Rara Avis

Adiga Aravind: The White Tiger
Dec 2008 (***)

Mohsin Hamid: The Reluctant Fundamentalist, ISBN 0739488263
Nov 08 If you have ever, sir, been through the breakup of a romantic relationship that involved great love, you will perhaps understand what I experienced. There is in such situations usually a moment of passion during which the unthinkable is said; this is followed by a sense of euphoria at finally being liberated; the world seems fresh, as if seen for the first time; then comes the inevitable period of doubt, the desperate and doomed backpedaling of regret; and only later, once emotions have receded, is one able to view with equanimity the journey through which one has passed. (***)

Junot Díaz: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Love it. Love it. Love it. (*****)

Greg Mortenson: Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time
October 08 Found the writing a bit jarring but the story simply riveting. (****)

Lloyd Jones: Mister Pip
October 08 (***)

Li Cunxin: Mao's Last Dancer
October 2008. Book Club Read. (**)

Markus Zusak: The Book Thief
September 08. (Potentially the book of the year for me) (*****)

Gina Ford: The Contented Little Baby Book of Weaning
September 08 (****)

William Faulkner: The Sound and the Fury
August 08 (****)

Heidi Murkoff: What to Expect the First Year, Second Ed
Feb 08 - ongoing Pressie from work colleague (***)

Victor S. Sierpina: 1000 Cures for 200 Ailments: Integrated Alternative and Conventional Treatments for the Most Common Illnesses
Feb 08 - Birthday pressie from Ma Avis (****)

Anne Michaels: Fugitive Pieces
Jan - Feb 08 'Sometimes we need both hands to climb out of a place. Sometimes there are steep places, where one has to walk ahead of the other. If I cant find you, I'll look deeper in myself. If I cant keep up, if you're far ahead, look back. Look back.' (****)

Marjane Satrapi: The Complete Persepolis: Now a Major Motion Picture
Jan 08 (****)

American Academy Of Pediatrics: Your Baby's First Year (Second Edition)
Jan 08 (courtesy of Sof, thanks toots) (****)

Posy Simmonds: Tamara Drewe
Jan 08 - Read Azuradec's brandnew purchase in one sitting at home (whilst she and EC checks out the Night Safari). (****)

Karen Armstrong: Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet
Dec 07 (****)

Malcolm Gladwell: Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking
Dec 07 (****)

Kam Raslan: Confessions of an Old Boy: The Dato' Hamid Adventures
Dec 07 (***)

Malcolm Gladwell: The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference
Dec 07 (****)

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Half of a Yellow Sun
Nov 07 (****)

Monica Ali: Brick Lane: A Novel
Nov 07 (***)

Stef Penney: The Tenderness of Wolves: A Novel
Oct 07 (****)

Tash Aw: The Harmony Silk Factory
Oct 07 (***)

Khaled Hosseini: A Thousand Splendid Suns
6th Oct 2007 (****)

Patrick Holford: Optimum Nutrition for Your Child's Mind
Sept - on going (purchased by SFM)

Khaled Hosseini: The Kite Runner
Sept 07 (*****)

Mind Gym: The Mind Gym
Sept 07 (***)

Ian McEwan: Atonement: A Novel
Sept 07 (****)

Vicki Iovine: The Girlfriends' Guide to Pregnancy
August 07 (***)

Heidi Murkoff: What to Expect When You're Expecting, Third Edition
August 07 (***)

Miriam Dr Stoppard: Dr. Miriam Stoppard's New Pregnancy and Birth Book
August 07 (***)

Kiran Desai: The Inheritance of Loss
August 07 (***)

John Buchan: The 39 Steps
August 07 (****)

Lucy Kellaway: Who Moved My Blackberry?
June 07 (***)

Karen Armstrong: The Spiral Staircase: My Climb Out of Darkness
June 07 (****)

Karen Armstrong: Through the Narrow Gate: A Memoir of Spiritual Discovery
May 07 (****)

Mark H. McCormack: What They Don't Teach You At Harvard Business School: Notes From A Street-Smart Executive
May 07 (***)

Michel Roux: Eggs
May 07 (*****)

Sei Shonagon: The Pillow Book (Penguin Classics)
Ongoing

Augusten Burroughs: Running with Scissors: A Memoir
April 07 (***)

Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Infidel
April 07 (***)

David Attenborough: Life on Air: Memoirs of a Broadcaster
March 07 (*****)

Audrey Niffenegger: The Time Traveler's Wife
March 07 (***)

Peter Godwin: When a Crocodile Eats the Sun: A Memoir of Africa
Feb 07 (****)

Zadie Smith: On Beauty
Feb 07 (***)

Mark H. McCormack: Never Wrestle with a Pig and Ninety Other Ideas to Build Your Business and Career
Jan 07 (***)

Joan Didion: The Year of Magical Thinking
Jan 07 (****)

Paul Auster: The Brooklyn Follies: A Novel
Jan 07 (****)