I know what you are thinking, where do I find the time to read with four small kids around? The answer? While breastfeeding. My mother in law bought me a Nook reader and it stays right next to my boppy. You’d be surprised how many minutes you breast feed twins during the day, each time I read a few pages.

My favorite genre these days is foreignness. If it’s true foreignness it’s even better. Perhaps it’s because travel has always been a thrill for me. I love nothing more than to submerse myself into another culture completely.

With four kids, that’s not happening anytime soon. If you are in the same boat as me, then please take your pick from the list below. You too can take a vicarious travel around the world. Some I read years ago, some just recently.

1. Shantaram. An epic novel set in the underworld of contemporary Bombay. An escaped convict flees a maximum security prison in Australia and starts life anew. (Thanks for the suggestion Emma.)

2. The Power of One. A fictional account of a boy named Peekay who grows up in 1939, during apartheid in South Africa. A motivating and feel good piece of work. (Suggestion from Rob Hart, my South African buddy)

3. Cutting for Stone. Twin brothers born of a secret union between an Indian nun and a  British surgeon. The twins grow up with Ethiopia on the brink of revolution as a backdrop. (Great one, Lottie)

4. River Town. Peter Hessler, a Peace Corps volunteer, teaches English in this remote town of Fuling. Loved the way he saw differences in the two cultures. (Jane Lee, thank you.)

5. Life and Death in Shanghai. A haunting, inspirational account of Nien Cheng’s six-and-a-half years as a political prisoner during Communist China’s Cultural Revolution. (Jennie Lui! This one if from you!)

Anyway, I’m currently looking for more good reads. Doesn’t have to be foreign. Just enthralling. A few minutes ago I finished Gone Girl, another book recommended to me by my friend Lottie. A psychological thriller that was totally addicting. I ate it like it was a batch of fresh baked brownies, it took me less than a week to complete. Suggestions anyone?