Sunday Salon: Recent Acquisitions and a Completed Challenge

I'm a couple of weeks late posting this wrap-up, but the Middle East Reading Challenge hosted at Helen's Book Blog ended July 31. The challenge was to read one book set in the Middle East. I read three. I hoped to do better, but I'm still happy that I read that many. They were:

1. Shadow of the Swords by Kamran Pasha
2. Rooftops of Tehran by Mahbod Seraji
3. Embroideries by Marjane Satrapi

Last weekend I went on a little binge at Barnes & Noble. I had a pretty hefty gift card in hand and I just finally had to spend it. I got

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford

I was looking primarily for these two, so imagine my excitement when they were both on the "Buy 2 Get 1 Free" table! Score! After much deliberation, I chose

South of Broad by Pat Conroy as my free book.

I also got

Heartless by Gail Carriger because I own the other three in the series.

While I was there, this caught my eye:

How to Read Literature Like a Professor: A Lively and Entertaining Guide to Reading Between the Lines by Thomas C. Foster

I'm a little worried about it, but the "lively and entertaining" part gives me hope. I'm doing much better with non-fiction, but mostly I read narrative non-fiction, not "how-to's." We'll see.

So, what do you think? Have you read any of these?

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