The research the author did shine, and I’ve learned several things about Latvia, the region, the way Latvian Jews viewed the Soviets, and a bit of history

I enjoyed reading about life in Jordan, the country always fascinated me with its culture and history. From legends about Petra, stories of King Hussain

Nine Tenth of the Law by Claudia Hagadus Long, while certainly dealing with serious issues, comes across as light hearted, with poignant and clever observations

The Cat Who Saved Books by Sōsuke Natsukawa is a short fable, a feel-good story which was a nice read during this time of year

The book centers around the Korean diaspora in Japan. They are considered second class citizens, but do not see themselves as victims

Decades after being liberated, the world treats the survivors differently. The perspective is not only that of the survivors themselves, but also of society

“Stalina” by Emily Rubin is the fictional story of a Russian immigrant to the United States. The story takes place after the fall of the Soviet Union.

An easy read and well written story. The narrative is clean and sometime even lyrical. The characters are multi-dimensional, vivid and fully realized

The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives examines the compound relationships of a polygamous family, the jealousies, infighting, self deception and conniving.

The central idea of video being spliced from public cameras, using one person as a central figure without their knowledge, an interesting concept