A Woman in Berlin

AND

Persepolis

Not kidding, try them (if you haven’t already).

I didn’t care for the Boleyn book, or, frankly, anything else by the author, but I treasure the rare historical fiction that’s both challenging and a great read, so I’ll keep looking.

I just finished Prep, by Curtis Sittenfeld, and thought it was GREAT, but I’m careful about whom I recommend it to. I’ve seen some reviewers say they didn’t like the main character, which I totally get, but I think the author does an amazing job of picking out all these little trains of thought that teenagers have – the desires, the mistakes, the regrets, the insecurities. Her self-awareness is incredible. It’s now one of my favorite books.

I recommend the Mezzanine (Nicholson Baker) to everyone. It’s totally short, so if you need to squeeze one in, it’s a quick pick, but its so pleasurable to just wallow in his close observations of the ordinary things around us. I love it, and I’m mad I gave it to a friend.

Here is some of the fiction I’ve read last month that I liked… Secret Life of Bees, The Red Tent, Life of Pi, Gaia Girls (this is a book my daughter read for her book club; it’s environmentalism for kids, but an interesting read for adults too), Wee Free Men (read it and am now re-doing it on Audible with my daughter). I’ve got the Three Cups of Tea downloaded from Audible because the hold list at the library was 115 long. Now I’ll have to add some of your suggestions to my list too. Also want to read The Birth House.

My favorite book that I think I’ve ever read, though, is Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver. That or Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Universe by Douglas Adams.

So many books, so little time.

(PS- Trust me, you’ll need reading even more when you are a parent. It’s a nice escape from the insanity.)

See You In A Hundred Years was interesting, about a couple who move to the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia and do their own version of 1900 house; if you like that sort of thing.

Highest Tide was great, about a boy in coastal Washington who discovers all these anamolies in their bay and causes a huge scientific inventory to be made of the bay.

The God of Animals is a coming of age story about a girl growing up in NM or NV whose father owns a stable/farm; her mother is an agoraphobic and the girl is mostly uncared for after her older sister marries a rodeo fellow and leaves home.

last year i really liked Lullabies for Little Criminals , another coming of age story set in Canada about a neglected girl; her parents are junkies.

Fieldwork by Mischa Berlinski was fascinating. A jouralist investigates why an American anthropologist in Thailand murders a young man who is part of a well-established missionary family.

If you’ve not read Gretel Erlich, you should. Her The Solace of Open Spaces about time she spent in Montanta or Wyoming, I’ve forgotten at this point, is excellent. She’s observant about human nature and the natural environment.

Haven Kimmel is another favorite author. Her Used World was nice. I’ll send you that, too, if you like. But read any of her books, they’re all just sort of enchanting; she’s an excellent writer.

Oh, and Ron Carlson’s Five Skies was good, too. it’s sort of more manly in that there are few, if any female characters, but i loved it just the same.

Right now I’m reading Jhumpa Lahiri’s Unaccustomed Earth, and loving it. Short stories about “gulf that separates expatriate Bengali parents from their American-raised children‚Äîand that separates the children from India.”

I’ve just finished March by Geraldine Brooks. It’s the story of Mr March, the father from Little Women. It was difficult to get into and a rather laborious read.

The Last Witchfinder by James Morrow. A good read about witching hunting, Newton’s Principa Mathematica and a young Benjamin Franklin.

And I really enjoyed the Travelling Pants series.

Oh! I almost forgot! The other book I read this year that came highly recommended was Water for Elephants. I just finished it and that’s the other book I’d really recommend so far.