I Love Books!!!

I'm sure my mother never imagined that her oldest daughter would eventually love to read. She would starve me of dinner until I read my required daily books for school. Ok, maybe that was an exaggeration, but as a young child I wanted NOTHING to do with reading. I had a bad experience in second grade. Newly the product of divorced parents, we had moved towns, homes and lives, making reading the last thing on my 8 year old mind. After a short time in my new classroom, my teacher informed me (to my face), that I couldn't read and I should be reading by now. Crushed. My little heart was crushed. I made a promise to myself that day I would never read again. ha!

I can remember my mom reading sappy romance novels as a kid and swore I would never be one of "those" old people. I can thankfully say, I have not yet fully become my mother, although others would argue that statement. I instead have found myself obsessed with nonfiction books the last 5 years, consuming any real life story into this brain of mine. I love making the connections to real people, real events, real places. Biographies, documentaries, memoirs, autobiographies...they are mine for the reading.

In the last year and some of service I have read more books than the last 10 years of my existence. That sounds bad, but its true. Maybe its because I'm on a beautiful island, one that doesn't have a need for time management. Or maybe because I have found myself avoiding housework and bored with Facebook. Or maybe just because I enjoy it.

I decided to compile a list of the books I have read since serving in Grenada. If you find a need to hear my review on the book, feel free to message me, email me, or Facebook me.

• Like Me- Chely Wright
• ME- Ricky Martin
• Unbearable Lightness- Portia de Rossi
• Reefer Madness-
• High on Arrival- Mackenzie Phillips
• Three Cups of Tea- Greg Mortenson
• Stones Into Schools- Greg Mortenson
• The Secret Life of Bees- Sue Monk Kidd
• The Next Thing On My List- Jill Smolinski
• You Don't Look Like Anyone I Know- Heather Sellers
• Bringing Adam Home- Les Standiford with Det. Sgt. Joe Matthews
• Orange is the New Black, My Year in Women's Prison- Piper Kerman
• Love Ellen- Betty Degeneres
• Portrait of an Addict as a Young Man- Bill Clegg
• Are You There Vodka? It's Me Chelsea- Chelsea Handler
• The Sportsman- Dhani Jones
• A Stolen Life- Jaycee Dugard
• Allah, Liberty and Love- Irshad Manji
• Times Two- Sarah Ellis and Kristen Henderson
• No Biking in the House- Melissa Fay
• The Real Girl Next Door- Denise Richards (reading this one now)

I'm sure there are some I'm missing, but these are the ones I remember. Any other suggestions for good nonfiction books? My wish list on Amazon is continually growing and I like that. :)

--Mack