I reviewed this novel in the Huffington Post: Jules Verne’s Kip Brothers Translated into English after 100. The reason I am partial to it was that it was translated by my own father, Stanford Leonard Luce, before his death.
 The Mighty Orinoco Jules Verne Wesleyan, 2003 9780819565112 |
 Funny Boy Shyam Selvadurai Harvest Books, 1997 9780156005005 |
 Why the Cocks Fight Michele Wucker Hill & Wang, 1999 9780809097135 |
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 Teach Us To Outgrow Our Madness Kenzaburo Oe Marion Boyers, 1977 9780802151858 |
The Jack Tales Richard Chase Houghton, 1993 9780395669518 |
Walden Henry David Thoreau State Street, 2000 9780681995635 |
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 I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Maya Angelou Bantam, 1997 9780553380019 |
House of Glass Pramoedya Toer Penguin, 1992 9780140134216 |
 The Man Who Turned Into a Stick Abe Kobo University of Tokyo, 1975 9780860081470 |
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 El Coronel No Tiene Quien Le Escriba Gabriel Garcia Marquez Diana, S.A., 1997 9789681317300 |
Catfish and Mandala Andrew X. Pham Farrar Straus, 1999 9780374119744 |
The Prophet Kahlil Gibran One World, 2002 9781851681785 |
I began my library collection when I was four and have books that date back to 1962. Two of the books came to me because of my father. He translated the Verne book, along with two others.
He also read to me the incredible Jack Tales as a child. I would wait with anticipation as he came into my room at night to read these Appalachian tales — in character — with much enthusiasm.
I, in turn, read the Jack Tales to my own son, Mathew. The book sits on his bedside table to this day.
As a Japanese studies major in college, I came across the two Japanese works of contemporary fiction at Waseda University in Tokyo.
El Coronel No Tiene Quien Le Escriba was presented to me when I studied at a university in Bogotá, Colombia – in Spanish.
Books on Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia came from my involvement with orphans in those countries.
I am happiest when I am spending time with my family but relaxing with my favorite books is a close second!
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