14. A book by an author of a different ethnicity than you

[Crumb]

After much deliberation, I am going to use Everything Here Is Beautiful by Mira T. Lee for the mental health prompt (I just finished and it was a very strong debut novel). Even though I could use it for this prompt, I'd like to broaden my horizons a pick something a little bit more outside of my comfort zone.
I'm thinking of going with The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. I've been wanting to read this forever.

[Danielle]

Serving Crazy with Curry by Amulya Malladi

[Amanda]

The Choice: Embrace the Possible

I read a memoir by psychologist and Holocaust survivor Dr. Edith Egar. It was a powerful and moving journey that takes you through the many levels of healing and shows you how you can choose to escape the prisons you've created for yourself. "Your pain matters and is worth healing: you can choose to be joyful and free."

[Shelley]

I read the The Obelisk Gate. while I enjoyed it, it hit on one of my big reading pet peeves: It jumps right into the story without reminders of what happened in the previous book. It took a while to remember the rather intricate story and timeline of the first one before i could follow this book.

[Crumb]

I don't see why this wouldn't work but I just wanted to confirm.. could I do a book by Nadia Hashimi? She is an Afghan American.

[Mike]

Crumb wrote: "I don't see why this wouldn't work but I just wanted to confirm.. could I do a book by Nadia Hashimi? She is an Afghan American."

It depends. Are you also Afghan or Afghan American?

[Crumb]

I’m American, but the book is about the Muslim culture. The author is an Afghan American. So would it be OK? I’m not Muslim and thought that it would be good for this prompt.
The book is When the Moon is Low by Nadia Hashimi. Thoughts?

[Mike]

Crumb wrote: "I’m American, but the book is about the Muslim culture. The author is an Afghan American. So would it be OK? I’m not Muslim and thought that it would be good for this prompt.
The book is When the M..."

To me, it seems "American" is a nationality, not an ethnicity (such as Afghani). So I believe it will work for you.

[[deleted user]]

Christophe. I agree with you that the prompt comes from an American Caucasian perspective. I think it would be better saying another country, another culture, something like that.

[Crumb]

Mike, very true. I appreciate your insight on this. I will be using this book for that prompt.

[Dessie]

I went with a light book for this prompt, namely To All the Boys I've Loved Before and I don't regret it at all. I read the whole trilogy in three days and it had such a nostalgic heart warming feeling to it I think it's one of the nicest, most wholesome YA book I've ever read.

[Serendipity]

Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return was the first thing I read this year that filled this category. It wasn't a favourite of mine - but then I'm not a big fan of the graphic novel format.

[Ian]

PLEASE READ The Hate U Give. This was my choice for the category. It was very thought-provoking. A great book club read, as well.

[Anna]

I read the Refugees by Viet Thanh Nguyen. I enjoyed the short stories and getting the perspective of being a refugee. Viet is a refugee from Vietnam and with the discussions going on in the country (USA), I thought this might give a different perspective. I really enjoyed his writing and have now added The Sympathizer to my TBR pile.

[Amanda]

Children of Blood and Bone

[Judy]

Ian wrote: "PLEASE READ The Hate U Give. This was my choice for the category. It was very thought-provoking. A great book club read, as well."

I thought this one was great too!

[Victoria]

I just finished "Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows" by Balli Kaur Jaswell. Highlyrecommend!

[Kristin]

Both of the books I'm currently reading fit, Living and Dying in Brick City is by an African American ER doctor and Intern: A Doctor's Initiation by an Indian American cardiologist.

[Ian]

Jessica wrote: "I am counting Binti as this book for my list.

In reference to some of the above discussion, I think the spirit of this item is to read a book about, and by an author whose viewpoi..."

I read Binti for a "Book Set on a Different Planet" because it was recommended to me by a good friend, and I LOVED it. Short, fast-paced and with a voice that feels refreshingly new. I can't wait to read the rest of the trilogy

[Monica]

[Nichelle]

This one was an easy one for me. I read Crimes Against a Book Club for this prompt. It was a funny and quick read.

[Helen]

, by Colson Whitehead.
This was a harrowing read, but such an important topic, (the American slave trade). Not what I would normally choose but it was given to me as a gift as I had been interested in the history of quilts in relation to underground railroad.

[Britany]

Finished by Celeste Ng - 4 Stars!

My Review:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

[SadieReadsAgain]

I just finished A Thousand Years of Good Prayers. It's been a while since I've read a short story collection. They can sometimes be hit or miss, and even good collections tend to have a few dud stories. But I liked every tale in this collection (if we ignore the insulting resolution of the one about the unwanted pregnancy). The strong sense of culture was the backbone of the book, and each story was tinged with a dose of heartbreak. The writing was beautiful without being flowery. A really good read.

[Raquel (Silver Valkyrie Reads)]

Tina wrote: "Nadine wrote: "Yes, you can read manga for any of the categories"

Ty!"

Ooh, it hadn't even occurred to me that the manga series I started for the 2015 prompt 'graphic novel' and got hooked on would count for this prompt.

I still want to read my original pick of Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry, but it's exciting to check off categories anyway.

[Teri]

For me, the obvious choice was to read something about Jewish culture. I read The Book of Separation: A Memoir by Tova Mirvis. I had read one of her books previously, and was intrigued by this one as it was her memoir about deciding to leave Orthodox Judaism. As I had recently left my own religion, I was interested to see how her experiences and mine were similar and different. It was fascinating.

I then had the chance to meet her shortly after reading her book, which was an amazing experience as she was so warm and gracious and interesting.

[Erin]

Daring to Drive by Manal al Sharif. Very inspiring!

[Tania]

I found the interpretations of this prompt to be pretty confusing, it seems there's a lot of discussion of POC and race here which wasn't my initial take at all. Ultimately I went with my initial interpretation which is that ethnicity = ancestry/nationality. Since I'm of German/English/Polish descent, and live in America, I chose an author who is from and lives in Spain.

Cathedral of the Sea by Ildefonso Falcones (finished 6/5), my review is here

[Franzi]

Just finished Roots by Alex Haley and loved it so much!

[Sylvia]

I read A Breast Cancer alphabet by Mudhuika Sikka. Unfortunately I was just diagnosed and it is a great book for someone new at breast cancer and family members too. Very pretty and different.

[Nadine in NY]

Sylvia wrote: "I read A Breast Cancer alphabet by Mudhuika Sikka. Unfortunately I was just diagnosed and it is a great book for someone new at breast cancer and family members too. Very pretty and different."

I am sorry, that is so stressful. Hugs! ((( )))

[Shannon]

Oh, Sylvia Smith, thinking of you!

[Diane]

A House for Happy Mothers - 5 stars - highly recommend but maybe not for those still struggling with the pain of infertility.
The author shows the emotions, reasons, and cultural differences in both sides of a surrogate pregnancy where the two parties involved are in two different countries.

[Patricia]

I read Beloved by Toni Morrison for this prompt.

[Anshita]

I decided to read Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Hurston. This book is a major part of English Literature courses and I couldn't miss out on that.

[Naina]

I read The Perfect Nanny for this prompt.

[Cyndy]

I read Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward for my book club. I think this book needs to be read by lots of people, just for the conversations that it might generate. There were parts that were difficult to read, but the story was very good.

[Joana]

Pedaços de Ternura by Dorothy Koomson

[Cheryl]

[Tracy]

I chose Akata Witch

[Brianna]

Reading "I am Nujood, aged 10 and divorced". I'd been researching child brides and Nujood's courageous story really stood out for me so I've grabbed the book.