Holiday reading .....

During the holidays, I spent a lot of time reading and browsing in bookstores.  New York was a frantic time, so I didn't read as much there, but once I hit Canada, I slowed the pace down considerably and seemed to motor through books.  To me, holiday reading is a fine balance between reading books that make you think and books that are so incredibly easy to read and mindless that you may possibly lose some brain cells.

The thoughtful ones .....

American Journeys - A must-read .... stay tuned for some excerpts from this later

Sarah's Key - a gorgeous and very moving book about the treatment of the French Jews during the second World War

Stolen Innocence - An intriguing and disturbing story of the religious cult, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

What does it mean to be well educated? - A series of thought provoking articles about the American education system

If the Buddha Dated - A book about finding love whilst remaining true to yourself

The not-so-thoughtful ones .....

The Quickie - I used to love James Patterson's books but the quality of the writing has deteriorated so much that I wouldn't waste the money buying another of his books

The Fidelity Files - A holiday wouldn't be complete without some mindless chick lit

The Romancipation of Maggie Hunter - Another dose of chick lit

The joy of reading .... and rediscovering libraries!

Something that excites me about living in an English speaking country again is the easy access to libraries.  Every time I stumbled across an English book store in China, I bought books, simply because they were so hard to come across.  Top of today's to-do list is to join the library, can't wait!

Books I've recently finished ....

The Good German of Nanking - John Rabe's diaries.  I bought this at the Shanghai airport on my way home and it is a fascinating but disturbing first hand account of the rape of Nanjing in the 1930s.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston.  This book belongs to one of my brothers and despite negative reports from them, I read it as I love outdoor, mountaineering stories.  But, this is possibly the worst one I've read, arrogant and poorly written.

March by Geraldine Brooks.  A Year of Wonders is a favourite book, so I knew this would be a great story to read.  The language is beautiful, the story engaging and you learn something about history too, always a good thing!

Flying with Paper Wings - Reflections on Living with Madness by Sandy Jeffs was an amazing insight to what it is like living with mental illness.  Sandy spoke to Mum's university class late last year which is how I came to be in possession of this book.  Sandy, a Melbourne woman, has also published several books of poetry.

Current books next to my bed ......

Most people know that I don't need any excuse to buy a Lonely Planet guide so the purchase of Sydney City Guide was an easy one.  I am hoping it will regularly help me find my way off the 'Insular Peninsula'!

A Year in Tibet by Sun Shuyun.  A beautiful book that follows the life of local people in Gyantse, a rural town where I spent several days on my trip.  I want to go back there!

The books on the to-read list ......

Next on my reading list is People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks, which I know will be a good read.

The Hotel on the Roof of the World by Alec Le Sueur.  Another Tibetan book - can you guess that it holds a special place in my heart?!

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak was recommended by a friend.

The Long March by Sun Shuyun.  Another one by Sun Shuyun (I also own Ten Thousand Miles without a Cloud).

The Lovely Bones  by Alice Sebold.  I've seen the movie, now I need to read the book.  I don't normally like doing the movie/book  thing, but everyone says the book is better (which is normally the case I find anyway).

Through the Looking Glass  by Lewis Carroll is a definite on to read before seeing the movie, in 3D of course!

On that note, I'm off to the library!  Any other book recommendations are more than welcome!