November Booking IT

The days are getting darker and busier but this is the time of the year when I just need to read. Reading is my guilty pleasure and one I always seem to make time for. I am linking up with Life as Mom Booking IT.  Over at Life as Mom they are sharing their favorite books from 2013. I am not quite ready to do that.

Oh my this book hooked me, The Girl You Left Behind by Jo Jo Moyes. 

France, 1916: Artist Edouard Lefevre leaves his young wife, Sophie, to fight at the front. When their small town falls to the Germans in the midst of World War I, Edouard’s portrait of Sophie draws the eye of the new Kommandant. As the officer’s dangerous obsession deepens, Sophie will risk everything—her family, her reputation, and her life—to see her husband again.
Almost a century later, Sophie’s portrait is given to Liv Halston by her young husband shortly before his sudden death. A chance encounter reveals the painting’s true worth, and a battle begins for who its legitimate owner is—putting Liv’s belief in what is right to the ultimate test. - description from Amazon 
I so engrossed in the Sophie story that I didn't want to switch  to the present day and Liv.  You just want to know what happened to Sophie but I got over it.  However, I really enjoyed this one.

Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven by Susan Gilman is a travel book/coming of age book.

In 1986, fresh out of college, Gilman and her friend Claire yearned to do something daring and original that did not involve getting a job. Inspired by a place mat at the International House of Pancakes, they decided to embark on an ambitious trip around the globe, starting in the People's Republic of China. At that point, China had been open to independent travelers for roughly ten minutes.

 Armed only with the collected works of Nietzsche, an astrological love guide, and an arsenal of bravado, the two friends plunged into the dusty streets of Shanghai. Unsurprisingly, they quickly found themselves in over their heads. As they ventured off the map deep into Chinese territory, they were stripped of everything familiar and forced to confront their limitations amid culture shock and government surveillance. What began as a journey full of humor, eroticism, and enlightenment grew increasingly sinister-becoming a real-life international thriller that transformed them forever.- description from AmazonAt the beginning I wasn't sure if this was a book I wanted to continue.  I was just kinda irritated with these American travelers but as this adventure unfolded I became more engaged in the story.  I don't know how I would handled my friend/travel partner coming mentally undone.  Once again, I am reminded of the kindness of strangers and how I have been a recipient so many times.

Lastly, I read The Sweet Life in Paris by David Lebovitz.  This book made me hungry.  I found David's observations about Parisians interesting.