It is a true story written by Laura Dekker which describes her solo voyage around the world in her 40 ft. sailboat (ketch) "Guppy". She was the youngest person ever to circumnavigate the globe solo. She completed the voyage when she was 16 years old, having sailed 31,000 miles in 519 days.
When reading the book it helps to have a basic knowledge of sailing and its terminology. She stopped at various places enroute and she tells about the people she met and the things she did during those stops.
I find it fascinating that a 16 year old girl could do that trip solo. Her father is a very experienced sailor and he helped Laura prepare her boat. He met her a few times enroute to help maintain the boat while it was in port. But all the miles sailing was done by Laura as a solo sailor. She was a bold and brave girl to successfully do that voyage, and it is a fascinating story.
A movie was made about the voyage and it is called "Maidentrip". It is available on Netflix online.
Stolen Innocence by Elissa Wall who escaped the Warren Jeffs group.
I just started reading Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman, who won a Nobel Prize. This book has recieved an impressive number of awards, so I am looking foward to getting into it.
I'm reading short stories by Sherwood Anderson (1876-1941). Right now I'm reading his collection "Winesburg, Ohio." It's a set of stories that I think were very closely based on his own life. Just my thing.
Interesting collection of short topics, about our basic assumptions, and how they tend to fall short.
I don't agree with all the author's conclusions (particularly about intelligence gathering issues), as in certain sections, he has researched meticulously and extensively, and put together logical conclusions, yet in others, his supporting data is sketchy and dubious. Nonetheless, a fascinating read.
Admittedly, not my usual fare, but it is fun. Besides, when judged on an intellectual level and basis in reality, Calvin and Hobbes is certainly a step up from the book of Mormon.
I'm really enjoying selected stories by Alice Munro. She is a great Canadian author. Highly recommend her ( she won a Pulitzer or Nobel a few years back).
New translation of Jesuit cleric Ippolito Desideri's epic journey to Tibet in the early 1700s. He was the first Western theologian to accurately describe Tibetan Buddhism and even learned the language and studied at a Buddhist monastery.
"Brain Maker", by neurologist David Perlmutter. A fascinating report of recent research on the connection between the gut's microbiome and mental/brain health.
Also, "The Path to Power", the first in a four-volume biography of Lyndon B. Johnson, by Robert Caro. Reads like a novel and gives a great history of 20th Century politics in the US.
Re-reading Richard Dawkins, "The God Delusion." I like it better each time I read it. The first time I read it, I thought he was a little over the top, but so much has happened since then, now I am thinking he may be exactly right on the money. Also (I often have two books going at a time..) I'm reading a book called "The Defense" by D. W. Buffa. It is very good--described as a "legal thriller." I had to search it out after reading another book by this author. Very entertaining! :)
Just reread the Girl with Dragon Tattoo series again and then read the new fourth book in the series. Then I read "The Martian" (very good book and the movie was awesome). Just reread the Hunger Games Trilogy to prep for the release of the final movie. At the moment I am half way through "The Einstein Prophesy" which so far has been interesting. I normally have to read a lot of nonfiction, but I've been on a fiction kick lately.
Also, "H is for Hawk". Slower read but exquisite prose.
And trying to work in a chapter here and there of "In Sacred Loneliness". It is incredibly informative but a little tedious. But totally necessary for understanding the situation.
A Town Like Alice by Nevil Shute. Based on a true character it is both riviting and poignant.
In 1942 the Japanese Invaded Sumatra and about 80 Dutch women and children were collected by the Japanese. The local Japanese commander was reluctant to assume responsibiity for these women and marched them out of his area. This 'march' all around Sumatra lasted for two and a half years. At the end, only thirty of the group survived.
The tactics learned for survival for those women are much the same as in leaving mormonism, either mentally or physically.
Be aware, be informed, remember the history, remain with those who can help keep you strong in your journey, help others along the way.