Blipfoto Book Club

There isn't an official book club here, but I think there should be, as I've learned about so many interesting books from blippers!

In the last few days, it was the three books above that helped me get through the tedium and discomfort of having hives, and for that, I have Aynil, drmackem, BarrioBoy and Ceridwen, for her comment on BarrioBoy's blip, to thank.

Fortuitously, I'd put the books on hold at our local library, and was already well into Turkish author Elif Shafak's 2012 novel, Honor (US edition, hence that spelling) before the hives struck. The twists and turns of this fascinating story helped keep my mind off my discomfort, and I look forward to reading Aynil's favorite book by this author, The Forty Rules of Love, soon.

Still unable to do anything but rest, I moved from Turkey to Nigeria and the United States, and relished Americanah (2013), the latest novel by Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, recommended by drmackem. I found her style eminently readable and the characters richly drawn, and have already requested Adichie's first novel, Purple Hibiscus, from the library, with the other two soon to be requested as well.

Yesterday, I read The Yacoubian Building (2002) by Egyptian author Alaa Al Aswany, translated (2004) by Humphrey Davies. (I wish I could have found a more authoritative source than Wikipedia to provide an overview of the novel, but that will have to do.) Set in Cairo in about 1990, the book was compelling, but not an easy read, as there were many characters, multiple subplots, and considerable violence. That said, I'm glad that I read it, as now I have at least a modicum of insight into the complexity of life in Cairo at that time, which is more than I had before.

Many, many thanks to these blippers and all the others who share books they've enjoyed here!

Blip 976