Girls with Glasses... READ

So, I've been gone for a while... The holidays, work, respiratory illnesses, my weight loss quest have kept me hopping to say the least. But I have managed to squeeze in a few extra curricular activities as usual because well... that's just what I do. I'll share some of my other activities in a separate post but in this moment I wanted to discuss my book club. After a rather lovely reunion and breakfast, two friends and I remembered that we first grew close after forming a book club at work (shout out to Lisa B and Miss Limah). Many years have passed and distance has separated us but our affinity for reading has remained. That morning we decided to form an online book club called Beyond Borders. Beyond Borders earned its title because we like to read books that teach us about other cultures. I mean, we can read about ourselves and each other every day and for me anyway, that's boring. Anyway, our book club chooses a selection, reads it before meeting online for a discussion. We meet via stickam.com which allows us to see and speak with each other using webcams. It's great. Ok, now for the juice on the book!
Our first choice was A Thousand Splendid Suns by Kholed Hosseini, who is the author of The Kite Runner. Splendid Suns tell the stories of Mariam and Laila whose lives become intertwined by chance and circumstance. They find themselves married to the same man but their lives with him are completely different AND the same. I was trying to think of how to tell you story without telling you the story... And here's what I've got... Want to learn about the history of Afghanistan? Feel like you are there? Perhaps you want a realistic glimpse of the lives and roles of Muslim girls and women... And maybe you just have an interest in reading a story with a heavy dose of someone else's reality, to actually feel for the characters, feel like you know them and share THEIR love for country. If that is the case, you will enjoy this read. It will make you laugh, cry and transport you to another world. For me, it did all those things AND it made me care about lives outside my own backyard. I dare you to read even the first chapter. I guarantee you won't be able to stop.
If you pick it up, come back and tell me your thoughts. And if you are interested in joining my book club- hit me up!