The Princessa - Harriet Rubin

Best summed up in the Amazon review: "Harriet Rubin urges women to triumph by turning their enemies into allies and their fear into power; by enlarging their sphere rather than defending it; and by learning to best instead of win." It's different from your usual self improvement tome, a bit mysterious with its Machiavellian-NOT style, oblique and long-winded, but with good sentiments and principles.

Dragonkeeper - Carole Wilkinson

Coincidentally, this was lent me by Joanne just as I was finishing The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, so this became my second children's book in a row, and I read it virtually in one sitting, because it's a charming heartwarming story about a young slave girl who becomes the companion of the last remaining dragon in China. In the company of Danzi the dragon, she realises her own true power and changes from a frightened shy slave girl into a strong and resourceful girl, as they journey across China to the Ocean, pitting their wits against dangers and enemies.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon

Finally got around to reading this much talked about young fiction. It's a very engaging book and the author manages to get inside the head of a teenaged autistic boy very convincingly, as the latter investigates the death of his neighbour's dog and starts to find out more and more things which had been kept from him. This teenage savant loves his mathematics and one gets to read a lot of fascinating info about everything from mathematical puzzles to the constellations. The protagonist's narration is bare-faced and honest,describing everything as he sees them, including the adults' swearing and misbehaviours.

Eat Pray Love - Elizabeth Gilbert

A book I read with anticipation, having read reviews and heard the author interviewed on a podcast. I liked her voice, and that goes a long way towards my perception of someone! The sensuous Italian delights of food, mellowness and good company, while the author learns Italian and recovers from the emotional backlash of her divorce & heartbreak of a broken relationship, was a journey I willingly travelled with her. She writes with a wry humour, and though sometimes her grieving is almost maudlin, overall the book is quite enjoyable. After the first 4 months, we move on to India and her emotional and spiritual journey in an ashram where she meets a few interesting characters. The identity of the ashram and guru are deliberately not divulged, but there's no attempt to disguise the details so it's obvious to me which guru & ashram it is. The last 4 months is in Bali, captivating in a different way, where we meet a new cast of characters - the medicine man who was her reason for being there, the locals, the expatriate community, the herbalist woman friend whom she helps to obtain a much needed home. And a lovely ending, but best left to readers to find out for themselves!

The Brief History of the Dead - Kevin Brockmeier

I finally got around to reading this book which Nancy Pearl reviewed so glowingly for its unusual premise, ie that we all exist as long as someone remembers us in the world -- so the multitudes who die go into this parallel world where they live amongst others who are still remembered by someone, and they work and play pretty much like what they do in the "real" world, and only when the last remaining person who remembers them, however vaguely, has died will they then disappear into the great hereafter. The chapters alternate between this parallel world and the "real" world where a viral epidemic has wiped out pretty much most of the population, except for a few people on an expedition in the Arctic or Antarctic (can't remember which). I found it rather melancholy to read about a world whose people have been wiped out, and the seemingly pointless lives of those in the parallel world. It was quite an engaging read in the first half or so, when the suspense of wondering what happened to the others on the expedition and what would happen to Laura kept the pages turning, then I found myself skimming past the long winded mental perambulations of the parallel world characters.

The Hills of Tuscany - Ferenc Mate

Another Italy book as "research" for our dream of living there. The author evokes a familiar environment of good food, wonderful people, great culture. Settling in a farmhouse near Montepulciano, he wrote that he didn't want to do the same old gorgeous food type book, but it's hard to not talk about food in a setting like this where the seasons and lives are so intertwined with good food and good company, so we get drawn into the mushroom hunting season, the home-made wines and prosciutto and green aromatic olive oils and truffles. I found the writing styles of Under the Tuscan Sun and Extra Virgin more engaging, but still I enjoyed this story and there were a few laughs too. What a pity for our dream that it seems one should either be financially independent and/or a writer to support one's life there.

Journey of Souls - Michael Newton

Borrowed this book from Moni, read it all, then discovered that I have my own copy waiting on the bookshelves to be read. That's what happens when I buy too many books and can't catch up with reading them all! It's the type of book I read by the dozen long long ago, and though I feel I've read enough of them, this one was riveting enough to be read in one or two sittings. If true, it provides a fascinating look into what we get up to between lives, and how we've planned for our life lessons, however hard & unfair it appears once the veil of forgetfulness shields our between-life memories.