This book shows a cross-section of life within a modern city with an ancient class structure, proving that no matter how enlightened we are, we still tend to view others—and ourselves—along lines drawn in the sand centuries ago.
Category: Read the World Project
Read the World Wrap-Up | Italy
I wish to walk the streets that the ancient Romans once hewed out of rock and stone. I wish to see the same buildings that inspired a generation of artists and, eventually, the world. I wish to float through the city that enjoyed a millennium of democratic rule. I even wish to trod the treacherous, bloody path that the Allies took to liberate Italy.
The Best Food Ever | Italy
It’s very possible that if I was to choose my favorite cuisine, it would be Italian. What’s not to love? There’s pasta, pastries, gelato, cotoletta, croquette, and mozzarella.
Italy: A History | Italy
The modern world owes a great debt to Italy: It gave us Latin (a common language) and Roman law; it gave us a Renaissance of classical thought; it gave us some of the most beloved works of art. It gives us pasta and mozzarella (which alone should earn our eternal gratitude).
Romeo and Juliet | Italy
Perversely, it’s my tirade in the form of a review, that makes me think this book is worth reading. Anything that brings out so much emotion and provokes so much thought is worth the effort.
Eat, Pray, Love | Italy
You can’t chase after happiness; it’s inside, a choice we make. Elizabeth Gilbert realizes this in time. She finds happiness not by exploring a new place, but by exploring an old one—namely, the walls and corridors and culture of her own soul.
Read the World Wrap-Up | India
When I think of India—especially now, after reading the literature and eating the food—I think of aromatic spices and colors, conquering sultans and rajas, sumptuous palaces and temples. I think of gold and jewels and steamy jungles. I think of a faraway world that’s perhaps not nearly as far away as I’d thought.
A Passage to India | India
I know that Forster was painting a picture of the racial tension between the English and Indians—a picture, I might point out, that didn’t turn every Englishman into a villain and every Indian into a martyr (both races had their good and bad points)—but it just wasn’t a picture that really captured my imagination.
India: A History | India
From about 1000 B.C. t0 1700 A.D., India history is a disjointed creature containing unpronounceable names and a multitude of different kingdoms and dynasties.
Midnight’s Children | India
Because the truth is, Indian life and culture is amazingly complicated. It’s a menagerie of different castes, religions, politics, boundaries, and cultures. It’s like a giant Gordian knot of humanity that you’re trying to unravel, only finally coming to the understanding that it’s impossible to fully understand and organize it.
Read the World Wrap-Up | Germany
I knew before I started this Read the World journey that it was going to be awesome. I mean, how could exploring a country be anything but fun? I just wish I had gotten underway a little sooner, and then I could’ve added a few more books to my list. Maybe a travelogue or a children’s book (or…
Germany: A New History | Germany
Germany was so fragmented for so many centuries that, upon finding an identity, it wanted to stretch—so to speak—its fledgling wings.
Tyger Tyger 