Tag: recommendations

books, reading

Twice a Quinceañera by Yamile Saied Méndez

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One month before her wedding, Nadia Palacio decides to stand up to her fiancé, whom she had been with for over 10 years, five of them engaged, and call off the wedding. With her family coming to Utah from all over the world, and the wedding date scheduled for the day before she turns 30, she decides to celebrate herself. She has always been an achiever, always working to please her family, being the first to graduate college and the first to be a lawyer. How had she let everyone, especially Brandon Lewis, take away her belief in herself?

So why not use the wedding venue to celebrate herself? She never had a Quinceanera – why not a double one? The money is non-refundable anyway. But when she goes to discuss this change with the venue, she finds herself face to face with her passionate fling in college – known only to her as Rocket.

Marco, who had returned home from wandering the world over the last ten years, had been haunted by the memory of that incredible time with Nani. He fled college to keep her from being held back by him – his family always said he broke everything he touched. And now, he is face to face with her – and finally knows her real name!

Through alternating points of view of the two main characters we learn how to accept yourself for who you are, unapologetically, and to forgive yourself for making mistakes. And if you are open to being honest with who you are to yourself, you will be more able to be open to sharing that with someone else.

books, reading

The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams

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Prologue: Aiden goes to his favorite place, the public library, to find solace. He picks up his favorite book, Black Water Rising by Attica Lock, and settles in. Someone sits down near him with books, and leaves a note with a list of books, in case you need them.  He ignores it and continues with his own mystery book.

Flash forward and we meet Aleisha, a teenager working at the library. She is bored with the job and doesn’t like it. Mukesh, a widower, comes to the library to return a book his late wife had checked out, The Time Traveler’s Wife, that her read and asks for help on finding another book. Aleisha, being a teenager, was rude. After this happens, her brother, Aiden, tells her she could do better. When she finds a list of books, in case you need them, she begins to take the list seriously, and read each. She then shares this list with Mukesh, one by one.

As each book is read by these people, you see how they are entangled in their own lives, and how they take the lessons from the books to help them through their days. They try to be brave like Atticus in To Kill a Mockingbird, try to learn from not being afraid of Mrs DeWinter in Rebecca, and more. Mukesh finds connections with Aleisha, and others in the world he re-enters after his wife’s death. And he uses these books to help bridge a relationship with his granddaughter, Priya.  There are other copies of the list found, and people who use these to connect to themselves and to others. But who wrote the list?  I will not spoil this for you. 

This story lays out all I hold dear for books. They take you to different worlds, teach you how others live, and provide you with tools to build a better reality based upon what you have learned. They help you build relationships with other who have shared this experience. Books open worlds for everyone. This is a story of how hard life can be and how books can help you through difficult times. I must admit, I will be re-examining these titles again (I have read most of them already but not all).

To Kill A Mockingbird

Rebecca

The Kite Runner

Life of Pi

Pride & Prejudice

Little Women

Beloved

A Suitable Boy

in case you need them

books, read around the world, reading

His Only Wife by Peace Adzo Medie

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Meet Afi Tekple of Ghana. She is about to married Elikem Ganyo – who will not be at the wedding because of a business trip. We meet Afi’s greedy Uncle Pious, her best friend Mawusi, her mother, and her mother-in-law “Aunty”. At the wedding ceremony Eli’s brother Richard stands in for him.

And we hear the story of when Afi’s father died his brother Pious did not take in Afi and her mother, but Aunty took her in and gave her a place to live and work. How generous and kind Aunty is, and how much Afi and her mother owe her. As the story continues, we learn that Afi has ambitions to be a designer – she is already a seamstress. She agrees to marry Eli, who is with an unsuitable woman according to his family that does not take care of their sickly daughter, because of what is owed to Aunty. But Afi wants the fairytale – to have him fall in love with her, to win his heart.

After the wedding Afi and her mother are sent to Accra, where Richard and Eli live. She is given a flat with modern conveniences she is not accustomed to. Yet Eli still doesn’t come. Afi decides she would like to go to fashion school to help her achieve her own goals. Eli, who she speaks to daily on the phone, supports her both financially and emotionally.  Aunty’s daughter, Eli’s sister, Yaya comes to take Afi to look at schools. As time passes it is apparent to Afi that everyone around her is reporting her actions and interactions with Eli and others back to Aunty, and she is beginning to feel uncomfortable with this – no one seems to be looking out for only her, but to protect what they had been given by Aunty’s “generosity”.

As Afi makes her own friends and her confidence grows in her fashion abilities, she is able to connect with Eli and their marriage becomes closer to what she wants, but the “other woman” remains in the picture. When Afi decides it is time to demand what she wants, regardless of anyone else’s desires, that she begins to grow for herself. As Afi defies Eli’s family, and her own family, she begins to make strides toward building her own dreams.

As Afi continues to grow up and be successful, she continues to be true to herself and her needs and desires. Ultimately this is a story of knowing who you are, what you will accept, and not compromising your values to get part of it.

This was a fun book to read. I look forward to reading more from this author.

book-review, books, literature, reading

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

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Barbara Kingsolver is an author that has proven again and again that she understands the way the world works, with all its ugliness and beauty. With this novel, she yet again proves her superior abilities in story telling. A retelling of Dicken’s David Copperfield in the early 2000s in rural Appalachia, this novel shines its light on the same institutionalized poverty that Dicken’s railed against in Victorian times.

This story introduces you to Damon, known as Demon Copperhead because of his bright red hair. Demon was born to an addicted teen mother that had witnessed the death of his father 3 months before he was born in a trailer in the mountains of Virginia. With every turn Demon faces more odds against him – an addicted mom, an abusive step-father, a dead father, and more with each month. As you follow the path that Demon follows, you see obstacles thrown in his way each time he tries to make things better. Hanging over everyone he knows in Lee County VA is the ever-present need for a fix to take away pain – physical and emotional. We find that, in truth and in fiction, this is because drug companies have identified the largest population on medi=care that requests pain medications to sell aggressively and deceptively to. The people that have already been harmed by the mining industry are then preyed upon by drug companies. While the drugs are a problem, as Demon’s friend from foster care, Tommy points out, this has been a war on people that are different. The Hillbilly jokes keep putting down those that can and do survive by growing, hunting and sharing to fill needs of hungry bellies. 

It is through Demon’s grit and resilience, and ability to make do with what he has and not hope for more, that he is able to survive his trials. Along the way you meet people that don’t care, that care only about themselves, and those that cared but are too jaded with the inability to change things. You also meet the most unlikely people that go out of their way to try to ease someone else’s load or try to help them find their way.  You realize that while there is dark in the world we live in, there is also some light in it.

Near the end you are rooting for some happiness to find him, and you are never sure. You care deeply for him by the time you turn that last page.  And you hope that the ride he is on is a positive one.

book-review, books, Hispanic and Latinx Cultures, reading

Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez

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This book is very complex, but also very simple.

The story begins with us following Olga while she is working to make a bride and her uber-rich family happy by ordering hand-made napkins, while making sure she has added enough to use at her cousin’s wedding in a few weeks. We meet her congressman brother, Prieto, as he greets his constituents – the part of the job he loves most. After he returns to his office, we hear him being summoned for a meeting with Arthur Selby – someone not a constituent or a donor – which will be resentfully attended.

As we learn more from each of these siblings, you learn of how their father Johnny was a revolutionary looking to change schooling to make the next generations of kids more equal, but returned from Vietnam as a heroin addict. After meeting and marrying Blanca, also a revolutionary, they had two children. While clean for a stretch, Johnny descended back into drugs, crack and became infected with HIV/AIDS. Blanca kept her eye on the revolution, giving speeches globally, until one day she left on one of these trips, but never returns. Olga was 13 and Prieto was 17 when their mother left. Because of their father’s habit that kept him in and out of jail, their Abuelita raised them, with the large family all helping.

While physically abandoned, each child continued to hear from Blanca and what she thought of their life choices via mail – no return address and no way to contact her. Neither shared with the other that they received these communications. The revolutionary diet of rhetoric they were brought up on, even with absent parents, impacted them, as did watching their father struggle with trying to provide for them while being chained to his addiction.  

Prieto took a grassroots approach to this revolution, first as a councilman, then as a congressman. Teased as “pollyanna” he didn’t have a side hustle – something that everyone else seemed to have going as an open secret. Olga took the educational route, gaining entry into an ivy league school where she looked safe enough, but never felt like she fit in or what to do next. Getting in had been the goal for her, while for those of Ivy-type families it was only the start of the chase.

Both siblings were faced with the realities of what the “establishment” was and how this establishment abused the power of it. Those with money, status, and skin were always plotting to keep it, and more importantly keep it from people not like them. Because of the systemic biases that have been built into all systems, education, housing, pay, healthcare and more, life is stacked against everyone “else.” The story highlights how people of color must decide on buying into the establishment version of success, or their own culture’s version.

The story is about how to use power to get what you want. It also highlights that these traits exists on both sides of the coin – the revolutionary mother was manipulating them and countless others to get what she wanted. It is the extremes of each side that pit us against each other – and that power itself, regardless of where it comes from, corrupts.

Extremely well written, engaging and thought provoking. This story of disenfranchisement, hidden secrets and the desire to be loved lays bare that we each must find our own definition of success, embrace the life you have and be open to ask for help when you need it.  

book-review, books, Non-Fiction, reading

Cybersecurity Awareness Month

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October was cybersecurity awareness month. While it is technically over, we are in an actual state of war every time we log onto the web. With Phishing, Spearhunting; Spoofing and more, you must be aware of every click. With this in mind, I actually picked up a book to learn more about Information Technology and Protection.

Adventures of an IT Leader was the BEST text book I have read on this subject. Written as novel, each chapter reviews a challenge that the brand new head of IT is facing. You are engaged, and feel the tension and confusion as each challenge arises to be dealt with. The conditions that are challenging are realistic, and the people delivering the information are engaging also. This was an excellent way to put in front of any person, be they a “techie” or not, to understand.

This made me think of all the other books I have read that have engaged me over the years around technology. Here are some of the ones that still come to mind easily:

Soul of a New Machine by Tracy Kidder Followed Data General’s creation of a minicomputer in one year in the late 1970s that brought on the tech revolution.

He, She, and It by Marge Piercy Fiction that predicted what AI can do – in 1991 it even predicted that we would be talking to our houses.

The Phoenix Project: A Novel About IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win by Gene Kim, Kevin Behr, and George Spafford. Just as the Adventures book, this is an engaging and easily accessible way to learn how to handle DevOps.

Permanent Record by Edward Snowden The story of how he helped build and then bring down a system similar to “Big Brother”

1984 by George Orwell – The book that introduced us to “Big Brother”

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline A Young Adult novel about hiding in the internet, and how it can take over your life.

Mr Penumbra’s 24 hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan – A novel about how data can be both useful and not.

Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Pérez Unconscious Bias in the collection of data.

Enjoy!!

book-review, literature

By the Book

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Did you ever feel like you have heard a story before – often?  It seems as though there has been a number of “reboots” happening in the storytelling world. 

10 Things I hate About You is based on The Taming of the Shrew;

A Thousand Acres is King Lear;

The Lion King is Hamlet;

The Madwoman Upstairs is Jane Eyre;

The Lost Child is Wuthering Heights;

On Beauty is Howards End;

Bridget Jones’ Diary is Pride and Prejudice;

Clueless is Emma. 

Adding to this list is a retelling of one of one of my favorites – Persuasion.  By the Book, by Julia Sonneborn, as with many retellings, notes the book as a favorite of the protagonist’s (Anne with an E – a nod to another beloved book).  Though many names are similar, Lady Russell became Dr Ellen Russell, others are new to the telling.  As the original – Anne’s father cut her off when she didn’t go to law school, her sister Lauren’s attacks Adam as someone who would never be successful, and Dr Russell pushes that Anne follow her mentor’s footsteps to Yale’s MFA program. All these combined to put pressure on an impressionable young college woman that was not sure how to do anything other than fight for her books, her constant comfort.

With modern twists and turns that are inevitable in a Victorian love story, even if told in the 21st century, there is always comfort in knowing that all will end well.  Especially in the crazy COVID world we live in. 

Well written, a fun read that kept my interest. 

book-review, literature, Middle Eastern, read around the world

Three Daughters of Eve by Elif Shafak

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There are spoilers here, but I tried to keep them to a minimum.  This book was translated from Turkish.  While many times a book can lose something in translation, I was amazed that I felt no stilt or stumble along the way that happens in so many translated works.  This was an amazing story that unfolded in surprising and extraordinary ways.  Well worth the read. 

This story starts off in a way that does not prepare you for its depth.  It is modern Istanbul and the country is simmering in the duality of the world -– is it Secular or Religious? Rich or Poor? East or West?  A woman is driving her daughter through the city which teems around them as they are stuck in traffic.  This woman, Peri, uncharacteristically leaves her bag in the back seat of her car, and it is stolen.  Also uncharacteristically, she runs after the thief to retrieve it.  As she runs through the alleys of Istanbul, she is faced with the dark underside of the city.  She is wounded, and almost raped, but is able to survive with only a knife wound to her hand, and a photo from another lifetime.    Peri then returns to the car with her daughter, drives on to her original destination – a dinner party with the elite of Turkey.

You will not be aware until you have finished the story, that this is a metaphor for her life. 

The story is told starting now, and flashing back to Peri’s history.  With a bit more told each time, the woman becomes more visible.  Her mother, a religious woman, believes that there is darkness in Peri’s soul, and Peri had not faced it in years before she was following the child that stole her bag.  It is this darkness that has led Peri to live between her mother and her father, non-religious, that fight each other for everything.  Peri has spent her life being conflicted because she didn’t want to take sides, even if she was leaning toward her father’s.  He had placed all his hopes for the future of the family on her going to Oxford.  Peri was successful in getting there.

Once there, however, she continued to remain outside everything.  Her suite mate, a fully assimilated woman from Iran, suggested that Peri take a lecture with Professor Azur on Gd.  Initially not interested, she warms to the idea.  Once accepted to the selective seminar, the challenges that Azur puts in front of her continue to perplex her.  Another woman Peri befriended in the college, Mona, a religious Egyptian, joined her in the class.  The suite mate, Shirin, ended up convincing them all to live together.  All along, Peri was warned by some that Azur thought he was Gd, and Shirin who swore he was.  Throughout the story, you see the twists and turns of the pathways of Peri’s mind, just like the pathways she ran after her purse.  The wound on her hand continued off and on to bleed and throb, just like Peri’s emotions.  The duality of choices, to be or not, and the reality of Peri’s which was in the middle, are reflected throughout the country, and even within all the people at the party.  As Peri is faced with inquiring minds that hear she went to Oxford, she speaks out for herself, timid at first.  She reviews and revisits the past during this dinner, and she comes to a conclusion.  She asks her mother for a phone number.  Once dialed, she faces the first of many steps toward reconciling herself.  At the end of the call Shirin tells Peri to call Azur.  Peri, during this phone conversation, had been hiding in a hall.  She then hears and sees masked men enter the house, and she hides in the closet behind her.  In the blink of an eye, she calls Azur, and hears he is not angry.  She then begins a seminar on Gd, teaching the teacher.  As the power runs out on the phone, Peri stands and opens the door.  She is finally ready to come out of the closet, figuratively and metaphorically, to face her destiny.  She is no longer hiding from herself or anyone else.

book-review, books, Family Drama, literature, reading

Lost and Found

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Each person leaves things behind, sometimes on purpose others, not.  These items can be keys to moments that change our lives.  This is the basis of the story behind The Keeper of Lost Things by Ruth Hogan. Throughout the book there are strings of stories of how mementoes are kept or lost, with them all coming back together in the end. 

There are two stories that this is based upon.  The first, a woman, Laura, who comes to work for an author and the second a woman, Eunice, who comes to work for a publisher.  Both women are brought into these men’s lives and become for them the way to fulfill their own destinies.  It is through the stories of people around them that show the six degrees of separation. 

Ultimately, the truth is told by a young woman with Downs Syndrome. It is through this girl’s ability to see and feel the things around her with no preconceived filter that helps her lead others to their own truth.  This girl, her given name is Sunshine, sits in the park observing those who live around her, including the author across the way.  As she realizes he has died and the woman who came each day to work with him moves in, Sunshine decides that this is her opportunity to make a new friend.  She comes around often, and at times Laura hides in the cupboards when she doesn’t want a visitor.  The gardener, Freddie asks why Laura doesn’t just explain to Sunshine about the times she wants to be alone.  After an old girlfriend comes around for Freddie, who also hides, the both come clean to those pursuing them with the reasons why.  Sunshine pragmatically states “why didn’t you just say so?” 

If we could only listen to this advice in our real lives.  How many times have we twisted ourselves into knots to avoid something instead of facing it straight on?  If we had been honest with ourselves and others, how much energy and heartache could be avoided?

As the stories continue, Sunshine later states that she is never listened to.  Again, Laura and Freddie stop and realize that there is truth to what she says.  Once they listen, they take steps toward solving a mystery at the heart of the story.  As the story progresses, tales of lost objects – how they came to be lost and how they came to be found – continue to show hints of how they are intertwined. 

When at last Sunshine puts a bet out for Freddie, the ending for both stories becomes apparent.  Sunshine has again predicted it through her simple but perceptive observation.  The tale is of love and loss, finding and discovering, and being honest to oneself.  If you are true to yourself, observant and open, you will find your happiness. 

book-review, books, read around the world, reading, time travel

Time travelling

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If you were able to go back in time, would you? What if there are all sorts of rules that you need to abide by to do this? You have to sit in a specific cafe, at a specific chair, and not get up. You can only meet someone who had been in the cafe, and the present will not change. And you only have as much time there as it takes for the cup of coffee you were served to go cold.

That is the truth about a small cafe in Japan that has been serving coffee for over 100 years. Urban legend has been published, but most are scared away by the rules. This book, Before the Coffee Gets Cold translated from Toshikazu Kawaguchi’s Japanese best seller by Geoffrey Trousselot, tells the story of four people who are driven to make the choice to sit in this chair. Each has their own reasons for doing this. One goes back to confront a man who left her, one is seeking to receive a letter from her husband’s early onset Alzheimers, another to see her sister one more time, and the last to meet the daughter she has not been able to meet. All while knowing they need to wait for the seat to be empty, as it is occupied by a ghost that didn’t drink her cup of coffee in time.

The beautiful reasons why they choose to go, and the unexpected ways these visits unfold are nothing short of love stories. Written tenderly, even in translation, each woman that goes is motivated by love – unrequited, romantic, familial and maternal. Each visit, while not changing the present, has significant impact on each of these women.

The way the stories unfold is comforting and the language evokes a dark and cool underground cafe in Japan. A gentle read of love and the possibilities of reliving a moment in time.

It may be an ironic way to end 2020, but it does bring hope.