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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 Week in Books (1/1 - 1/13 2013)


So far 2013 has started out well for me. At least, for the first time in over a year, my Goodreads reading challenge widget tells be that I am 1 book ahead. I randomly set 50 as my target for the year, but I expect the actual number may be higher because I am listening to a lot of audiobooks currently. I'm beginning to love listening to nonfiction in the car, especially narrative nonfiction, so I've been eagerly looking at my library catalogs for the next read.

The Secret KeeperThis week I read...
The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton: I know Morton has many fans and I've always wanted to read one of her books, but it took a book club monthly read to finally get me to pick one of her books. I have to say - I absolutely loved The Secret Keeper, which has quite an intriguing suspense and managed to be a page-turner right to the last page.
Navigating Early by Clare Vanderpool: I picked this one mainly because Vanderpool won the Newbery Award a year or two back and I have pretty good success with Newbery winning authors. Unfortunately, it took a long time before Navigating Early began to hold my attention. I had almost given up on this title.

The Man in the Rockefeller SuitCurrently I'm reading...
The Road by Cormac McCarthy: I spent this weekend getting my ebook collection in order (thanks to Calibre) and found a copy of The Road languishing there. I'm about a quarter into this book and although it took me a while to warm up to the writing, I can see why this book is considered a master - I could almost feel the sense of loss and desolation that is prevalent in this book.
The Man in the Rockefeller Suit by Mark Seal: I have been listening to this book since the mid of December but that's only because the book is really long and I only listen to about 30-40 minutes per weekday. At this point, I'm wishing for it to get over soon, mainly because the protagonist who has been conning people for years is getting on my nerves and I'm beginning to feel as annoyed as Man of la Book was with him.

Cloud AtlasPurchased
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell: I've heard about Mitchell's sagas for as long as I have been blogging and I love sagas! I love anything that spans a century at least and it's interesting how the authors connect things from different time periods. This one may or may not fall into that category but I'm intrigued.

Picked at the Library
The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis
Atmospheric disturbances by Rivka Glachen
Memories of My Melancholy Whores by Gabriel Garcí­a Márquez


Comments

rhapsodyinbooks said…
I really need to force myself to read The Road! So many people say it is a masterpiece, and it is one of my husbands "best books ever"!
Athira / Aths said…
I can see why it is a masterpiece! I hope you get a chance to read it. It is worth it.
bermudaonion(Kathy) said…
Yay! I'm glad the year is starting out well for you. I'm reading at a snail's pace.
Athira / Aths said…
I hope your reading goes faster too! Last year, my reading was terribly slow.
zibilee said…
I am listening to a lot more than reading them, but that's ok, because I am listening to some fantastic stuff! It's great to hear that you are doing so well with your reading and that some of your books are amazing! Will be happy to see what you have to say about the Marquez!
Helen Murdoch said…
The Secret Keeper sounds good: England, 1960s, a crime? What more could we want?
Athira / Aths said…
I ended up abandoning the Marquez book - it had more steam-of-consciousness than I cared for. The other reads are interesting though.
Athira / Aths said…
Yep! :) It was really thrilling and fast paced. Hard to put it down!
Tea Time with Marce said…
Yaaaaaay, I really want to read Kate Morton this year so i'm glad to see you are a fan now also.
Lisa Sheppard said…
I really liked The Man In The Rockefeller Suit but I can see where reading it slowly would make it much less enjoyable. I only get about 40-45 mins of listening in a day on a book and I've definitely found that some books are better suited to that than others - although I'm still not sure how to pick them!
Kimmy said…
I've enjoyed Kate Morton's books and The Secret Keeper is on my list of books I want to buy next time I'm at the book store! I also liked The Road and am curious to hear your thoughts once you're finished!
Tina Reed said…
The Road is beautifully written but dark. I have read a lot of books by McCarthy and i have to say that The Road is the most optimistic of the ones I've read! If you can believe it!
Athira / Aths said…
Oh gosh - that's frightening actually. The Road is so so sad and dark and I can't imagine what his other works could be like.
Athira / Aths said…
I loved her Secret Keeper so I can't wait to read more of her books.
Athira / Aths said…
I finally finished that book today and I feel relieved. The story was fascinating but the narration was really dry. I may have to stay with shorter audiobooks now.
Athira / Aths said…
I'm loving The Road and can't wait to finish it. I hope you enjoy Secret Keeper!
Bellezza said…
Wasn't the end of The Secret Keeper phenomenal?! Loved it, and it was the first book by Kate Morton that I'd read, too. Have been meaning to get to Cloud Atlas, which I also bought this Fall. It looks so good!
Judith said…
Nice selection of books! I didn't like The Secret Keeper as much as you did, but that means you might enjoy her other books even more. I did!


Yes, The Road is SO good. So bleak, but so good. :-)
Athira / Aths said…
I loved the ending of Secret Keeper! I was suspecting that may be the case from the middle of the book but then gave up on that theory. Morton just surprised me then!
Athira / Aths said…
I can't wait to finish Road. This book is amazing! I'm glad you liked Morton's other books - can't wait to start them!
Alyce said…
That's great that you are getting so much reading done! I really liked The Man in the Rockefeller Suit, but I read it pretty quickly. The guy was fascinating but really creepy and icky to me, so I can see why you wouldn't want to spend a whole lot of time drawn out listening to it.
Athira / Aths said…
I think that's it. Whenever the narrator starts talking in the voice of Rockefeller, I begin to get annoyed. The book is fascinating though.
Kim Ukura said…
I've heard lots of great things about Kate Morton, but I've never read her. I also was curious about The Man in the Rochefeller Suit when it came out last year, but then it slipped off my radar.
Athira / Aths said…
I had been hearing good things of Kate Morton too, but it's only now that I finally got to try her. And I'm glad for that - her book was awesome! I need to try more of her works.
Marie said…
Oh, lots of good reading there. Cloud Atlas was a fun challenge and The Twelve Tribes is a really strong realistic fiction. I'll be interested to hear what you think and I'm intrigued by your thoughts on The Road, too!
Athira / Aths said…
I'm really looking forward to Cloud Atlas! I started reading Twelve Tribes of Hattie and it is a very intriguing book.
Care said…
I want you to like Cloud atlas! I am so glad I read it and want to encourage you to read past pg 39 into the robert Frobisher section, ok? And em me if you want to chat along the way. :)
Athira / Aths said…
Definitely! :) Now you've got me motivated to read Cloud Atlas sooner rather than later. Page 39, I'll remember.