Give us your fall book recommendations
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What was the last book that made you tell your friends, "You've got to read this!"
I have been insisting that people read Katharine Boo's 'Behind the Beautiful Forevers' and 'Timoleon Vieta Come Home' by Dan Rhodes.
The former is an astonishing work of reporting that brings you into the world of a slum in Mumbai. It's not a polemic about the injustice of people living in harrowing poverty. There's humor and even intrigue. I felt a connection with the children and families trying to eke out a life in unimaginable circumstances. I put myself in their shoes and asked, "How would I survive?"
'Timoleon Vieta Come Home' is the story of a dog trying to find his way home. Sounds corny, but it's a sharp little comedy and genuinely moving at times. It's not a "talking dog' book. The main characters are the people who help, ignore, and abuse Timoleon as he travels from Rome to the Umbrian countryside. I brought it on vacation: big mistake. I stayed up late reading it and was too tired the next day to enjoy Oaxaca.
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(Courtesy of the publisher)
What have you been raving about to your friends and family?
-Stephanie Curtis, social media host
