Monday 17 March 2008

What I'm reading at the moment

Image of the book cover
A Thousand Splendid Suns
by Khaled Husseini

"Mariam is only fifteen when she is sent to Kabul to marry the troubled and bitter Rasheed, who is thirty years her senior. Nearly two decades later, in a climate of growing unrest, tragedy strikes fifteen-year-old Laila, who must leave her home and join Mariam's unhappy household."
Another Christmas present, this time from Peter, and very good (I've actually finished it now). Thanks to BookMooch, I am accumulating books faster than I can read them, but we've arranged a holiday when I should be able to knock a few out.


Image of the book cover
Heat
by Bill Buford

"Bill Buford, an enthusiastic, if rather chaotic, home cook, was asked by the New Yorker to write a profile of Mario Batali, a Falstaffian figure of voracious appetites who runs one of New York's most successful three-star restaurants. Buford accepted the commission, on the condition Batali allowed him to work in his kitchen."
No idea about this one, the reviews are mixed, but I like finding out how restaurants work.

3 comments:

Ian said...

Lola, I read Husseini's book last year and really liked it. I hope his third book is as good. I'm not one to recommend books (here goes any way) but you might also like Tess Uriza's "When the Elephants Dance". It is one of the best books I read last year.

The Woman who Can said...

Ooh, I've just finished A Thousand Splendid Suns! I loved it but it didn't make me cry as much as The Kite Runner.

Which frankly was a relief to all, including my fellow commuters...

Lola said...

I've added Tess Uriza to my BookMooch wishlist - there's one available, but only in the US.

Reading books in public is fraught, not only when they make you cry. I was reading one book on the train, and it reached the most enormous cliffhanging point of unbearable tension and I had to shut the book to get off the train or I would have missed my stop. It really hurt.