Friday Finds

This week's Friday Finds post is deliciously sweet. Just three thought-provoking books for you to consider. Let's get on with it, shall we?

The Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose – Heather at Age 30+… A Lifetime of Books featured this book, a memoir of one young man’s time posing as an Evangelical Christian at ultra-conservative Liberty University, a transplant from ultra-liberal Brown University, piqued my interest. I went to Cedarville University (it was Cedarville College at the time), a conservative Christian school that’s presently embroiled in a clash of cultures as the school progresses, and I’m interested in reading how a non-Christian would view life inside a “sacred institution.” The review that was linked to says it’s a relatively unbiased review, and that’s something I’d like to consider.

The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale – Jess at Barney’s Book Blog posted this one on her Friday Finds last week and her blurb caught my eye. It’s the non-traditional story of a Mormon housewife and a Hollywood heartthrob meeting (both are married) and forming a friendship. That seemed quirky, it caught my eye, so I checked it out on GoodReads.com and it was getting great reviews. The bulk of negativity came from people who had liked Hale’s other stuff and this was too different (God forbid that authors be allowed to develop and change their writing style) and/or that it wasn’t traditional chick lit (God forbid that we write “smart” chick lit). All that being said, it got added to the TBR.

An Underachiever’s Diary by Benjamin Anastas – Very Short List recommended this book, being re-released in paperback by Random House, as a must read. It’s a rather short novel about the older of two twin brothers, William, who is constantly in second place to his younger twin; he’s hailed as a modern-day Holden Caufield (sign me up!). The bulk of reviews on GoodReads.com were threes (with some fours and fives) but everybody acknowledged that it was a book that made you think (sign me up!).