Karrie

David Grann tells the true-life tale of the last great explorer, Percy Fawcett, as he treks through the Amazon to map uncharted territory. Fawcett was a British colonel, scientist, geographer and nature enthusiast who disappeared in the Amazon in 1925 during his search for a lost and hidden civilization in Brazil. Many explorers have gone in search of Fawcett and have disappeared or died themselves from the exotic diseases, animals and adventures they meet along the way. This book reads like a fast-past Indiana Jones movie and will be sure to keep you wanting more...

Having read fairly serious books for the last few weeks, I decided it was high time for a romance novel! Kiss Me If You Can was the perfect opportunity for some light, fun reading. It is the story of a crime reporter who catches a thief coming out of a jewelry store. His deed is not left unnoticed and he is rewarded with a very large diamond ring. As his story is widely reported, he soon becomes the city’s prime bachelor and all of the single ladies hope to earn the ring. Lexie, a web site designer and extravagant traveler, couldn’t care less about him, but he does have something she wants… With a little mystery and a lot of romance, this is the perfect summer read!

I Remember You is a delightful romance about a girl named Tess. After a rough break-up and recent unemployment, Tess moves from bustling London back to her hometown of Langford to teach a classics course at the local college. What is different about this teaching experience, however, is that she is teaching an older generation of people she knew growing up, which makes her new job all the more difficult. Part of the course involves a trip to Rome, where Tess meets the man of her dreams. However, an old friend, Adam, and their past seems to somehow be getting in the way... I liked this book because it was unpredictable, but still a nice, easy read that is full of romance and a little mystery!

East of the Sun is the story of a young girl traveling with her best friend and young chaperone to India to marry the fiancé she barely knows. Set in the early 1920s, the excitement of international travel is as thrilling as ever for these three girls as they make the three month journey from England to Kolkota, India. They are hardly prepared for what awaits them in their new lives. As strange people enter their lives they are forced to leave adolescence and childhood fears behind and decide what they truly want. Full of suspense, love and exotic places, this novel is sure to please any lover of international fiction.

In Island, Aldous Huxley tells the tale of a cynical journalist who finds himself stranded on the secluded island of Pala. The island consists of individuals who live a unique, and some would say utopian, lifestyle in southeast Asia. The island has maintained its privacy and its ideals through hard work and similarities in mindsets. The freedom and privacy that the people of Pala have is threatened by the local political regime, a power hungry young leader and international politics. More than that, this book presents a strong argument for spirituality, knowledge, experiences, human interaction and enlightenment through Huxley's philosophical writing. I would recommend this book for those who are looking for a thought provoking read!

I picked up this book while perusing the store one day and decided to read it because of the setting in Iran during the Revolution of 1973. While I was expecting a political novel, this book surprised me with its beautiful but sad love story. It tells the tale of a young man, Pasha, who falls in love with the neighbor girl Zari. However, Zari is engaged to a man they call Doctor, who is off at University. When Doctor is accused of participating in revolutionary activities, their whole community begins to fall apart. Seraji does a great job illustrating the revolution in Iran while keeping the characters realistic and youthful. The beginning of the book is a little slow, but once the reader gets halfway through she will not be able to put it down!

I read this book for my class, 20th Century Consciousness. I was skeptical at first, but as I read I grew to love Nabokov's ability to find beauty in words and metaphor. This novel tells the tale of the tragic death of a poet, Shade, and his poetry-obsessed friend across the street, Dr. Kinbote. After Shade dies, Kinbote, a man who thinks that he was once King of a great land, takes his poem and edits and writes commentary while hiding from his enemies. This book is full of dark humor, political conspiracy and is thought provoking!