Tuesday's To-Reads

I often get emails or comments from people, asking if I have any book recommendations. If the books I've reviewed haven't piqued your curiosity, here are a few books that are on my to-read list on goodreads.com.

The Latehomecomer: A Hmong Family Memoir - I haven't watched Gran Torino, but have heard nothing but great things about that film. The people I've spoken to have said they walked away walking to know more about the Hmong culture. This book would be a great way to learn more about that culture. The author, Kao Kalia Yang, chronicles their move from the jungles of Thailand to St. Paul, Minnesota. It sounds like an amazing book. I was suprised to learn that Yang was born in 1980 - which makes her only one year older than me! Our Diversity Committee at work just purchased this book; I am hoping to read it this month!

A Fine Balance - I also have yet to see Slumdog Millionaire. It's in my Netflix queue, so hopefully I will see it soon. This novel, by Rohinton Mistry, tells the story of 4 individuals who are living in India and struggling to "maintain a fine balance between hope and dispair." I see this is an Oprah book club selection.

Those Who Save Us - This is the debut novel of author Jenna Blum. The novel alternates between the story of Trudy, a history professor at a Minneapolis university collecting oral histories of WWII survivors, and Trudy's German mother, Anna, who left her war torn country during WWII by marrying a US soldier. Anna tells the story of her past which includes a relationship with a Jewish doctor and an abusive relationship with a high-ranking Nazi officer.

These books are all a little on the heavy side, but all sound very interesting! I am going to try to do a post like this once a month - there are at least 150 books in my to-read list, so I definitely have plenty of books to feature!

Happy Reading!