Bibliodiversidade - Reading Diversely

May was not as good a reading month as April, not because of the numbers (I read 6 books against 7 in April, which is pretty good for me) but because of the satisfaction those books gave me (something far more important than the number). So without delay, here they go: Angels & Demons | Dan Bown : This was my palate cleanser after reading Janet Murray's  remarkable Strong-minded Women (see my last monthly readings post for more details). I was really disappointed with the last fifth of the book. It started as a really well crafted thriller, with a lot of historical references to real places and facts (mixed with some made-up information, but that's OK, since this is fiction, after all) and I had a good time googling Roman architecture and art pieces as I went reading. Although "movie-script writing" is not what I usually look for in a book, I once in a while like to re...

I am so lucky that the first stop of the Literary Travel was scheduled for the town where I live! Last week, a full theatre (who said literary events do not sell out in inland Portugal?) hosted two of my favourite authors: Chilean Luís Sepúlveda and Portuguese Valter Hugo Mãe (actually born in Angola, when it was still a Portuguese colony). For nearly two hours, we listened to the two authors talking about books, politics and life. My favourite book from Valter is so far (I still have many to read) A Máquina de Fazer Espanhóis (of which I know only a Spanish translation: La Máquina de Hacer Españoles ). From Luís Sepúlveda the choice is harder because I have read so many that really spoke to me. The Old Man who Read Love Stories is certainly one of them (which I learned last week that was based on his own experience of living 7 months with an Amazonian tribe), but so is Mundo del Fin del Mundo , Patagonia Express , or As Rosas de Atacama (again, I can't find an English t...