Kim by Rudyard Kipling

This was a difficult book for me to get through.  The language was challenging and the use of proverbs and riddles without saying what was really happening got to be a bit much for me.  I realize that it is a classic and on top 100 lists and there is a part of me that can understand that. The time period that it took place and the imagination was well thought out.  It was about a boy who traveled and had some amazing adventures,  it just wasn't for me.

The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling

The Disney movie this was not, but it was interesting.  There were a lot more stories about the jungle and the way things worked.  Mowgli got around and really was an integral  part of the jungle.  It was challenging to read and I am sure I could read it a few more times before I got all of it.  For the time period it was an amazingly imaginative story and I highly recommend it,  just take your time.

The Interior by Lisa See

The depth that See writes with forever amazes me and pulls me into to the wonderful stories.  This is the second book in the Red Princess Mystery series.  She delves deeper into her characters and weaves story lines that are beautiful and harsh at the same time.  The push and pull between the main characters, the fine line of partial truths to get to the truth and the brutal honesty of events creates a layered story.  Her portrayal of China, it's customs and history make the story come alive and I  find it fascinating.  She is an amazing author with a talent that just jumps off the page.

The Apple Orchard by Susan Wiggs

This was about a woman who knew nothing of her family and in an afternoon learned she had a half sister and grandfather.  The most surprising thing for her was that she would inherit half the estate when her grandfather passed.  She ended up at the orchard and found that it was going to go under and became very involved in trying to save it.  This was an enjoyable read with the typical love story line with everything working out, but it wasn't over the top.  This was the first in a series so I am looking forward to what Wiggs will do with the characters.

Hen Frigates by Joan Druett

Subtitle: Wives of Merchant Captains Under Sail-- This was a very interesting book.  Hundreds of years ago travel on ships and moving cargo around was very different from today.  This book was put together using the diaries of the wives who traveled with their husbands.   It covered everything from what they wore to how they were expected to behave, personal relationships to raising children.  Things were very candid yet held close to the vest.  Many wives embraced the experiences and learned how to run the ship while others never liked it and chose to stay ashore after only a few times out.  At first it was hard to get into, but once you get the authors style it was quite enjoyable.

Grace (Eventually) by Anne Lamott

Subtitle: Thoughts on Faith-- This was okay for me.  I am not a religious person and do not look to a higher beings to guide me. She does talk about situations that anyone can relate to, religious or not, and some things were very funny, others quite sad.  I think overall for me her writing was very disjointed. What she would start with at the beginning of an essay had no connection with what she ended with. It was a little unsettling and made me wonder what point she was trying to make.  She is not an author for me.

The Firecracker Boys by Dan O'Neill

Subtitle: H-bombs, Inupiat Eskimos,  and the Roots of the Environmental  Movement -- Well, this was an interesting one. When I do an alphabet challenge I read books that I would usually pass over.  I am trying to clean up our book shelves and this fit for my "F" book.  Overall it was an interesting, depressing, frustrating  and educational  book.  The idea was to learn how to use nuclear power in a peaceful way.  What amazed me was the lack of concern for the environment and people.  Scientists and the government would tell people what they wanted to hear, but not the truth.  Alaska, where this controversy started,  was thought to be a waste land, not a place rich with people and history and an abundance of nature vital to many.  If you can get through the poor writing and disconectedness of the O'Neill'so thoughts and ability to put things together you will get an eye opening. I am glad I read the book, and very glad that it is over.