Reading (Summer 2011)

My reading for the summer has mainly been put on pause. I've transitioned into reading magazines (Wired, Budget Travel, Latin Finance, and others) as well as writing letters to my cousin.  But, with a vacation being planned for next month and the year coming to a close, it's time I get back into the swing of things to complete the final 10.5 books.

#15) Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy - On Pause
This book is on pause until I can remember to charge my Kindle.
#17) A Scattered Life by Karen McQuestion - Complete -- Good Reflective Read for those Looking to find the "Best" Way to Raise Children
This book made me cry. On the surface, this is a story about two parental structures raising their families in Wisconsin. On one side, there is a mother and father with a very structured lifestyle, who has a boisterous family move onto the other side of their home. The interactions of these families raise up new learnings for both about the importance of family in the grand scheme of things.

#18) The Girl Who Fell from the Sky by Heidi Durrow - Complete -- Excellent Particularly for those interested in Race Dynamics in the US
The story is of a little girl whose Danish mother struggled to raise her and her younger brothers and sisters as a black person in America. A mother who struggled with the concept of race, and the outside influences believing she could not possibly love her children in quite the right way because of their skin color. Due to a tragedy, the little girl is forced to move to Portland with her grandparents, and speaks to the differences in color that she learned about through that experience.

#19) The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry by Jon Ronson - Complete -- Both Informative and Entertaining
Great read! The book is a good reminder that there is a thin line between an effective senior leader and a complete psychopath. It takes some level of megalomania to believe in yourself enough to think you can rule others, but also a certain level of humility to not turn into a dictator as a result. The book chronicles the lives of the therapists, mental researchers, and patients/former patients who have been treated as being psychopaths. What was most fascinating to me, was the actual psychopath test itself, and how psychopaths can learn to hide some of their tells to better integrate.

#20) The Skin I'm In by Sharon G Flake - Complete
A book probably intended for black pre-teens and teenagers, who are grappling with bullying and differences within their community. It highlights the color consciousness within the community, the challenges teachers in the inner city are faced with when teaching these children, and struggles kids are going through just to survive in their environment. The story is written from the point of view of a girl who is being teased about being "dark-skinned," paralleled against a new teacher from the corporate world who is working to implement accountability and reform within the school, despite skin challenges of her own (pigmentation coloration issues on one side of her face). Ultimately, it is a story of becoming comfortable in one's own body, and recognizing that individuals of all shapes, sizes, and ages are grappling with those same concerns.

#21) Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond -- First Stab

I got started on this book, but will have to re-start since that was more than a month ago. Highlighting the book here so it is not lost in the shuffle.