What was the last novel you read that was set primarily in a Latin American country?
I read Short War by Lily Meyer. It was set primarily in Chile and I really liked it a lot.
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Well this is embarrassing… I looked over my book lists for the last five years and don’t see a single book set in a Latin American country. I really need to fix that!
Several of Chanel Cleeton’s books about Cuba.
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I recently finished “A Flower Traveled In My Blood,” non-fiction based in Argentina about Las Abuelas (the grandmothers) de Plaza de Mayo who doggedly searched for their stolen grandchildren.
I just looked up “Short War” and added it to my list. I haven’t read a lot of fiction about Chile beyond Isabel Allende’s books. A non-fiction book on my near term reading list about Chile is “38 Londres Street.”
I hope you like Short War @Gabi_J In some ways it reminded me a bit of A Flower Traveled in My Blood.
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Another that I really enjoyed @kim.kovacs is by an Austin author: Freedom is a Feast by Alejandro Puyana. This one set in Venezuela.
Oh, Freedom is a Feast looks good, too! Thanks!
I hope you enjoy Freedom is a Feast. This is a debut novel and I think it deserves more readers and more praise. Alejandro is a fine storyteller!
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About a year ago I read Women Talking by Miriam Toews with a book discussion group at a nearby library. It’s a fictionalized account based on fact and is about a group of Mennonite women in a colony in Bolivia who were drugged with animal tranquilizers by the colony’s men and then raped. This occurred repeatedly over a long period of time. The women meet to decide how they are going to respond once they become aware of this abuse. Kim’s post made me realize I need to diversify my reading more often as my regular book club persists in reading historical fiction set in the USA.
Women Talking was remarkable. Did you also watch the movie @Lana_Maskus ? It was also very good.
I’ve had to let go of a couple of book clubs because I wasn’t interested in the books they were choosing. That’s part of what makes chatting here so much fun.
No, I haven’t seen the movie, but will make it a point to watch now. The group discussion I went to isn’t a formal book club, but a quarterly discussion of a book that is included in the Kansas Humanities TALK (Talk About Literature in Kansas) discussion guides. Because of budget cuts the Humanities Council is no longer able to provide moderators so this small town library decided to continue the book discussions with community members volunteering to moderate. Attendees vary from discussion to discussion, but all are so engaged. I love it!
And I belong to another book club that really struggles. There are 14 members, but a core of 4-6 who consistently attend meetings. Members often don’t read the books, don’t participate in discussion, want to read the same type of books over and over, etc. It really got off track after COVID when the membership decided to start meeting in restaurants. The irony is I started the book club 9 years and it did great for the 4 years before COVID. I’ve tried and tried to get more engagement to no avail, but I don’t feel I can abandon it.
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I, too, love BookBrowse’s Community Forum and getting to interact with other book lovers.
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Ugh, that’s a tough story about the book club. Have you looked at the materials here on BookBrowse about how to revitalize a book club? BB has done a lot of work to create this resource with a lot of good information. It’s available under the Book Clubs section of the menu. If no one is reading the books maybe they don’t really want to be a book club. I know of one group that switched it up by reading a short story or essay upon arriving and then discussing it. That way there is essentially no homework. I hate when a book club isn’t sustainable but it’s kind of like books—they don’t all work.
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I read the BookBrowse materials, but I think it’s time to access them. Thank you for reminding me.
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FYI, there’s a members-only sale at Audible through 4/9. Just bought Women Talking for $2.22!
Do you think you could “revisit” the initial rules/conditions set forth in the book club’s origins? Guidelines are essential to a successful and meaningful club. My former club, before I moved out of state, had enough serious readers who valued maintaining a good balance of literature. We kindly forgave someone who was unable to read the book due to personal issues, but this was the exception. We met in a restaurant only once a year in December to celebrate the holidays, but we didn’t discuss a book then, either.
Typically, we all suggested books for the upcoming cycle. Everyone was expected to suggest one title. The March meeting was when we shared, discussed and decided which books to read and discuss for the remainder of the year. The person who suggested the title was expected to lead the discussion.
I think BB section on book clubs would have some great ideas for you to pursue in order to revive a spirited club. Best of luck!
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Thank you so much for your suggestions. There’s one original member who is steadfast that I’m going to bounce your suggestions and those in the BookBrowse resources off of and we’ll go from there.
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I know I’ve mentioned this book before under other categories but it is worth another shout out here: River of Doubt by Candice Millard. This book about Theodore Roosevelt’s expedition to chart an uncharted tributary of the Amazon River in Brazil is true but unbelievable.
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