Amira read another two: Things I’ve Been Silent About, by Azar Nafisi, a memoir by the Reading Lolita in Tehran author, and China Witness (we made it to China this week!) a book of interviews with older Chinese. Amira writes, “I completely agree with the NY Times review that it can be slow going in places and some editing wouldn’t have been a problem, and with the breathless Oprah-style questions. The author, Xinran, came through too clearly for me and I was more interested in the interviewees. It’s a good book, and worth reading, although maybe not straight through.”

Lesley read The Septembers of Shiraz, by Dalia Sofer. She writes, “The Septembers of Shiraz is a chilling, harrowing account of one family’s experience living in an atmosphere of terror, but also a moving examination of the concept of home.”

Katrina read Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglas. She writes, “She teaches him the rudiments of reading, before being discovered and being informed that slaves should be left illiterate. However her lessons had stuck and Fredrick teaches himself gradually how to become a more accomplished reader and then how to write.”

Erin checked in with one of the original travel books, Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift. She also demonstrates why the right edition is so important when reading classics, writing, “Halfway through the book, I began to wonder why such writing would be considered classic. I turned to the preliminary pages and found my answer: This version had been edited for young readers. (No clue how I missed that.) After getting to the middle the story, however, I was not interested in starting over with the full-length version. I decided to finish the youth edition and say goodbye to Gulliver.” Too funny.

And Nicole read Water for Elephants, by Sara Guen. Like her, I’ve had a number of people tell me that I need to read this book. And Nicole adds: “This is the story of a vet who runs away with the circus around the time of the Great Depression. The circus travels the country by train. Really I feel that’s all I can say about it without giving anything away. But if you are an animal lover, you will like this book too. Don’t be scared. Read it!”