What a Way to Go, Bella Mackie
Sometimes after reading heavier books or a bunch of nonfiction in a row, a lighter read serves as a nice palate cleanser, and Mackie’s What a Way to Go did the trick. A rich, nauseating man dies at his own birthday party under mysterious circumstances and everyone is a suspect, his family included. Half of the book follows his family members trying to discern what really happened to him and who did it, and the other half is about him in the afterlife trying to find out what he needs to do to get out of purgatory. With lighthearted and amusing writing, in spite of the subject matter, and a twist at the end as well, What a Way to Go was a nice way to spend a few days before diving back into deeper reads.
Sovietistan, Erika Fatland
There’s nothing I love more than reading a book with a specific purpose in mind (it’s the student in me), and Sovietistan more than delivered! I read it in preparation for my trip to Uzbekistan (more on that forthcoming!), and it also featured chapters on Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan. The author took two 3-month trips, one in the spring, and the other in the fall, and her travel narrative reads like a more detailed and more interesting version of Wikipedia – and I mean that as a compliment. Filled with shrewd observations and witty anecdotes, the only time the narrative flags is when the author herself flags – or gets ‘stanned out’ as I refer to it. Even when someone loves traveling, long-term traveling, which I consider to be as nonstop traveling for more than 1 month at a time, can be extremely wearisome. This book was recommended to me by not one, but two of my friends who had previously traveled to Uzbekistan, and I also fully recommend it! It was a good introduction to the region, and provided the context I needed to feel knowledgeable ‘enough’ after reading it, and ready to learn more.