Nina Sovich has written a book about her wanderlust that anyone who loves to travel will recognize. While she, at 34, takes it to the height of adventure, traveling to West Africa, she writes in a style that keeps the reader engaged and on the edge of their seat to discover what happens next to this bold, gutsy woman.

Having recently been to West Africa, I can say her description of how life is there is spot on. The desolate sand swept desert and towns, the heat, lack of any creature comforts which do not in any way deter her from her quest to get to Timbuktu make this book a great adventure for the reader.

She is inspired by previous female explorers such as Mary Kingsley and Karen Blixen and uses them both to inspire her onward with her journey. Quoting from their journals and books she often looks to them for guidance when travel becomes hard.

Although she has a loving husband and a life in Paris, she is determined to get to Timbuktu, not making it the first time but going back again and making it there the second time. She writes of her experience in a way that makes it more than a travelog, more like an adventure novel.

I enjoyed this book and could not put it down. It is a great selection for a book club as there are many aspects of her personality and decisions to inspire conversation.

Melanie Benjamin has written a fictional first person account of Anne Morrow Lindbergh's life. Born in a strong privileged family, meeting the most famous person on earth, a hero of huge magnitude, she marries him and starts the rocky road to find a real person behing the myth.

This book had me from the first word, it is well written, the characters are defined in such a way I felt I knew them. Ms Benjamin writes from the perspective of how Anne, Charles and the family were as real, emotional people. The story is based on their true lives but using historical fiction as her method of writing allows her to bring out all the emotions of their lives. We watch as Anne gains strength to be her own person at the same time she supports and makes excuses for her husband, who diminishes in his own life as a national hero as well as a personal hero and his inability to have any true interaction with her or his children. The kidnapping does not overpower the story but you do feel the anguish of having such a terrible event happen. It is a part of their story but far from the entire story.

This is an excellent book that is destined to be one of the best of 2013.
Book clubs will find a lot of challenging discussions about the Lindberghs

Perceval Chen has a story to tell of being Chinese in Vietnam. He arrives there to find his father and life takes him along a path of being headmaster in a school teaching English to students who then become translators for the Americans in Vietnam.

The book is well written and the characters well developed as the author brings us into this life, its reality and perceived reality. While I thought it started slowly by the end I couldn't put it down. A real tale of complexity and love, gain and loss, risk taking and rewards or lost wagers. Seen thru the eyes of those who experienced a war from the point of where they lived and made their lives is enriching reading for all.

I loved this book, it was hard to come to the end of it. A book about three people, a young widow, neglected teenager, and a retired policeman in a lot of back pain, weaves a story of family that is true to life. Jo-Ann Mapson writes with truth and grace. Her characters are all broken and yet I came to love them and cheer them on to find their way to happiness. The ending seems a little rushed but I would recommend "Solomon's Oak" to anyone looking for a good read.

A story of two cultures, one daughter, and two marriages that shows the clashes that develop and the realities of their worlds. A very readable novel. I found the characters to be stereotyped and the flow of conversations and thoughts not fully developed. I wanted to read this book for an upcoming trip to India but did not find the verbal picture of India to be very informative.

This book is a great read. Kate Grenville writes with a prose of words that become a visual and mental picture. The historical background adds a new dimension to a story you may think you know. Questions of culture and morality left me thinking about this book long after I finished it. Book clubs will enjoy this as will readers who liked The Forgotten Garden or Olive Kitteridge.