I've reached a benchmark of reading 68 books out of my stated goal of 75, so far this year, it's time for an update. Over the years reading has always been an enjoyable pastime for me and now I have the ability to spend more time doing it. Yes, I'm that nerdy type of person who always likes to drag a book along with me just about every where I go. I feel naked without one. I've also learned so much, experienced a myriad of things, and traveled places I will probably never be able to travel to as a person, through books. I've gone forwards and backwards in time and many places in between. Two reading challenges this year have been to read at least 24 books off the bookshelves in my house, and to participate in a reading challenge where you travel through books to different areas of the world, often reading the works of authors from those places. I've used a combination of books I already had, the public library, and made a few purchases to do the world reading challenge. It's been quite a journey. See my post from March 2022 'Whole Lotta Reading' for books read previously this year, as I am starting from book #25 of my reading in this post.
Some of my Reading Around the World Adventures:
·
Salt
to the Sea by
Ruta Sepetys (Region: Eastern Europe) World War II Era, Historical fiction based on the true story of the sinking of a German ship, the Wilhelm Gustloff. (Very good)
·
Kalila
and Dimna Edited/Compiled by Tanvir Hossain (Region: Middle East) An Arabic Aesop's fables collection written over 2000 years ago. (I found these stories a bit odd but it was an insight into culture and historical perspective.)
· The Golden Dream of Carlo Chuchio by Lloyd Alexander (Region: Middle East) Alexander's humor on a magical caravan Arabian Nights type of adventure along the silk road with companions such as Baksheesh, the world's worst camel-puller, and Shira a local young woman whose family runs a caravanserai. (YA book, good)
I also got about half way through 1001 The Tales of the Arabian Nights and found them culturally interesting and humorous in many places but they were all starting to sound the same after a while, so I moved on to something else. Tales included: Aladdin's Wonderful Lamp, Ali Babba and the Forty Thieves, The Fisherman and the Jinni, The Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor, etc. (Good)
· The Mountains of Madness by H.P Lovecraft (Region: The Antarctic) Classic Lovecraftian horror, a bit long winded as writings of that time period tend to be, a group of geologists, aviators, and explorers travel to Antarctica in search of scientific knowledge and find the remnants of an alien civilization. (OK)
· Japanland by Karin Muller (Region: Asia/Japan) I did not know what to expect from this one but it deserves the tag line of 'Western woman behaves rudely to her Japanese hosts, has a bone to pick with traditional Japanese society, tramples all around the country seeking unconventional things and calls it trying to find her inner self with a pilgrimage, so she can get grant money and make a show about it for a US audience." (OK)
·
Sovietistan: A Journey Through Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Krygystan, and Uzbekistan by Erika Fatland (Region: Southern Asia) Norwegian anthropologist Ms. Fatland, travels about in these former Soviet republics sharing history, culture and her experiences along the way. She is one brave woman.Very interesting since I knew literally nothing about these places before reading this book. (Very good)
·
The
Hungry Tide by
Amitav Ghosh (Region: Southern Asia) Set in unique ecosystem of the Sundarbans, an immense archipelago of islands off the coast of India,the tale includes adventure, an unlikely love, finding identity and history all in a fascinating region of the earth. (Very good)
· The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak (Region: Islands, specifically-Cypress) This book is mind blowing in a good way, and unique in that it uses the allegory of a fig tree to help tell and represent the story. A true masterpiece of historical fiction literature featuring people who lived through the 1970's war in Cyprus between the Turks and Greeks. (Excellent)
· The Orphan of Ellis Island by Elvira Woodruff (Italy/North America) A youth learning about his immigrant heritage gets a glimpse back in time to when some of his Italian ancestors traveled to Ellis Island and came to America. (Excellent)
·
Nine
Continents: A Memoir in and Out of China by
Xialou Guo (Region: China) A very timely book, interesting, heartbreaking and informative. This contemporary memoir documents the author's start in life from a small fishing
village in rural China to life in the West where she is now a writer and
filmmaker. (Very good)
Reading around the world has been a very worthwhile experience this year!
Additional Reading From My Shelves:
· Songsmith by Andre Norton and A.C. Crispin (Sci Fi/Fantasy) (good)
· The Key to the Keplian by Andre Norton and Lyn McConchie (Sci Fi/Fantasy) (fair to good)
·
Dark Night by Paige Shelton (Region: North American Continent) #3 Alaska
Wilds
Mystery Series (good)
· Time and Again by Jack Finney (398 pgs.) (North America: NYC)(very good)
· The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente (fantasy-good)
· The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop by Fannie Flagg (North America: Southern USA, Alabama)(good) Sequel to Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe.
· Big Fish by Daniel Wallace (North America: Southern USA)(good)
· From Time to Time by Jack Finney* (300 pages) (North America: NYC sequel to Time and Again)(fair)
· Poe Classics (Goldbug, The Fall of the House of Usher and William Wilson) (Audio Book, mystery/horror) (Usher, Goldbug-good, Wilson-fair)
· The Law by Jim Butcher (A Dresden Files Series Novella) (Kindle) (North American Continent: Chicago, Illinois)(Fantasy- good)
