The Kite Runner

This beautifully written novel takes place in Kabul, Afghanistan, in the late 1900s. It is told in first person perspective of Khaled Hosseini, a privileged young teenager whose best friend happens to be his servant. His servant is a loyal, friendly, and loving boy who would do anything for Khaled, and this consequently leads to something terrible happening to Khaled's servant. Khaled witnesses this event, but, instead of speaking out, guiltily stands in silence and watches his friend slowly become more depressed, before having leaving Khaled's home forever. The story follows the rest of Khaled's life; he moves to California after the war tears up his home, he gets married but suffers a tragedy, and, after many years, he must return home to fix the mistake he made in the past.

This is a very moving book. It is not written poetically, but is written in very prose-like form. It has many sad parts to it, and several times you feel very sorry for the characters and what they go through. This book kept me hooked the whole time. I would recommend this for young adults, as there are some violent parts. All in all, this is a magnificent book. It is also a movie, so check the trailer out below!

 

Moonwalking with Einstein

"Moonwalking with Einstein" is about a journalist who decides to enter a national memory competition. He becomes fascinated with the forgotten art of remembering and works for an entire year in order to prepare his mind for memorizing extreme amounts of numbers and words at the National Memory Competition.  In the novel he depicts all his techniques he learns from the top memory champions in the nation. This novel is a cutting-edge book that helps readers appreciate the gift we all possess but slips to often from our mind.







If you're interested in learning more about Joshua Foer and his extraordinary experience, watch the interview below.

Of Mice and Men

I am currently reading "Of Mice and Men," by John Steinbeck. It is a relatively short book, so right now I am on page 58, a little more than half-way. The book is written very well. It is very interesting, a gripping tale that could almost be called a thriller. I think this is one of Steinbeck's best books. "Of Mice and Men" is about two men: George, who is small and a fast talker, and Lennie, an enormous man who thinks like a child. Together, they work hard in a vegetable field owned by a plantation, hoping one day to one an acre of land and a shack they can call home. But they face many difficulties in doing this, the biggest problem being Lennie's inability to guard against flirtatious women. But even George cannot foresee the enormous consequence Lennie's actions will have on their relationship forever.

I have really enjoyed the book so far. One of the things that I find most interesting about "Of Mice and Men" is the dialogue. The men speak in very rough, western talk. I like that the author wrote it like that because, to me, it helps me understand the story better and get more involved in it. The plot also definitely hooks you in, and the excellent writing style makes this book a pleasure to read. I predict Lennie will accidentally hurt the flirtatious woman, therefore resulting in either Lennie being killed by the husband of the flirtatious woman or George having to save Lennie again. I am very excited to see how the novel ends, and I would highly recommend it to anyone.