Reading Spree

I picked out three incredible books at the library three weeks ago, and I can't believe I am finished reading all of them before time to turn them back in. Usually, I will borrow three at a time, and I am lucky to finish just one of them. Maybe I can ready even more next month, because finishing a great book is a good feeling. I believe it expands your imagination, and also helps you to unwind and escape from reality.  I would definitely recommend the following four books in the adult fiction genre.

The Sky Unwashed by Irene Zabytko

This novel is a fictional story set during a true moment in history- April 1986 when the Chernobyl nuclear disaster occurred. It is about the devastation and separation of one family and community, and how they make peace with everything in the end. It is also revealing about the ways of the communist Soviet Union.

The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver

This novel tells the story of a twenty-something woman heading West for a new life, and while in the Great Plains a stranger asks her to accept guardianship of a Native American toddler. The young traveler, Taylor, unofficially adopts the child, Turtle, and this is the story of their determined survival with the help of several genuine characters who form a diverse community.

On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan

This quick-read novel takes place over a 24-hour period in the early 1960s. It is about a couple's first honeymoon night that does not turn out as hoped or expected. However, during this one day, the two characters recall their courtship period and their families' histories that led up to this day.

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler

I actually read this book back in April on a four-day trip to the beach. This novel is about two scientists, a husband and wife, who raise their son and daughter alongside an ape, as if she were human, for a science experiment. The human daughter, Rosemary, especially has issues from this odd family situation. The novel is set mostly during her college years with childhood flashbacks, and then briefly reveals what happens with the rest of her life.