Recent Reads IV

Tuesday 15 October 2013



I always find travel more meaningful when I've read books that either take place or are about the location I'm visiting.  The actual experience of travel can feel fleeting but when I've sat in a book for weeks, digesting it's content and minutiae, I feel like I've been there all along.  There's also the thrill of finally seeing those sites you read so much about in real life and noticing the tiny little details you might never have known without the book.  Whether it's non-fiction, historical fiction or a fictional story set in  a real place, it's almost as if I feel a deeper connection with the city, like we're old friends.

Immediately after booking our trip to Istanbul, I started looking for a book to read as I really knew very little about the city.  Pamuk is widely known as the Turkish writer (he won a Nobel prize in 2002 for literature) and when I saw that he had a memoir all about Istanbul, I figured it would be the perfect accompaniment.  

Well, I might have been a bit wrong.  This book was hard to read.  I wanted so badly to enjoy it, but I just didn't.  To be honest, I didn't even finish it.  I stopped about two thirds of the way through; Joe stopped at the halfway point.  It wasn't a total waste; I certainly felt like I learned some of the inner workings of the city and the cultural values that some of its long time residents hold dear.  

I really yearned for more of Pamuk's story in Istanbul when it felt like the majority of the book focused on everyone else's thoughts about Istanbul.  He spent ages talking about foreign writers' perceptions of the city when all I really wanted were his personal experiences.  In fact, the moments that I loved in the book were the stories about his family & their life through the fall of the Ottoman empire.  Unfortunately, those stories felt few and far between and there wasn't really a consistent plot to keep me interested.  In retrospect, I wish I had chosen one of his fictional stories.  I've heard My Name is Red is fantastic and I'll probably pick it up down the road.


Tales from the Expat Harem edited by Anastasia Ashman & Jennifer Eaten Gökmen
I purchased the Kindle edition of this book as I thought it would provide a great contrast to Pamuk; a native Istanbullu's experience juxtaposed against the foreigners who have called Turkey home. Tales is a collection of short stories from women of all walks of life - those who visited Turkey and never left, those who moved for love, those who moved for work, those who live in Istanbul and those who live in conservative, rural villages.  I felt like I gained some really great insight into a Turkish home and being an expat, I could certainly relate to the ideas and challenges of integrating into a different culture.

(On a side note, Joe read Dan Brown's Inferno a few months prior to our trip and he was really excited to see some of the locations in person.)


And a book completely unrelated to Turkey...

Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler
Last year, I read The Paris Wife followed by Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises before our Spring trip to Europe and then this year, in anticipation of the film, I finally read Gatsby.  Throw in regular viewing of Midnight in Paris and I feel like a silent observer in this tortured group of writers & artists.  

Z was a fantastic read.  While the author readily puts forward that this is a work of fiction, it is based upon the real life stories and letters of the Fitzgeralds.  Their turbulent marriage is really brought to life here and Fowler has a way of telling a somewhat tragic story with a lightness and humour.  I cheered for Zelda and her sassy personality, I laughed at her sometimes outrageous behaviour and I felt sadness for those missed opportunities at the life and success she yearned for.  It was a great, insightful book and I was sad to see it come to an end.

Currently Reading...

And The Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
I think most people agree, Hosseini is a master storyteller and his new book has been on my to-read list ever since I heard about it.

Have you read any books that have inspired or enhanced travel?





25 comments:

  1. Ohhhh- I think I would love Z. Try the museum of innocence ...much easier than Istanbul, although long...one if my all time favorites.

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  2. Thank you so much for the new reading inspiration! I love travel-related reads, too. My favorite is probably The Palace of the Ice Queen which most definitely placed Scandinavia at the top of my to-explore list. In the mean time, I thoroughly enjoy living through your experiences there ;)

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    1. Thank you Danielle!

      I'll have to see if I can track down your recommendation - might be a good read for the winter. It doesn't appear to be available on Kindle though.

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  3. I also try to read books about the countries I'm visiting. I always feel like I have a more intimate and comprehensive understanding upon arrival. My favorite book I've ever read in preparation for travels is Saving Fish from Drowning. It's about Burma and it's amazing :)

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    1. Have you seen the documentary "They Call It Myanmar: Lifting the Curtain?" I just watched it and thought of you - a fascinating view of the country.

      I'll definitely look up your book recommendation though - I read Amy Tan's "The Joy Luck Club" in high school and I remember really liking it.

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  4. Jay, I felt the same way about Pamuk's Istanbul but will definitely put Tales from the Expat Harem on my list. I read The Paris Wife during a long, lazy vacation day and immediately wanted to go back to Paris :) I keep hearing awesome things about Z and am on the longest hold list for it at my library. I am so excited to read it!

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    1. Oh I'm glad I'm not the only one who felt that way about 'Istanbul.' I felt so guilty not liking it!
      You'll have to let me know what you think of 'Z' when you finally get it - it ranked up there with The Paris Wife for me!

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  5. I just read - And the mountains echoed as well - I agree wonderful storyteller. I do the same - read alot about the place I travel to, am in, or are going to..:-) Can recommend "Behind the beautiful Forevers" - by Katherine Boo- and a more adventurous one: Shantaram - about Mumbai. Good read, and thanks for some good reading tips:)

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    1. I've read "Behind the Beautiful Forevers." It was a really great read. I've read a few books about India - "White Tiger" comes to mind but I know there are more. I'll add "Shantaram" to my wish list!

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  6. i embarrassingly no longer read. i did so much as a kid and i think once i was voluntold to read books at school growing up, i grew disinterested.

    BUT i really want to get back into it! so thanks for sharing these! now that im in the US and doing a little (ok... A LOT) shopping, i can maybe pick a few up!

    hope all is well! :) and happy belated thanksgiving!

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    1. Thanks Megan!

      Reading is practically like breathing to me. I couldn't even tell you a time where I didn't have a book on the go - maybe before I could read? The Kindle certainly helps when overseas but actually, getting books in Norway isn't so hard as we can order them from Amazon UK and they aren't taxed. The only downside is that Amazon has started charging shipping so it's better to order a few at a time.

      Enjoy the rest of your time in the US!

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  7. And the Mountains Echoed is a fantastic book! I really hope you love it! And I just finished Inferno and I liked that, too :)

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  8. I have been meaning to pick up Z and read it.. I've heard great thing! And, And the Mountains Echoed is fantastic :)

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    1. Yes, I remember you posting about Mountains - you gave me pretty high expectations ;-)

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  9. I LOVE The Paris Wife AND The Sun Also Rises...both excellent reads. "Z" should be coming for me in the mail any day now and I can't wait. :)

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    1. I was less enthusiastic about The Sun Also Rises - Hemingway's style of writing isn't really my thing plus, I feel like I didn't like him very much as a person after the Paris Wife (and even more so after Z!)

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  10. I really liked The Lost Girls by Jennifer Bagget, Holly Corbett and Amanda Pressner. It enhanced my want to travel the world and I thought it was a nice light read to bring on a trip.
    Kayla
    http://theprincessoftea.weebly.com/

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    1. I'll have to look into it Kayla! Thanks!

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  11. I really enjoyed Pamuk's My Name Is Read, and Snow is great as well! I'm currently in the middle of The Kite Runner (after enjoying A Thousand Splendid Suns), but had no idea he had a new book out -- I'll add it to my list!

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    1. It just came out in the last few months. I hope you're enjoying The Kite Runner - it was my first Husseini book and was quite memorable for me.

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  12. i started the shining girls... and had to stop. so stressful and disturbing.

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  13. I read the museum of innocence by pamuk recently and i kind of had the same vibe going...it was ok but i was ready for it to be done! that would pry give you more of an instanbul feel maybe though!

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  14. I'm currently reading The Paris Wife, which has me in the mood to both rewatch Midnight in Paris and read more about some of these Jazz Age expats, like Zelda.

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  15. I'm adding Z to my goodreads, it seems like something I would love.
    When I first moved to Provence, a friend in Paris told me that I had to read A Year in Provence because apparently, it was a very accurate description of my new home... and it was! It was cool because I knew the villages the author wrote about and could recognize the character types within my own neighbors. Four years later and I still chuckle about that book :)

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  16. Hi! Stopping over from your comment on Betsy's blog about blogging success. (I really liked what you said, btw :) Anyway, I just wanted to say I love reading! I've seen Z on other lists, and I'm going to add it to mine. It sounds really good!

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