Morgan's May Picks

And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini

And the Mountains Echoed is a heartbreaking story of the love between siblings. It is a breathtaking portrait of Kabul but it also takes us to Greece, Paris and the USA. Once again Hosseini has managed to craft a story using some of the most intricate and elegant language that I read in a while. Each of the many stories contained in this book speaks to one individual's truth but overall this book is about caring for someone else more than yourself. Honestly it is hard to describe how fantastic this book is. It totally blew me away and I read all through the night because I couldn't put it down. The characters are fragile, human and each has a distinct point of view that brings something important to the overall story arc. Each chapter contains a different portrait of love - love of country, love between a servant and master, love between sister and brother or love between friends. I found each one individually beautiful and ultimately Hosseini was able to weave them together coherently. I was initially skeptical that each piece would make sense in the larger canon but each one really did work in concert. I think we as readers wait for books that will engross us entirely. We wait for the books that will rock us to the core. Go get this book, the wait is over.

And the Mountains Echoed will be released on May 21st 

Ex Libris: Confessions of A Common Reader by Anne Fadiman

In the second installment of my books about books picks I give you a fabulous collection of essays from a fellow book lover. Fadiman shares personal meditations on her library, reading habits and the general ways we all interact with books. It is a funny, insightful and honest look at how readers interact with their books and language. I especially enjoyed "Marrying Libraries" the author's semi-traumatic experience of merging libraries with her husband (I am dreading, dreading this day so I thank her for this glance into how other book lovers make this work) and "Never do that to a Book" which highlights an argument that my family has on a regular basis. This series of essays reminds me that as long as there are still true bibliophiles there will always be books because we simply wouldn't be the same without them. Short, sweet and very readable (although you may want a dictionary as I had to look up several words in the process). Enjoy!

Visit my "About Morgan" page to see more of my favorites