Here’s a look at some of the staff’s favorite recent reads. Though not necessarily travel books everyone at Wide World appreciates the power, the escape, the imagery and knowledge reading a book provides. Enjoy these mini reviews, we sure enjoyed the books.

Timm B
The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass
Depending on the viewpoint, this post modern classic takes place in German Danzig, Polish Gdansk, or the League of Nations Free City. This geographic uncertainty is a perfect frame for an ambiguous story of a young boy who refuses to grow as the world around him constantly shifts and changes.

Tim C
Man in the Dark by Paul Auster
Auster’s protagonist in this short, but powerful novel imagines an alternative reality where America, bitterly divided since the 2000 election, finds itself engulfed in a civil war. Arguably his best work since The New York Trilogy.

Genevieve
A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemmingway
This is a great read for Paris enthusiasts and literature lovers alike. Steeped in our American cultural subconscious, this bygone portrait of Paris makes me smile and ache with nostalgia for larger-than-life artists and the bohemian lifestyle.

The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
These short stories are a perennial favorite of mine, filled with diabolical characters, impeccable logic, and wonderful descriptions of London. Nothing beats curling up with some hot chocolate traipsing across the moors and testing out my powers of deduction.

Holly
Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid
Changez, a Pakistani living in NYC on 9/11, is now back in his homeland. A chance meeting with an American gives Changez an opportunity to voice his opinions and experiences. I found this impressively written monologue both riveting and worrisome.

The Size of the World by Joan Silber
With exquisite writing we dip into the lives and loves, wars and hopes of women and men in foreign surroundings. Traveling in Siam of the 1920’s to contemporary USA with stops Italy, Mexico and Vietnam, the forever threads of human connection, though not always apparent, unite the characters and the reader in thoughtful and surprising ways.

Jana
Camel Bookmobile by Marsha Hamilton
A novel about a young American woman who leaves her everyday life behind to bring the joy of reading to a small African village. An fascinating examination into people, politics and how our actions can have far wider reaching effects than we imagine.

Without Reservations by Alice Steinbach
The writer’s personal story of her 10 month sabbatical from her job as a journalist for the Baltimore Sun. Taking off alone to discover parts of France, England, and Italy she tells the story in vignettes from postcards she sends home to herself. This was an easy and fun read in which I found myself identifying with many of her experiences.

Nadia
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski
This is a moving coming of age story, impossible to put down, inventive, sensitive, magical and mysterious. I loved the subtle communication between man and dog and the brilliantly described remote Wisconsin landscape.

The Road of Lost Innocence: The True Story of a Cambodian Heroine by Somaly Mam
A heartbreaking memoir of a girlhood spent as a sexual slave, told with brutal honesty and courage. I was moved to tears by the suffering endured and uplifted by her fight to make a difference in other women’s lives.

Ron
Rules for Old Men Waiting by Peter Pouncey
Originally recommended by a customer, I was admittedly drawn to this slim novel by its accolades from lofty sources: Merwin, McCourt, Mailer, and more.  They are well deserved.  Deftly balancing beauty with sadness and wisdom with discovery, Pouncey weaves a story within a story as we follow the narrator, an aging Scottish historian, through his final days.

Terrell
Worlds at War: the 2,500-year Struggle between East and West by Anthony Pagden
I’m always interested in finding out how we got where we are and that’s what Pagden’s book is all about. He’s interested in the reasons it got to be us against them and how we can use the lessons of history to move on to a healthier dynamic. Pagden is both a serious historian and a popular writer so he’s more able than most to take on this weighty subject and make it a page turning, fascinating book.

Anathem by Neal Stephenson
To tell you the truth, I’m still reading this one and probably will be for the next month. At 935 pages in hardback, this is not a quick beach read. Seattle author Stephenson, has–in good sci-fi tradition–created a whole new world for this novel although it looks a lot like our own. He grabbed me from the first page with his 4th edition of “The Dictionary” where he essentially creates a new language from the one we’re already using.

Simone
Istanbul Noir Edited by Mustafa Ziyalan & Amy Spangler
Istanbul Noir is a wonderful addition to the guidebooks and maps about this urban connector between Asia and Europe. Revealing a side of Istanbul that few travelers see but exist in all cities, this anthology of Turkish and expat authors brings into focus Istanbul’s meeting place of cultures, religions, and ethnicities. Additional cities included in the series are London,Dublin, and Paris. Scheduled for release next year are Rome, Delhi, and Seattle.

Peru Reader: History, Culture, Politics Edited by Orin Starn
Unparalleled in scope for understanding this complex country, the Peru Reader covers Peru’s history from its extraordinary pre-Columbian civilizations to its citizens’ twenty-first-century struggles to achieve dignity and justice. The collection presents a vast array of essays, folklore, historical documents, poetry, songs, short stories, autobiographical accounts, and photographs. Works by contemporary Peruvian intellectuals and politicians appear alongside accounts of those whose voices are less often heard–peasants, street vendors, maids, Amazonian Indians, and African-Peruvians. Insightful pieces of Western journalism and scholarship about Peru, the selections provide the traveler and specialist alike with a thorough introduction to the country’s astonishing past and challenging present. Other countries covered in this series are Costa Rica,Mexicoand Argentina.

Laura
Restless by William Boyd
A spy story with a twist:  a mother reveals to her daughter her secret former life as a British spy and then recruits the daughter to help her find her former boss before it is too late.  This is a well-written page-turner which kept me up too late when I couldn’t put it down.

Louise
I have recently become a fan of Steven Saylor’s mystery novels that take place in ancient Rome. The fiction is interwoven with very accurate descriptions of historic events, people and everyday life.  Among my favorites are The Venus Throw(Catullus), The Judgment of Caesar(Cleopatra, Egypt), and A Murder on the Appian Way (Cicero, Milo).  These are great reads, and if you are going to Rome, they will bring alive many corners of the ancient city that still exist.