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I’m still into my foray of audio books and am on what feels like a million waiting lists with my library. So far, I am loving the Overdrive app through my library because it allows me to listen to books in a browser without them taking up all of the space on my phone ever 😉 . Hint: I don’t have much space on my phone and it never seems like I do!
Savage Spawn: Reflections on Violent Children by Jonathan Kellerman
I am trying out different audio books from our library and since I like reading up on psychology subjects this seemed interesting (it was available for immediate download). This book is about people, especially children, who are psychopaths. Kellerman is a clinical child psychologist and expresses a lot of his opinions (and maybe not so much research) on the topic. Something I did find very interesting is his statement that psychopaths in prison, on the news, etc. are all failed because they haven’t actually succeeded if they have been caught. I feel like a lot of Kellerman’s stories are sensationalized, but it was really eye opening and interesting to see how little of research there is actually on the topic of psychopathy. I probably wouldn’t listen to the book again, but it was something to listen to while I was doing house work.
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand // 5 stars
This book isn’t for everyone and it takes forever to read, but it is one of my all time favorites. I first read it in high school and I was so engrossed in the book that I didn’t do anything else for a month. Ayn Rand grew up in soviet Russia and immigrated to the US with two goals: two learn English and to become a great author; it worked. Rand is a huge advocate of capitalism and ego. If you can get past the first 50 pages, you’ll find that the plot weaving and characters are so well developed. The characters are selfish and eccentric, but this is the type of book you can literally think about for years after you read it. The mysteries in the book have clues the whole way, but you have to be creative enough to figure them out. I find myself skipping 60 pages of John Galt’s speech because I have a life to live, but I do believe this is one of the greatest books I have ever read. This book has romance, politics, economics, and philosophy spread throughout and I would recommend it to anyone who wants something dense with a plot.
Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay // 4 stars
World War II books are very popular right now and I felt this was a really good one (although, this genre always makes me bawl). It was interesting learning about France’s involvement with deporting Jews in it’s own country- something that has really been left out of a lot of common World War II histories. The book started out with two women with their own survival stories and alternated every chapter while sharing a common place. I did find that the movie rendition is actually very close to the book. I thought the book was interesting and easy to read. I read this book per recommendation and I would recommend this book to those who love historical fiction.
