The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera

I was back and forth with how much I enjoyed this book, but it ended on a positive note.  The title refers to the contrast of weighty burdens and things that are "lighter."  It is a different way of thinking for me.  I am a very optimistic person, and this book is much more fatalistic in its view.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being is mostly the story of a man, Thomas, who loves his wife, Tereza, but is also an incurable womanizer.  His wife is tortured by jealousy and suffers from terrible dreams.  Thomas feels compassionate toward her but can't stop his behavior.  We also read quite a bit about one of Thomas's mistresses, Sabina and her naïve lover.  It takes place against the backdrop of Communist Czechoslovakia, which is pretty interesting.

Obviously this book includes mature themes and isn't appropriate for young readers.  It doesn't go into great detail but involves a lot of frank sexual discussion.

This book is well-written and interesting but a little depressing.  I did like the ending, though.  My favorite part of the book was a discussion about the four different ways people want others to look at them.  This book is worth reading but not one of my favorites.

The Awkward Age by Henry James

A forewarning that I am not generally a big Henry James fan, so this review could be considered a bit biased.  That said, The Awkward Age is not even one of my favorite of James' books. 

This book tells the story of a social group and their interactions, which makes it fairly typical of James.  It largely consists of long, drawn-out conversations between various characters.  The thing I disliked most is that quite often the characters say something to the effect of, "you know how she/he is" or "you know what I mean."  The other character agrees they do know, and it is never explained more fully to the reader.  And, at least this particular reader, doesn't actually know what they are talking about!

It is clean and completely appropriate.

It does get a bit long, though, for the actual content.  As usual with James, you just have to enjoy the good writing and language choices.

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

This is a second grade level children's book, but it is still definitely worth reading.  I first looked it up because I heard some quotes from it in a Korean drama, My Love from Another Star.  They were such great lines that I decided to look up the book and read it.  I was glad I did.

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane is the story of a fancy toy rabbit who is very proud.  He loves no one but himself.  He is lost from the little girl who absolutely adores him and ends up travelling around the country for years meeting new owners and hearing their stories.

Since this is a children's book, it is completely appropriate for all readers.  It is a very easy read.  You can zip through it in less than an hour.  It is definitely worth the time.