August Reads - 2 down, 48 to go!

26. Read 50 books or more.

It is the last day of the month, so time to see what I've been reading.  I've finished just 2 books this month, but I have a couple I'm working on now.  I love reading - so this is going to be one of my favorite parts of the year!

1.  The Last Summer (of You and Me) by Ann Brashares
http://www.amazon.com/Last-Summer-You-Me/dp/1594483086/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1283278878&sr=8-1
Ann Brashares is the author of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series.  I loved that whole series and really enjoyed it.  But this one I had been hesitant to pick up because I had read some not-so-good reviews.  It was definitely a different kind of book for her.  I had recently read her newest book, My Name is Memory, and thought it was fun too.  It is going to be a trilogy and I am anxious to continue that story.  So - I picked up The Last Summer (of You and Me) from Paperback Swap http://www.paperbackswap.com/index.php .  It was a really enjoyable book with some different twists in it.  A great book to end the summer and kick off my 50 list.

2. The Council of Dads: My Daughters, My Illness, and the Men Who Could Be Me - Bruce Feiler
http://www.amazon.com/Council-Dads-Daughters-Illness-Could/dp/0061778761/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1283279162&sr=1-1
Bruce Feiler really made headlines with his series Walking the Bible.  I found it fascinating and I'm planning to teach a course on the series this fall through Wisdom:  http://www.wisdomem.com/byol-bring-your-own-lunch-walking-bible - It is not too late to sign up!  :)  This book tells the story of Feiler preparing to launch a new series on walking when he is given a diagnosis for cancer.  He decides to share his journey of wha the calls his "lost year" as he battles cancer.  He also decides to invite six men that are important in his life to help father his twin daughters should the cancer win.  For a man whose life in recent years has been based on writing and walking, then faced with the real possibility of not walking again, Feiler's book is both realistic and extremely inspiring.  Over and over again I found myself marking notes on my Kindle http://www.amazon.com/b/ref=sr_tc_sc_2_0?node=133141011&qid=1283279462&sr=1-2-tc for this one.  I am sure I'll read this again at some point very soon in the future - and I'm forcing John to read it now so we can discuss some of the life points in it together.

More books on  my list coming soon.  If you decide to check either one of these out or have some thoughts of your own, please share.