Aleksa's Book Review: Guide to Customs & Culture, Armenia

Although it looks like a formulaic country-by-country book (and it is), I found this read very enjoyable and informative as far as visiting Armenia goes. The chapters on business etiquette, Yerevan's culture as opposed to the provincial areas, and many other segments are entertaining, light, and insightful.

Armenia in 2009 is depicted in the book, and if the trajectory of development has been anything close to positive since then, it seems like a great time to visit the country before it's ruined by European Erasmus students and similar folk.

I hadn't expected Russian to feature as a spoken language as much as the book outlines - more spoken in the urban centers than anywhere else. The segments on family, culture and the household hit awfully close to home and I'm very expectant to see how this journey of mine will look like.

The book is capable, but at no moment brilliant. It's a solid read that will give you a lot of insight on a small country, but it's mostly openly available information that's merely poured into a palatable package. This is not to detract from the book, which served me greatly.
7/10