Are You Happy/Michal

I finished 2 books this week. The first was Are You Happy by Emily Fox Gordon. I found this book on the shelf of a dollar store back when we lived in Brandon, MS. So, it was at least 6 months ago. I am thinking, it was probably last summer. The cover caught my eye, and I don't always obey the cliche not to judge a book by its cover. At least, I sometimes pick books out based soley on the design. I will then read the book before making a judgment call, but I must admit to being attracted to pretty books.

Are You Happy is a memoir, and I enjoyed it very much. I like memoirs, because I like feeling as though I have made a new friend, while reading. Emily and I shared some experiences of teasing in school and bad decision making, etc... I like how she writes.

Finishing that, I picked up Michal by Jill Eileen Smith. I had read a fictional account of the life of Michal, years ago. That book was Queenmaker by India Edghill, and I wasn't in love with it. Queenmaker painted David as a womanizing ego-maniac and Michal as sheer virtuous perfection. This newer account of their life together is much more balanced. Sometimes, the story does seem to side more with one or the other, but mostly you can see a realistic idea of how their relationship might have played out. I like Biblical fiction, because it allows me to slip freely into the stories and think about the characters as real people.

Both books are worth reading.

Heather