Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

207. Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Would this book never come in at the library for me? I finally broke down and used a gift card to buy it while on a Wal-Mart run. (That doesn’t count as really buying a book, does it? No money was actually exchanged.)

I’m glad I did. I don’t often buy fiction, but this was ten dollars well spent. And, of course, like book one, book two left me desperate to read book three.

In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz by Michela Wrong

206. In the Footsteps of Mr. Kurtz: Living on the Brink of Disaster in Mobutu’s Congo by Michela Wrong

Whew. A book you read, thinking, I wish this had never happened….please don’t let this be true. So jarring it leaves you despairing about Africa. Surely there must be happy stories there; not all can be tales of greed and corruption.

The Best Creative Nonfiction edited by Lee Gutkind

205. The Best Creative Nonfiction, Vol. 1, edited by Lee Gutkind

The key word is “creative” here. I’d love to pass on a few of these pieces to those who find nonfiction to be boring. No boring here. The styles are all over the place, from authors who appear to sit down quietly at their desks to those authors who seem to be scribbling on bathroom walls.

What I Thought I Knew by Alice Eve Cohen

204. What I Thought I Knew by Alice Eve Cohen

I didn’t know much about this book before I read it, and I want others to go into it without knowing very much. This I will say:  It’s a true story. It’s the story of discovering oneself pregnant very unexpectedly. It’s a ride.

I would strongly urge others to read it if you like personal narratives. It’s thoughtful and emotional. One of my most intense reads this year.