Reading Challenge: Reading About Different Cultures

One of the great things about books is that we can live other lives in the pages. There are so many things that we'll never experience. Very few grow up in the jungle with elephants and tigers. Just like not everyone can be an Olympic champion. And none of us will ever fly on a dragon. But if that last one ever becomes a possibility we're first in line.

But with so many books to read, and so many lives to read, we sometimes need some help finding new stories, to live different cultures. Thanks to all of you on Facebook, we have that help. We did a call-out recently for book recommendations to read about a culture that's not our own. There are many cultures and even more different people, so we're not naming or categorizing. We acknowledge there are many missing (feel free to add more suggestions in the comments). Here are the book recommendations.

The Kitchen God's Wife by Amy Tan

Amy Tan opens the door to Asian American life, with books describing mothers with high expectations, and daughters trying to fit in with their American friends. In The Kitchen God's Wife, we discover more women whose lives are more complex than they let on. Winnie and Helen have dreadful secrets from their past in China, and now 50 years later Helen wants to expose them. The book travels back with the women as Winnie tells her coming to America story.

A House for Mr. Biswas by V.S. Naipaul

The straddling of cultures continues with A House for Mr. Biswas. He was born in Trinidad in a poor home to Indian parents. He then traverses a hodgepodge of languages and experiences while searching for his home. He is pressured into marriage along the way. You're dropped into a complicated and long story first published in 1961. It's not an easy read, but neither is life in Trinidad.

The Secret Daughter of the Tsar by Jennifer Laam

Stories often show Russia as having a tragic glamor. The Russian imperial court is portrayed with beautiful gowns and ornate architecture. Jennifer Laam tells the stories of three women, some current day, some past, and a rumored missing heir to the Romanov family. It is a historical fiction and closely based on truth. But it's also a culture we'll never experience directly, so read and enjoy.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

This is one of the newer books nominated and closer to home for many. Starr Carter is 16 years old, and a popular and successful student in her predominantly white prep school. She's pulled over by police on the way home from a party, and her friend, the driver, was shot and killed by the officer. You see, Starr is black and lives in the ghetto part of town. While Starr is fictional, the situation is not, so we're just going to remember that studies show fiction readers to be more empathetic and leave it at that.

The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer

Imagine living in a desert village with constant drought, and no electricity or running water. That was William Kamkwamba's every day. Well, until he gathered some old science schoolbooks and scrap metal from the junkyard and built a windmill. The book starts with William's childhood, telling a story of struggle in harsh environments with a beautiful culture.

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

This award-winning story follows two half-sisters, separated by forces beyond their control: one sold into slavery, the other married to a British slaver. It then shows what happens to each woman through the next 300 years and two continents. It's a fascinating story, partially which shaped the United States today.

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

How much do you know about Biafra and the struggle to establish an independent republic in Nigeria in the 1960s? In Half of a Yellow Sun, we meet thirteen-year-old Ugwu, a professor's houseboy; Olanna, the same professor's mistress; and Richard, a shy young Englishman infatuated with Olanna's twin sister. They needed to band together to escape the Nigerian soldiers and save their lives. The novel is described as being about the end of colonialism, about ethnic allegiances, class and race—and how love complicates them all.

Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick

North Korea is in the news frequently of late. Barbara Demick is a journalist who interviewed six ordinary North Koreans. Nothing to Envy describes 15 years of their lives, with the death of Kim Il-sung, the rise to power of his son Kim Jong-il, and a devastating famine that killed one-fifth of the population. We get a first-hand view of life under the regime.

The Way to Rainy Mountain by N. Scott Momaday

The last book nominated is another one from North America. We learn the Kiowa Indian oral tradition stories encompassing all aspects of mythical tradition, historical accounts, and Momaday's personal experience of his culture. The book is a beautiful way to learn more about the tribe, and it's history, even if you can't be in Oklahoma to hear it in-person.

Read more by Bianca Smith