I have somehow found more time in my day for reading the last few months, which is fantastic. I have not done a good job of keeping up with my reading here, so I wanted to share a list of what I have read in the last six months.
One Hand Does Not Catch a Buffalo, a collection of short stories about PCVs who served in Africa
Zulu Inspired Beadwork: Weaving Techniques and Projects by Diane Fitzgerald
The Complete Short Stories of Edgar Allan Poe by Edgar Allan Poe
Infamous Lady: The True Story of Countess Erzsebet Bathory by Kimberly L. Craft
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon
Voyager by Diana Gabaldon
Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon
The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon
A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon
Lonely Planet’s Egypt guidebook
The Tutankhamun Deception by Gerald O’Farrell
Cairo Modern by Naguib Mahfouz
Midaq Alley by Naguib Mahfouz
Decoding Egyptian Hieroglyphics by Bridget McDermott
The Secret of the Great Pyramid: How One Man’s Obsession Led to the Solution of Ancient Egypt’s Greatest Mystery by Bob Brier and Jean-Pierre Houdin
Beyond the Sky and the Earth: A Journey into Bhutan by Jamie Zeppa
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Commentary on my reads
The PCV stories really show how the Peace Corps has changed since its inception. I can’t imagine fighting a lion during anyone’s service nowadays.
The beadwork book has been great for learning new styles of beading, and I have many projects from the book still on my list.
Erzsebet Bathory is a wholly fascinating person who may or may not have murdered a whole lot of women and girls.
Howe’s book about Deliverance Dane started my time travelling theme with travels between the Salem-area witch trials and modern times. I really enjoyed this one.
The Outlander books all blend together now, but the story has continued to be good enough and the characters still find plenty of trouble. It is hard to put down, even though each book nears 1,000 pages.
The book about King Tut was fascinating. I could neither confirm nor deny most of the commentary on my trip to Egypt. My guides hadn’t heard of most theories, but nothing in this book seemed implausible. On the other hand, I am 100 percent convinced that Houdin’s theory about pyramid construction is the right one, regardless of what my guides said.
Mahfouz’s books were disappointing.
Zeppa’s book about serving in Bhutan has so many comparisons to life as a PCV. Read it to understand a bit of what our life is like.
And The Alchemist. I easily understand why it is a classic. It was a great read.
What am I currently reading?
The seventh Outlander book, which introduces more characters into the first-person narrative style and helps with preventing the story from dragging.
travelin' the globe 
So glad you are posting about books you have read. I have begun to do so on my Facebook page. I am unfamiliar with most of the ones you mentioned — may need to add a few to my “to be read list.” Of the two I have read, we seem to have different opinions. I found The Alchemist to be shallow, I refer to it as “philosophy light.” I really enjoy Mahfouz. Have read a few and own a few more that are on my shelf.
It looks like you did a good job preparing for your trip to Egypt. I enjoyed the photos.
I’ve been reading your reviews on Facebook; there’s been a few I’ve added to my list. I hope to read a couple more Mahfouz books even with my lackluster feelings about the ones I read. I definitely had fun preparing for Egypt. The hieroglyphics book was fascinating.