Bookish ideas

Well, the Kansas City Chiefs just broke my heart after they threw away an amazing first half and sizable lead to the Indianapolis Colts (what the heck happened?!?), so I figure my neglected blog and books will be a nice distraction.

I read some books in 2013. Thirty-three to be exact. You can track me down on GoodReads, if you're interested in exactly what I read. Among my favorites were (Forgive the lack of links. You can search http://www.indiebound.org to find books locally and support local book sellers, or you can find all of these on Amazon):

Non-fiction:
Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer
Zealot by Reza Aslan
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

Fiction:
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis (sci-fi)
In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez (historical fiction)
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (mystery/page turner)

Honorable mention:
Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (young adult)

LEAST Favorite:
Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Favorite kid's book:
Mrs. Piggle Wiggle by Betty MacDonald

MOST Favorite:
Watership Down by Richard Adams
The Alloway Files by E.J. Roller (full disclosure: my good friend authored this book. I'm almost finished, but not quite. I love it on many levels. It's great AND I know the author AND I have a signed copy. Favorite all around!)

I read SOME of the books on my 2013 reading list, but not nearly as many as I would have liked. I am a sucker for classics, and 2013 was lacking in that department. Moving from the 2013 to the 2014 list are: The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway and Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. I'd like to add some Russian lit, Graham Greene, and some Evelyn Waugh in 2014. I also see G.K. Chesterton popping up on some of my favorite Catholic blogs. I'll see what I can fit in!

I really enjoyed non-fiction and I want to make room for it in my future lists. Parenting books and education books are pretty applicable to my life at the moment, and I'm lacking biographies. Biographies seem like a must for a well-read person, right? Oh, and poetry. I'm so intrigued, but  overwhelmed. Where does one start with poetry? Helpful comments appreciated.

Wrapping up the Game of Thrones series is high on priority list, too.

A succinct list of what I want to read in 2014 is proving difficult. I can't hold myself to a list this year. Too many good books and whims pop up. Just this morning I opened an email from my competitive father proclaiming that he will read more that I will read this year. It's possible, but I like a good a challenge! We will see where the libraries take me. :)

Happy Reading in 2014.

Book Review: Running the Rift

In December I read Running the Rift by Noami Benaron and published by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill. The book was the winner of the 2010 Bellwether Prize for Fiction. (The Bellwether Prize is awarded to unpublished, socially aware fiction and is funded by Barbara Kingsolver.source)

Before reading Running the Rift, I had very limited knowledge of Rwanda and the events that unraveled there in the 90s. I was in grade school. Several months ago, I watched a PBS special on Bill Clinton, and it mentioned that he got his arse handed to him for his involvement in Somalia, and chose not to act in Rwanda. The previous sentence expresses my comprehensive knowledge of Rwanda. Fast forward to the book.

Running the Rift is the story of Jean Patrick, a Rwandan boy from the Tutsi tribe. The story follows Jean Patrick as he grows from a school-aged boy into a successful college athlete poised to make a bid for the '96 Atlanta Olympics (I do remember these Olympics, and the associated bomb threat). As he grows up, the atmosphere of Rwanda changes from a relatively peaceful country, although racial strife was part of its recent past, to a nation divided between Tutsi and Hutu tribes. Jean Patrick is afforded more freedoms than most Tutsis, because of his athletic reputation, but his situation and his family's situation becomes dire. Hutu Power and the Rwandan government systematically organize for devastation and genocide that few Tutsi or "sympathizer" could escape. The book does relate the horrors of the genocide, so if you do decide to read, be prepared.

What I liked:

• In spite of the atrocities the story lays out, Jean Patrick's and Rwanda's story are hopeful. However, I would struggle to find hope in Rwanda had I been living there
• The story is part of a bigger picture and of a history I didn't know about. Genocide, ethnic cleansing, and civil war STILL happens and is currently happening (Sudan, Syria, to name a few). Historical fiction makes the HISTORY accessible through fiction.
• Jean Patrick--what a character. He made it easy to place myself in (God forbid) such a situation. He's what every young person/college student is--hopeful, full of dreams, and naive.
• The story doesn't end when the genocide ended. The reader got a glimpse of what Rwanda looks like today, and how it moved forward from between 500,000 to 1 million murders.
• Benaron's writing. She does justice to the Rwandan countryside. I'd love to see it. Her prose is clear and mesmerizing. Her seemingly effortless story is (from what I can tell) true to history, and leaves the reader with heartbreak, loss, destruction, love, hope and the human spirit. 

What I disliked:

• Almost nothing.
• The story was (mostly) true. Oh my God. These things happen! It's easy to forget that the thread between peace and destruction is thin, and that we are fortunate/lucky/privileged (however you want to frame it) to live as we do.

After reading, I needed to know more about Rwanda. You can find out more from my friend, Wikipedia, HERE. A friend recommended Hotel Rwanda. It's based on a true story of Paul Rusesabagina, who uses a hotel to house over a thousand Tutsi refugees. The story was reminiscent of Schindler's List. In relation to the book, the movie only focuses on the latter part of the book, or the period of time when the conflict (and killing) was the greatest. The movie did a good job of conveying what happened, but it was only rated PG-13. I was thankful for the limited gore, although it is clear that gore, and lots of it, really happened.

Go read it! 5-stars in my book.