Published : 2021 || Format : print || Location : Colombia ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ What was it about the country that kept everyone hostage to its fantasy? The previous month, on its own soil, an American man went to his job at a plant and gunned down fourteen coworkers, and last spring alone there were four different school shootings. A nation at war with itself, yet people still spoke of it as some kind of paradise.. Thoughts : Infinite Country follows two characters - young Talia, who at the beginning of this book, escapes a girl’s reform school in North Colombia so that she can make her previously booked flight to the US. Before she can do that, she needs to travel many miles to reach her father and get her ticket to the rest of her family. As we follow Talia’s treacherous journey south, we learn about how she ended up in the reform school in the first place and why half her family resides in the US. Infinite Country tells the...
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at Should be reading, this meme asks you what great books did you hear about/discover this past week?No, this post was not put up in error. I have a review scheduled for tomorrow, and so decided to put up my week's finds a day in advance. I could have burdened you with 2 or more posts tomorrow but that would be mean of me, and I'm not mean, trust me! :-) I could have forgone this meme for just this day, but then I LOVE ogling at my massive TBR shelf and choosing the ones that really impressed me! How narcissistic, I know!
Dreaming in Hindi by Katherine Russell Rich
As an Indian, I am very interested in the experiences of visitors, to understand a different perspective about the people, the languages and the customs of this country. I myself was a "visitor" briefly, when I grew up in Dubai, but became "native" once I adapted. So I find it funny when I come across opinions similar to my "visitor" opinions. I found this book through Swapna's review at her blog, S. Krishna's Books.
On a free-lance writing assignment to go to
India, Rich found herself thunderstruck by the place and the
language. Before she knew it she was on her way to Udaipur, a city in
the northwestern state of Rajasthan, in order to learn Hindi. In this inspirational memoir, Rich documents her experiences in India
ranging from the bizarre to the frightening to the unexpectedly
exhilarating using Hindi as the lens through which she is given a new
perspective not only on India, but on the radical way the country and
the language itself were changing her. Fascinated by the process, she
went on to interview linguistics experts around the world, reporting
back from the frontlines of the science wars on what happens in the
brain when we learn a new language.
May be, I'll be able to understand why I am so slow at learning new languages while my ex-roommate learned new words in a jiffy!
May be, I'll be able to understand why I am so slow at learning new languages while my ex-roommate learned new words in a jiffy!
The Walk by Richard Paul Evans
I love reading about characters who bounce back strongly, especially through inspirations found in the least expected places, after losing something major in their lives. Don't we all go through the rough times, and then just want to chuck everything? I am thrilled to have come across this via Shelf Awareness.
Once-successful Seattle advertising executive
Alan Christoffersen loses everything important to him: his beloved wife
dies after being thrown by a horse, his business partner steals all
their clients for himself, and lenders re-possess Alan's home and cars.
Anchorless, Alan decides to take a walk to "the furthest point reachable
by foot," Key West, Fla., in search of new meaning. Surrendering all of his possessions, Alan embarks on his incredible
hike, and he encounters a series of strangers who remind him that life's
most profound lessons can sometimes only be written on a clean slate.
What a beautiful idea, especially considering that most of the times, I feel weighed down by my past through the "I am like this" or the "I never did this before" symptoms. It would be satisfying not to walk around with excessive baggage.
What a beautiful idea, especially considering that most of the times, I feel weighed down by my past through the "I am like this" or the "I never did this before" symptoms. It would be satisfying not to walk around with excessive baggage.
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
During a discussion recently in one of my Goodreads groups, this book about a rape was suggested by a member. Soon, a lot of ladies confessed deeper emotional connections with the subject matter, having been victims themselves at some point. The stats in that 30-odd member group was horrifying - justice was not even served in some of the cases. Why does this unspeakable act recur?
Since the beginning of the school year, high school freshman Melinda has
found that it's been getting harder and harder for her to speak out
loud: "My throat is always sore, my lips raw.... Every time I try to
talk to my parents or a teacher, I sputter or freeze.... It's like I
have some kind of spastic laryngitis." What could have caused Melinda to
suddenly fall mute? Could it be due to the fact that no one at school
is speaking to her because she called the cops and got everyone busted
at the seniors' big end-of-summer party? Or maybe it's because her
parents' only form of communication is Post-It notes written on their
way out the door to their nine-to-whenever jobs. While Melinda is
bothered by these things, deep down she knows the real reason why she's
been struck mute...
Comments
Now, for Speak. I read Speak at a really young age, 12, and in my opinion it is not really geared towards the right age group. It's funny, I recently had this exact conversation with a friend who read it when she was 13. I remember the book vividly though, and I would definitely recommend reading it. I mean, at 12 I didn't have a great grasp on "good" books but I still think this is one worth checking out.
My favorite director is Mira Nair. Need I say more? ;)
I have Speak in my TBR pile. I am hoping I have time between all of my review books and challenge books to get to it soon!