I Carry Around Too Many Books ...

The House on Dream Street – Dana Sachs

Stories of an American in Hanoi, from back in the day. “Back in the day” here meaning the 90’s, although similar stories, I have to say, are told by most foreigners who have been here any length of time, about how things were so different “back in the day” when they first arrived here, whenever that was. Anyway, it’s a cool story, for everyone who can’t come visit me and experience the place for yourself (which is, hmm lets see, EVERYBODY, except that one cousin), the least you can do is read a book about it!

Lakota Woman – Mary Crow Dog

Good book, made even more fascinating for me because the author is from Rosebud Reservation, next door to Pine Ridge Reservation where I spent some time "back in the day" :). The kind of things I saw there, and the stories in this book, seem to belong to the ‘rest of the world’ more than to the America that I grew up in. In any case, the book is worth a read, more passionate than articulate, but all the more revealing for that.

Aama in America – Broughton Coburn

The story of an old woman from a Nepali village, travelling in America with a former peace corps volunteer who had become part of her family, so to speak. Shifting plots make the book less than a straight read, but it is full of great quotes, funny and true-to-life both at once.

Unaccustomed Earth – Jhumpa Lahiri

Short stories, it’s been awhile since I read short stories. I like them, and I like these. Its polished writing, but you don’t notice that until afterwards J

Falling Leaves: The Memoir of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter – Adeline Yen Mah

The subtitle pretty much explains this book. Although I started it expecting the same kind of story that I’ve read a hundred times about growing up in 20^th Century China, I was eventually pulled into the story, and it became a good read. And, in case I hadn’t thought about it recently, which I had, it reminded me of what a phenomenally cool family I have!