You know that feeling when you finish a really good book and you don't want to start another one just yet because you're still hanging on to the last one? Or maybe you start another book but you just can't get into it because you're still thinking of the one you just read? That's how I felt after each of these books because they were all so good, but SO different! Check it out: The Train of Small Mercies by David Rowell. This is one of the best books I've read in a loooong time. I flew through this thing; it helps that it's an easy read. This is a story about multiple characters and how they react/deal with Robert F. Kennedy's assassination ... and all the tragedy that the country has faced up to this point. The entire book revolves around the train carrying Kennedy's body from New York to Washington, D.C. I'm embarrassed to say I knew almost nothing about Robert Kennedy, so bonus points for learning something, as well as being entertained.
Love Wins by Rob Bell. I've been a Rob Bell fan for awhile now because of his NOOMA series, but I had never read one of his books (it's now checked off my 101 in 1001 list). I needed to read this book. One that, yes, explores heaven and hell, but also pounds home the point: God loves you ... always. I really like Bell's writing style (very casual), and after I finished this book I felt like I needed to pick it up and read it all over again. There's so much packed into 198 pages, and Bell can so poetically put into understandable words and sentences things that I could barely comprehend before starting the book. Go.read.
The Girls by Lori Lansens. I can't say I've ever read a fiction (or non-fiction) story about conjoined twins ... until now. Rose and Ruby have been joined at the head since birth, and now, at 30 years old, Rose (the writer of the two) has decided she's going to write her autobiography. While she tells a lot of stories, I think the most interesting parts are about them: how they get around, how they decide what they're going to do each day, and how they lead a fairly normal life having never been alone in 30 years.
