Today’s book review is focusing on two books because they both relate to autism. The first book is a fictional story, while the second is an autobiography written by a man with autism.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

This book is about an autistic boy named Christopher and his adventure in investigating the death of a neighbor’s dog, as well as the changes in his life that result from that. This takes the form of a journal that Christopher keeps, and therefore you get to know exactly what he is thinking. It is interesting because you future out what is going on in the story long before Christopher himself, because he takes things so literally. He can’t infer what is going on from what people tell him, and instead has to be told outright what is happening. You also get to see his response in an interesting way because he is not very emotional about it. I really enjoyed this book and it was a fast read!

Born On A Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant by Daniel Tammet

Daniel Tammet also has autism but also has savant syndrome which is very rare. He can do amazing things with numbers! In this book, you get to see what he is thinking as he goes throughout a normal day. It is so interesting to read because usually autistic people have a hard time communicating, so this book works toward answering that riddle.

I have known some people in varying places on the autism spectrum and it can be very difficult to know what is going on in the minds of people who often struggle to communicate their thoughts and feelings. These books give great insight! They remind me that just because someone can’t express what they are thinking,  (whether because of autism or language barriers, etc) it doesn’t mean they aren’t thinking anything! I highly recommend both of these books!

Who likes a good book review? I have really been in a reading kick lately every since I discovered Goodreads as a way to store my list of books I would like to read, and especially since I discovered the awesomeness that is the hold request system at my library! So I thought I would share some of my thoughts about some of the good ones I have read lately.

Identical Strangers: A Memoir of Twins Separated and Reunited by Paula Bernstein

This book was so interesting! These girls were adopted out of an agency into two separate families and the families weren’t told that their child was a twin. It is only when, as adults, they both search for info about their birth mothers as an adult, they find out. This book is full of interesting facts about twins in general and especially cases involving twins who grew up separately to have uncanny similarities in their lives. It is written from both of the ladies perspectives, so you get to see what they are thinking as they go through this process. I really enjoyed this book and read it quickly.

My rating: four and a half out of five stars.

Ever heard of Goodreads?

All my reader friends out there should. Especially those of you who list books you have read on your blog. This is a much easier way to do it. See my widget in my sidebar? You just input what you read. Or for that matter what you want to read. You can type in the  name or…scan the barcode with your phone! How awesome is that. I haven’t tried it yet but it sounds easy!

Putting in my “to read” list is why I have gotten excited about it in the last few days, despite having an account with them for a while that went unused. See I always go to the library or book store and can’t think of what I had been meaning to read. So I spent some time today putting books into my “to read” list so that I will know what to look for at the library. It has an app too so I will be able to access it from my phone.

And it has a widget so your fun blog friends can see what you have been reading and what you thought of it. HERE is my profile so you can see what is on my “bookshelves”. HERE is where you can get started on your own account. Let me know if you do join and I will add you as a friend so I can see what you have read.

Well I just made my first book club purchase. I bought Half Broke Horses: A True-Life Novel
for Big Mama’s book club. I noticed that mab had it in her sidebar and gave it 4.5 stars and it is supposed to be kinda like Laura Ingalls so I figured what the hey. And it cost about the exact amount I had in amazon credit. By the way, I have now earned enough swagbucks to buy two $5 amazon gift cards. So yall should join under my referral here and then you can earn some too. And I barely even remember to search through swagbucks.

Today is the last day to get your free photo book from Picaboo. Use the code FREEBK to save $40.The code expires tomorrow.  I even sent a picture of mine into the lady who I heard about this from and she put it on her blog HERE.

I really like mine.

And here are a couple of cute E pictures!

“I like bath time with Daddy and my ducky towel!”

Snuggles!

What have I been working on the past 24 hours….a photo book! (I stayed up until 2 am doing this! And since I woke up at 10 I have been working on it some more! It is super fun!)

I don’t know about you but I don’t print many pictures since they are digital. I found this blog called Moms By Heart and she blogged about a deal where you get a free photo book from Picaboo. It is an 8 1/2 x 11 sized book with 20 pages free, which normally costs $39.99.  So I am in the process of making one, instead of printing off pictures and putting them in a photo album. It comes out looking kinda like digital scrapbooking but I don’t know how to do that.Go make one, or two!

Here is her post telling about it

Here is my stack of summer reading!

The best book store in H-town is near our house: Katy Budget Books. And it has a yearly sale where hardbacks are $1 and paperbacks are less than that, so before our beach vacation I stocked up on some cheap books.

I have already read Babywise and The Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy. Now that school is out, I will actually have some time to read. I anticipate a summer with reading by the pool or in the hammock with a nice cold glass of lemonade!

Does anyone recognize a title of one that they liked? I am taking recommendations for what to read next or a summer must-read that is not pictured here!