Italy

Top Ten Tuesday: My Favorite 2016 Reads Set Outside of the US

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Just realized this post did not go through last week! My apologies.

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature from The Broke and the Bookish.

This is an awesome topic because, speaking as an American, so much of the content we consume is U.S.A. centric, and features mainly white, male characters. So this is a breath of fresh air.

To keep this list current, I’m only including books I’ve read this year, that I *enjoyed,* that had no part of them set within the US, and that weren’t totally alternate fantasy universes (which was more difficult than it sounds). Without further ado, here’s my list:

  • His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik–This almost violates the principles I just set forth above, but while it’s clearly a fantasy world (*cough* dragons *cough*), there’s enough basis in reality that I felt I could include it. It’s set in England, during the Napoleonic Wars.
  • All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr–This book is absolutely fantastic! It lives up to all the hype and really deserves to be a bestseller. Set during World War II in France and Germany.
  • Birds Without Wings by Louis de Bernieres–This immersive book brings you deep into another culture and time, with a village full of interesting and very human characters. Set in a small village of Anatolia during the last years of the Ottoman Empire, as well as Greece.
  • My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante–Not only a book set in another place, but translated from another language, and by a female author–can’t get much better than that! They’re set in mid-century Naples and the surrounding area.
  • Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier–The classic romantic thriller is set in England and France in the early twentieth century.

This list was way harder than it should have been, considering I’ve read 61 books so far this year. But there were a few more that I read and didn’t love (and so didn’t want to talk about , but instead forget as soon as humanly possible) that did fit, and there were a few fantasy books that it didn’t seem fair to include.

Have you read anything this year set in another country that you would recommend? Let me know in the comments!

Women Writers Reading Challenge #23: Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes

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I’m constantly intrigued, fascinated, and captivated by Italy. I have never been there, though I hope someday soon that will change, and yet I’m in love with the culture and the landscape. It’s a place, in other words, that calls to me. Frances Mayes’ memoir enabled me to deepen my understanding of the Tuscan landscape. Her descriptions or her time in Italy are written in the style of the landscape itself–the words linger and move slowly–it is writing to savor, as are her descriptions of food. She has quite a few recipes included (Baking for Bookworms heaven, I tell you), and they all conjure up such an irresistible place. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Italy, or indeed Europe more broadly, who loves food, and appreciates labors of love.

A brief note: The book is very different from the movie (which I also thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend), so there’s plenty of new things to discover and appreciate.

2015 Women Writers Reading Challenge-Book #10: The Blind Contessa’s New Machine by Carey Wallace

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This book should have been really depressing as it’s about a young, vibrant woman who goes blind. But it doesn’t feel that way, it feels more like a fairy tale (but it’s really based on the true story of the woman who inspired the first typewriter).

It caught my eye in the library because it was so much smaller than the other hardcover books on the shelf. Then I read the flap and I was hooked.

really recommend this fast read. It’s the perfect vacation book because it’s a light read, but with enough substance to keep your attention.