Rainy Day Reads

This book follows Janna, an Arab-Indian American teen girl who is struggling with finding her place in the social life of high school and the mosque. She wears a hijab and that instantly makes her stick out at her high school, and when she tries to be a bit more “Western” it makes her stick out in the Muslim community. As she struggles to find a balance she must also deal with a predator who has set his sights on her, and as she slowly finds the strength to stand up to him, she finds new friends and loses some old ones along the way.   I’m a bit conflicted about this book, because while I liked the basis of the story, there was also a lot of things that I didn’t really appreciate. I listened to it on audio and I do feel like the narrator had a part in my not liking it too much. The narrator would over-enunciate everything and that would make conversations sound kind of fake and overly enthusiastic. Sometimes it would also sound really whiny, especially in Janna’s inner monol

The book: Initially this book was published as a serial in The American Magazine beginning in 1910. Already in 1911 however it was published in book form in both the United States and the UK. The initial publication in the magazine was apparently aimed at adults, and it was not as popular as some of the author’s earlier works. Only after children’s literature in general became popular during the past 50 years or so did it start to receive some notice, and these days it is often considered one of the best children’s classics of the world.  The author: Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett was born in 1849 in England, and after her father died the family emigrated to The United States in 1865, where they settled in Tennessee. When she was 19 Hodgson started publishing stories in magazines in order to help with the bills at home. in 1872 she married and the couple moved to Paris, where they lived for two years. After this they moved back to the states and lived in Washington

This book follows Lily who is not doing so well in chemistry class. In stead of taking notes she scribbles song lyrics on the desk. Next day she discovers that someone has continued the lyrics, and the two start a correspondence hiding notes under their shared desk. Alongside this exchanging of notes we follow Lily’s slightly chaotic home life and her trials at school struggling with the popular kids, and trying to overcome her awkwardness to ask her crush out.   This was a cute and fun contemporary, but nothing more really. It is pretty obvious from the start who the secret letter writer is going to be but I didn’t mind it too much. I really liked the person and when we got their backstory through the letters it made me really invested in them. It was fun to see Lily balance her opposing views of the letter writer in the letters with the person in real life once she found out who they were. As I said it was fun and cute, but not much more. I gave it 3 stars out of 5, maybe 3,25,

This is a Cinderella retelling with an LGBT+ twist. We follow Aisling, or Ash for short, who loses her mother at a young age. When her father remarries she gains a stepmother and two stepsisters. So far so good. But here is where the story begins to veer away from the classic fairytale. In this world fairies exist. Not the kind fairy godmother kind, but the cruel hearted Fey kind. Ash seems to have some sort of connection with them, or at least with one of them in particular. She longs to belong in their world, but when she meets the King’s huntress, Kaisa, she changes her mind about leaving the human world behind.   I was really interested in this story because I enjoy retellings and because of the LGBT+ aspect. But I have to say I was pretty disappointed. The romance doesn’t really come into play until almost halfway through the book, and then it plays out pretty quickly and almost as a side plot to the fairy world. But then the fairy plot didn’t really feel that fleshed o

This is a non-fiction account detailing how three brothers built an entire Jewish community under the noses of the Nazi invaders in the Belorussian area during World War II.   I had never heard of this story before, and I doubt many people have, even though this group of Jewish people was one of the largest to be saved during the war. The story itself is fascinating. We follow the Bielski family, as they endure a number of discriminatory acts from diverse governments and the civilian population in their area, even before the arrival of the Nazis. When the Nazis come the family first try to tough it out, but after the death of the parents and the many mass killings three of the brothers decide to make a run for the forest to try and bring their family through the war in hiding. At first it is only extended family, and the small group manages to hide somewhat easily in the massive woods, but soon hundreds of escapees from the ghettos in surrounding cities join the group. Hidin

I listened to this on audiobook. I've never been a great listener when people read to me. I don't know why. I just zone out. But I'm dedicated to getting better at it, because audiobooks are a great way to spend a commute. I very much enjoyed this book on audio so I have high hopes for the future. I have to say, the narrator plays a huge part in the enjoyment. This  narrator  was  great, but I'm currently listening to "Saints and Misfit" by S.K. Ali and not enjoying it quite so much because of the narrator. But more on that in a later post.  Marin is staying behind at college while everyone else is going home for winter break. We soon learn that the reason for this is because her grandfather has died, and since he was her only family she has nowhere to go. She could go to her best friend's house and stay for Christmas. The best friend and her parents have even invited her, but Marin feels like she can't go back to that life. In flashbacks we

The Book This is Anne Brontë’s debut novel written under the pen name of Acton Bell. It was first published in 1847 and many believe that it depicts Anne’s own experiences as a governess. It deals with themes of oppression, treatment of animals, empathy and isolation, and at least one incident described in the book is based on real events (Agnes killing a nest of birds to prevent them from being tortured by the young boy of the family she is working for).  The Author Anne Brontë was born in 1820 and died in 1849. She was the youngest of the Brontë sisters and lived with her family most of her life. In her early 20s she worked as a governess, but after leaving that profession in 1845 she started writing. She wrote poems, which were published in a volume of poems written by her and her sisters, and she proceeded to write two novels, “Agnes Grey” and “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall” before she died. All of these were first published under a pseudonym; Acton Bell. Her sisters

This is a non-fiction book about character traits, especially introversion and extroversion. Being an introvert myself I have wanted to read this book for a while, in order to really appreciate what I can bring to the table. I stopped thinking I needed to change and be more extroverted a good while ago, but at the same time it’s nice to hear someone else say it.   Cain goes through various results from experiments and studies that detail the difference between introverts and extroverts and how each will react and behave in given situations. She also correlates these traits to other traits, and showcases the strengths and weaknesses of both types.  I really liked this book. A lot of the basics was stuff I was sort of thinking myself. Like, introverts do not need to change and we can bring something valuable to the table. But like I said, it’s nice to hear someone else say it, and really put the right words on it. It was fun reading about the studies and their results and

I decided to try and do something to organize my reading for the new year and I thought reading topics for each month might be fun. I usually enjoy Non-fiction November, so why not expand that idea to the rest of the year. These are the topics I came up with and some books I should like to read for each topic. I don't necessarily plan on reading all the books for each month, but it's fun to have something to start with. Feel free to join me on this topical reading quest and if you have any recommendation please leave them in the comments. JAZZY JANUARY (historical fiction from the jazz age) FEMINIST FEBRUARY MOTIVATIONAL MARCH The Girls at the Kingfisher Club by Genevieve Valentine We should all the feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Getting things done by David Allen The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Girls will be girls by Emer O’Toole Start b

Challenges:   Diversity Bingo 2017: Contemporary World Arranged Marriage This book follows Dimple, an Indian-American, who struggles to break free from her family’s traditional expectations and follow her dreams of coding. Surprisingly however, her parents allow her to go to a summer camp sort of thing that’s all about coding and building your own app. When she gets there she finds out the real reason her parents were so happy to let her go. Her intended husband is also attending this camp… We follow both Dimple and Rishi’s perspectives and I really liked seeing the story from both sides. Dimple is the “rebellious” one who wants to break free from the Indian traditions concerning marriage and family life, while Rishi is quite traditional, and wants nothing more than to get married, have kids and provide for his family in a stable job.  I really like the friendships in this book and also the family relations. There are definitely conflicts, but the way they are reso