Top 5 Wednesday was started by Ginger Reads Lainey and its now ran by Samantha from Thoughts on Tomes! You can find the goodreads group for topics here! This weeks topic is books not set in/inspired by the Western World. I am ashamed to say that I had a hard time choosing books for this topic and it has brought to my attention that I need to diversify my reading!
- Any book by Khaled Hosseini– All three of his books are set in Afghanistan and I can not recommend them enough. He is an auto-buy author for me and his books manage to be both heartbreaking and breathtaking!
- Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden– This beautiful book is set in Japan. Memoirs of a Geisha was all the rage a few years ago and for good reason! I knew very little about Geisha’s, or Japanese culture/history before I read this book.
- Life of Pi by Yann Martel– This book is set in India, as well as the Pacific Ocean. I have raved about this book so many times on my blog. It is so memorable, and beautifully written.
- Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi– Admittedly some of this book is set in The United States, but a large part of it is also set in what we now know as Ghana. This is one of my favourite books of the year. It is so original, and gritty. I truly think Homegoing is a must read for everyone.
- Cinder by Marissa Meyer- So this was not my favourite book, but I know a lot of people adore it and one thing I truly loved about it was the setting. It is set in New Beijing and really is unique Cinderella retelling. I hope to one day continue with this series!
This was an eye-opening topic for me and I so appreciate that! I can not wait to see everyone else’s T5W this week so I can find some recommendations of books not set in the Western World. If you know of any that you think I will like please leave them in the comments!!
Nice list! Here’s mine: http://www.book-chatter.com/?p=2121
Thanks Marie! 😊
Great choices. I really need to read the Kite Runner. Its one of my mom’s favorite books.
Highly recommend! It’s so good!
This week’s topic is so cool!! Homegoing, Life of Pi & A Thousand Splendid Suns are all on my TBR… really good choices you made there!
Thanks Naty! Great minds think alike!
I have wanted to read Memoirs of a Geisha for so long, but I have never purchased it. I think this is a must read book, and hopefully will be in my next year’s list!
Thank you for this list, I think it is important to always move to different countries and cultures!
I agree!
I think you will really enjoy Memories of a Geisha. It is really beautiful!
I will read it! I swear! haha
Thanks for sharing!
I loved Memoirs of a Geisha when I read it a few years back. I wasn’t too fond of the movie but the soundtrack is amazing and it is visually beautiful 🙂
Cinder was one of the books that didn’t leave too big of an impression for me… I had forgotten that this was in New Beijing haha!
Cheers,
Sophie
Thanks Sophie! I know I have seen the movie but don’t remember much about it. Obviously was not a favourite!
I feel the same about Cinder but I did enjoy the setting!
I had three of these on my list too!! Memoirs of a Geisha and Life of Pi are two of my favourite books, and I’ve wanted to read Homegoing for a while now!
Awesome! I know you will love Homegoing!
Thousand Splendid Sons and Memoirs of a Geisha–both superb books. Geisha is on my top books of all time list.
They really are! I think it is about time I reread Memoirs of a Geisha!
Yes! I’m so glad to see Memoirs represented. I feel like that didn’t get the hype it deserved, but I also wasn’t big into the blogging/book community then so who knows.
Also, I nominated you: http://nerdnarrationblog.wordpress.com/2017/07/19/liebster-award/
Thanks for the nomination! 😊
I really enjoyed reading this! Life of Pi is one of my favourites too, although I wish I’d read the book before seeing the film! This meme looks like a lot of fun 🙂
It really is fun! Always interesting topics! I saw the film as well. It was beautiful but hard to watch!
Great picks! I love Life of Pi. Pi is so adorable and precocious.
He is! I have a soft spot for Pi!
I have to admit, I’ve not read that many non-western books except for Cinder and a few others. Which kind of makes me love them more every time I try one? I don’t know, they’re just usually so enchanting and beautiful.
Great list, Kristin! 🙂
Thank you Sophie! There is something magical when you read about a setting that is not familiar to you. They really stand out in my mind as special books?
They definitely are! It’s easy to do something that you know so much about and read about almost every day. It’s harder to step out of your comfort zone and actually create something unique 🙂