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You Bring the Distant Near by Mitali Perkins | Thoughts

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Published in: 2017
Format read in: ebook
Location: US, Ghana, India
Rating: 3/5Why I read it: I hadn't heard of this book until I was browsing through Goodreads Recommend lists. I was craving some Asian fiction and this sounded good from the synopsis.One line review: A decent picture of an Indian American life that focuses more on familial relationships and how the different generations adapt, but one that does not do their characters justice or truly focus on one theme.Who should read it: If you're a Mitali Perkins fan or want to understand more about immigrants, you may enjoy this. There's something about putting words on a page in private that makes me feel powerful in public.Thoughts:Sisters Tara and Sonia move to Flushing, New York from London when their father gets a job there. Until then, they were Londonites to the core, but were now ready to accept New York as their new home. Tara was especially good at imbibing new cultures and even transforming herself pretty rapidl…
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The Week in Books (1/14 - 1/27 2013)

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Last week has been one of the busiest for me at work. I usually never find the need to work more than eight hours a day, but I ended putting in more than that each day this past week, after one of my colleagues resigned. That cut into my blogging time, but I managed to read a good bit.

The Twelve Tribes of HattieThis week I read...
- The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis: I picked this one up after all the hype that has been following this book ever since it was chosen for Oprah's Book Club. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this one much. There were just too many narrators and the ending felt too weak for me to appreciate this book.
- The Man in the Rockefeller Suit by Mark Seal: A month after popping the first disc into my car stereo, I finally finished this book. Being a long book and being about a character I fervently disliked, The Man in the Rockefeller Suit turned out to be a challenging book to listen to. Although I enjoyed the book as a whole, I felt that the execution could have been better.

Into the WildCurrently I'm reading...
- Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer: After loving Krakauer's Into Thin Air, I picked up Into the Wild to listen to in my car, hoping for a similar treat. Sadly, this book about a kid who walked out into the wild, trying to live freely and then dying two years later in Alaska, isn't as captivating.
- Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloane: I had heard some buzz around this one when it first came out. It was even freely available on the author's website for a brief period, but it is only now that I managed to find the time to read it. While this book caters awesomely to my likes (books and computer programming!), the writing is amateurish. Still, it's turning out to be a nice mystery and I'm hoping it will be worth it.

Reviewed (Yikes, just one this fortnight!)
- The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton


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JudithLeeswammes said…
Sorry to see that you didn't like The Twelve Tribes of Hattie very much. I would like to read it, although I also don't like too many characters. I must reconsider!
January 28, 2013 at 5:07 AM
Juju at Tales of Whimsy.com said…
I saw Into the Wild the movie and wasn't impressed. I can't imagine how the audio is.
January 28, 2013 at 9:17 AM
Athira / Aths said…
I hope you get to try it. I will be curious to hear what you think. I know many others enjoyed the book, so you may too.
January 28, 2013 at 9:53 AM
Athira / Aths said…
I was initially thinking of watching the movie too, but now I don't care after finding the audio book a little dry.
January 28, 2013 at 9:55 AM
Juju at Tales of Whimsy.com said…
As I'm sure you already know, you're not missing anything ;). The acting is good the story just did nothing for me.
January 28, 2013 at 11:47 AM
Jenn said…
I've heard such good things about Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore. I'm curious to see what you think as I typically don't hop on the bandwagon for super popular books until they've been out a while.
January 28, 2013 at 12:06 PM
Athira / Aths said…
I don't either read the hyped up books until much later. I end up not liking the book much usually. I picked Penumbra for my book club. So far it is okay - I hope it picks up soon.
January 28, 2013 at 12:49 PM
Helen Murdoch said…
Sort of an "eh" kind of week. Bummer. I also couldn't deal with Into the Wild after really liking Into Thin Air.
January 28, 2013 at 1:06 PM
JoV said…
Reading and reviewing one book a week seems good enough, as I struggle with that too! :) I love "Into the Wild" and I hope you are touched by it because I did. I have the movie DVD still to watch. Let me know what you think about it.
January 28, 2013 at 5:08 PM
Athira / Aths said…
You're right! I've gone weeks without reviewing, so it is good that I at least had one post out. At the same time, I hope I don't forget to review some of those books I really want to talk about - that happened a lot last year. Still, no pressure - it's nice not to be on a schedule. :)
January 28, 2013 at 6:41 PM
Ryan said…
I really like Jon Krakauer. I think Into the Wild might is his most thought provoking book to date (though Where Men Win Glory comes a close second). Hope you enjoy it.
January 30, 2013 at 7:56 PM
Athira / Aths said…
I like Jon Krakauer too. I've found what little of him I have read to be very thoughtful, well-researched and the man himself very honest. I didn't enjoy Into the Wild very much but I loved reading through some of the philosophical and argumentative sections. I'm definitely craving more Krakauer!
February 4, 2013 at 9:47 AM
Athira / Aths said…
I like Jon Krakauer too. I've found what little of him I have read to be very thoughtful, well-researched and the man himself very honest. I didn't enjoy Into the Wild very much but I loved reading through some of the philosophical and argumentative sections. I'm definitely craving more Krakauer!
February 4, 2013 at 9:47 AM
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