Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively

In this book, Claudia, an old woman and the writer of a number of popular histories, sets out to write a history of the world, which quickly changes into the history of her world. As she peels the layers of her life back, Claudia gradually exposes her family relationships--which are all shaped by the hole left after the death of her lover during World War II in Egypt. Winner of the 1987 Booker Prize.

The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss

This book is much more than the biography of General Alex Dumas (today best known as the father of Alexandre Dumas, author of The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers, among many other novels). It provides a lot of context for General Dumas's life and times--including the French colony of St. Domingue, the French Revolution, and the rise of Napoleon. The book makes two arguments: that General Alex Dumas achieved remarkable success, especially given the prejudices and hardships he had to overcome--and so should be more widely remembered; and that Alexandre Dumas, the novelist, based several of his literary works, including The Count of Monte Cristo, on his father's life. I found both claims well substantiated in the biography. I enjoyed the tone, which not only detailed the general's life and helped readers with the history surrounding that time and place, but also gave a personal account of researching the biography and teasing out the relevant details (including an incident of sanctioned safe breaking!). The narrator of the audiobook had a clear and enjoyable voice. All in all, a great book to listen to.

The Serpent's Shadow by Rick Riordan

This book did a great job of wrapping up the Kane Chronicles. I enjoyed watching the Kanes negotiate maintaining their own personality and individuality in the face of incredibly powerful gods whose help they needed to defeat the forces of Chaos. This trilogy is entertaining and similar in conception and execution to the Percy Jackson books (with a different set of gods, of course). It's a fun introduction to Egyptian mythology, and a compelling story.

Burial at Sea by Charles Finch

This book gives MP Charles Lenox, headed to Egypt on a mission with diplomatic and spy components, a closed-off murder mystery--since the victim is killed on a ship, his killer must be one of the officers or the crew. I found the pacing of this story a little off: the killer was discovered a little too early, so the end of the mystery did not coincide with the end of the book. Furthermore, there were way too many sappy, sentimental asides about how much Lenox loved and missed his wife while on his voyage. Otherwise not a bad read. I really enjoyed seeing the Victorian navy in action.

The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan

I really enjoyed this book. Even though I am not as familiar with Egyptian mythology as Greek or Roman, the story was easy to follow (and to remember after a year since the last release). Bas, the dwarf god, and the journey through the twelve houses was particularly compelling. I thought the story worked well, and I can't wait to see what happens as far as the final showdown between Chaos and Ma'at next year.

Cleopatra: A Life by Stacey Schiff

I enjoyed the audio version of this book. While there's not as much fact as one might be able to find for a more recent figure (there's only one word that may be written in Cleopatra's hand, and no surviving contemporary portraits or statues, besides her coins), this book does a nice job of laying out the possibilities for Cleopatra's life, as well as giving a crash course in the relevant Roman politics and history, so that it all makes sense. I was particularly intrigued by the arguments for Cleopatra's intelligence (apparently she was a gifted linguist); most of her early chroniclers were portraying someone who fit into their historical picture as a problem, and history is, after all, mostly written by the winners.

C by Tom McCarthy

This book is a strange and amazing tour-de-force. It's the story of Serge Carrefax, who is born in his caul in 1898, grows up in a school for deaf children (although he's not deaf himself), fights in World War I, and then goes to Egypt to work on an imperial telegraph project. The story is not really driven by plot, and Serge is not a well-rounded character. But it's intensely playful, has a sort of dark humor, and I found the book a quite enjoyable read.

Pyramids by Terry Pratchett

This book is a really entertaining entry in the Discworld series. Although there's a section set in Ankh-Morph, most of the book is set in a kingdom that seems suspiciously like Ancient Egypt, positioned, for good measure, between Greece and Troy. The heir apparent, Teppic, has been in Ankh-Morph learning to be an assassin, but comes home when he learns of his father's death. There he must confront an insane (and functionally immortal) high priest who orders the construction of a pyramid that will alter the fabric of space and time. With the help of the dead pharaohs, a recalcitrant camel, and his (unbeknownst to him) half-sister Ptraci, Teppic must under the mad priest's work before it's too late. This book is funny and smart, and a great addition to the series.

The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

I really enjoyed this book. Like the Percy Jackson books, this book assumes that the ancient Egyptians had insights into the nature of the world that modern people have forgotten at their peril. Sadie and Carter Kane, children of not one, but two royal bloodlines take on the forces of chaos as they try to work with gods and human magicians to restore order to the world. You can tell this book is the first in a series, as it leaves a lot of unfinished business, and it took a while for me to get into it, but I ended up really enjoying it. I thought the information about Egyptian mythology was fascinating, and I loved the adventures traveling around the world. I look forward to the next book in this series.

The Egyptologist by Arthur Phillips

This book, which has the best megalomaniac since Charles Kinbote, fascinating Egyptian history, not one but two unreliable narrators, and a frantic treasure hunt, raises questions of history, creativity, and interpretation. I love that the story that I took from the novel at its end is not related clearly anywhere, but that I am able to infer it from the precise ways that each of the main narrators (Ralph Trilipush and Harold Ferrell) are unreliable. This story shows an intense desire to re-create and re-make in one's own image, a serious disregard for the truth, and a lot of humor (if gruesome humor) throughout. I look forward to re-reading this book. The setting (nearby Howard Carter's discovery of King Tutankhamen) is icing on the cake.

The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje

This novel, a gentle portrait of the brief interactions between four people who come together in an abandoned Italian villa during the final days of World War Two, gives an account of the tentative and fragile process of healing. Although not much happens, much is revealed in this beautiful book. Booker award winner (shared), 1992.

Akhnaton by Agatha Christie

This play brings up big questions of both religion and imperialism. In telling the story of the rise and fall of an Egyptian king who embraced monotheism and humane concepts such as ending slavery, war, and oppression, Christie draws parallels between that king's religion and the Christian faith, and between the British and Egyptian empires. She also investigates the relationship between art, culture, and war, and the relationship between a king, his country, and the people.