Reading Rainbow

As previously mentioned, one of my new resolutions is to read more. I used to devour books, and I simply didn't have the time to read for pleasure while I was in college. And now I've just fallen out of the habit of reading. So my solution is to simply make myself. My goal is to read for at least an hour every day, and so far it's been pretty good.

I'm currently in the middle of three different books. I didn't read like this in high school, but this seems to be working for me, so I'm sticking to it. I think the combination of books is what's keeping me interested. With a good variety, I always have something on hand that I'm in the mood for, so I'm not diverting from my goal due to lack of interest.

Currently reading:

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

When we first meet 14-year-old Susie Salmon, she is already in heaven. This was before milk carton photos and public service announcements, she tells us; back in 1973, when Susie mysteriously disappeared, people still believed these things didn't happen.
In the sweet, untroubled voice of a precocious teenage girl, Susie relates the awful events of her death and her own adjustment to the strange new place she finds herself. It looks a lot like her school playground, with the good kind of swing sets.
With love, longing, and a growing understanding, Susie watches her family as they cope with their grief, her father embarks on a search for the killer, her sister undertakes a feat of amazing daring, her little brother builds a fort in her honor and begin the difficult process of healing.
In the hands of a brilliant novelist, the author narrates the THE LOVELY BONES through the eyes of her winning young heroine. This story of seemingly unbearable tragedy is transformed into a suspenseful and touching story about family, memory, love, heaven, and living.

Good Without God: What a Billion Nonreligious People Do Believe by Greg Epstein

With the current state of the economy, the ongoing wars that rage across the globe, and the unsettling changes to the earth's climate, questions about the role of God and religion in world affairs have never been more relevant or felt more powerfully. Many of us are searching for a place where we can find not only facts and scientific reason but also hope and the moral courage needed to overcome such challenges. For some, answers to the most challenging questions are found in the divine. For others, including the New Atheists, religion has no place in the world and is, in fact, an "enemy."
But in Good Without God, Greg Epstein presents another, more balanced and inclusive response: Humanism. With a focus on the positive, he highlights humanity's potential for goodness and the ways in which Humanists lead lives of purpose and compassion. Humanism can offer the sense of community we want and often need in good times and bad, as we celebrate marriages and the birth of our children, and as we care for those who are elderly or sick. In short, Humanism teaches us that we can lead good and moral lives without supernaturalism, without higher powers ... without God.
In this constructive response not only to his fellow atheists Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, and Sam Harris but also to contemporary religious leaders such as Rick Warren and Jim Wallis, Epstein makes a bold claim for what nonbelievers do share and believe. At a time when the debate about morality rages more fiercely than ever—and when millions are searching for something they can put their faith in—Humanism offers a comfort and hope that affirms our ability to live ethical lives of personal fulfillment, aspiring together for the greater good of all.

Wolf at the Table: A Memoir of My Father by Augusten Burroughs

“As a little boy, I had a dream that my father had taken me to the woods where there was a dead body. He buried it and told me I must never tell. It was the only thing we’d ever done together as father and son, and I promised not to tell. But unlike most dreams, the memory of this one never left me. And sometimes…I wasn’t altogether sure about one thing: was it just a dream?”When Augusten Burroughs was small, his father was a shadowy presence in his life: a form on the stairs, a cough from the basement, a silent figure smoking a cigarette in the dark. As Augusten grew older, something sinister within his father began to unfurl. Something dark and secretive that could not be named. Betrayal after shocking betrayal ensued, and Augusten’s childhood was over. The kind of father he wanted didn’t exist for him. This father was distant, aloof, uninterested…And then the “games” began. With A Wolf at the Table, Augusten Burroughs makes a quantum leap into untapped emotional terrain: the radical pendulum swing between love and hate, the unspeakably terrifying relationship between father and son. Told with scorching honesty and penetrating insight, it is a story for anyone who has ever longed for unconditional love from a parent. Though harrowing and brutal, A Wolf at the Table will ultimately leave you buoyed with the profound joy of simply being alive. It’s a memoir of stunning psychological cruelty and the redemptive power of hope.

With a combination of a popular novel, nonfiction, and a memoir, I'm whipping through my reading. And I'm really excited about it!

Coming up on the list:
A Lesson Before Dying By Ernest J. Gaines
Angela's Ashes By Frank McCourt
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life By Barbara Kingsolver
Bowling Alone By Robert Putnam
The Case for God By Karen Armstrong
Cheating on the Sisterhood: Infidelity and Feminism By Lauren Rosewarne
Dreaming in Hindi By Katherine Russell Rich
The Jefferson Bible By Thomas Jefferson
Jesus : A Story of Enlightenment By Deepak Chopra
Laid: Young People's Experiences with Sex in an Easy-Access Culture By Shannon T. Boodram
Let Your Life Speak By Parker Palmer
The Prophet By Kahlil Gibran
The Purity Myth By Jessica Valenti
Religious Literacy : What Every American Needs to Know--And Doesn't By Stephen Prothero
Shattered Dreams: My Life as a Polygamist's Wife By Irene Spencer
Smashed: Story of a Drunken Girlhood By Koren Zailckas
The Spiral Staircase : My Climb out of Darkness By Karen Armstrong
The Third Jesus: The Christ We Cannot Ignore By Deepak Chopra
Three Cups of Tea By Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
Wake Up : A Life of the Buddha By Jack Kerouac
You Shall Know Our Velocity By Dave Eggers

That should keep me occupied for a while! Let me know what you're reading, what you thought of the books on my list, and if you have any suggestions!