Book Report

The advantage of commuting by Metrorail and my periodic 10+ hour plane flights is that I'm reading more than I ever have before--which is awesome, because that's my favorite hobby! Here are some books I've finished recently and highly recommend (in order of completion):

The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
Several coworkers, former coworkers, and a random girl on the Metro recommended this book, so I couldn't not read it! I haven't met anyone who didn't like this book, which is a story about a boy who grows up in Afghanistan in the early 70s and how the brutality and innocence he witnesses in those around him shapes his life. An added bonus is that even though it's fiction, it gives some historical perspective on Afghanistan and its culture. I find it so much easier to remember historical events if I have a personal account--even a fictional character's--to give it some weight and emotion. And now everytime I see people flying kites on the National Mall I think, "I bet they're glad those aren't glass-coated strings!"

Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books (Azar Nafisi)
This book is part memoir, part literary criticism--but don't let that deter you. Azar Nafisi tells the story of her intellectual struggle with the oppressive Muslim regime that came to power in Iran in 1979. When things degrade to a point that she can't teach western literature at the university any longer, she starts holding "class" in her home with a select group of young women (mostly former students) where they read forbidden "decadent" literature. There are some portions of the book that feel repetitive, but if you can see past that, this is a compelling story about the importance of simple freedoms, such as reading whatever books you want! There's also a recommended reading list at the back, so now I have plenty of other book recommendations, mostly classics. I think I might have enjoyed this book even more if I'd been more familiar with the works by James and Nabokov that she focuses on (I'm working on that now). I was actually reading this book on the Metro when the previously-mentioned random girl told me how much she enjoyed it and then recommended The Kite Runner (which I'd just finished). She also recommended my next book, and since we appeared to have similar taste in books, I bought a copy....

The Namesake (Jhumpa Lahiri)
This book is the story of a first-generation American boy who struggles with his identity and desire to distance himself from his parents' Indian culture and expectations. It's not the kind of book that ends with a happy understanding, but it leaves the reader feeling hope for the protagonist.

Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
I saved my favorite for last. The author's wit and sense of humour is subtle, but pervasive. This is one of those books where, after I knew how it ended, I went back and re-read specific passages with a new understanding of their meaning. I guess the best way to describe it is that this book sticks with you. A couple of nights after I finished it, I even woke up in the middle of the night and had an epiphany about the book's meaning...not that I remember said epiphany, because I went right back to sleep...but it was pretty deep! My only complaint is that the scene which changes your perspective on the book's events is spoon-fed to you. I would have enjoyed the revelation more had I felt the author trusted me to understand it. However, I enjoyed this book more than any I've read in recent memory! I'm even going to get my slow-reading husband to read it, if he ever finishes the last two Harry Potters!

The common thread I found in most of my recent reading is the importance of stories and imagination as part of what makes us whole. A motivational speaker I saw a couple years ago said that "Great leaders are great readers". That struck me as being pretty true, so here's to becoming a great leader!
Happy reading!