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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 story of her family through the other protagonist, El

The month of busyness - January in review


It never fails to surprise me how fast time flies. It seems like only yesterday I was planning my Christmas shopping, and now we are well into February. The start of the year is always a busy time for me. First I had to sync back to the east coast timings after my relaxing vacation in the Land of Hollywood. Then, I had to work up my motivation and inspiration to be able to work at full-steam. As someone once posted on Facebook, Monday mornings are always hard, but the Monday morning after a long vacation is nothing short of torture.

And then, there's all the challenge lists to make, if for nothing, but just to look at more book and blogs; read up everyone's plans and resolutions for the year, or why they don't intend to plan at all; create a lot of personal reading projects - resolve to do something or the other with the books languishing on one's shelves; and so on. All in all, January was a pretty busy month for me - I read less, I planned a lot - both made me happy, so that's fine. On top of it, I also participated in Bloggiesta, which left me satisfied but very brain-dead for a while. However, it wasn't until I typed up this post that I realized that I barely reviewed a book in January!

Books read this month
  1. Diary of a Wimpy Kid #2: Rodrick Rules by Jeff Kinney (Graphic Novels challenge)
  2. Diary of a Wimpy Kid #3: The Last Straw by Jeff Kinney (Graphic Novels challenge)
  3. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
  4. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett (Orange Prize project)
  5. Left Neglected by Lisa Genova
  6. The Good Daughter: A Memoir of my Mother's Hidden Life by Jasmin Darznik (Middle East challenge)
  7. Someone Else's Garden by Dipika Rai
Notable books from the January reading list


Bel Canto and The Good Daughter - both WOW-worthy!

Reviews posted in January
  1. Room by Emma Donoghue
  2. Book n Movie review: Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane / Martin Scorsese
  3. Left Neglected by Lisa Genova
Other posts
  1. Plans for 2011
  2. Why I have trouble picking books randomly
  3. Bloggiesta
Traveling with my books this year


View Traveling with my books (2011) in a larger map

I'm thrilled that I managed to hit at least four continents in one month. And what's more - this foray into books set in other countries/continents feels very enjoyable, and not at all strange and uncertain.

Comments

bermudaonion (Kathy) said…
The older you get, the faster times flies by. It looks like you had a great month in books!
Juju at Tales of Whimsy... said…
What a cute idea. I love the map!

I tried Bel Canto. I couldn't get into it. Might be my current frame of mind. I've made a mental note to try it again later or try the audio.
ashbrux said…
I'm having some trouble adjusting to school, even though I'm going on my fourth week. I'm already looking forward to summer. Even if you didn't post a lot of reviews you still had a good reading month!
Athira / Aths said…
I would be terrified of rereading it too! It was such an amazing experience reading it the first time!