What I've Been Reading

I've read two books this month.

West with the Night by Beryl Markham

The title itself is beautiful; it refers to Markham's solo, non-stop flight from east to west from England to North America. Markham grew up in Kenya and her adventures include boar hunting, racehorse training and of course flying. This memoir not only has fascinating subject matter, but is also beautifully written.

I have to credit my mother-in-law for recommending and lending the book to me. I only had a vague idea of who Beryl Markham was and had no idea she was such a gifted writer.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The second book is more mainstream. I like to see how writers create dystopian or post-apocalyptic societies. The tradition of The Hunger Games makes sense in a cynical, depraved kind of way. What will the dual victories of Katniss and Peeta do to that tradition? I better get cracking on the sequels.

I saw the film before I read the book, which means I visualized the characters as the actors who portrayed them. This worked for me because I thought the actors were good, especially Jennifer Lawrence.