Few things so blank the mind as this question. Ummm…. I dunno? Here’s some of what I’ve read recently.
The Art of Forgetting
: Loved this one. It’s a novel about a long-term friendship, and those of us lucky enough to have people who’ve been actively involved in our lives for a very long time know that we’ve gone through some pretty hairy situations (ok now I’m totally sidetracked. Why do we use “hairy” as an idiom for something bad or nasty? See my previous post). The novel starts when one friend gets hit by a cab and sustains a head injury that changes her personality, but like I said, it’s really a novel about friendship.
Turn Right at Maccu Pichu: Loved this one too. I linked to my review at 5MFB.
The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives
: This was a fascinating look at a polygamous Nigerian family. Although the main story-line follows the 4th wife, the youngest and best-educated, and her seeming infertility, the novel goes back and forth between different points of view, and we learn the stories of each wife and why she married Baba Segi. At times humourous, at others heart-breaking, it’s a well-written and enjoyable book.
The Good Muslim: I linked to my review. I loved this book for many reasons, but one was because you end up seeing the complex reasons people make the choices they do. It’s not a simple black-and-white world out there, and we’re affected by what we experience.
This Burns My Heart
: This book is mostly a lesson in how not to marry the wrong guy! But it’s also a look at life in South Korea in the years following the Korean War and the division of the country into North and South. The main character, Soo-Ja, is a rich girl who lacks nothing but the freedom to choose to go and study in Seoul, and she marries a man against her parents’ wishes, believing he’ll allow her that freedom. This is a bit of a spoiler but it happens fairly early on, so I’m telling you anyway. Soo-ja is flawed, believable, and in the end admirable. At least I assume so—I haven’t quite finished it. But I like her. She’s got grit and she’s not a whiner.
The Four Kitchens: Linked to my review. This is a fun combo memoir/cookbook about a young chef who travels the world. I know! Food and travel—two of my favs.
Her Sister’s Shadow: Also linking to my review. It’s a giveaway too, and you still have time to enter. Go! Now! Then come back cuz I’m not done.
In my endless stack of TBR, which are not on my nightstand at all but in a large ungainly pile in the living room:
State of Wonder
In Malice, Quite Close
Telling Lies
Finding Aster: Our Ethiopian Adoption Story
Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand
(I’ve been wanting to read this one for ages and just borrowed it from a friend.)
…and many, many more!
Well that ought to keep me busy! What have you been reading lately? Anything good?
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Planet Nomad 
8 comments
August 23, 2011 at 11:24 am
Kit
Looks like an interesting selection and covering half the globe and cultures.
I started reading The Black Swan, a philosophical/skeptical discourse, and got stuck half way, so reverted to my children’s book collection. I’ve been re-reading the Mantlemass series by Barbara Willard, each book following a different generation of the same family through difficult times in English history – from the end of the Wars of the Roses through the dissolution of the monasteries to the English Civil War – it’s more about the people in the story, but it makes you realize that no times are easy to live in!
August 23, 2011 at 1:31 pm
Jennifer, Snapshot
A large ungainly pile in the living room?? Surely you can do better than that? Ha! Mine are sort of scattered all over — some by my bed, some under my coffee table in the living room, others in this built-in storage cubby in my closet (which is technically where they should all go).
August 23, 2011 at 2:50 pm
hopewellmomschoolagain
Major Pettigrew is on my all-time favorites list! I loved, loved, loved it! EVERYTHING on your list will probably end up on my to read list. I get tired of “book clubs love it” selections some times. I especially enjoy international literature.
August 23, 2011 at 5:34 pm
Mrs. G.
I loved “Major Pettigrew…” too! I’m impressed with the breadth of your list. I am reading one now called “To the End of the Land” and I’m pretty hooked.
August 23, 2011 at 11:26 pm
Linda
Another thumbs up for Major Pettigrew. Very original.
August 24, 2011 at 1:01 am
meredith
I’m reading a book translated from French to English, written by the French psychiatrist Francois Lelord, “Hector and the secrets of Love”. It’s fiction, but a little philosophical on the subject of love in a way that French are so good at. I ordered two more used books off of Amazon’s used book list: “The Eve Tree” and “The Incredible History of Rachel Duprée”…so that what’s next, whenever they get here.
August 24, 2011 at 2:25 pm
LIB
Another thumbs up for “Major Pettigrew”.
I reread “To Kill a Mockingbird”; we’re doing that in Book Group. It’s as good as I remember. We also watched the movie – ditto.
Just started “Life Among the Savages” by Shirley Jackson. It’s a classic, written over 50 years ago, told first person about a mother of young children and all their (mis)adventures.
On audio I’m listening to “Patron Saint of Used Cars and Second Chances” by Mark Millhone. Also first person describing the year he tried to put his, and his family’s, life back together after the “year from hell’.
August 30, 2011 at 3:12 pm
Cassandra
What a varied list! I saw Four Kitchens at Barnes and Noble the other day. Hopefully my library carries it! It looked really intriguing. I love food and I love travel so it’s a great combination.