More favorites

These are some of my other favorite books. These are books that make you wish the world was different, and make you wish you could change it. All of these books were so great that I couldn't put them down.


The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
This book makes me so sad, but also so thankful that there are people that will go against all odds and go through just about anything to help someone else. The story is of a man who was born in Kabul and moves to America that finds out that his half brother's son is now left alone in Afghanistan. Despite the unsafe conditions with the Taliban, Amir risks his life to find the boy to give him a better life. If you prefer to watch the movie, it is also very well made and is a good adaptation from the book.

Now that my husband is in Afghanistan I think back to this book whenever he mentions the kids there. He gets such joy out of the kids when he is out on patrol and likes to give them treats when he can. I think that's adorable. I can't imagine growing up in that kind of environment. Constant political struggle, violence, and poverty.

The author of this book started a foundation that is working to help Afghani children and refugee families (www.khaledhosseinifoundation.org). There is an interesting and easy way to give to the foundation on their home page, just take a picture of you or someone holding The Kite Runner, or A Thousand Splendid Suns (which is also a great book), and upload it to the Penguin Books website. For each photo the publisher will donate $2 to the foundation.


The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd
I remember not having any idea what this book was about before I read it, but I had heard it was good. I love everything about this book. The characters are great, the story and struggle and pain are so compelling and heartfelt. I think it brings out every one of the human emotions. I also love the connection between the women in the story. I never had sisters, and never really wanted them, but this book kind of made me wish I had that sisterly bond.

Set in civil-rights era South Carolina, Lily runs away from home and her painful past and goes to find that place her mother came from. She stays with a house full of black women (the Boatwright sisters) that keep bees and make honey with the "Black Mary" on the label. Lily finally starts to understand what life is really about, and what being loved feels like. The movie of this book was also very well made and stars Dakota Fanning, Queen Latifa, Jennifer Hudson, and Alicia Keys.


The Help - Kathryn Stockett
This is another civil rights era book about a group of black maids that worked in the households of wealthy young woman in Jackson, Mississippi. "The help" do so much for the families and practically raise the children themselves, but are hardly appreciated or given any credit just because of the color of their skin. It's interesting to read about both classes of women because so much has changed since then and it's hard to believe it was ever like that. Even when my parents were children it was like that, it seems so weird now. The book goes back and forth between the perspectives of several of the characters. One of the white women decides to pursue her writing career by putting together a collection of true stories from Jackson maids, all while trying to protect everyone involved from discrimination and possibly violent uproar from the community. I'm guessing they will make a movie of this book someday too. Yep, just googled it, it comes out next year!

Has anyone else read these books? Which did you like better, the movie or the book? These are the few that I think the movies were (almost) just as good as the books.