I’m a bit late but no matter there’s always time to celebrate Women in Translation month! I mainly read books written by women and I try to read books in translation throughout the year but this year I haven’t read very many books in translation so now is a good time to catch up.

If you are looking for additional suggestions on what to read, you can check out this article for some audiobook suggestions. The CLMP also has a recommended reading list. Finally, the Women’s Prize for Fiction also has a list of 10 Books to Discover now.

In the past couple of years I’ve taken advantage of Open Letter books 40% sale of books by women in translation and books translated by women. There’s a lot to choose from and I highly recommend checking them out.

I hope with all of these links will give help you decide on a new book (or two or three!) to add to your reading list.

I think last year or the year before, I devoted all of August to only books in translation with the exception of my mystery book group pick. This year I have a bit of a reading mix going on but there are two books I’ve selected for WIT.

The first is The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp by Leonie Swann; translated from the German by Amy Bojang. This mystery features a cast of senior citizens living at a retirement home in the English countryside and along the way they will try to uncover a murder mystery. I recently received this ARC so I’m excited to read it.

My other choice (which I just finished!) is The Perfect Nanny by Leila Slimani; translated from the French by Sam Taylor. Myriam and Paul decide to hire a nanny to help with their two small children while they devote more time to their burgeoning careers but there are cracks in the employer/employee relationship that start to become more evident as the couple depends more and more on the nanny. I found it hard to put this one down.

I hope I’ll be able to add another title or two for WIT. Let me know if you are reading any books for Women in Translation or if you have any books to recommend that would be perfect reads for this month.

A great vacation for me also involves finding a good bookstore and Santa Fe/Taos did not disappoint. Before we left on vacation, I already had a couple of bookstores in mind I wanted to check out but I love it when you randomly come across a bookstore. It’s a great surprise, isn’t it?

The first bookstore I visited in Santa Fe was The Ark. I got there a bit before they opened but that meant I could sit in their garden, relax and take in the peaceful sounds of the fountain. This is your stop for all things metaphysical but even if you aren’t into this you can find so many lovely items in this store. They had one wall devoted to crystals and stones, several jewelry displays and even kitchen wares and other gift items. I found some pretty greeting cards that I couldn’t resist.

Another great find was Garcia Street Books. This small space had a lot to choose from and I loved that they had a section specifically for books from New Mexico authors. The staff was very welcoming and as I was browsing I kept hearing customers come in and chatting with the staff. It sounded like they were all regulars and I loved the community feel. I decided to get a copy of Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather.

A fun bookstore I found just by walking by was The Good Stuff. They had vinyl records, used books, fun t-shirts and even a small coffee bar. Unfortunately, it was a bit late in the day and I decided not to have any coffee but really enjoyed browsing and adding titles to my TBR list.

I made a very quick stop in Collected Works which is a longstanding indie bookstore in the heart of Santa Fe. The only problem was that I don’t know if the AC was out or maybe there were too many customers, so it was uncomfortably warm and I really couldn’t stay there too long. If I remember correctly, I did grab a free copy of the Indie Next newsletter because of course I need more books to add to my wishlist!

For those of you who enjoy photography, a must stop has to be Photo-Eye bookstore & gallery. Not only do they have original works on display and host special events, but they specialize in photography books and carried many first and signed editions. My husband loves photography so this was heaven for him. And, I just have to add that next door to this fabulous bookstore is Kakawa Chocolate House. I would have loved to sip one of their specialty chocolate drinks but being that it was so hot, I opted for a delicious ice cream cup instead.

We’re not done with bookstores. One more bookstore that I visited was Op.Cit Books both in their Santa Fe and Taos location. Each location was quite different, with the Taos store having a beautiful seating area upstairs and the Santa Fe store having towers of books all over which made me feel like I was in a maze looking for treasures. It was a delight to visit both. Each carried new and used books and covered a great variety of genres. I found several mysteries set in New Mexico that I want to read and did buy Under the Color of Law by Michael McGarrity which is a mystery series set in Santa Fe.

Oh and last but not least, I did find a bookmark for my collection but found that at the O’Keeffe Museum which shows an image of the Bear Lake painting.

There were several other bookstores I didn’t make it to both in Santa Fe and Taos but that just means another reason to go back right? Let me know if you’ve found a favorite bookstore on your travels. Hope you have a wonderful weekend and more book talk soon.