Recent Read: Americanah

I recently finished Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie which is now one of, if not the best books I have ever read. Americanah tells the story of Ifemelu who grows up in Nigeria and later moves to America to work and study. Ifemelu's life is full of ups and downs, loves and losses, and a dawning realization that Nigeria may not be the same country she grew up in.

The book is engaging, one of the few pieces of literary fiction I've read this year that has truly captured my attention and kept me reading. Americanah told a story that was relevant to the world at this very moment. The realities of life were not glossed over or romanticize like in other books. Adichie gave social commentary and made sociological observations without ever being boring. She makes observations about food, wealth, health, race, psychology, and capitalism around the world.

There is a whole world that most people don't know about, cultures and communities that outsiders will never be a part of. It's wonderful if you are lucky enough to visit other countries and experience other cultures but often a person can't know or understand unless they are able to hear from an insider's perspective. Adichie's observations about race gives people like me (those who grow up white, with white parents and mostly white classmates) a different perspective. In some ways, as a woman I can empathize with the frustrations of fighting a social system that doesn't treat you fairly but I will never know (or pretend to know) the struggle of being black in America. The two are incomparable.

In America race really is the defining factor. Reading Adichie compare countries such as the US, Nigeria, and England and their relationships with race was really interesting. When you're white, it's so easy to brush race under the rug or not want to talk about it because we have the privilege of not talking about it. We like to live in a delusional world where racism existed in the past and believe that race no longer matters but it does. Just look at the news today and you won't be able to deny that fact. 

Both Ifemelu and Obinze believe that leaving Nigeria will make their lives better. They grew up thinking that countries like America or England will help them prosper and give them more opportunities, but their lives in those countries don't happen the way they imagined. Ifemelu soon realize that the America Obinze grew up dreaming of is not the America that really exists. Like Ifemelu puts it,"It's wonderful but it's not heaven." I took a class in college that primarily focused on dismantling the American dream and I found it fascinating. Immigrants seek our country to make their lives better or live in a safer environment and yet we often treat them like they are worthless. We act like immigrants are burdens we must support but we rarely allow them to legally support themselves.

Americanah taught me about a different kind of life while still being relatable and fascinating. Adichie was able to make observations and support arguments by allowing the reader to view the world from different perspectives. While the book may be a work of fiction it reads almost like a memoir, something where lines are blurred between a story and real life. Americanah is a must read for anyone trying to understand the world today.

-S

Currently Read: Lean In

"There is no perfect fit when you're looking for the next big thing to do. You have to take opportunities and make an opportunity fit for you, rather than the other way around. The ability to learn in the most important quality a leader can have."

I had put off reading Lean In when it first became popular because at the time I had no job and no prospect of leading anything. I was already depressed and directionless and figured the book would just add to my pile of self pity. I'm glad I waited to read Lean In because I was able to appreciate all of the interesting facts and advice even more now.

Honestly, I was expecting this book to be inapplicable to my life and my career (or lack there of) even at this point in time. I don't currently work in an office job or even have a full time career. I have an undergraduate degree in Psychology and a part time job at my local library. I figured a book about leading a business would have nothing to offer a woman who didn't even know what kind of business she wanted to be a part of. Boy, was I wrong. I finished the book feeling more hopeful for my future than I have felt in quite some time. I didn't feel discouraged or behind, I felt empowered to lean in. I was no longer on the bottom rung of the ladder but on a jungle gym; anywhere I go from here will be a step in the right direction.

Lean In seems to be both loved and hated by many. A large portion of the books criticism evolve around it's narrowed audience but I thought the book did a great job of giving advice for all women (and men) in the business world. Sure there were parts that didn't directly apply to my situation, but I could imagine her advice being useful in the future. I also agree that the book was filled with facts and advice many people have probably heard before. Some of the studies mentioned were straight out of my college courses, but not everyone sees how unbalanced the world is when it comes to gender. It's easy to ignore or deny the biases and contradictions when no one calls attention to them. Even when you do know about them, it's not always easy to change your own way of thinking.

Lean In should be read by everyone in or out of the business world. The knowledge in this book needs to be shared. If we don't call attention to gender inequalities we will never be equal.

- S

October Books

I finished a total of six books in October, which finished off my goal of thirty books total for the year. Hopefully I have time to read with the additional workload now. I have been reading more and more "romance novels" lately (which I never thought would happen). They're nice mindless books that are fast and easy reads for in between more serious reads.

My October reads were:

-Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin

At first I was worried Something Borrowed was going to be exactly like the movie (which I had already seen), but it ended up have enough differences to still make the book worth reading. Overall it wasn't my favorite book of the month, but I would recommend it to people wanting a more romantic type book without actually reading a "romance novel."

-Finding It by Cora Carmack

So *spoiler,* the plot is basically the same as Chasing Liberty. I was mad at first after figuring things out, but I guess it's not that different than the predictable plots of the previous books in the series. Plus even with all of that I still really liked the book. Kelsey spends the summer after her college graduation traveling Europe (basically what I wish my life involved post grad). After months of traveling alone, Kelsey is starting to get tired of her all night bar hopping and one night stands, that is until Hunt decides to show her what a real adventure is like. Can someone take me on an adventure across Europe?

-Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

I cannot wait to get my hands on the next book in the Shatter Me series. One of my friends loaned this to me over the summer and I had put off reading it not knowing much about the book. I hate to admit that I judge a book by it's cover, but this one wasn't doing anything for me. Little did I know, there was some truly awesome writing inside. It definitely took me some time to get used to Mafi's style, but page by page it grew on me. I am a lover of metaphors and Mafi uses them like it's her job (which I guess it kind of is...) People may argue that it's a bit excessive, but you won't hear any complaining from this girl. Besides just a general love for the way the book is written, I enjoyed the plot. I especially liked the realistic explanation of how things came to be that way; it certainly seems like a plausible future for our country (or Earth in general).

-Franny and Zooey by J. D. Salinger

I want to preface this by saying Catcher in the Rye is one of my favorite books and I thought I would love Franny and Zooey in the same way, but I left this book feeling very confused. The book wasn't anything special for me. Though the book is relatively short (only 200 pages) it took me a ridiculously long time to get through. There wasn't anytime during reading that I "just couldn't put it down," in fact it was more of a desire not to pick it up. Maybe the timing wasn't right and I should have waited until I was in the mood to read this type of story, but I just kept seeing if it would get better. I still like Salinger's writing style, but it wasn't fitting for Zooey's 160-ish no-break section. I liked the whole point of the story but the execution was a little brash. In the end, the book sort of let me down.

-Wallbanger by Alice Clayton

Just another new adult novel to add to the list. I was ready to give up on this book at first, but I decided I needed to stick it out a little longer. I'm glad I didn't stop reading because I did end up enjoying the story later on (it took some time though). The writing wasn't anything special and some of the sex scenes later on got a little awkward, but other than that I loved the Simon "Wallbanger"character. Obviously the book was written to make Simon the best part of the story (honestly I probably wouldn't have continued reading it otherwise). Despite my constant eye-rolling about Caroline's "missing O" and the "giving good jaw" comments, the story had good build up and the her cat was pretty funny (although I'm not one for pussy jokes *cringe*). In the end, I would only recommend this to women who are okay with giving up quality writing for sex appeal. Like most novels in the genre, it's an easy fantasy to indulge yourself in.

-Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

This book was perfect. Anna and the French Kiss was the best combination of adorable and real life frustration that at some point or another effects everyone. For Anna's senior year, her dad sends her to a boarding school in France. In my mind this is a dream come true, but Anna resents being sent away from her life in Atlanta. Luckily for Anna her life in France is quickly turning around, that is until she falls under St. Claire's spell. I never wanted this story to end and honestly contemplated rereading it right away. Like I said, I loved this book and would recommend it to anyone looking for a cute, feel good read (not just for teenagers in my opinion).

Side Note: I started getting really into Olly Murs while reading this book, which also turned into me imagining him as St. Claire. Olly seemed to fit the description well and it just sort of happened that my mind overlapped them without me even realizing it at first. I think it made my love for both Anna and the French Kiss and Olly Murs bigger than they would have been seperately.

- - -

For November I've been reading The Hobbit and The Virgin Suicides. After that it'll most likely be Paper Towns and/or The Da Vinci Code.

What books did you read in October? What books are you planning on reading in November?

-S

Losing It and Keeping Her Review

Okay, so... first of all I'd just like to say this book wasn't the most well written or original book, but it was definitely entertaining. I think in order to enjoy reading books like this you just have to turn your brain off entirely. It's kind of like the book version of a trashy RomCom that stars the attractive, moderately well-known actors, but follows pretty much the exact same story as five other films that have come out within the last year. They definitely won't be up for any awards and may not fair well in terms of ratings, but are still worth seeing.

Losing It, by Cora Carmack, is about a college girl named Bliss (yeah, that's her real name) who decides it's time to lose her virginity. Unfortunately, things don't exactly go according to Bliss's plan after she meets a gorgeous British man (Garrick) at a bar and decides to go home with him. After thoroughly embarrassing herself, everything gets a bit more complicated when Bliss discovers Garrick is her new Theater professor.

Like I said it's nothing too original, you can see things coming from a mile away, but it was a nice break from the types of books I've been reading lately. I needed something light, that was quick, easy, and didn't take up a lot of head space. I feel like the last few books I've read (as well as life in general) have been both thoughtful and emotionally draining. Sometimes you just need a nice break from life, where you can slip into a fantasy land with attractive guys and British accents and motorcycles. I have a weakness for British things. I mean, he calls her "love" a lot, which is probably an overplayed stereotype, but still made me very happy. Seriously, where are the Garricks of the real world?

This book was also incredibly funny at times. I laughed out loud for a good ten minutes at one point and then had to take a break to collect myself before reading on. The story was really addicting. I stayed up until 4:30 am one night reading until my eyes were sore.

I was happy things turned out the way they did. Although I felt bad for Cade, I thought Garrick was a much better choice for Bliss and obviously brought out good things in her. From a brain-turned-on sense, there were some definite warning signs/weird character flaws in Garrick that sort of reminded me of Christian Grey, but I chose to just ignore all those things and not put too much thought into this book (like I said, it's definitely better that way).

- - -

Keeping Her is a short novella that Carmack wrote as a sequel to Bliss and Garrick's story. It's almost too short, still leaving things in an open ended fashion, but a nice add on to the original. Despite the plot and characters being just as predictable and unoriginal as in Losing It, the story was once again enjoyable to read.

Carmack has written two other books in the Losing It series, Faking It and Finding It. Faking It follows Cade's story and Finding It follows Kelsey's story. I'm hoping that Keeping Her was left open ended in order to leave room for tie-ins with the other two stories. I'm currently reading Faking It (which I'm enjoying so far) and I have no idea if Bliss and Garrick take part in the plot past the first chapter.

If you're looking for a light read I'd recommend picking these books up. A friend lent me the first book, but they're only a few dollars each for the Kindle Edition on Amazon. The books are funny, sexy, and a lighthearted spin on every girl's (okay, probably not every girl's) first time fantasy.

-S

The Book Thief Review

“Like most misery, it started with apparent happiness.”

Words. Sometimes there's too many words and sometimes there's just not enough, or none of them seem to be right. I finished up The Book Thief last night around 4:30 am. I did my best to drag out the ending as much as I could. At one point I just sat in my bed hugging the book to my chest whilst crying and trying to cope with the emotional strain the book had caused. I will be the first to admit that I have a problem when it comes to being overly attached to characters and stories; this was no exception.

The Book Thief, written by Markus Zusak, follows the life of Liesel Meminger, a young girl growing up in Nazi Germany. With the help of her accordion playing foster father, Liesel learns to read using a book she stole during her brother's funeral. Reading and stealing books soon becomes Liesel's distraction from the harsh world around her and ultimately her salvation. The book, narrated by Death, is an observation of friendship, love, and the impact of fear.

“I guess humans like to watch a little destruction. Sand castles, houses of cards, that's where they begin. Their great skills is their capacity to escalate.” 

Even though I knew what was to come (just by the way the book is written), I was not prepared to part with characters I had become so attached to. I felt like I was mourning the loss of fictional characters and non-fictional characters alike and my heart ached. It's still hard for me to imagine the fear and destruction of the Holocaust or how any caring person could have acted with such hatred. The Book Thief, in many different ways, answered the how's and the why's by showcasing human nature from an outside standpoint. Even though the Holocaust was in no way justifiable, the book offers an understanding of how words and fear can make all the difference; Hitler's greatest weapon was his words.

“In years to come, he would be a giver of bread, not a stealer - proof again of the contradictory human being. So much good, so much evil. Just add water.” 

I wrote another post about The Book Thief when I first started reading earlier this month. I originally doubted that the book would take me more than a week to finish, but it ended up taking much longer than expected. I don't know if it was the story itself or just my reading pace that slowed down somewhere after the first 100 pages; either way it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Besides the story itself, one thing that I loved about the book was Zusak's writing style. The little time outs for facts, backstories, and definitions really emphasized the presence of Death and his intrusion into Liesel's story. Another thing that helped cement Zusak into my favorite authors category was the imagery of his writing. He describes a scene in ways I would never have imagined, and yet, I know exactly what he means by "wardrobe woman," "enormous suitcases under the eyes," "hair the colour of lemons," or "silver eyes starting to rust." Markus Zusak is a master of his craft and an genius of words. If you haven't read The Book Thief, or don't know if you want to, I urge you to give it a try. I will however say this, the book is not exactly cheery, and if you're not a fan of depressing books, this might not be for you. This book is definitely worth the time though, at any age.

“I like that every page in every book can have a gem on it. It's probably what I love most about writing--that words can be used in a way that's like a child playing in a sandpit, rearranging things, swapping them around. They're the best moments in a day of writing -- when an image appears that you didn't know would be there when you started work in the morning.”

-S

The Art Of Racing In The Rain Review

I finished The Art Of Racing In The Rain a few days ago and I can't say enough good things about this book. I already recommended this book to my dad and brother (and my mom too), since I immediately thought of them while reading the story.

The book is written from the perspective of a dog, Enzo, who is reflecting on his life the night before his death.  His owner, Denny, is a race car driver who shares his passion for racing with Enzo, often bringing Enzo along for races or watching the Speed network together. The story takes you on a roller coaster of emotions from happy, to sad, to mad and around again. Obviously the book was actually written by a man and not a dog, but I loved the uniqueness of reading from a dog's perspective and really feeling that dogs are not much different than humans. Pets can be so comforting and such a part of their our lives. I know my life would be very different without my cat around.

When I first picked up this book from a family friend, I didn't really have much of a desire to read it. I didn't know anything about the plot, and I put off reading the book for a long time. Once I finally started reading, I sat in wonder as to why I waited so long to start reading. One habit I have is to pick out quotes from books; usually, the more quotes I can pick out from a book the more I love the book itself. The Art Of Racing In The Rain was riddled with perfect quotes about love and life. Garth Stein had a great way of comparing car racing to the challenges one faces in life. He melded a simple way of writing with deep philosophical thoughts. Stein also mastered the frustration of the inability to communicate, knowing something and yet being unable to tell anyone. Even though I do not own a dog, drive race cars, have a child, or have lost a significant other, I really felt connected to the story line. I felt like I could relate to what Enzo was thinking.

The book made me:
1. Want a dog.
2. Never want a dog because they will eventually die.
3. Watch Senna.
4. Really hate that people actually act like Eve's parents did.
5. Cry.

Now go read this book!

-S