nonfiction

Review: Made for More by Hannah Anderson

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20140401-231307.jpg Made for More explains how each of us is made in God’s image, for purposes beyond what we can see. The more often we choose to live in God’s image, the closer we come to trusting Him and letting go of our worries.

My family is adjusting to some new situations right now, and we will experience more changes in the coming months. This Spring I’ve been feeling in limbo… not where I’m accustomed, and not yet where I’ll soon be. So far it’s been emotionally difficult. I vacillate between sitting lazily on the couch (“I give up”) and feeling restless… like there must be something more to these months of my life. I’m not meant to just sit around and wait for the next chapter, right?!

So I picked up Made for More. Reading it gave me an authoritative nudge to live each day in God’s image. Helping others, doing mundane chores, loving my family, and working at my job outside the home all need to be done for God’s glory and with my eyes on Him. Hannah Anderson explains that looking for ways we can glorify God in our CURRENT lives (yep, even my crazy limbo life) is the way to reflect God’s image. And whenever we reflect God’s image, we become more like Him.

I know I need to get off the couch. God put me here for much more than being a bystander to all his glorious world. Since I’ve been nudged, I will take more opportunities to serve Him and trust him throughout my day. Everyday.

-Calliope

Buy MADE FOR MORE

Review: Growing Up Duggar by Jill Duggar, et al.

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20140302-232159.jpg I love watching 20 Kids and Counting (The Duggars) on TLC, and I couldn’t wait to read what the four oldest daughters had to say about growing up, well, Duggar.

I liked that they each gave several personal anecdotes relating to the concept they focused on in each chapter. I had fun peeking into their lives and feeling like I was in on something. The women wrote as if they were talking to me, personally, and I found it very engaging.

I’m an organized, linear sort of reader, so I appreciate that the book was divided into chapters relating to the various types of relationships Duggar children attend to. We hear about the young ladies’ and their siblings’ relationships with their family, God, and their community.

As a mom, I paid special attention to the chapters on relationships with parents and siblings. Even though I don’t homeschool, I don’t have the same beliefs about clothing, and I’m not as strict with media, I do see many areas where the Duggar style of raising children would help my family. The Duggars encourage kindness, forgiveness, and obedience using consistent, focused, and Bible-driven rules.

The only thing that really interfered with my enjoyment of Growing Up Duggar were the dozen or so references to websites and specific organizations that the Duggar family supports. Those mentions seemed a little bit on a PR/marketing bent, and it made me question the sincerity of the ladies’ stories.

Overall, this was an uplifting, eye-opening read. I am duly impressed with the many ways these four sisters serve The Lord and each other.

–Calliope

BUY Growing Up Duggar

Review – LIFE The Day Kennedy Died: Fifty Years Later: LIFE Remembers the Man and the Moment by the editors of LIFE.

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17333556I am a self-confessed conspiracy nut, and make no apologies for it.  Saying that however, I am an intelligent conspiracy nut – I like to review the evidence and make my own conclusions.  Now, we’ve all seen in the last few weeks a flurry of books being hastily released in order to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the day that President Kennedy was assassinated.   Most of these have no merit, and are purely released to garner some money and attention.   This is not to say that this book released by LIFE magazine isn’t making money – you still have to pay for it – but I would rather pay for another JFK book by a respected author/collaboration such as LIFE magazine.

Before we get into the review proper, I must warn you that this is a book with media – the original, unedited Zapruder film; it is only downloadable to tablets, Fires, etc… I’m not sure how the DTB edition deals with it.

This book covers events from the emigration of the Kennedy family from Ireland, right up until the horrible day in 1963.  We are treated with many previously unseen personal photos, some in colour, some black and white, with a running commentary.   As it is told in chronological order, there is a sense of a real narrative here, and it actually makes the read all the more shocking.  Like I said above, I am conspiracy/history buff, so I thought I had known pretty much all there was to know about JFK, but I was wrong!  LIFE magazine has a reputation for preserving history through photographs and articles, and I learnt a few new interesting things last night.

Due to the linear narrative, when it comes time to watch the Zapruder film, it really does pack quite the punch.  Even though I knew what was going to happen, I still audibly recoiled and felt a bit sick.   This was real life, with real people, and EVERYONE was affected somehow.  That is proved in the chapter that collects the “where I was on that day” stories from random people from reporters, to Barbara Streissand, to Bill O’Reily.   The Kennedy’s may have been economically out of touch with many Americans, but even when you have staunch republicans, and Russian leaders say that they were dismayed when died, you know that he was someone unique, and someone to look up to.

~ Pegasus.

Buy it here:  LIFE The Day Kennedy Died: Fifty Years Later: LIFE Remembers the Man and the Moment<

Review: The Death of Santini: The Story of a Father and His Son by Pat Conroy

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death of santiniOkay, so I haven’t read all of Pat Conroy’s books. After I read “The Prince of Tides”, I just wasn’t sure how much more I could read by him. Don’t misunderstand me. I LOVE his writing. Perhaps too much. It just seemed too real. For me, I could see it all just plain as day. I believe that it could be happening in any small southern town. Some reviews I looked at said that it was all just too over blown….that people didn’t really live like that. That abuse like that couldn’t be hidden. That the Southern towns he spoke of weren’t *really* like that. Having grown up in the South I disagreed. Having worked with children in State custody, again, I disagreed….but that’s as far as my mind went with it….I didn’t really read much about Conroy’s background. I didn’t care to dig deeper…maybe, somehow, knowing beforehand what I might find….

So, as I ramble on, are you wondering why? Well, if you know and follow Pat Conroy you know he has written a few non-fiction books about his life….well, “The Death of Santini” is another non-fiction novel. It is the story of Pat and his father. More so, it is the story of forgiveness and acceptance between a father and his son. So, I can’t talk about how much confessing Pat does in his other non-fiction books, as I haven’t read them, but I can tell you, he does a lot in this one. He basically explains that every book he has written is really just an out pouring of his life. Every non fiction book is based on his experiences. The names might have been changed. The stories might have grown. However, the rawness, the aching beauty of his writing comes from his own experiences, and yes, the violence is his own as well….

Here we learn that, yes, the horrible father in all the stories, were in fact, stories about Pat’s own father. The *true* “great Santini”, Don Conroy. We learn that every brutal word we read were inspired by the brutality of this one man. We also see the aftermath of what such brutality does to a family. How it tears it apart, not as a whole unit, but by person by person. How it destroys relationships. How it destroys people. However, we also see what it means to be human. How the human spirit sometimes refuses to just take what is handed to it. We see that the same brutalities that sometimes tears people apart, are also the very things that makes someone who they are. That often, we have our own ways of dealing with such things. We might pen it on paper and became a famous author. We might pour it into poetry and became a poet….or perhaps we pour it into our behaviors towards others….we become the father that we never had….or the caretaker that offers nothing except love and support…we might spend decades in a situation and then one day, seemingly out of the blue, we wake up and say no more and make a different life for ourselves….sadly, it might also mean, we can’t take another single day with what we have endured and we find a way to end it right then and there…and we also learn that even when we move ahead, well, that we always carry some part of that past with us. We can often try to control our behavior…we can try to move on….but sometimes that is much easier said than done. It is obvious that Pat Conroy still carries his past with him. I think he always will. One sees that he puts a bit of himself in many of his characters….he might be the strong brother at times, but the broken siblings are also part of who he is…

Most importantly, we see a man, who might not speak aloud of the wrongs he has done, but he turns his life into something that tries to set those wrongs right. This book has made me realize a lesson I’ve always known….but it has put it into full light for me….We should never judge and condone someone unless we walk in their shoes. Wrongs are never right…..but that doesn’t mean we need to be so quick to condemn the person….maybe just the actions…and only as they are occurring….perhaps it’s best to let the past rest in the past and not in the present. Sometimes a second chance is not enough…sometimes it might take more….

I am also reminded (something I’ve experienced first hand) that often, if we hold on to the wrongs of the past that it is not punishing only the person that wronged you (if it even does) but that is punishing yourself the most. Holding on to the bitterness of the past only gives that bitterness a resting place inside of YOU! But how does one let go? I hope one day that Pat Conroy is able to lay to rest the demons that still live inside him…as he has now laid to rest the father that he loved so dearly….

Until next time….

Urania xx

ARC provided by Netgalley for an honest review

Buy it now The Death of Santini

Review: I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb

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20131016-195916.jpgHow do you define courage? It can be exemplified in many different ways. A firefighter rushing in to a burning building. A shy student standing up in front of the class to give a speech. A child riding a bicycle without training wheels for the first time. Malala’s story gives a whole new meaning to the word. If by some chance you haven’t heard of Malala, that’s even more of a reason to read this book.

The prologue takes us back to the day that Malala was shot as we are given a brief overview of that fateful moment. We then get a glimpse into the childhood of Malala’s parents. This backstory provides us with the knowledge of what exactly a woman’s role was and still is in many parts of Pakistan and the Middle East. Having this background knowledge made me even more appreciative of the strength and courage shown by not only Malala but her entire family. I also felt a huge amount of respect for her father for following his heart and not bowing down to traditional roles he disagreed with. As the leader of this family, he truly set the stage for all the good things that followed.

We are next taken through her childhood and witness tragic events such as 9/11 and the Taliban’s invasion of Pakistan through her eyes, those of a young girl. Malala’s story made my heart weep at the tragedy she faced but more importantly at the bravery of this young girl who wanted nothing more than to simply go to school. Such a simple thing but yet one that most children in more industrialized countries take for granted. We are reminded of the harsh lives that children around the world face.

In Malala’s words, looking the other way is not an option when thirty-two million girls around the world are not in school. She’s not asking for anything special, just the right to go to school. Most people would withdraw from the public eye after coming so close to death for simply standing up for their beliefs. Not this young woman. Although her family has not returned to Pakistan, she continues to speak out for all children.

I eagerly anticipated the release of this book and was not disappointed. It was everything I expected and more. I had to keep reminding myself that this horrible tragedy happened to a fifteen-year-old girl. I am simply in awe of this young lady and can’t wait to see what else she accomplishes in her life. My favorite quote from this book also happens to be the last one:

I am Malala. My world has changed but I have not.

~Thalia

Buy it now I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban

Review: Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

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maladiesFirst I need to tell you guys something….are you ready for my confession? Okay, here goes….I am not a fan of short stories. After Alice Munro won the Nobel Prize in Literature this past week, I figured it was time that I downloaded one of her books to try it. See, I am not so set in my ways that I can’t try something I know I probably won’t like….so that brings me to this book….I had some stuff going on this past weekend, so in a haste to pick out a book, I picked out a short book that I’ve had on my kindle for a while….I had been wanting to try Lahiri for a while as well….Since she is up for the Man Booker Prize, I thought this would be a good time to try her…..

How does all this fit in together? Well, I am the type that rarely reads book descriptions….Soooooo….imagine my surprise of finding out that this book was a collection of short stories! What!!!!!!!!!!!! I hate short stories! Sure, I was willing to try Munro…but NOT now….I was gonna put it off for months….I….don’t…..like….shorts!!!!!!

Seriously, I couldn’t be bothered to try to pick out another book from the hundreds I have on my kindle…it was after 10 pm. I was tried, darn it…..So, I went ahead and started to read….imagine my surprise…..I was hooked from page one….not just from the first story…but from every single one! I have to say, I take back every bad thing I have ever mumbled about short stories….these were brilliant.

I am telling you now….don’t be an arse like me….Don’t tell yourself that you never read “____?____”. Ask yourself….what do you read? Do you usually read thriller books? Romance? Mysteries? Non-fiction? Okay….for the sake of argument, let’s say you read only romance.

So, tell me….the last romance you read….was it brilliant? Did it suck? Was it just okay? Boring? Exciting? Okay, the one before that? And yes, before that?

Do you see my point? Oh, come on now…don’t make me write it out! Okay….you win….here goes….

Not every book you read it guaranteed to be brilliant. Not even if it’s from a genre you absolutely love. Same goes for your favorite author. One day, they might disappoint you….You might have loved every book they have ever penned, but maybe one day you won’t.

This book has taught me a great lesson….I will try very hard to stop judging books by their genre. I mean, I don’t like non fiction, but there are a couple of non fiction books that are some of the best books I’ve ever read. I don’t like fantasy, but a few of my all time favorites are just that! The same with romance….Do you see my point here?

So I can tell you right now…with great confidence….a great story is a great story! No matter the genre it is told in. In these short 200 pages, Jhumpa Lahiri gives us 9 great stories. It’s impossible for me to pick a favorite. Do the few short pages they take up encompass a massive story? Do they have a beginning, a middle and an ending? Maybe not….but what they do have is some uncanny ability to draw you into the characters lives and make you feel for them. You feel their loneliness. You feel their pain. You feel their emotions. You relate to them. You spend a short moment of time with them and you feel as if their lives matter to you. You care about them. Finally, long after their pages end, you still think of them and you wonder how they are…so I am telling you right now…if you say a short story can’t encompass a massive story…well it’s like saying one short life doesn’t matter when you look at someone who has led a long life. That’s just bullshit. These stories matter. Short or not, they really matter…

I simply can not wait to try another one of Lahiri’s books. I won’t even mind if it’s *only* a collection of short stories….and seriously….I no longer hate short stories anyway….so who cares if they are a collection of shorts…hell, I almost hope they are!

Until next time….

– Urania xx

Buy it now Interpreter of Maladies

Review: The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida

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20131012-204515.jpg

Why do you talk so loudly? Why is your voice weird? Why do you ask the same questions over and over? Why don’t you make eye contact? Is it true that you don’t like to be touched? What’s the reason you jump? If you’ve ever known someone, adult or child, with autism, these are some of the questions that may have gone through your mind at the time. The Reason I Jump is an ambitious and admirable attempt to answer these questions and others.

Naoki Higashida is a thirteen-year-old boy with autism, and this is his story. Using an alphabet grid to communicate and with the assistance of translators, Naoki provides rare insight into the mind of a person with autism. Nothing is sugar-coated, and Naoki himself admits to the challenges he poses to his parents and others around him. His answers and perspective on his corner of the world will surely be appreciated by readers touched by autism in some way.

I was very much looking forward to reading this book about a fascinating and little discussed topic. Sadly, it didn’t live up to my expectations. While the question and answer format works well enough, I found myself wanting more background on Naoki and his family. Had I known more of his story from the viewpoint of his parents, other family members, and teachers, I really think I would have been able to feel more connected to Naoki. It’s also a very short book, coming in at under 200 pages. Still, I have much appreciation for the courage this young man showed in opening himself up to the world as he did. Although this story was not the experience I had hoped for, there are plenty of readers who have read and enjoyed Naoki’s story.

~Thalia

Buy it Now: The Reason I Jump: The Inner Voice of a Thirteen-Year-Old Boy with Autism

Review: Five Days at Memorial

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Where were you at the end of August, 2005?  Chances are, most people couldn’t say with any degree of accuracy.  But for those in the path of one of the worst natural disasters of all time, that date is indelibly etched in their psyche just as surely as other notable dates in history.  For those involved, time can be divided into two eras:  before Katrina and after Katrina.

Five Days at Memorial delves into the unimaginable conditions immediately before and after the tragedy at one of New Orleans’ largest hospitals that ultimately led to the deaths of a larger than expected number of patients.  Rumors began to circulate that certain patients deemed “disposable” had been purposely euthanized by medical professionals to avoid the trouble of moving them when rescue finally arrived.

Sheri Fink walks us through attempts by authorities to charge and convict those deemed to be in charge of the situation.  But really, was anybody in charge at that time?  Certainly not the state or federal government whose blunders are clearly documented in this book.  Miscommunication by all involved, lack of planning, bureaucratic red tape, and plausible corporate deniability  all led to a chain of events that had lasting repercussions for everyone regardless of the legal outcomes.

The author poses both medical and ethical questions regarding “humane intervention” when someone is critically ill.  If we can provide humane and compassionate end of life decisions for our pets then why not human beings? However, the bigger question for me as the reader was, who gets to make this decision? How much of a life is worth saving? I’m not sure if there is a black and white answer to this.  New Orleans was basically cut off from America for several days during that period.  Most of us cannot even begin to imagine the conditions inside that hospital and throughout the region. As I read this book I felt the panic and heartbreak of all involved as they tried to simply survive.

Seven years after Hurricane Katrina the region is still recovering.  On the outside everything looks shiny and new.  Memorial Medical Center narrowly escaped demolition and was sold a few years after the disaster after undergoing extensive renovations and was reopened under a new name.  Many of the people involved in the euthanasia controversy have moved on while others have not for various reasons.  If anything positive resulted from this horrible situation, I would hope that lessons were learned to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.  Only time will tell.

~Thalia

Review: Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo

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20130927-090109.jpg Behind the Beautiful Forevers is a well-written account of four years in a Mumbai slum, Annawadi.

Katherine Boo is thorough and clear in her descriptions of slum-dwellers in relation to business and government; and their pain, suffering, and deep-running socioeconomic issues. Boo’s precision comes from her perseverance undertaking numerous and repetitive interviews with people to ensure she understood every angle of a situation.

Although the book is nonfiction, it seems unreal at times. Boo opens our eyes to the tragedy of living in a slum by introducing us to a dozen or so “main characters” — the trash-picker recyclers, the mother trying to join in government corruption, the young woman trying to get an education, teenagers glimpsing adolescent love, the one-legged woman, the females who try to commit suicide by burning or poison, the non-working husbands who are ill or drunk, the wives who have multiple affairs. I read their true, sad, compelling stories in near disbelief.

I struggled reading this book because instead of a linear documentation of events, Boo skipped around the timeline, added flashbacks, and re-told many of the stories. I understand that writing should imitate the subject matter (sad writing bolsters a sad story) but just because the lives of Annawadians are repetitive and circular does not mean that’s the best way to tell their story.

I would have been more engaged if the book was only half as long: do away with the repetitiveness and remembering. Ironically, the author’s note at the end made me tear up, while the main story did not. If Katherine Boo wrote the whole book from her eyes, in a linear timeline, it may have kept my interest.

I’m glad I read Behind the Beautiful Forevers. I’m both grateful and embarrassed for the fortune of America while slum-dwellers in India survive day to day or even hour to hour. The facts of the book are compelling. I just wish the presentation captured me more.

-Calliope

Buy it now Behind the Beautiful Forevers

Review: The Wal-Mart Effect by Charles Fishman

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74915 A close friend recommended this book to me as one that was fairly balanced on the good and the bad parts of Wal-Mart. The idea intrigued me instantly because I worked there for a while after high school and I have a few family members who work there as well. Not to mention that I shop there because of the limited choices in my area, and of course due to the savings they provide.

The author does a great job of detailing so much about Walmart that is usually not made apparent to consumers for one reason or the other. He details how the company began and how it evolved into the huge world power that it is now.

What Fishman does so well is take one case study and examine it from all angles to show how the impact is both good and bad. Early on in the book he uses the tiny company Makin Bacon to show how Walmart could take a small company and make a huge impact. The owner of the company explains how Walmart makes it possible for it to even exist. Not only did Walmart help the company start but even though the item is sold in other companies without Walmart’s business Makin Bacon would literally have to close its doors.

On the flip side the author goes into detail about Walmart’s negative perception. Part of the issue stems from their unwillingness to do almost any press or even allow their vendors to talk to the media, whether good or bad. Fishman goes into greater detail about how Walmart affects the communities and local businesses in the area.

I found the descriptions of the vendor relations and how Walmart keeps their low prices truly low extremely fascinating. I thought this book did a great job of showing positives and negatives. I generally enjoy nonfiction books only if the author can prove the subject interesting enough. This one did not disappoint.

Buy it now The Wal-Mart Effect: How the World’s Most Powerful Company Really Works–and How It’s Transforming the American Economy