Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat

Another beautiful and moving book by Danticot. Sophie has to leave her home in Haiti to be reunited with her emigre mother who lives in New York. She leaves behind her beloved aunt and her grandmother. A simple story about mothers and daughters, but we learn more about Haitian culture and beliefs through it.

Krik? Krak! by Edwidge Danticat

Krik? Krak! I have to recommend Edwidge Danticat to you. The epilogue to this book of loosely threaded together short stories gives an insight into the provenance of these tales of haitian women, women who have experienced heartache and tragedies. Beautiful, moving stories that have informed me about times that I did not know about. And particularly good for Black History Month.

Crossing the River by Caryl Phillips

We follow the stories of three children, sold as slaves by their father (Africa?). The stories take place over 250 years, a black man being returned to Liberia as a missionary, a freed slave trying to find her daughter, a young GI stationed in England. The stories sometimes finish ambiguously, but all are moving and frequently tell stories that are new to me. The relationships between black and white people are also sympathetic and, it seems to me, honest.

The Kite Rider by Geraldine McCaughrean

Very enjoyable story about a little boy whose father dies while "riding" a kite. Haoyou eventually takes up kite riding as he tries to help his mother and sister. But his obedience to his gambling uncle and the unwanted attention of the man who wants to marry his mother threaten to spoil everything. Lovely little story, with a nice description of China in the time of the Kublai Khan.

A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers by Xiaolu Guo

Nice little novel about Z, living in England and learning Chinese. She meets a man and moves in with him ... but is this the life she wants? Through their squabbles and good times, and through her travelling, she learns English and learns more about herself.

Cast Adrift by Peter Guttridge

It's not often I wonder about a book, and begin to think perhaps I could write something better! It wasn't probably that bad, but it was quite bad!! Perhaps the write ups on the back gave me too high expectations - Agatha Christie on laughing gas was one description that I don't think yoga loving Nick Madrid lived up to! Maybe just too self referential for my taste.

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

H bought this for me as a surprise just after it came out! So I couldn't read anything else until I had finished it. Not as good as his first two Robert Langdon books, but I found it interesting learning more about Masonic mysteries. Glad I've read it, but I think I was right not too feel in too much of a rush about it!

Agatha Christie: Murder in Three Stages - Novelisations by Charles Osborne

Three plays by Agatha Christie have been made into short stories - it's a bit obvious that they were plays, after all, Agatha Christie did not add sketches of room layouts in her normal novels, as far as I've discovered, but at least the dialogue and action was pretty good! Fun.

The Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson

Another lovely book by Ibbotson. This time a baby is found and adopted by two ladies who work for three slightly eccentric professors living in Vienna. But what will happen to that family when the girl's mother turns up? Riches, poverty and a cello. Very good.

Olympiad: An Historical Novel by Tom Holt

Thought this was going to be a dry and worthy history book. Imagine my surprise when I realised it was written by one of my favourite comic authors, and was, in fact, a comic novel. Nice to be made to laugh in the mornings on the way to work!

The Prestige by Christopher Priest

I enjoyed this film, so was curious about the book. As I picked it up in the library and began to browse, I realised it was quite different in many ways. Still a great storyline - awfully glad I read it.

The Human Factor by Graham Greene

I really enjoy Graham Greene's work. This was, as the title suggests, a very human story, about spies and family.

Beirut, I Love You by Zena El Khalil

During the Lebanese War, one blogging voice stood out. Zena was approached and asked to write a book about her life in Lebanon. This is a moving and artistic account of her loves, for her boyfriends and husband, for her best friend Maya and for Lebanon.

The Final Analysis of Dr Stark by Rabbi Joseph Telushkin

I would like to read another of Rabbi Telushkin's detective novels, partly because of the descriptions of certain parts of Jewish life. That's probably my professional interest - but I enjoyed the story as well, even if some of the twists were a bit ... well, not exactly obvious, but not unexpected.