We’re entering into the final stretch: only 31 more days. I’ll set up a finisher’s post where you can leave links within the next day or so (along with finisher’s prizes announcements).

As for the quote of the day, I think I’ve done enough from the travel part, and not enough of food. I need to rectify that. (Maybe March will be food month. Got any quotes for me? Send them to mmfbooks AT gmail DOT com.)

“He showed the words “chocolate cake” to a group of Americans and recorded their word associations. “Guilt” was the top response. If that strikes you as unexceptional, consider the response of French eaters to the same prompt: “celebration.” — Michael Pollan

As for reviews, my wish came true, and we have quite a few this week!

Katrina visited North Korea with the graphic novel, Pyongyang, by French writer Guy Delise. Unfortunately, the visit (and the book) disappointed. Katrina writes, “Now, I’m not saying that North Korea is amazing or politically correct, in fact I know so little about the place that I couldn’t make an educated comment on the country, but I can say that Delise is negative about the place from the opening to the end of the book. He never says a single positive thing about the country or the people that he meets, instead he mocks their views, behaviour and culture.”

W7 read a Graham Greene book, Doctor Fisher of Geneva or the Bomb Party. She describes the book this way, “This rather thin book describes one small part of the life of a toothpaste millionaire who lives in Geneva and who is a pretty cold and weird character. Most of all this man “entertains” himself by having parties to which he invites a small group of faithful acquaintances – he refuses to call them friends. And these parties are designed as experiments to see how far the greed of rich people will take them.” She quotes from the book about happiness and unhappiness, and comments, “It is so hard to describe happiness, and so easy to describe unhappiness.” Which I think is so true.

She also read Adrift on the Nile, by Naguib Mahfouz. She writes, “Naguib Mahfouz is a fabulous writer, or is this too obvious since he is a winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature? He writes stories which could nearly be taken to be simple. As you read his work though you cannot help but know that everything is a metaphor, everything is a parable but you cannot tell for sure what the message is, if there is one really and if what you read in it tells you more about yourself or about Naguib Mahfouz.” Obviously, I need to find a book by this man.

Mrs B. read My Life in France (many participants have visited France for this challenge, too…) by master chef Julia Child. Mrs B. comments that it’s a gem of a book — about Julia’s experiences in France and how she learned to cook the French way. She comments about the book, “. It is such an encouragement to hear about a woman beginning the most important and influential segments of life around the age of 40…makes me feel like there’s all the time in the world.”

Amira throws out one of of her favorite books: The Reindeer People: Living with Animals and Spirits in Siberia by Piers Vitebsky. She writes, “It’s too rare a combination to have a scholar like Piers Vitebsky who can write an engaging book for the general public. Not that this book is unique in that way, but it’s unusual. This really is the book to read if you’re going to read something about Siberia. Highly recommended.” She also found a Soviet-era guidebook to Bishkek (where she and her family lived for a year), Frunze, and commented, “It’s easier to imagine that the author was exaggerating than that Bishkek ever was a “City of Smiles,” at least for tourists.”

Erin read Three Cups of Tea, about Greg Mortenson’s quest to build schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan. She has a personal connection to the book, since her husband served in Afghanistan with the military, and actually saw the situation first hand. Erin writes, “[T]he idea that education of girls is the way to save the world is just fantastic. Honestly. Believe the hype, give this book a try.” (As I’ve long said, it’s not a brilliant book, but it’s a really good cause. Read the book and then give the man some money. He will do much good with it. Sorry for the soapbox.)

Becky tackled Don Quixote, and is not sorry she did. She writes, “Did it live up to my expectations? Was it everything I wanted it to be? Yes. And then some. I expected it to be a bit on the absurd side, a bit over the top. A book that explores the fine line–and not so fine lines at times–between sanity and insanity, wisdom and folly. But what I didn’t expect was the humor. I didn’t expect the book to be as entertaining as it was.”

Two people tackled Hanna’s Daughter, by Marianne Fredriksson: Corinne, who said: “I’m still reeling from the depth of this book.” (Can’t get much better than that.); and Amira, who said: “It’s probably not the sort of book I would have picked up (mother-daughter relationships), but it was worth the time to read it.”