The Stranger in the Woods / Michael Finkel / 203 pgs / Audiobook

"In 1986, a shy and intelligent twenty-year-old named Christopher Knight left his home in Massachusetts, drove to Maine, and disappeared into the forest. He would not have a conversation with another human being until nearly three decades later, when he was arrested for stealing food."

The subtitle for this book is The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit, which the author actually contradicts in the last part of the book, so I don't know how I feel about that. The difference between two and three stars on this one was, for me, personal preference. Let me start with what I liked about the book. 1) Christopher Knight has lived an unusual life, and his experiences are intriguing. 2) There is a bit of pondering on the psychological reasons for Knight's choices and actions. And 3) I didn't mind the parts about Finkel's developing "friendship" with his interviewee. (Although it did seem a little strange and obsessive, as others have pointed out, I didn't find it dishonest or creepy.) Now for my issues with The Stranger in the Woods: 1) Christopher Knight's story isn't that long. He doesn't give enough detail about his experiences in the woods to fill a book like this, and it should have either been shorter or filled out with more extras than it was. 2) The filling that there was felt sparse and out-of-context to me. For example, when Finkel is talking about Asperger's, he gives examples of some people who are retroactively suspected to have had it. One of these people is Virginia Woolf, and Finkel implies that she committed suicide as a result, not even taking into account her sexual abuse at a young age or many other psychological disturbances throughout her life. This seems to be putting a harsh stamp on the future of those with Asperger's without even doing justice to Woolf's legacy. 3) Although I don't mind the author inserting himself into the book, I would have liked it if he hadn't written the factual parts through a haze of his own opinions. An example of an author who separates her own story from facts well is Mary Roach. She writes about a situation in a completely objective way and then writes about her own experiences with it in subjective language. I can see the facts in this book, but I have to sift through Finkel's (maybe unintentional) hero worship wording and Knight's own prideful descriptions. Having to separate it all myself made the experience less enjoyable. I ended up rating the book two stars. Overall, I found the subject interesting but would have preferred it in a different writing style or possibly a shorter format.

You Know When the Men Are Gone / Siobhan Fallon / 226 pgs / Audiobook

There are many reasons for why we choose the books we read. Mine are often to learn something new, to marvel in the miracle of language, to better understand other people, to escape to a new (and often fantastical) place, or just to enjoy myself and laugh for a little while. I read You Know When the Men Are Gone because I understand it. Let me clarify first that I didn't have the experiences of Fallon's characters from these stories. But I was a military spouse, and there are certain "truths" (in quotes because these are things you are told and expect even if they are not true for you) that members of the military and their families learn quickly: Your significant other will cheat on you, likely at your most vulnerable or public moment. Other spouses and families are here for you, but you should also be able to take care of yourself and your family. Rank matters in every situation, professional or personal. There are more of these little lessons, but I can't think of them right now. The point is, Fallon's stories are not unusual (except perhaps "Leave," which is possible but not as likely as the others), and I know a lot of people who lived these experiences. There are lots of books about war from various angles, but it's rare to find a book (even though it's fiction) that accurately conveys the situations and emotions of United States Military family life. If someone asked me what it was like to be a member of a military family or how to better understand the mindset of the military spouse, this would be the first book I'd hand them.

Dreams of Perfection / Rebecca Heflin / 263 pages

This is a really delightful modern romance with down-to-earth (though more successful than average) characters.  Darcy Butler is the romance novelist with a ticking biological clock.  Josh Ryan is the successful lawyer with a heart of gold.  Darcy's friends and family all play their parts in this wonderful story.  I found myself able to relate to the characters; many of them were just like my own friends and family.  The story had a bit of mystery along with the romance - how could Darcy Butler's book character have come to life?  The author leads the readers without giving the whole plot away.  The new Dreams Come True series will be on my must-read list.