The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver

Today, after reading it for two weeks, I finished The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver. If you'll remember, she's the author of that book Animal Vegetable Miracle that we read in Science last year.
It's a tragic story, about a family with four daughters, Rachel, Leah, Adah, and Ruth May, who move to the Belgian Congo in 1959 as missionaries. Their father, Nathan Price, is a harsh and cruel man. It's a rich, moving, and complex story. It's very serious, and I may have to read it again to fully understand it. It's hard to express this book in a review, but each of the characters is very interesting and complicated. In the end, each of the sisters ends up leaving something behind Africa, one marries an African, one sets up a hotel in Congo, one dies... There some intriguing ideas expressed in the book, though at times I would say its a bit too complicated and overwritten. But still, overall, it's a good book. 4 stars.

Cleopatra's Moon, Vicky Alvear Shecter

Today I finished a book called Cleopatra's Moon. It's about Cleopatra's daughter, Cleopatra Selene. (Selene is the Greek Goddess of the moon.) It was a very interesting work of historical fiction. It seemed to accurately portray the intrigue and political scheming that went on. Much of the book is set after Cleopatra's death. Cleopatra Selene it taken to live in the palace of Octavianus, the ruler who defeated her parents, Mark Antony and Cleopatra. It has romance and adventure. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes adventure, suspense, and historical fiction. It's a great book.4 1/2 stars.

First Review!

So, here is my first review. Over the Thanksgiving break, I read a book called Chanterelle Dreams, Amanita Nightmares. For those of you mycologists out there, you would know immediately that this was about mushrooms, but I'll say it anyway. It's about mushrooms. It's an interesting book, with lots of cool facts and ancedotes. I'm pretty sure that I'll do it for my book talk this trimester. One thing I liked was that it included many elements of mushrooms, not just the science. It talked about mushrooms in mythology, poisoning, edible mushrooms, mycophilic and mycophobic countries, AND the science of mushrooms. At the same time it didn't flood you with too much information; it was just enough.
And that's all I have to say. My future reviews will probably be longer. Comment if you like!