A Reader Returns to Reading

I stopped reading for about a year.
And if I had known at any other point in my life that I would ever be typing that sentence, I can't tell you how shocked I would have been. But, I have been reading furiously my entire life, and taking a break to write and make stories of my own was not a bad thing.

I have been traveling out of a small backpack for awhile now, so the space required for an actual book was not often available. Thus, I was limited to some ebooks on my phone, but that didn't exactly inspire me to settle in for a cozy reading night.

Now, I am going to be traveling more slowly, spending a year in the country that I am in now.
And I need ALL the book recommendations.

I love literary fiction, hidden gems, and books that make you think.

ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE (by Anthony Doerr) is universally praised and almost universally loved.

I know a lot of people, including my wife, who speak very highly of it...

May I ask which country? That would definitely influence my suggestions!

I will be living in China for a year, in Shenzhen.

I would recommend Jonathan Spence's nonfiction God's Chinese Son to get a bit of familiarity with Chinese history. It's quite easy to turn the page on this one and makes you curious about other aspects of Chinese history.

Then you might be interesting in three travelogues that could be a means of comparing your experiences.
Wanderlust by Elisabeth Eaves
The Roads to Sata by Alan Booth
The Inland Sea by Donald Richie

I will go check out your Youtube channel when I get home from work.

Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio by Sonling Pu.
The Anchor Book of Chinese Poetry

and if you get nostalgic Walt Whitman, of course!

All of those sound amazing! Thanks!

Bob Shacochis released a collection of travel essays last year that was well-received. Always a quirky, literate, dependable writer:

http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-ca-jc-kingdoms-shacochis-20160523-sna...

If you don't mind a classic .... The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham

>9 BookConcierge: I love the classics - and they're easy to find here, or online if printed copies are unavailable. Maugham is a favorite author of mine, though I enjoyed The Razor's Edge more than The Painted Veil.

>8 CliffBurns: I haven't read Shacochis, but he sounds like a perfect author to start looking into!

>4 jordantaylor:
I just happen to have made my second half of '17 mission to read contemporary Chinese writers. And "little gems" (good for backpackers) are my specialty. So, here are some suggestions. . .

Fiction
Dai Sijie Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
Bi Feiyu The Moon Opera
Yu Hua To Live

Nonfiction
Wenguang Huang The Little Red Guard: A Family Memoir

Enjoy your time in China. I envy you!