.
I read this book five years ago, but the news of the film's release next month motivated me to read it again. It's a good thing I did, because I remembered barely any of it. (I'm really bad that way! Poor memory!) Intense, confusing, and utterly captivating! Don't read it if you are easily offended, as there is a bit of language and the characters are sometimes amoral. However, the plot's intricacies make up for it.

On to Finger Lickin' Fifteen (Evanovich) and Frankenstein (Shelley) and more for July....

What are YOU reading???