Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar by Cheryl Strayed

First impression

I decided to read this book by Shannon's recommendation. I have only one complaint, and that is that no one warned me that I shouldn't attempt to listen to it at work...10 or 15 minutes in I was already fighting the tears. The whole book is full of emotional and very touching subjects that will move you deep inside. If I could recommend this book in one line it would be: It is painful to read, but oh so beautiful!

Final thoughts

I never read Dear Sugar before and now I feel like I missed something truly wonderful. People would write to Sugar with questions that might be pretty straight forward at times and super obscure. She would answer them either way with the best advice she could think off. Sometimes, this advice came with personal anecdotes and when it did...that's when the waterworks came for me. Because you can feel how honest and brutally direct she was being about herself and about the issues on topic.

The fact that this particular version of the book was read by the author probable made it even more wonderful, because there was true emotion on each letter, on each answer. And listening to it goes deep in your heart and beautiful feelings, albeit sometimes sad ones too, nestled in there and after weeks of finishing the book I still choke up remembering certain passages.

I know this is a short review, particularly for a book that I loved, but I cannot put into words how this book makes me feel. It made me laugh, cry, laugh while crying, miss my family like crazy, made me tell people I love them and even took away weight from my shoulders. I would recommend this book to everybody, but get some tissues first. Now go and read it.

Nonfiction November: New to my TBR

I cannot believe that this month is almost gone! And I haven't even send my Christmas cards yet!!! Let's hope they make it on time.

But our topic today is "Which ones have made it onto your TBR?" Well, I have a bunch, and I mean A BUNCH, but I wanted to concentrate on 5 for now, just to keep it relatively simple.

FromTrish@Love Laughter and a Touch of Insanity: She had a great post on Nonfiction and Diversity and from it I got Spirit Boy by Paul Apowida:

[...]Ghana, Paul Apowida tells his story of his childhood amongst villagers who thought he was possessed by the spirit of demons and continually tried to kill him or rid their community of him. His story is not an isolated one and he is currently trying to raise awareness in his home village as well as with other Ghanan villages.

From Shanon  @ River City Reading: Once again from the Nonfiction and Diversity post; she had some kick-ass recommendations (she always does) but the one that I put in my TBR was Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay:

A collection of essays spanning politics, criticism, and feminism from one of the most-watched young cultural observers of her generation, Roxane Gay.

Also from Shannon, but this time from my comment section, she  recommended The Emperor of All Maladies by  Siddhartha Mukherjee. I've already had this one considered for A, but I think I will give it a try for myself:

The Emperor of All Maladies is a magnificent, profoundly humane “biography” of cancer—from its first documented appearances thousands of years ago through the epic battles in the twentieth century to cure, control, and conquer it to a radical new understanding of its essence.  

From Becca @ I'm Lost in Books and her post on "Being the Expert" I want to read The Road of Lost Innocence by Somaly Mam:

Born in a village deep in the Cambodian forest, Somaly Mam was sold into sexual slavery by her grandfather when she was twelve years old. For the next decade she was shuttled through the brothels that make up the sprawling sex trade of Southeast Asia. She suffered unspeakable acts of brutality and witnessed horrors that would haunt her for the rest of her life–until, in her early twenties, she managed to escape. Unable to forget the girls she left behind, Mam became a tenacious and brave leader in the fight against human trafficking, rescuing sex workers–some as young as five and six–offering them shelter, rehabilitation, healing, and love and leading them into new life.

And then I stumble by accident with Black Milk by Elif Shafak. I was looking for her book Honor and ended up putting both books in my cart. On Black Milk:

After the birth of her first child in 2006, Turkish writer Elif Shafek suffered from postpartum depression that triggered a profound personal crisis. Infused with guilt, anxiety, and bewilderment about whether she could ever be a good mother, Shafak stopped writing and lost her faith in words altogether. In this elegantly written memoir, she retraces her journey from free-spirited, nomadic artist to dedicated by emotionally wrought mother. Identifying a constantly bickering harem of women who live inside of her, each with her own characteristics-the cynical intellectual, the goal-oriented go-getter, the practical-rational, the spiritual, the maternal, and the lustful-she craves harmony, or at least a unifying identity. As she intersperses her own experience with the lives of prominent authors such as Sylvia Plath, Virginia Woolf, Alice Walker, Ayn Rand, and Zelda Fitzgerald, Shafak looks for a solution to the inherent conflict between artistic creation and responsible parenting. 

I am very happy with this selection because as you probably noticed it is quite diverse (something I want to work on during 2015) not only in the origins of the authors but also in the type of stories that are being told. It also scares me a bit, because they all touch very "heavy" subjects (well maybe not the Emperor, but it is a heavy book) but I think this is a good thing, I can't just read funny nonfiction.

So there you have it. What about you? did you get a lot of books in you TBR? Let me know in the comments :)

The Isolation Door by Anish Majumdar

I asked and received this book through NetGalley for free. This review is not sponsored nor influenced in anyway. Thanks to Lake Union Publishing for the book. The expected publishing date is November 25.

First impression

The first novel of this author, inspired by her owns experience with a mother with schizophrenia, the book’s description really felt like what I was looking for; something different, a drama and even better, one inspired by real events. While in this sense the story certainly gives you a unique point of view it felt to me that there was a lack of flow, and certain event just felt abrupt and some characters were underdeveloped, even though they would at first seem quite relevant. I think this are all “problems” due to the fact that it is a first novel but the potential is definitely there and I believe we will have more news from Mr. Majumdar.

Final thoughts

Neil Kappor is the main voice in this story; at 23 he is just starting drama school and he is trying to start this new life without the influence that her mother’s schizophrenia has had on anything else. He doesn’t count with the full support of his father, a university professor, who is afraid that going into drama school will only affect Neil in negative way and even push him to be develop the same illness as his wife. Neil will go to school determined to show him different and in this path he will also fall in love with Emily. As the story advances Neil will have to learn that everybody has problems in their lives and that hiding them doesn’t solve them.

The book started great, very touching and compelling. However, as Neil goes to school and meets new people and gets into “the college life” it began to feel like any other story about a boy getting to college. At certain points it even felt like the schizophrenia story was forgotten. And then you have Emily and the other “friends” Neil gets. They all seemed so messed up and yet could be oh so very boring and predictable. While I believe the idea was to exactly show that everyone has something to deal with, throwing a bunch of broken characters but only showing the cracks seemed superfluous and at times unnecessary. I would’ve preferred less characters and more development of the main ones. I barely got to know the father, or Auntie or for that matter Neil or his mother.

I haven’t been exposed directly to someone with a mental illness such as schizophrenia; when I approached the book I was not expecting to learn about the illness, but rather what it is to live with it or with someone with it. Unfortunately by the end of the book I didn’t get that. Very little family dynamics, only presented as memories, and even then they were very sporadic. I wish we would’ve had chapters about the mother, before and during her stay at the hospital, which by the way, seemed terrifying.

Towards the end it read more like a coming of age story, which is not bad, but again, I approached the book expecting it to be more about the mental illness and less about Neil finding himself through drama school. I would’ve also liked a bit more of the Bengali culture.

Ancillary Sword (Imperial Radch #2) by Ann Leckie

First impression

After really loving the first book on the Imperial Radch series, Ancillary Justice, and seeing that I was not the only one (is there any price Leckie didn’t win?) it was a no brainer to continue with the series. It was hard to though, because as it turns out, the changed the narrator (First book was read by Celeste Ciulla and this one is Adjoa Andoh) and so several of the pronunciations, names, etc changed and for the first quarter of the book it was hard to fully engage. Once I was past this, the story was great. Leckie has a gift in building and sharing this new different cultural groups and the Radch universe can be very dark and very colorful at the same time.

Final thoughts

While the first book was intended to be obviously the introduction to the world and developed the revenge sentiment in Breq, this book went deeper into her as character, and that was great. I really appreciated the character growth and development not only for Breq, but for Seivarden and all the rest of the team in Mercy of Kalr.

Breq is still the main voice in the story, but as she herself points out, she is missing her extra ancillaries, and while she still has the connection to Ship, there is a void on how she can “see” or perceive multiple events, compared to what she was in her past with Lieutenant Awn. Her getting accustomed to her new “unique” self was a very different part of the story, but one I really did enjoy, actually feeling her confusion and somewhat sadness to “just be one”.

At first I disliked Lieutenant Tisarwat but by the end of it I was quite fond of her and I am hoping to see her again in Ancillary Mercy. While in this book the focus is settled in character development I feel there is still room for surprise from all the main characters.

The book is set in Athoek Station, far away from the lord of the Radch, but certainly not far from political intrigue. In case you haven’t noticed, the Radch are very keen to maintaining or improving their social status and what is “proper” might change according to what is convenient. Not for Breq; in my own opinion she sticks to the parameters of being a Radchaai even better than any other character even if she despises a big deal of this façade based behaviour.

As much as I liked the book and even if I wasn’t expecting the final twist (no spoilers, don’t worry) there was something missing and I can’t help but to think that this feeling comes from the struggle to engage with the story at the beginning, due to the change of narrator. While both narrators did a terrific job, I am used to a certain continuity of voices by now when I am listening to a series.

This does not dissuade me from waiting anxiously for the next book. I still loved the whole world that Leckie has constructed for us, and contrary to some reviews I saw, I didn’t feel like the political critique was heavy or obscured the rest of the story; on the contrary I think that it is one of the sides I enjoy the most of the series. Let’s hope the trilogy closes with all the spirit and strength present in AJ.

Life of a Blogger: 10 Things you will never do

In the words of Jessi from Novel Heartbeat:

It’s a weekly feature. Each week I will choose a subject and talk about that subject in my life. The topics will be non-bookish so that you can get to know me on a more personal level! I definitely encourage you guys to participate, too. I want this to be meme style with a linky for you to add your posts to. I want to know more about you guys as well!

As you saw in the title this one is a top 10 of things you would never do. Now I had a bit of trouble with it, not because I am the "never say never type", far from it, but mostly because there are things that in the past I was sure I would never do (like enjoy poutine) and then I am proved wrong. So here are 10 things that this time in my live, I feel I would never do:

1. Go hunting: I like eating meat but I just can't find it appealing to do this for pleasure. 

2. Eat anything made with brains: I understand it is a delikatessen some places, and my grandma used to make a type of cake that most of my family loved, but not me, I just can't.

3. Buy a huge car, like a Hummer: first of all I would need a stool to get in and second of all I just plainly don't like massive cars.

4. Get used to the darkness of winter: while I've gotten used to the idea of winter, the darkness that arrives always hits me hard, and I seriously doubt I will ever be able to make peace with it.

5. Get a piercing: When I was younger I wanted one, but as years go by I no longer want one, so probably I will never get one.

6. Steal: I am lucky in a way that I can afford all essentials and even more, so I hope this one never changes.

7.Do any "high adrenaline" activities/competitive sports: It is just not my thing you guys, I am horribly competitive, which is not good; and adrenaline wise I can even get panic attacks :/

8. Do anything that might hurt the people I love: I would think this is prettey self explanatory

9. Get a face tattoo: again, just not for me 

10. Get Plastic Surgery for non medical reasons: I have as many body issues as the next person, but surgeries are not fun, so doing it without NEEDING to, just doesn't work for me.

That's it for now! Leave me a link to your list in the comments below so I can check them out :D

 

What We see When We Read by Peter Mendelsund

First Impressions

This book is so pretty! I got it with my BookRiot Quarterly box this September and I was dying to read, just because it is soooo pretty. Mendelsund nailed it with this book. From what we see to how we see it when we are reading a book, with gorgeous pages and amazing aesthetics, this book put into words what I haven't been able to when I try to explain my reading experiences to non readers.

Final thoughts

As a cover (or jacket) designer, Mendelsund has to put into images what a book might be about and boy he does a great job. If you check his profile at The Book Cover Archive for example, you will see what I mean. Gorgeous and interesting covers are his signature, and the one for his own book is not exception, being very simple and yet so full of meaning. This continues all over the book, where ideas are not only written by put into images, giving a whole new dimension.

The book is constructed in small chapters that all address the different parts that reading might have: Fictions, Vividness, Synesthesia, just to name a few of them, and then they all flow merging into the experience that is reading.

I was very lucky, as the copy that everyone received through Quarterly had post-its by the author with extra comments. But even without this, I can tell I would've loved the book just the same. I felt like a kid reading a picture book, except that this one was making me understand better what my brain did with books without pictures. At a times it even felt like someone else was reading the book to me and I was just there for the ride. This was actually nice, to get so immersed in a nonfiction book. 

Words made into pictures and pictures made into words and all of this weaved in a beautiful package to try to explain how our imagination fills the blanks that sometimes are there and how it utilizes the (sometimes) little information about imagery given by an specific author. 

I keep going back to it, sometimes just to look at it, sometimes to re read phrases or whole paragraphs that marked me in particular; those "aha" moments that your brain goes: "Yes, that's what it is like!"

This was a great read for me as a reader, but I think it would be great for designers as it is so rich visually. 

Nonfiction November: Diversity and Nonfiction

Week 3: Becca from Lost in Books asks: What does diversity in nonfiction mean to you? Is it about the topic or theme of the book? Or is it the race or ethnicity of the author? Do you have any recommendations for diverse nonfiction books? Are there any topics that you’d like to see written about and/or read more widely?

Guys, I am so ashamed, so so ashamed. I've spend several minutes looking at my nonfiction reads, fro the last 3 years (say since I started blogging regularly and actually having reviews) and you know what I found? Out of 28 books (which is already very low mind you) only 2 books was written by a non white person, and that is if we count the one that I haven't read yet.

Gender wise things are more even, but boy oh boy, it is a huge black star over my head to realize that I read so little diverse nonfiction. Is not even that I could compensate by saying that the subjects are a bit more diverse, because I don't feel right down so. 

Here is the thing. I have made a decision, an early new year resolution if you may: 2015 will be my year of reading diversely, both in fiction (where I am happy to tell you guys, I am doing much, much better) and in nonfiction. I am lucky to have discovered this event, because so many of you guys are giving a lot of fantastic recommendations. I had already thought about the fact that, since it might be my last year of PhD and hence I will have to actually start writing my thesis, the amount of books I will be able to read for leisure will go down, compared to later years. But I think as long as the quality and the spectrum of what I read improves I can't be sad about it, right?

So I am asking you guys to leave me a comment with the book you think I HAVE to read next year in diverse nonfiction. I can't promise I will read them all, but it would be nice to start with a strong list.

Thank you!!!!