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Infinite Country by Patricia Engel | Thoughts

   Published : 2021   ||    Format : print   ||    Location : Colombia ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆   What was it about the country that kept everyone hostage to its fantasy? The previous month, on its own soil, an American man went to his job at a plant and gunned down fourteen coworkers, and last spring alone there were four different school shootings. A nation at war with itself, yet people still spoke of it as some kind of paradise.. Thoughts : Infinite Country follows two characters - young Talia, who at the beginning of this book, escapes a girl’s reform school in North Colombia so that she can make her previously booked flight to the US. Before she can do that, she needs to travel many miles to reach her father and get her ticket to the rest of her family. As we follow Talia’s treacherous journey south, we learn about how she ended up in the reform school in the first place and why half her family resides in the US. Infinite Country tells the...

The Sunday Salon (Summer Challenge) -- June 6, 2010

The Sunday 
Salon.com

Another week over, but I hope it is back to normal from Monday onwards. After typing so much for Armchair BEA the previous week, visiting fellow participants' posts and then checking out all those updates from the BEA attenders, I had reached a burnout during the initial half of last week. The latter half was spent mostly on clearing up my Google Reader (still getting there), and finally, finally, focusing on my work at university.

Overall, I had a good bookish week! Usually end-of-months and beginning-of-months can be especially sweet for me. That's when I obsessively head to those famous "lists" and start tracking how much reading I did during that month, how I have been faring in my challenges and what picks I would love to see on my reading log for the next month. For this reason alone, I love the month-ends. That's just the reason I need to tempt myself with different books and predict where my reading tastes would take me during the next 30-odd days.

I know many of you have signed up for summer challenges. So far, I haven't been able to come across one that I really wanted to do, mainly because my summer is going to be crazy busy, and I don't want to commit to books I may or may not have access to over the next few months! Moreover, I have a stack of ARCs that I want to get through right now. So instead, inspired by Mary's post @ Bookfan, I have decided to create my own list of books that I want to read over the summer (between now and August 31, 2010). While choosing my books, I liberally picked a few that were on my 2010 challenge lists, plus I added a few books that I've always wanted to read.


  1. Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler
  2. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
  3. Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells
  4. Lipstick Jungle by Candace Bushnell
  5. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
  6. Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Except for Leviathan, I own a copy of the rest. Again, except for Leviathan, all the other books are in some challenge list for this year. I wanted to finally read these books because I have been told time and again that they are good. I am sure I would read them at some point this year, but I guess this way is better. I will also be (definitely) reading The Passage by Justin Cronin and Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins, but figured that I would be cheating myself by including them in the list above.

What are you planning to read this summer?

Comments

bermudaonion said…
I've read 3 of the books in your stack and enjoyed all of them. I can't decide which one I liked the best - maybe Breathing Lessons. Enjoy!
Stephanie said…
I loved Breathing Lessons, The Secret Life of Bees and Leviathan. Enjoy!

http://laughingstars.net
Harvee said…
I loved Bel Canto. I know you will enjoy it too. Happy reading! Here's
My Sunday Salon
We did The Secret Life of Bees for an online book club and I fully enjoyed not only reading it, but hearing everyone's perspectives.
Unknown said…
I saw Mary's post and thought of doing the same thing. I haven't joined any challenges this year (on purpose), but I like the idea of doing this and getting some of my own books read. I have Bel Canto in my stack too, and now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure I started to read it but couldn't get into it. Not sure why.

Good luck with your challenge, Aths :)
Molly said…
I created my own summer reading list as well, but so far I haven't read a single one :(

Breathing Lessons is on that list though.
Ash said…
I'm reading The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell right now and it's pretty good. It's a relaxing book for sure. This summer I'm pretty much just reading whatever I feel like. I originally had some plans for what I wanted to read but right now I'm just having fun deciding on a whim what I want.
Athira said…
Kathy, that's great to hear. More reason why I need to get on to those books!

Stephanie, thank you! Glad you liked them. That's motivation for me. :)

Harvee, one of my online book clubs is reading that book this month. Really looking forward to it!

Gwen, that is the only book I know very little about. I am going into it on pure recommendation.

Lynne, awww.. maybe we should read it together? :) But I like this idea of planning one-fourth of my reads for a season. Makes it easier to decide.

Molly, I would love to see your list. I don't know if missed it.

Ash, I think I will enjoy Candace Bushnell too. Not sure why I waited so long to read it.
Great list for summer reading! I look forward to the reviews as I haven't read any of them!
Mary (Bookfan) said…
Yay for summer challenges! Thanks for the shout out :) I like your books. I've read Bel Canto, Breathing Lessons, " Divine Secrets". All good in their own way. Good luck to all of us with our own personal summer challenges. I started one already.
I've read and enjoyed the first 3 on your summer list. ENJOY!
Athira said…
Helen, I hope I will finish all, LOL! One problem with challenges is I tend to put them off. :)

Mary, good luck for sure! I think I will start next week.

Diane, glad to hear that. I am thrilled that most of these books got good reviews.
MizB said…
I joined in with Mary's idea, too! You can read my post here:
http://challenged2read.wordpress.com/summer-2010-tbr

Good luck!

~MizB
Athira said…
MizB, that's awesome!! Off to check your post!