Jun. 25th, 2013

goodreads: (Peanut: Book geek)
Title: At Least You're in Tuscany
Author: Jennifer Criswell
Genre: Memoir
Rating: 4/5
# pages: 220
Date read: June 2013

Jennifer's experience works as a good reminder that the life of an expat isn't always an easy one. And that that which is good comes at a price.

Ever since she first traveled to Tuscany, Jennifer felt herself drawn to the people and the place. She knew she had found her "soul country" and was prepared to give up her safe life as a US lawyer to move to Tuscany and become a writer.

So far this sounds a lot like "Under the Tuscan Sun", right? But apart from the initial premise, the two books have little else in common. Where "Under the Tuscan Sun" focuses primarily on the Tuscan country side and Italian food, the main focus of "At Least You're In Tuscany" is definitely the more immediate experiences and difficulties related to being an expat -- finding a job, making friends, becoming familiar with the language, being comfortable in a new setting. No matter how much you love visiting a place, moving there 'for good' is always a culture shock, and Jennifer manages to describe this culture shock in a very relateable fashion, without succumbing to self-pity.

A fascinating book that made me realize that as much as I'd love to visit Tuscany, I don't think I could ever move there... but then I already have found my soul country elsewhere :)
goodreads: (Peanut: Book geek)
Title: Little Fuzzy
Author: H. Beam Piper
Genre: Sci-Fi
Rating: 4.5/5
# pages: Audiobook ~5.5hrs, 252 pages
Date read: June 2013, June 2014

The planet Zarathustra is listed as uninhabited -- which means that the entire planet can be owned by a corporation. That owner is the rich and happy Zarathustra Company -- rich and happy, that is, until a prospector named Jack Holloway comes across undocumented species -- a tiny, golden-furred little biped that he dubs "Little Fuzzy." Not only are the Little Fuzzies cute, they're bright too -- in fact, they may be sapient as people are... and that means everything the Zarathustra company owns on this world is at stake...

Little Fuzzy was recommended to me by an online friend after I asked for suggestions of "comfort books". I'd never even heard of it before, but as I managed to find it for free on both Amazon and Librivox that same day, I decided it was a sign and that I had to read it.

It's a quick read - not even 6 hours - and utterly adorable. The plot is nothing out of the ordinary, but I loved the characters, and it made for very enjoyable reading indeed.

Reread in 2017: Just as good the second time around :) But it did have a rather surprisingly graphic depiction of violence later on in the book, which made me happy that I reread it myself before recommending it to my niece. Even as an adult it made me shudder.

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