Happy April! Since it's the first Monday of the month, it's time to look back at my reading a decade ago. Most months it is hard to stick to just five books to highlight, and this month is no exception.
Things I've Been Silent About by Azar Nafisi - I will read almost anything set in Iran, and Nafisi is the author of Reading Lolita in Tehran, another book I devoured. Things I've Been Silent About is a memoir where Nafisi shares her life in Tehran, her childhood, relationship with her mother, and growing up during the revolution.
Charles and Emma by Deborah Heilegman - this fictionalized biography explores Darwin's personal life, the fact that his wife Emma was extremely religious makes his work all the more interesting to me.
No Cream Puffs by Karen Day - Set in 1980, this novel allowed me to revisit my own childhood. Madison wants to play baseball and ends up as the first girl in Southern Indiana on a boys team. This is controversial, of course, but all Madison really wants to do is play ball.
Keeping Corner by Kashmirah Sheth- set in India as Gandhi became the country's leader, Leela is newly widowed, still a child herself, who must stay in her her keeping corner mourning the loss of her husband for a year. When she is offered lessons at home, she learns a great deal about her country and Gandhi and perhaps a way to liberate herself.
Handle With Care by Jodi Picoult - Picoult is the master of multiple narrators and exploring interesting and timely topics. Willow was born with osteogenesis imperfecta, a condition that will cause her to suffer hundreds of broken bones and much pain in her lifetime. As the story unfolds, Willow's parents must confront some questions: what if they had known about her illness earlier, and what makes a life valuable?
These five are ones I'd still recommend to friends today. If you're looking for something to read, and would like to find something that's not brand new, these books are worth checking out.
How about you? What were you reading in April of 2009? How about April of last year?
No comments:
Post a Comment