The White Tiger Was My Favourite Read

My favourite read in 2010 was The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga. It's such a great story told in the voice of a low-caste man in India who becomes a business man. It's from 2008 and won the Man Booker Prize so most of you have probably read it ages ago. Like so many of the books that I read in 2010, it was recommended to me by Rebecca. :-)

the betrayal by helen dunmore

i am still reading this one, so i don't know if it will maintain its hold on me, but i find it very difficult to put it down, even though there is a pervasive atmosphere of nervous dread. it takes place in stalinist russia in the early 1950's and concerns a young doctor who treats the son of a powerful secret police officer. it was shortlisted for the mann booker, and it is so much better than the finkler question which won. will let you all know how it finishes--but right now i say it's absolutely worth reading!

laura

a visit from the goon squad by jennifer egan

jennifer egan is a smart, thoughtful writer, and her latest book is her best. each chapter could stand on its own as a short story, but the book is a novel that visits and revisits two main characters in the new york city music industry spanning about 30 years. Egan weaves together so many themes about music, time, loss, and love--her characters are flawed but human. i loved this book!

skippy dies by paul murray

i loved this big, ambitious, crazy book. it takes place in an catholic boarding school for boys in ireland in the 1990's, and it's told from many different points of view: priests, young boys, teachers, a girl working in a donut shop...i laughed out loud many times, but the book is fundamentally deep and sad.

laura

The Last Chinese Chef by Nicole Mones

I have another suggestion, I have just bought this book, it's supposed to be very good, can't wait to read it. It is the story of a widowed food writer who travels to China to write an article about a rising young Chinese-American-Jewish chef. She is also faced with a claim on her husband's inheritance by a Chinese family. She learns about the healing power of food and the story is interlaced with recipes.
Again the reviews are all great and it seems like a great book.

Memories of Eden by Violette Shamash

This is my first entry... I thought I'd start by sharing with you this book. I have not read it yet, but the reason I dare to suggest it is because it was written by the grandmother of a very good friend of mine. She told me the book is beautiful and I believe her. Her family has a very interesting story.

The book portrays the life of the Jewish community in Baghdad in the first half of the 20th century. Everyone lived in harmony then and life in Baghdad was fabulous. Check out the reviews on Amazon, they are all great.

I hope to read it soon, but I have lots to catch up on and I am not a fast reader.

What was your favorite read in 2010?

AS we are starting a new year, forming new year's resolutions (Contribute to the BLOG!!!) and looking back at 2010, I was wondering if you'd like to contribute by posting the title of your favorite read? I've heard some of you say here and there at meetings "oh yes, THIS book was definitely my best read last year!!" but somehow, now that I'm ready to put this great piece of advice into practice by ordering some great reads on Amazon... I can't seem to recall who said what? and WHAT was the title of that AMAZING book again???....There!

My best read last year was The Book Thief by Markus Suzak: poetic, touching, well crafted, just beautiful...and original too, as it is the only book I've ever read that is narrated by death. It's set in Germany during the second World War and some horrible things happen but it manages to stay simple and optimistic somehow....

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Looking for a great read that you can't put down? This book did the trick for me and took me miles away from the dreary daily worries of this week....I felt like I'd run away to the circus and fell in love with some crazy elephant myself after reading this book. I particularly liked the way the story is framed by the voice and portrait of the hero of the tale at the respectable age of 93...I thought it was really beautiful done, fast paced and touching at the same time.

Café Al dente

There was much talk at the last meeting about this great little wine bar/ trattoria/ aperitivo café in the neighbourhood. They have great wine indeed and despite rather slow service it's a great place for an early "aperitivo" (they stop serving around 8:30 I think) The restaurant itself was nothing special i thought (the food i mean) and you usually have to book a table as the place is tiny...It's located between Brugmann (near the De Fré intersection) and Saint Pierre in Uccle and here is a link to their website: www.cafealdente.com

Books for february and march meetings!

Just to let everybody know we've chosen two books for the forthcoming meetings: Purge by Sofia Oksanen for February and Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese for March. We also set dates for February (the 10th) and March (the 17th) for our Thursday monthly meetings, so please mark your calendars and join us if you can! Maria has kindly offered to host, details will follow closer to the date, by e-mail....Happy reading and (I hope) happy blogging!

Live qnd Personal

Here we are live at the home of our fearless leader -- really instigator. We are all going to start contributing straight away!!!!

The invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick

My daughter Camille and I devoured the "Invention of Hugo Cabret" by B Selznick over the week end, and both of us in turn COULD NOT put in down! This is what my almost 10 years old has to say about it: "This book is full of mysteries.I especially liked the fact that Hugo could walk in the walls.I wish I could do that! I also think this book is special because some parts of the story are told solely by black and white hand-drawn pictures, which means that if the pictures were not there you wouldn't understand the story. It's a bit like having a silent movie inserted in the book."

Check out this website to get a feel for the book and the real history behind it: http://www.theinventionofhugocabret.com/

January 13th Book Club Meeting

Welcome back everyone! I hope you all had a lovely christmas break and a good start to the New Year....I hope lots of you can join us for our first book club of the year, next Thursday. It will be at my place, and we will not be discussing any book in particular, but instead talking about our recent reads and discussing ideas for future meetings!   I'm in the midst of two fabulous reads I can't wait to tell you about! (one of which is the book I got last month from Teresa as a "Christmas present"!! Thanks so much Teresa!)