Tamara’s
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(group member since Mar 26, 2019)
Tamara’s
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from the 2025 Reading Challenge group.
Showing 281-300 of 542
Goal: 80 books81/80. The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East by Sandy Tolan.
It humanizes the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by describing it through the friendship of a Palestinian Arab and an Israeli Jew.
Goal: 24 books from the Middle East and Africa
25/24. The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East by Sandy Tolan.
Goal: 10 books of non-fiction
14/10. The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East by Sandy Tolan.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Goal: 80 books80/80. Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
A compelling coming-of-age narrative about a young girl growing up in politically turbulent Nigeria and a home riddled with domestic violence.
Goal: 50 books by women authors
54/50. Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
Goal: 24 books from the Middle East and Africa
24/24. Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I've completed by annual challenge of reading 80 books for the year. I intend to keep chugging along to see how far I can get :)
Goal: 80 books79/80. At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop; translated from the French by Anna Moschovakis.
Winner of the 2021 International Booker Prize, it chronicles the descent into madness by a Senegalese soldier fighting with the French in the trenches in World War I. Scenes of graphic violence. Very compelling first-person narrative.
Goal: 25 books in translation
32/25. At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop; translated from the French by Anna Moschovakis.
Goal: 24 books from the Middle East and Africa
23/24. At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop; translated from the French by Anna Moschovakis.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Goal: 80 books78/80. Crimes of Conscience: Selected Short Stories by Nadine Gordimer.
I've loved everything I've read by Nadine Gordimer, and this was no exception. I think she's amazing.
Goal: 50 books by women authors
53/50. Crimes of Conscience: Selected Short Stories by Nadine Gordimer.
Goal: 24 books from the Middle East and Africa
22/24. Crimes of Conscience: Selected Short Stories by Nadine Gordimer.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Goal: 80 books77/80. Nature Obscura: A City's Hidden Natural World by Kelly Brenner.
Full of interesting insights and observations of the microflora and microfauna of an urban landscape that many of us either don’t see or simply take for granted.
Goal: 50 books by women authors
52/50. Nature Obscura: A City's Hidden Natural World by Kelly Brenner.
Goal: 10 books of non-fiction
13/10. Nature Obscura: A City's Hidden Natural World by Kelly Brenner.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Goal: 80 books76/80. The Book Smuggler by Omaima Al-Khamis; translated from the Arabic by Sarah Enany.
I had mixed feelings about it. I enjoyed the immersion in 11th C Arab capitals, but I think it got bogged down in too many intricate details about sectarian strife, feuds, and who said what to whom.
Goal: 50 books by women authors
51/50. The Book Smuggler by Omaima Al-Khamis; translated from the Arabic by Sarah Enanny.
Goal: 25 books in translation
31/25. The Book Smuggler by Omaima Al-Khamis; translated from the Arabic by Sarah Enanny.
Goal: 24 books from the Middle East and Africa
21/24. The Book Smuggler by Omaima Al-Khamis; translated from the Arabic by Sarah Enanny.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Goal: 80 books75/80. Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce.
A quick, easy, and entertaining read about two very different women who form an unlikely friendship while on a scientific expedition. There was little depth to the characters and some of the events were implausible. But if you're in the mood for something light and fun, this will probably fit the bill.
Goal: 50 books by women authors
50/50. Miss Benson's Beetle by Rachel Joyce.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Goal: 80 books74/80. Windswept: Walking the Paths of Trailblazing Women by Annabel Abbs.
Abbs uses the lives and walking experience of several exceptional women to serve as her platform for sharing her experiences and working through some of her challenges. Her personal explorations were interesting but they interrupted the narrative flow.
Goal: 50 books by women authors
49/50. Windswept: Walking the Paths of Trailblazing Women by Annabel Abbs
Goal: 10 books of non fiction
12/10. Windswept: Walking the Paths of Trailblazing Women by Annabel Abbs
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Goal: 80 books73/80. All's Well by Mona Awad. A wild romp into magical realism about a theatre professor and her battle with chronic pain. It's weird but a lot of fun.
Goal: 50 books by women authors
48/50. All's Well by Mona Awad.
Goal: 24 books from the Middle East and Africa
20/24. All's Well by Mona Awad (Egyptian).
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Goal: 80 books72/80. The Manningtree Witches by A.K. Blakemore.
An atmospheric plunge into the 1640s in England. Civil war is raging, and destitute, elderly women are hunted and executed as witches. Blakemore's diction is detailed and evocative. Replicating the idioms of 17th century England, it is replete with graphic descriptions, pungent odors, and immersive imagery.
Goal: 50 books by women authors
47/50. The Manningtree Witches by A.K. Blakemore.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Goal: 80 books71/80. The Wrong End of the Telescope by Rabih Alameddine.
The novel explores the plight of refugees arriving in Lesbos. The narrative unfolds in the first-person voice of Dr. Mina Simpson, a transgender Lebanese-born doctor who answers the call to assist the refugees.
I thought it was good, but I didn't love it as much as Alameddine's An Unnecessary Woman or his The Hakawati.
Goal: 24 books from the Middle East and Africa
20/24. The Wrong End of the Telescope by Rabih Alameddine.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Goal: 80 books70/80. The Wild Fox of Yemen: Poems by Threa Almontaser.
It's been a while since I read a collection of poetry. Almontaser's voice is vigorous, authentic, and unflinchingly honest. Winner of the Walt Whitman Award of the Academy of American Poets, the collection is breathtaking, drawing the reader into Almontaser’s world imbued with personal and political intensity.
Goal: 50 books by women authors
46/50. The Wild Fox of Yemen: Poems by Threa Almontaser.
Goal: 24 books from the Middle East and Africa
19/24. The Wild Fox of Yemen: Poems by Threa Almontaser.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Goal: 80 books69/80. My Father's Notebook: A Novel of Iran by Kader Abdolah.
Written in Dutch by an Iranian exile living in the Netherlands, translated by Susan Massotty, the novel weaves the story of Aga Akbar and his son, Ishmael, against the turbulent background of 20th Century Iran. Persian songs, myths, and legends thread the narrative. The novel is a poignant portrayal of the enduring love between a father and son. A great story.
Goal: 25 books in translation
30/25. My Father's Notebook: A Novel of Iran by Kader Abdolah; translated from the Dutch to English by Susan Massotty.
Goal: 24 books from the Middle East and Africa
18/24. My Father's Notebook: A Novel of Iran by Kader Abdolah.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Goal: 80 books68/80. The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng.
A retired judge in Kuala Lumpur decides to hire the services of a Japanese gardener to construct a Japanese garden in memory of her sister who died in a Japanese prison camp during Japan's occupation of Malaysia. The novel has a haunting, ethereal quality. Rich in immersive imagery.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Goal: 80 books67/80. Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder.
Wow! What an unusual and imaginative story. A stay-at-home mother of a demanding toddler turns into a dog. Or does she?
The story isn't for everyone because there are some graphic scenes of violence toward little, furry creatures. But it will resonate with women who have experienced de-selfing, internal conflicts, guilt, isolation, a stifling of their creativity, and society’s erroneous assumptions about their lives as stay-at-home mothers. I found it absolutely riveting.
Goal: 50 books by women authors
45/50. Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Goal: 80 books66/80. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe.
This is a re-read for me. I first read it way back when. It is powerful and remains a great classic. Highly recommended.
Goal: 24 books from the Middle East and Africa
17/24. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe.
Goal: 10 classics
13/10. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Goal: 80 books65/80. The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai.
Spanning several decades beginning in the 1930s through the Viet Nam war and its aftermath, this sweeping family saga describes a family’s struggle to survive during times of war, famine, dislocation, and mayhem. The narrative unfolds in the alternating perspectives of a young girl and her grandmother.
Goal: 50 books by women authors
44/50. The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Goal: 80 books64/80. Hot Milk by Deborah Levy. I really enjoyed Levy's Swimming Home and was looking forward to this. But I found it boring. It just wasn't for me.
Goal: 50 books by women authors
43/50. Hot Milk by Deborah Levy.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Goal: 80 books63/80. Three Apples Fell from the Sky by Narine Abgaryan, translated from the Russian by Lisa C. Hayden.
A heart-warming, delightful book that reads like a fable. It's about the inhabitants of a remote village in the Armenian mountains. The aging population nurture and care for each other. It reminded me a lot of Alina Bronsky's Baba Dunja's Last Love, which I also loved.
50 books by women authors
42/50. Three Apples Fell from the Sky by Narine Abgaryan, translated from the Russian by Lisa C. Hayden.
25 books in translation
29/25. Three Apples Fell from the Sky by Narine Abgaryan, translated from the Russian by Lisa C. Hayden.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Goal: 80 books62/80. Samarkand by Amin Maalouf; translated from the French by Russell Harris.
A historical novel linking the two time frames of Omar Khayyam in 11th century Persia with an American in the early 20th century who goes on a quest to locate the original manuscript of the Rubaiyat. An interesting format and an engaging, educational read.
25 books in translation
28/25. Samarkand by Amin Maalouf; translated from the French by Russell Harris.
24 books from the Middle East and Africa
16/24. Samarkand by Amin Maalouf; translated from the French by Russell Harris.
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
