Kevin's Book Club

Since I love Oprah so much (sticking finger down my throat), I decided to start my own book club. Since I've been here I've read a few books and I figured I'd give a little review/synopsis of each, and you guys can decide if you want to read them or not. There are two which I highly recommend, the others you could skip, although if you have the time they are still pretty good.

The Unheard by Josh (I don't remember his last name)

This book is about a deaf Peace Corps Volunteer who served in Zambia in Africa. If you decide to read this one, just remember that my service does not even compare to what he went through. From what I gathered, it seemed like he was always worried about his safety and constantly on edge, and he was deaf. I can't even think of one time that I felt like I was in danger. This is a good read, highly recommended, although I may be partial since I am a Peace Corps Volunteer.

The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen

Believe it or not, but I actually think this one was an Oprah book club selection. I remember a friend reading it it high school and he was always talking about it saying that it was awesome. I never got a chance to read it back then, and when I saw it on the shelf at the Peace Corps office I decided to pick it up and give it a shot. It's pretty good if you're into mindless fiction, just in it for the story kind of book. Sometimes that's what I need down here just to escape and not have to think. It's about this messed-up, dysfunctional family and the problems and consequences they have to endure.

The Alchemist by Paul Coelho

A friend picked this one out for me to read. It's basically about this guy who goes on this long journey to discovery himself and what life is really about. There's a lot of references to higher powers, which I'm not a big fan of. Also it deals with the concept of fate a lot , which I'm not very fond of either. I just don't understand how that no matter what path we take, or what actions we perform, the same result ensues. Despite all that, the book still had a good message and I really liked the ending. Mom, I recommend picking this one up, you'll really like it. Also, it's a very short book, readable in a day or so.

Mountains beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder

This is non-fiction, about Dr. Paul Farmer who started a clinic in Haiti and how he has basically made a huge difference there, and in the entire world. It is an excellent book that makes you realize what potential each and every one of us has inside ourselves. I wish I still had the book so that I could type up the back of it, because my review here is not doing it the slightest bit of justice. Of all the books I'm writing about here, this one comes in an extremely close 2nd place, practically tied with my number 1 pick.

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

This one was a struggle to get through, not because of content, but because of length. It was well over a thousand pages, with teeny-tiny print. From the beginning I was immediately drawn in and could not put it down. If you're familiar with Ayn Rand you'll know all about her objectivism and her egoism. She's very into herself and thinks that everyone else should be as well. This is basically her philosophy and if you know me well enough you'd know why I enjoyed this book. Ok, this is coming straight from the back of the book, "The astounding story of a man who said that he would stop the motor of the world-and did. Tremendous in scope, breathtaking in suspense, Atlas Shrugged is unlike any other book you have ever read. It is a mystery story, not about the murder of a man's body, but about the murder-and rebirth-of a man's spirit." If you have got the time on your hands, pick this one up.

Night by Elie Wiesel

This is my top recommendation for all of you. It is extremely readable (I read it in less than a day.) It's only about 100 pages. It is a work of non-fiction. The author received the Congressional Gold Medal in 1985 and the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986. It is a memoir of the time he spent in the concentration camps during World War II. Now you might be thinking, "oh geez, another book about the Nazis and Jews," but of everything I've read on this topic, this book tops them all. It's so very short and sweet, depicting the horror and misery like nothing else I've read (or even watched for that matter.) How something like that could have happened a little over half a century ago, a little over a decade ago in Rwanda, and is now going on in Sudan, is beyond me.

I also finished up the final book in the Harry Potter series. I left home with about 2-300 pages left. It was hell to leave it back at home, but due to luggage restrictions I had to. Well I got my hands on a copy and let me tell you it was good. I'm not going to do a review of it because if you wanted to read it you would have done so by now.

Alright, now if you're only going to pick up one of these books make it be Night. But, I really think you should go pick up two, and make the second one be Mountains beyond Mountains.

That's it for now, I'm just about to start reading The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan, "The untold story of those who survived the great American dust bowl." Stay tuned for a review.

If you've read any books lately that you'd like to recommend to me, please go ahead and leave a comment or email me, and I'll see if I could pick it up in the Peace Corps office.