Wednesday, January 14

Before I forget to add to the list (and I'm so happy to have a list!), I've read a few more books:

Istanbullu by Buket Uzuner
This book chronicles the lives of various people at the Istanbul airport in one day. It had some twists at the end and was very eye-opening in terms of different perspectives in Istanbul, as it goes through the inner thoughts of a bathroom worker, a gay waiter, an executive assistant (with benefits, so to speak), a wealthy business man, a taxi driver, a young Muslim woman who wears a turban and headscarf, etc.

Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak
Another book with a twist and very descriptive of current and recent past Istanbul and Turkey. Everyone's reading it, so why not me? From a literary review on Amazon (why re-write it?): Elif Shafak has chosen to write The Bastard of Istanbul in English, a decision to be applauded, though with mixed feelings. The novel deserves to reach a wide readership, for reasons not entirely literary. By putting into the mouths of her characters explicit reference to these events, for using the word "genocide," Shafak fell afoul of Article 301 of the Turkish penal code and was tried on a charge of "insulting Turkishness," which carries a prison sentence. It is only a few months since this charge was finally dropped. The case received wide press coverage both in the United States and in Europe and has served as a highly public -- and highly salutary -- example of the lengths to which an insensate nationalism can go in the suppression of elementary freedoms. It has also, of course, acted as an extreme example of the denial that is a central theme of the novel.

Could it be Forever?: My Story (a David Cassidy autobiography)
What could be said about a David Cassidy autobiography? He's pretty whiny, and didn't let any opportunity to say, "And I didn't make money off of that either" pass him by. Probably wouldn't have even finished it except that I have a problem leaving a book unfinished even if I don't like it!