Little did I know that when I started this Z-A reading adventure that I would find a gem so quickly. But with book number three I found a story so beautiful that it took my breath away and made me want to move to Asia.

Sky Burial: An Epic Love Story of Tibet by Xinran

The X section at the library offered two selections. One was set in World War II torn Europe and the other set in war torn mid century Tibet. The former is a pretty familiar setting to me, so I chose the latter. I am so glad that I did.

The title claims that the book is a love story. It is so much more than that. Based on a story told to the author it recounts the life of a Chinese woman searching Tibet for her missing husband. She becomes enveloped in the life and culture of the Tibetan people while searching and learns more about herself than about her lost husband.

The author’s descriptions of Tibet are breath-taking. More than once I was forced to stop and remember the years that this story was taking place in. One character saw an electric light for the first time in the 1980’s! That’s after I was born!

Sky Burial was a short, but satisfying read. Part of me wishes that it was longer so that I could experience more of the Tibetan culture. On the other hand, the tale was told so beautifully that stretching it out would only be watering it down.

The Poet by Yi Mun-yol

The Poet is an interesting read from out of Korea. Yi tells the story of Korean poet Kim Pyong-yon; his poems and his life while wandering around Korea. Yi offers insight as to how changes in Kim’s life affected his poetry style over time. He also touches on the universal themes; love, family, and prejudices. This is a novel, based on fact and national legends of Korea’s homegrown poet.

I found this book intriguing, but difficult to read. Perhaps it was just an issue of the flow getting lost in translation. Perhaps if I had read the poems of Kim Pyong-yon previously or had heard the legends of his life I would have had an easier time reading Yi’s novel.

I did appreciate the descriptions of Korea, the sense of Korean culture and the history that Yi portrays in his book. Despite the difficulties I had while reading, I am always interested in discovering new and different cultures.

Songbird: A Novel By Walter Zacharius

I had a tough time finding a book in the Z section. It seemed like all the titles were murder mysteries or had “death” or “blood” in the titles. What I found didn’t have too different a theme from all that: the Holocaust.

Songbird is the fictional story of a young Jewish girl caught in Poland as the Nazis invaded. Her family is put on a train towards Auschwitz but she escapes thanks to her father’s quick thinking and firm shove out the door.

The story is not the same as many of the death camp survivors stories you may have heard. The heroine, Mia, is not simply content to hide away and hope that things work out in the end; she takes matters into her own hands. Mia joins a teenage resistance army and starts down a long dangerous road toward information about her abducted family.

According to the book jacket, Zacharius is a World War II vetran, which accounts for the, assumedly, accurate descriptions of army life and everyday life in Europe during the war. I learned this fact after finishing the book and had thought while reading that the setting felt incredibly realistic.

This was a very quick read and the characters were very likeable. I wonder how true to life the plot is, however. None-the-less the story was exciting and the Zacharius drove the plot straight through to the end.

I am constantly on the lookout for books to read. Sometimes I read whatever the ‘hot’ new book is at the time. More often than not, however, those books are already checked out of the library when I go looking for them. How then to find something to read? I’ve gotten recommendations from friends and family; I’ve gotten recommendations from strangers; I’ve judged books by their covers; and I’ve randomly pulled books from the shelves.

This time I’m going to be a bit more systematic. I’ve decided to read books alphabetically based on the author’s last name. I booked it up towards the “A” section at the Beverly Library. Upon finding it roped off (due to repairs?) I decided that fate wanted me to start at “Z”.

Hopefully this little project will expose me to new authors, genres and stories. I’ve got 26 chances to find something new to love.

Stay tuned for the next installment of Z-A. Same Bat time, same Bat channel.