Recently read

I was taking a trip to Germany. While there, I was fortunate enough to receive the following book via bookcrossing.
Mögen deine Hände niemals schmerzen: Iran. Eine verbotene Liebe
by Bruni Prasske.
It was like living in two interesting worlds those two weeks. 1. I was visiting my family in Germany. 2. I read about Bruni's visits in Iran. She's a German woman who visited Iran and stayed with families there a couple of times.

Mostly on the plane, and the rest back at home, I read:

Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality
by Donald Miller.
I had heard some good things about the book, so I had planned to read it. It was not as interesting as I had expected. Some of the stories seemed more like ramblings to me. But I like the author's unconventional approach to Christianity.

And just the last few days, I read:
Curtain: Poirot's Last Case by Agatha Christie.

At the beginning of May, I had read The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for my online reading group.

I noticed a parallel between the last two books. In both cases, the story is told not by the famous detective himself, but by their friend and partner. In both cases, it would be awkward if the detective told the story, but left out some details, but for the friend it's very natural to do so, because they don't know those details. The story flows better and is much more interesting that way. In both cases, at the end, the detective offers a summary of the solution of the case that clears up any loose ends.

Now, if I've counted correctly, I've read 20 books for the 50 books in 2010 challenge. Whether or not I'll read 50 over the whole year, it's fun to keep track of the books I'm reading.