A Few Book Recommendations

Every so often I see a plea on facebook for some book recommendations.  In fact, I've been known to do it myself when in desperate need.  I wanted to compile a quick list of book suggestions.  These are all books that I've read in the recent past and I also tried to focus on ones that you may not have heard of.  For instance, I could recommend Unbroken, The Hiding Place, anything by C.S. Lewis but you hopefully have already read and love all of those.  The following aren't my favorite books ever but I did enjoy each one of them.

True story that reads like a thriller/mystery: 
The Spy Wore Red is the true story of a model turned spy during WWII.  She gets assigned to Spain.  The book focuses on her becoming a spy and then focusing on finding out traitor in their midst.  Who can it be?  Try not to read it after dinner as may end up staying way too late into the night.

Non Fiction:
Nothing to Envy is all about the the history of North Korea up until the time it was written (I think it was published around 2012).  What makes this book fascinating is that the author tells the history of North Korea through the stories of several refugees who have escaped from North Korea and into South Korea.  It is part fascinating and part horrifying.  The interesting thing about this book is that I started it right after finishing 1984 and the parallels were amazing.  Orwell was onto something as he described communism.
Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy is the story of 4 female spies during the Civil War (or War of Northern Aggression, or War Between the States, or whatever else you want to call it).  The crazy thing about this book is that I didn't really like or particularly identify with any of the four spies and yet I loved it.  It was absolutely fascinating and you learn so much war history as well as social history.  Oh, and there are pictures.

Foodie Read: 
I've been a fan of Michael Pollan for several years, so I was not surprised to find that I loved Cooked. 
If you have already read his other books, go ahead and skip the introduction.  It is really long and he basically just summarizes his points from his other books.  He focuses on the elements: Water, fire, earth and air.  He uses each element to talk about a certain type of food and its history.  For instance, the fire section is devoted to real deal BBQ.  And no, BBQ is not synonymous with the grill.  You know a food author is doing something right when he makes you crave BBQ.  Good thing we live in the self-proclaimed BBQ capitol of the world.

Fun Historical Fiction:
For an easy read with some serious themes, check out The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet.  In addition to an interesting read, you'll learn about Chinese and Japanese Americans culture during WWII.  It focuses on the bittersweet aspects of life when it comes to family and love.  It tells the story of a Chinese American boy who falls in love with a Japanese girl right as WWII starts.  I appreciated this book because it wasn't just straight up chick lit.  In fact, the main character is male.  While it did focus on a romance, it is also part mystery and part historical fiction.

Guilty Pleasure (or maybe horror):
My sister recommended that I read a YA book called Code Name Verity.   This is quite a violent book and it isn't very happy.  It is the story of two best friends, one a pilot and the other a secret agent, during WWII.  The book starts out with the secret agent captured and being forced to write her story for her captors.  This is another one that you won't be able to put down especially as you get into it.

The next few books on my list are The Train to the Crystal City, Recapture the Wonder, Everything I Never Told You, and Miss Buncle's Book.  We'll see which ones I actually pick up and whether or not I'll finish them.  What are you reading this summer?  What should I add to my reading list?  I'd love to hear if you actually read any of my suggestions and what you think of them!