Book Reviews: Summer Reads

So many books. I have so many books I want to read. My ScribD library is overflowing with books. And at this point I am beyond obsessed with audiobooks. So many books. Here are the ones I read this summer! Ps. Use this link for 2 months free at ScribD! Station 11: Elise recommended this book so many times, that I finally read it. I always find post apocalyptic type books interesting, so I was game. This book had my favorite elements in it: flashbacks and multiple points of view and the weaving of stories together. The premise of the book is that a strange flu has wiped out the population and now there are only very few survivors left and they are surviving in this no electronic, dog eat dog kind of world. (reminded me a lot of the show Revolution, which I LOVED) The story follows a traveling symphony, a random guy, a famous actors ex wives and a prophet. There is no love story and really no gripping plot. It didn't have a lot of action and never really caught my attention. I felt like the individual stories were a little mundane and I just couldn't see how they were going to tie together. In the end, they did by a small, thin thread. I was just happy to make it through to the end. Life after civilization collapsed was interesting, but overall the book was not very gripping.This book is for you if you like post apocalyptic societies, slight suspense and like a look into normal people's lives and thoughts. You also must be able to follow multiple jumps in stories, time frames and characters to keep up with the constantly changing point of view.Chasing The Dragon: This book was recommended to me by a friend who has actually meet and 'observed' the authors work. This book is about an English missionary who just got on a boat to see where she would end up and figured she would find ministry opportunity where ever that was. And she did. She settled in Hong Kong, but about 40 years ago when there was a 'Walled City' inside Hong Kong that was an empire for debauchery and a display of the poorest, most brutal, filthy and sinful portrait of humankind. She began a youth ministry in the city starting with what she thought 'church' was supposed to look like and soon found that she needed to start where the boys were: in brothels, gambling rings and drug dens. She formed relationships with all the gang members and leaders and lead them to Christ. She found herself in quite the unusual circumstances daily, but relied on the Lord for direction and He was always faithful. She went on this mission on her own accord and simply prayed as the Israelites did, that manna would rain from Heaven, and it did. Her needs were always met and she soon become one of the main players in helping the walls of the Walled City fall, from the inside. By the time she and her small team had created tons of homes for boys to detox, there was slowly becoming no where for them to go for drugs anymore as the work of the Lord was so plentiful and final in that city. She is a firm believer in praying in the spirit and asking the Lord for direction and then following it each minute of the day. I am always fascinated by books about ordinary people doing extraordinary things. I love reading about social issues and how they are addressed best by people who have experienced the same issues themselves. This book was fascinating and inspiring.This book is for you if you are curious about spiritual gifts, Chinese culture, social issues and starting a movement/social service endeavour from the ground up, one homeless addicted gangster at a time.The Night Circus: This is it. This is the book that rekindled my faith in books. It reignited my love for reading. Not that I had ever totally lost it, but I was struggling to finish books and read consistently, until this one. This may be one of the best books I have ever read. Truly. (well, listened to) Ok, the premise: two magicians (like real magic, not tricks) have a game or challenge they play, where they will both train a child in their form of magic and then the kids will grow up and compete in an epic magic battle. The children are only slightly aware of this and how it works. A boy and a girl are trained and both inserted, in very different roles, in The Night Circus. It is unlike any other circus, it is fascinating and every changing and dreamlike. Then there is a little boy who attends the circus, falls in love with it and well you can guess....There is no way to describe the book without giving away all the best parts. Just know it is the most beautiful, engaging, imaginative, colorful, evocative, amazing imagery producing book you could quite possibly ever read.This book is for you if you love the circus, magic, the intertwining of stories, the power of childhood innocence, hopeless romanticism, intrigue and reading about things you only wished were real. This book is captivating and intriguing and will keep you guessing and on your toes. You will fall in love with every out of this world character.Dark Places: Terrell and I listened to this book together as we drove around Germany, so it holds a special place in my heart just for that reason. But also, we BOTH loved this book. As soon as we would get in the car, T would say turn it on, we have to find out what happened. As with all Gillian Flynn books, this is weird, suspenseful, thrilling and addicting. About 30 years ago a family was brutally murdered and the 7-year-old daughter survived. The older brother is blamed and sent to jail for the murder. Now a group of nerdy, creepers pays the now grown up little girl to reinvestigate the murder because they don't believe her brother did it. The story is told in flashbacks to each person on that day and then jumps to present day as she revisits each character. I had zero idea of who did it. It was SO good. It had an insanely surprising and strangely happy ending. The movie was just as good. They changed very little from the book and I was really impressed with the actor choices.This book is for you if you liked Gone Girl, suspenseful, dark murder mysteries.Sharp Objects: Another Gillian Flynn home run. I also flew through this one. A reporter is sent back to her hometown to cover little girl murders. Her mother/family is Cray Cray with a capital C. It's all so weird. I kind of thought I knew who did it and was surprised to find that I was right and wrong at the end. This is by far the weirdest of the three books though. Very graphic descriptions of sexual scenes and the narrator has cutting issues and everyone is crazy and weird and disturbing. It made me uncomfortable a few times. But I did love the small town vibe of everyone gossiping and hiding crazy secrets.This book is for you if you liked other GF books and like murder mysteries with dark twists.That's all for now. I have started reading and haven't finished A Million Little Ways (loving it), Winters Tale and All that is Solid Melts into Air. What are you reading?!Ps. More book reviews here .