30. Khaled Hosseini - A Thousand Splendid Suns

I bought this book fully expecting something very like The Kite Runner. In fact, I don’t think I bothered to read the blurb on the back page beyond ‘By the author of The Kite Runner.’ Having read it – both book and back page – I am a little disappointed.

Mr Hosseini’s main characters in this book are female – Mariam and Laila – while those of The Kite Runner are male. I’m never very sure about male authors writing female characters and I’m sure that speaks volumes of my own prejudices. In my eyes, Mr Hosseini struck perfection in The Kite Runner. This time around, however, he has just missed the mark and I can only attribute the slippage to those female characters.

The story is engaging and exquisitely plotted. The first shift from Mariam to Laila left me feeling a little lost but actually sits well within the overall structure of the book (so do read past this). Some of the scenes are brutal but, I think, each was necessary in this retelling of Afghanistan’s story, from a woman’s point of view.

The overall, lingering effect is one of sadness. I have, however, been educated as well as entertained and I think that this is likely Mr Hosseini’s intention.

29. Donald Zochert - Laura

This was a fascinating account of Laura and her family which, I believe, holds to the truth. I feel great love for the characters Mr Zochert has introduced me to and wish, once again, that I could know them in person.

28. Debbie Macomber - 16 Lighthouse Road

This is the second Macomber book I’ve read and I enjoyed it rather more than the first. 16 Lighthouse Road is the first of the ‘Cedar Cove’ series and chronicles a year in the life of Olivia and her friends and family. I found the beginning of the book a bit tedious – there was a lot of telling and not so much showing – but I soon found myself so enchanted with Ms Macomber’s skilful characterisation and nimble plotting that the pages flew by. I’m already looking forward to the next instalment.

27. Martin Meredith - The State of Africa

I’m feeling very proud of myself for having read this book. As one reviewer said:

“The State of Africa is a heavy book, but it is light reading because it is so unfashionably straightforward.” Wall Street Journal

To be honest, I’m not even very sure why this book is in my library or why it survived the cull. I’ve nearly given it away unread on several occasions. I felt intimidated by its size and unsure of my ability to understand the content – or even be particularly interested in it. I like history but not modern, international history. I’ve studied politics and didn’t enjoy it. And I tried economics in my first year of University and changed courses after the first tutorial.

Mr Meredith chronicles the past 50 years (1955 – 2005) of African political and economic history in a manner which I found captivating. It’s not that I enjoyed reading about famine and genocide – I didn’t and remain haunted by some passages – but his approach in following the ‘Big Men’ who shaped modern Africa (for better or for worse) and the quality of his writing have created a page-turner that also serves to educate. It is to be hoped that the book reaches a wide audience who, perhaps, like me start reading without really knowing why.

26. Andrea Busfield - Born Under a Million Shadows

The cover of this book reminds me strongly of The Kite Runner but the story it tells is different. Ms Busfield’s is a grittier Afghanistan, seen through the eyes of Fawad – an 11 year old boy whose family is scarred forever by the Taliban. Fortune smiles on Fawad and his mother, however, when she finds work as a housekeeper for an Englishwoman named Georgie and with whom Fawad promptly falls in love.

This is much more than a romance novel, however. Ms Busfield’s characters often adopt the tone of lecturers as Fawad and the reader learn more about Afghanistan. At first, I found this rather irritating – if I’d wanted to read non-fiction I would have done so – but I was soon so immersed in the lives presented to me that the pages turned easily and I’m sorry now to have finished and to be leaving them behind. Ms Busfield has tied up all the loose ends very neatly and without, I think, leaving herself space for a sequel but I do hope this is not the first and the last book we shall see from her.

25. Micca Campbell - An Untroubled Heart

I really chose this book because I loved the cover – the content was incidental. It is an exhortation to Christian women to live free from anxiety and fear and, as I have mental health problems and live with anxiety, I thought I would find it very relevant. It’s a shame I didn’t but I don’t blame Mrs Campbell in the least.

In this book, she presents the promises of God and suggests that the reader stand on those promises using faith to battle fear. I read the promises and wished I believed them. At this moment, however, I don’t. And my anxiety is too amorphous to be answered with a Bible verse, however well-chosen. So, this wasn’t really the right book for me and, to be perfectly fair, I doubt that I am quite the target audience.

Mrs Campbell’s writing is bright and clear, warm and friendly. She also speaks with great authority having gone through her trials and found her God. I think this would be a great book for any Christian woman who needs encouragement to step forth fearlessly in her day-to-day life.

24. Kathleen Y'Barbo - Golden Twilight

I found myself reluctant to read this book when it found its way to the head of Mt ToBeRead. I’m really not in the mood for Christian fiction or romance books and this promised (and delivered) both.

The first part of the novel is a bit disjointed – Where did Fiona get her medical skills? How’s she paying for college? These questions are never really answered. Of course, it doesn’t really matter but I’m someone who likes the facts to be accounted for. It’s only a short book and the writing style was pleasant so I decided to continue.

I’m glad I did. The second half of the book is much improved and, as Ms Y’Barbo wove her web of romantic mystery, I found myself well and truly sucked in. Yes, there are gaps in the narrative. No, there’s no good description of people or places. But, ‘What happens next?’ was constantly on my mind as the pages turned.

I may not seek out more from this author but I do owe her the debt of a pleasant afternoon.