Even though this doesn’t have anything to do with my intercultural relationship, one of my very favorite pass times is reading. Since my blog will hopefully be quite personal, I thought it would be appropriate to share with you some of my favorite books. If any of you are looking for something to read, feel free to check one of these out or leave suggestions (I am always looking for something else to read!)
No particular order for now… other than by geographic location and fiction/nonfiction-
“In the Time of the Butterflies”
FICTION
Still Alice by Lisa Genova (USA)
To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee (USA)
Room by Emma Donoghue (USA/Ireland)
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese (Ethiopia/USA)
Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn (USA)
What is the What by Dave Eggers (USA/Sudan)
Zeitoun by Dave Eggers (USA-New Orleans/Syria)
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri (USA/India)
Beloved by Toni Morrison (USA)
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (Canada)
Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson (USA)
Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo (USA)
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury (USA)
Roots by Alex Haley (Gambia/USA)
Sky Burial: An Epic Love Story of Tibet by Xinran Xinran (China)
The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai (India)
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry (India)
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden (USA/Japan)
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien (USA/Vietnam)
Sold by Patricia McCormick (USA/Nepal/India)
Bel Canto by Ann Pachett (Fictional South American country/Peru)
In the Time of the Butterfliesb by Julia Alverez (USA/Dominican Republic)
Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriela Garcia Marquez (Colombia)
I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem by Maryse Conde (Guadeloupe/Barbados-USA)
Segu by Maryse Conde (Guadeloupe/Mali)
The Farming of Bones by Edwidge Danticat (USA/Haiti-Dominican Republic)
The Dew Breaker by Edwidge Danticat (USA/Haiti)
God’s Bits of Woodby Sembene Ousmane (Senegal)
The Poor Christ of Bomba by Mongo Beti (Cameroon)
Death and the Kings Horseman by Wole Soyinka (Nigeria)
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe (Nigeria)
Anthills on the Savannah by Chinua Achebe (Nigeria)
Waiting for an Angel by Helon Habila (Nigeria)
Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Nigeria)
The Last Harmattan of Alusine Dunbar by Syl Cheney-Coker (Sierra Leone)
Harvest of Thorns by Shimmer Chinodya (Zimbabwe)
The Palm Wine Drinkard by Amos Tutuala (Nigeria)
Zenzele: A Letter for my Daughter by Nozipo Maraire (Zimbabwe)
Woman at Point Zero by Nawal El Saadawai (Egypt)
So Long a Letter by Mariama Ba (Senegal)
The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak (Turkey)
Blindness by Jose Saramago (Portugal)
Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague by Geraldine Brooks (Australia/England)
NONFICTION
China in Ten Words by Yu Hua (China)
Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang
First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers by Loung Ung
When Broken Glass Floats by Chanrithy Him (Cambodia)
Arrow of the Blue-Skinned God: Retracing the Ramayana Through India by Jonah Blank (USA/India)
Holy Cow: An Indian Adventure by Sarah Macdonald (Australia/India)
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer (USA/Nepal)
Five Past Midnight in Bhopal by Dominique LaPierre and Javier Moro (France/India)
City of Joy by Dominique LaPierre (France/India)
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (USA)
Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer (USA)
Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer (USA)
Where Men Win Honor: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman by Jon Krakauer (USA/ Afghanistan)
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (USA)
Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal by Eric Scholsser (USA)
I’m a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America After 20 Years Away by Bill Bryson (USA)
Columbine by Dave Cullen (USA)
The Culture of Fear by Barry Glasner (USA)
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls (USA)
Brother, I am Dyingby Edwidge Danticat (USA/Haiti)
Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer (USA)
Guests of the Ayatollah by Mark Bowden (USA/Iran)
We Wish to Inform You that Tomorrow We Will Be Killed With Our Families: Stories from Rwanda by Philip Gourevitch (USA/Rwanda)
When a Crocodile Eats the Sun: A Memoir of Africa by Peter Godwin (USA/Zimbabwe)
Do They Hear You When You Cry? by Fauziua Kassindja (USA/Togo)
Village of Waiting by George Packer (Togo)
Black Hawk Down by Mark Bowden (Somalia)
The Country Under My Skin: A Memoir of Love and War by Gioconda Belli (Nicaragua)
The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann (USA/Brazil, Bolivia)
Musings from an American-Nepali Household 
Umm…you know what belongs under this section a book written by you.
It doesn’t have to be about you and P although I’m sure he would be in. Gosh you can write about your travels. You have a way with words and as it is you have all those e-mails that you wrote when you were aboard (thats got to be a starting point.) I mean that story about when you were in Kenya and cult blog post is priceless.
Plus, I’m sure that if someone can write about their experience in India which wasn’t very interesting (compared to you) and success, so can you really.
I would love to write a book but I’m just not talented like that. Finish your masters then seriously start it.
Who knows, maybe it would pay off the soon to be wedding debt!
I haven’t read them yet…they’re actually wrapped under my tree waiting for my husband to open them up. I ordered two books by Samrat Upadhyay, a Nepali writer…Arresting God in Kathmandu and The Royal Ghosts. Have you read either one?
On a fun note…I also found a Nepali Barbie outfit at Amazon. You know I HAD to order that for my neice!
I have Arresting God in Kathmandu on my bookshelf, I started it a while back, but was distracted by something and haven’t finished it yet. You’ll have to let me know what your husband thinks!
That is hilarious… I had to Google it when I read there was a Nepali Barbie outfit on Amazon… is this the one? I’ll have to keep this in mind for future reference! ;)
That’s it…and my husband ordered one for his neice who lives in England as soon as I ordered one for my neice! There were several different countries with Barbie outfits…but we were both surprised there was one for such a small place like Nepal!
Hello Americanepali,
I found your site while trying desperately to find any Nepalis in Maine. I don’t know if you are in Maine, but , if you are, I would love to meet you.
I would really like to learn Nepali language but there’s practically nothing out there that is helpful in this. I have two very good friends through Astronomers Without Borders who are Nepali students of astrophysics. I am a retired teacher and NASA Solar System Ambassador for Maine.
Also, I saw that you had a section on favorite books and I would like to say that I have read everything that Samrat Upadhyay has out, including his latest, Buddha’s Orphans. I couldn’t put any of them down. I think he is the best write I have read in a very long time. I certainly recommend them very highly. It’s like being in Nepal to read them.
If you are living in Maine, I would dearly love to meet you. My email address is above. Thank you and I love your site.
Joan Chamberlin
Parsonsfield, Maine
I just read a good book…The Camel Bookmobile by Masha Hamilton. I thought parts of it were rather simplistic, but it brings up some interesting questions about Western presence in other cultures. Have you read it?
I haven’t read that one… I’ll have to check it out!
Hi i have been working and living in Maine and from Nepal. Trying to find some neplese friend. Are any of you from Nepal.
Hi girl! I was randomly googling when i stumbled upon your blog. “musings from an american-nepali household”.. and ever since i think i’ve read all your posts. I can connect totally.. coz my boyfriend is sikkimese (India) but they obviously share the same culture, traditions, language and food as the Nepalese. Its been 3 years now and I’ve learnt the language, food and lots of things. But it fascinates me to find someone who shares the same experience… since your the first one I’ve come across.
P.s- I tried facebooking you too. Lol. Thought it would be nice to have a conversation. Cheers.x