82 Books Like Forbidden Bread

I had just moved to Slovenia when I saw this book in the window of a bookshop in Ljubljana. I immediately bought it and devoured the prose, going cover to cover in just two days. So little has been written about Slovenia in English, and I was hungry for insight into the country I would call home for many years. 

The book is a mix; it's part guidebook, part insightful essays on aspects of Slovenian life, such as education, the film industry, and publishing. It is also part personal memoir, with anecdotes about the author's wedding day, for example. 

I was looking for an overview of the country, and Slovenology certainly provides that. If you're seeking a light, functional, and interesting read about Slovenia, this book is a really good place to start.

Though I'd seen this book advertised, it took a recommendation from a Slovenian to make me read it. And I'm glad I did. Blake, a Canadian author who's lived in Slovenia for many years, has done an excellent job documenting what makes Slovenians–Slovene. 

It's an informative and frequently funny look at the country and its people. I found myself chuckling at many of the behaviors Blake notes that I had personally experienced myself.

With its undercurrent of dry humor and its overview of the people, this is a must-have book for anyone interested in understanding Slovenians.

As a fan of both Slovenia and the mountains, this book was a real treat. Written by a Canadian author, it’s an excellent account of the rise of Slovenian climbers during a golden era in the 1970s and ‘80s, who quickly became some of the most respected alpinists in the world.

Although it focuses on stories of high peaks, north faces, first ascents, and avalanches, it's set in a background of life in Slovenia, largely during the Yugoslav era. I found this insight fascinating, and it helped me to understand more about the Slovenian love of high places and what draws so many Slovenes to their numerous summits. A very enjoyable read–well-researched and written. 

Slovenia might only have two million citizens, but they've punched above their weight. Author John Bills has superbly brought 100 of the most important to our attention. I loved reading about Slovenia's world-famous endurance swimmers, Everest skiers, scientists, musicians, poets, playwrights, and more.

Laced with dry humor, this book is a must-have for Slovenophiles who want to learn more about the Slovenian people who have gone well beyond their borders and made their mark on the greater world. 

All I can say is the pigeon scene. You will have to read the novel to find out what I am referencing, but oh my God, this novel is so good. Dominicans and Dominican-Americans in 1960s New York City? Fierce female protagonists? Writing that makes me stop and want to copy down sentences on a Post-It? Yes, please. I was cracking up, teary-eyed, and satisfied when reading this gem of a novel. I would read anything Angie Cruz writes.

Girl Through Glass offers readers entry into the magical and rarified world of an aspiring ballet dancer at the School of American Ballet and New York City Ballet.

For readers who love a gritty New York setting, glimpses behind the beautiful façade that ballet offers, and dark secrets, this novel has it all. Fans of My Dark Vanessa will also appreciate the #metoo elements of this story.

I have a lot of nostalgia for the ‘90s, so it was great to read a novel set in New York City in 1999. It was deeply evocative of both time and place–I could feel the sweltering heat of the non-air-conditioned flat where Kendra spends her time waiting for her boyfriend to come home.

It was fun exploring a city I know and love through her eyes on her summer Fridays.

This is a stimulating memoir about that peculiar love-hate battle between two strong-willed women who happen to be mother and daughter.

There were moments in this searingly honest biography where I felt complete fellow-feeling with the author, re-experiencing similar moments of drama in my own family.

This is a quiet first novel that deals directly with writers’ struggles to find their voices and places in the world.

The main character, an aspiring writer who works as a laborer to pay for classes and for entrée into the literary world, falls in love with a poet who has already won acclaim and doesn’t have to take menial jobs that distract her from her real passion.

Both characters struggle to find their voices and make their ways as writers in a country that doesn’t offer public funding to aspiring artists and writers. Both opt to live modestly in order to pursue their chosen career paths, and ultimately find that they must consider their own career above the other’s.

This book made me want to scream at the main characters (in the best way!) most of the way through. There’s a perfect meet-cute, the kind that had me wondering why no one has ever thought to approach me in that way.

Plus, as a recovering grad student, I totally relate to having a quarter-life crisis and trying to figure out if the career I thought I wanted was really where I wanted to go.

The dialogue is whip-fast (even when the main character, Angie, is decidedly NOT getting her s*** together), and the romance combined with the growth that Angie experiences over the course of the book makes the ultimate payoff totally worth it.