Armchair BEA: Beyond the Borders

Beyond the Borders

It’s time to step outside your comfort zone, outside your borders, or outside of your own country or culture. Tell us about the books that transported you to a different world, taught you about a different culture, and/or helped you step into the shoes of someone different from you. What impacted you the most about this book? What books would you recommend to others who are ready or not ready to step over the line? In essence, let’s start the conversation about diversity and keep it going! 

Fiction

American Dervish

I recently finished this book and haven't written a review yet. American Dervish is the story of a young boy whose world changes forever as a family friend opens his eyes to the beauty and danger of wholeheartedly following a religion.

A Constellation of Vital Phenomena

I don't know if you all know a lot about the conflict in Chechnya during the 1990s, but I did not. This exquisitely written novel will break your heart as Akhmed tries to save his friend's daughter and we discover the danger and saving grace of loving other people.

No One Is Here Except All of Us

I may be somewhat biased in loving this book, as my father is Romanian and it is one of the few books I know of that takes place in that country. This story is set around the events of WWII as the inhabitants of a small village wonder if they can use the power of story to escape the evil that is approaching their home.

Songs of Willow Frost

Willow and her son William are living in San Francisco during the time of the Great Depression. This book is beautifully written and shows readers the discrimination faced by Asian citizens during this time period and the tragic choices they must make to survive.

Pigeon English

Harri has recently moved to London from Ghana with his mother and finds himself smack in the middle of a gang war. Our protagonist is 11 years old and the combination of his hope and the ugly conditions in which he lives is both striking and heartbreaking.

The Madonnas of Echo Park

This collection of stories revolves around an immigrant community in LA. The characters are fascinating and their problems are both specific to racism and immigration and universal to the human experience.

White Teeth 

Archie, Clara, Samad, and Alsana are the bridge generation who were born and raised in different countries but are raising their children in London. This powerful story looks at cultural differences amid the shared hope of parents that their children will have better lives than they did.

People of the Book 

This is one of my favorite books ever. Geraldine Brooks moves deftly through time and nations as she imagines the creation and preservation of one of Judaism's sacred texts.

Non-fiction

Mighty Be Our Powers

This book tells Gbowee's story of surviving during the conflict in Liberia as she gathered her fellow women to fight for peace in their land.

Outcasts United

Outcasts United is about a Jordanian woman who almost accidentally becomes the coach of a youth soccer team comprised entirely of refugees. This story gives great insight into the lives of people who have immigrated to the US and the challenges they face.


Have you read any of these books? Which books transported you to a different country or culture?

Armchair BEA 2014 - Author Interaction

I have to confess that my experience with attending author readings and events is pretty abysmal. This is a combination of several factors - young kids, being somewhat shy, and the inevitability that I will get lost if I am driving to a new place.

That being the case, the ability to interact with authors online is both wonderful and sort of intimidating. I love being able to chat with writers and am really pleased and humbled when someone says that they appreciated my review. But I also feel a tiny twinge of panic when I realize that the author will definitely read my review, either because they follow me on Twitter or because I am reviewing their book as part of a tour. Even before I start reading the book, I desperately hope that I will love their book. When I have finished it, I give special care to making sure my criticism is constructive and not cruel. Who wants to write a really negative review with the knowledge that the author will read it? Not this girl! 

Does anyone else feel this way? 

Armchair BEA 2014 - Introduction Post

Please tell us a little bit about yourself: Who are you? How long have you been blogging? Why did you get into blogging? Where in the world are you blogging from?

I'm Lindsey and I have been blogging here at Literary Lindsey since July of 2011. I started blogging because it looked like fun and because I thought it would be a good thing to have on my resume as I tried to nab a job in publishing. Since then, I have rethought my career goals a bit and now work as a freelance editor.

I live in the lovely state of New Jersey. 

Describe your blog in just one sentence. Then, list your social details -- Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. -- so we can connect more online.

Literary Lindsey is a place to read about all of the books you should be reading, as well as musings about publishing, family, and life in general. You can also find me on Twitter @LiteraryLindsey. 

What was your favorite book read last year? What’s your favorite book so far this year?  

Don't you know what an impossible question this is?!? For 2013, I would say my favorite piece of fiction was A Constellation of Vital Phenomena and my non-fiction pick would be This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage. In 2014, so far, the top contenders are The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry/Found/I Shall Be Near to You/Hild/Astonish Me.

Share your favorite book or reading related quote. 

“Story makes us more alive, more human, more courageous, more loving. Why does anybody tell a story? It does indeed have to do with faith, faith that the universe has meaning, that our little human lives are not irrelevant, that what we choose to say or do matters, matters cosmically…Our truest response to the irrationality of the world is to paint or sing or write, for only in such response do we find truth.”

Walking on Water, Madeleine L'Engle

"We have no time to waste on insignificant books, hollow books, books that are here to please.

We have no time for those sloppy, hurried books of the ‘Go on, I need it for July, and in September we’ll give you a proper launch and sell one hundred thousand copies, it’s in the bag’ variety.

We want books that are written for those of us who doubt everything, who cry over the least little thing, who are startled by the slightest noise.

We want books that cost their authors a great deal, books where you can feel the years of work, the backache, the writer’s block, the author’s panic at the thought that the might be lost: his discouragement, his courage, his anguish, his stubbornness, the risk of failure he has taken.

We want splendid books, books that immerse us in the splendor of reality and keep us there; books that prove to us that love is at work in the world next to evil, right up against it, at times indistinctly, and that it always will be, just the way that suffering will always ravage hearts. We want good novels.

We want books that leave nothing out: neither human tragedy nor everyday wonders, books that bring fresh air to our lungs.

And even if there is only one such book per decade...that would be enough. We want nothing else.”

A Novel Bookstore, Laurence Cosse 

If you were stranded on a deserted island, what 3 books would you bring? Why? What 3 non-book items would you bring? Why? 

I think the best book to bring would be something about surviving on an island. My other two choices would be a really long classic like War and Peace or Anna Karenina and A Wrinkle in Time. 

My snarky response is that I would bring a working cellphone, so someone could come and pick me up. Otherwise, I would bring my family, sun tan lotion (this is a tropical island, right?) and lots of chocolate.