Great books

Over the last 6 weeks, I've read 4 great books. I'd decided that I needed to make time for exercise in each day, and I decided to get up earlier every day and use our elliptical machine. For those who really know me, I'm not a fan of early morning, especially when it's still dark outside. I get into things and am ready to really talk with you if it's after 10am. Before that, I'm still waking up. So, if I have nothing to do while working out, at 5:20am in the cold, dark morning, I get extremely bored and it's no fun. So from the library I gathered some books that looked interesting.

The first book I read was Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog by John Grogan. My sister had loaned me this book, knowing I'd like it. It's the story of a family who get a yellow lab puppy, and how this puppy doesn't fit the mold of "normal dog". I'm not a great dog fan, but the story was light-hearted, funny, and amusing to read of all the embarrassing situations they ended up in because of the crazy dog. It also brings to life the love and devotion between man and animal.

The next book I read was Ten Thousand Sorrows: The Extraordinary Journey of a Korean War Orphan by Elizabeth Kim. This is her story, born to a Korean mother and an American Father. She's adopted to a fundamental Christian family in the US. A very intense story. I had a hard time putting the book down. I kept hoping things would get "better" for her. The things she was taught as a Christian make me very sad though, as it's not a portrayal of a loving God that I know.

The third book I read was Escape Through the Balkans: The Autobiography of Irene Grunbaum. This story is of Irene Grunbaum, a Jew, during WWII in Belgrade. This book wasn't as interesting as the others. It seemed a bit slow at times, and it seemed she was always running, tring to find a way out, or a place to hide. A good book, but didn't really draw me in completely.

The most recent book I read was Swimming Across: A Memoir
by Andrew S. Grove. This story is also of a Jew, Andris Grof, during WWII. (He helped found Intel.) He shares the story of his first 20 some years of life, beginning in Hungary, and later the US. A bit more lighthearted, easy to read.