When I travel, I always find time to get a bit of reading time in. Car trips, flights, and relaxing by a pool or on a beach afford ample time to read fantastic books. This is What I Read in Bonaire.
Books Finished:
The Beloved Daughter
The Beloved Daughter follows a girl, later a young woman, living in North Korea. She and her family are imprisoned in camps for being Christians. The book is a pretty quick read, but not as compelling as it could have been. I enjoyed it enough to get through it.
Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion
This book was written by Father Gregory Boyle, a Jesuit priest who began working, and continues to work, in East L.A. with gang members. He created Homeboy Industries which endeavors to give jobs and tattoo removal to gang members, in hopes of pulling them out of the cycle of crime, poverty, abuse, and gang-banging that they are in. It has proved to be a very effective model.
I put this book in my Kindle wish list after hearing Father Greg and a couple of homies speak at a conference on children’s law. The presentation was powerful. I finally got around to reading this book, and am glad that I did. I’m not sure what took me so long, really. It made me laugh, and it made me cry. I very much recommend it.
G-Dog and the Homeboys: Father Greg Boyle and the Gangs of East Los Angeles
This book is the story of Father Gregory Boyle and his work with the gangs. It is mostly a journalistic account, but the author does also discuss how her account cannot be wholly impartial, as after following Father Greg and some of the gang members for four years, she grew to care about what happened to them, as well as to want to alter the course of events in their lives for the better.
After reading Tattoos on the Heart, I wanted to know more. This book filled that role. I recommend it to others, but if you were only going to choose one, Tattoos on the Heart would be it.
The Martian
This book is fantastic! It is fast paced, humorous, and incredibly intense. It follows an astronaut who is trying desperately to survive after he is accidentally left behind on Mars after the crew is forced to evacuate during a Martian sandstorm.
I was given this book by a new friend and fellow scuba diver, Todd, and am so glad. It was one of the best books I’ve read in a while. I wholeheartedly recommend it. Since reading it, I see that it is being made into a movie. I’ll definitely be seeing it. I can’t imagine it will be quite as good as the book (but then, are they ever?!), but hopefully it will still have all of the energy of the book.
Books Abandoned:
None.