The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
07 Aug, by in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Jewish
Here's how I finally came to read The History of Love ...
BookDragon Love Tag
Chanda’s Wars by Allan Stratton
02 Aug, by in African, Canadian, Fiction, Young Adult Readers
In the six months since Mama passed away, Chanda's life has changed completely. As the sole provider for her sister Lily and brother Soly, Chanda is unable to continue her own education and instead substitutes at the primary school. With Mama gone, Chanda's best friend...
Author Interview: Tahmima Anam [in Bookslut]
01 Aug, by in Adult Readers, Author Interview/Profile, Bangladeshi, Bangladeshi American, British Asian, Fiction, Repost, South Asian, South Asian American
In spite of the fierce, wrenching content of her books, Tahmima Anam in real life is a gentle, warm, incredibly youthful presence. We met in livetime a few years ago in Washington, DC, as her debut novel, A Golden Age, was winning major international awards,...
The Bride Price by Buchi Emecheta
26 Jul, by in Adult Readers, African, Fiction
With a long list that spans over four decades of critically lauded, award-winning novels, plays, and children's titles, Nigerian-born Buchi Emecheta is undoubtedly one of the pioneering women's voices in African literature. She writes with simple strength, without embellishments; her uncomplicated, accessible prose is quiet,...
La Quinta Camera | The Fifth Room by Natsume Ono, translated by Joe Yamazaki
25 Jul, by in Adult Readers, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Translation, Young Adult Readers
Charlotte, 18, bored with her life in Denmark, hitchhikes into her chosen Italian city: destination – language school. Her thrill of "I'm finally in Italia," is instantly dashed by her realization that she's left her bag with all her valuables in the now long-gone truck. Wandering...
The Whole World Over by Julia Glass
23 Jul, by in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific
This was my last of the Julia Glass novels, having read them out of published order. Glass' first title, Three Junes, and her latest, The Widower's Tale, undoubtedly make up the better half of her oeuvre. I See You Everywhere and Whole World land on...
Empire State: A Love Story (or Not) by Jason Shiga
21 Jul, by in Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese American, Middle Grade Readers, Young Adult Readers
Whew! This time, my aging, addled brain ‘got’ Jason Shiga’s latest graphic creation almost immediately. I admit that freely because his bestselling, many-award-winning Meanwhile (gives the word 'matrix' a whole new meaning!) had me so discombobulated with all its unique cleverness, I didn’t know which way to...
The Good Muslim [Bengal Trilogy, Book 2] by Tahmima Anam
18 Jul, by in Adult Readers, Bangladeshi, Bangladeshi American, British Asian, Fiction, South Asian, South Asian American
Tahmima Anam continues her outstanding Bengal Trilogy, which began with A Golden Age, her glowing 2008 debut that propelled Anam into a privileged literary circle filled with international accolades. From Rehana Haque, the protagonist mother in Age, Anam shifts her focus to the grown Haque...
What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell
17 Jul, by in Audio, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific, Young Adult Readers
No matter what you ultimately think of the story here, reading this book will no doubt elicit strong lasting emotions. As I'm convinced the less you know about Judy Blundell’s 2008 National Book Award for Young People's Literature winner, the better your own reading will be, you might...
The Widower’s Tale by Julia Glass
16 Jul, by in Adult Readers, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific
Just sigh with me a moment. Deep breath in, deep breath out ...
This Burns My Heart by Samuel Park [in Library Journal]
15 Jul, by in Adult Readers, Fiction, Korean, Korean American, Repost
Set in postwar South Korea, where tradition is challenged by the eye-blinking changes erupting from a rapidly evolving modernity, Park’s (Shakespeare’s Sonnets) novel is essentially a triangulated love story involving wealthy and stunning Soo-Ja who dreams of becoming a diplomat in a brave new world,...
World and Town by Gish Jen
14 Jul, by in Adult Readers, Audio, Cambodian, Cambodian American, Chinese, Chinese American, Fiction, Hapa/Mixed-race, Southeast Asian, Southeast Asian American
Hattie Kong's email inbox is full of desperate pleas from various relatives to please send back her parents' bones to the family plot in Qufu, China. Because her American missionary mother and her Confucius-descended Chinese father found their final rest in Iowa, the remaining Kong...
Tales from the Five Kingdoms (Tales 1-4) by Vivian French
04 Jul, by in British, Fiction, Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific
The First Tale: The Robe of Skulls The Second Tale: The Bag of Bones The Third Tale: Heart of Glass The Fourth Tale: The Flight of Dragons Since today is Independence Day, I figured the time is right to explore our colonial roots and see what one of...
A Bride’s Story (vol. 1) by Kaoru Mori, translated by William Flanagan
01 Jul, by in Adult Readers, Central Asian, Fiction, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese, Translation, Young Adult Readers
Before you read a single word, you'll surely find yourself marveling at the breathtaking wonder of the artwork here. The word 'exquisite' hardly does the painstakingly detailed panels justice ...
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
23 Jun, by in Adult Readers, African, Audio, Fiction, Indian African, Indian American, South Asian American
Truth: if not for Sunil Malhotra, I would never have finished Abraham Verghese's bestselling first novel, Cutting for Stone. Immediately opened upon receipt more than two years ago, for some reason, my bookmark never moved beyond the first few chapters ...
Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
18 Jun, by in Adult Readers, African, Audio, Black/African American, Fiction
Without a doubt, this is Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s best work to date. While her debut, Purple Hibiscus, was engrossing, and her short story collection, The Thing Around Your Neck, included stand-out gems, both titles pale to the exceptional Yellow Sun. Gentle, innocent Ugwu enters the home of...
Landing by Emma Donoghue
11 Jun, by in Adult Readers, Audio, Canadian, European, Fiction, Hapa/Mixed-race, Indian, Irish
Had I not been so enthralled with Room, I don't know if I would have discovered Emma Donoghue's many other titles, but I've definitely been enjoying reading newly discovered authors' works backwards. Take a look at the cover and you can probably guess what Landing is about....
Three Junes by Julia Glass
05 Jun, by in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific
So this is why Julia Glass won the 2002 National Book Award. Nine Junes later, I'm catching up! As I started out disappointed having read her third title first (I See You Everywhere), I admit to letting out one contented long sigh with this one. Glass'...
Intuition by Allegra Goodman
04 Jun, by in Adult Readers, Audio, Fiction, Nonethnic-specific
True confession: Intuition is not my favorite Allegra Goodman title (I remain most partial to Kaaterskill Falls and recently enjoyed The Cookbook Collector). That said, Intuition proved to be a highly useful tool as I happened to read it just before I picked up 2011 nonfiction Pulitzer Prize...
Drown by Junot Díaz
03 Jun, by in Adult Readers, Audio, Caribbean American, Fiction, Short Stories
Talk about a surprisingly fortuitous bonus: If you get the audible version of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, included in the deal is Junot Díaz's debut title, Drown, a collection of 10 mostly-related short stories. That both Díaz titles are read with such fluency...