Books I read in October

The Philanthropist's Danse 
Reading time: 8 hours on/off flights

Plot in a nut shell: A rich man's last wishes are that twelve seemingly random people come to his mansion to decide amongst themselves who gets his inheritance. 

Why I liked it: The plot line follows each character from their perspective and is very well-written. I can't quite put my finger on it. It's like a murder mystery novel...but not. It's like the Wizard of Oz who controls things from behind a veil...but not. It's like the "Motivation/Greed" chapter of a college psychology book (if there was such a thing--I don't know, I only took Psych 1)....but not.

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The Flu (A Novel of the Outbreak) 
Reading time: 6 hours in one sitting

Plot in a nut shell: A strain of flu virus spreads across continents and kills 90% of its victims. Only one town is spared because it keeps everyone else out. The plot follows a family who suffers tragedies and a doctor who tries to save as many people as he can. 

Why I liked it: I'm drawn to the medically grotesque, remember? If you've seen the movie Contagion, it's kind of like that. The chapters switch from different locations and different days, so it's kind of like a chronicle of the flu spreading. It's realistic right down to the gory details (in this book though, the flu more resembles the black plague in which patients' internal organs are liquified...)The story is actually quite humorous at times. I cried a bucket reading it though.

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Spare Change 
Reading time: 3 hours

Plot in a nutshell: A young boy witnesses his parents' killings and hitch hikes across the country to find his grandfather. Instead, he meets his grandfather's unlikely widow and gets into some good old fashioned Southern shenanigans.

Why I liked it: It was a simple read but masterfully told by the unique characters in the story. It's quirky and humorous, which is strange because uhm, did I not say that the boy witnessed his parents' killings? Okay. And there are lots of guns in this book. Everyone, even the child, knows how to shoot. Well anyways, I read the whole thing in a Southern accent (in my head) and it was cool.

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Tell Me When It Hurts 
Reading Time: 4 hours

Plot in a nutshell: A woman is a part of a secret organization that assassinates murderers who go free because of technicalities in the legal system. She lives like a hermit in some isolated woods and is a skilled marksman.

Why I liked it: I'm drawn to criminal masterminds and it's my secret Plan B to become a criminal investigator if medical school doesn't pan out (uhm maybe I've said too much)...but yeah. It's a well-written and easy read that is just really, really fascinating.

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Running Barefoot 
Reading Time: 4 hours

Plot in a nutshell: Set in a small town in Utah, a girl befriends a stoic Navajo Indian boy on a school bus and they have a really complicated friendship that revolves around music. They grow up to have a really complicated relationship.

Why I liked it: It was a heartwarming story and I actually cared about the characters, which is something that I personally challenge authors with. I like reading about characters growing up and developing personalities.

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Contingency (Covenant of Trust)
Reading time: Days

Plot in a nutshell: This story is about a woman who discovers her husband has cheated on her. They are Christians. They deal with raw emotions involving pain from violation of trust, jealousy, healing, and accountability.

Why I liked it: This was actually a very painful read for me, because it's always hard to read about betrayal and heartache. But it is also quite scripturally sound and encouraging. It was a slow read for me, because I needed to digest it in small doses.

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Wool
Reading Time: 1.5 hours

Plot in a nutshell: This is a really bizarre dystopian short story in which everyone lives in a single silo/barn/warehouse-like building and those who commit the "crime" are sentenced to death by leaving the silo and cleaning camera sensors. Yes, cleaning camera sensors. With wool. Get it? Wool? It's only part 1 of 5...and I haven't read the rest.

Why I liked it: It was free on Kindle e-books (where I get most of the rest of these titles!) and it was short. Haha. And also because it is really abstract and I had to read it twice...and I still don't get it. I do enjoy a literary challenge though, so maybe I should purchase the sequels 2-5.


Happy reading!