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Showing posts from May, 2014

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Infinite Country by Patricia Engel | Thoughts

   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 story of her family through the other protagonist, El

Giveaway (US and Canada) *Armchair BEA Week*

(This giveaway has ended. Thanks for entering!) For Armchair BEA giveaway day, I have one of three gently used books up for grabs. An ARC of   American Dervish by Ayad Akhtar Naked by David Sedaris Pigs in Heaven by Barbara Kingsolver To enter, simply fill the form below. I'll be closing this giveaway on Sunday June 1, 8 am US Eastern time, and will announce the winner using the always-dependable services of random.org. To enter, You  don't  have to be a follower of my blog. You must be over 13 years of age. Only US and Canada (Sorry. Postal rates.) Enter by June 1 2014 , Sunday, 8.00 a.m. US Eastern time. Fill the form.

Internationally flavored and globally spiced *Armchair BEA Week*

One of my favorite things to talk about is diversity in books. Diversity in characters, locations, themes, complexions, and authors. What is more beautiful than walking into a sandbox with plenty of differences to go around? That said, it is very hard to make sure there is some diversity in the books I read. Fancy this situation: At the end of a tiring day at work, I walk into my local library, happy to be in there, planning to only return a book. But the new books shelf catches my eye and so I head in there to see what books are enjoying some of the sunshine. 99% of the time, there are only mostly American and some British books in there. Even if I do see an odd Nigerian or Chinese title in there, how likely I am to pick one of those as opposed to a shiny American title that everyone has been raving about? Not very. Last year, I decided to read serendipitously. I picked books at random from the library, sometimes after hearing a blogger talk about it, and sometimes just

The little moments in a blogger's life *Armchair BEA Week*

I've been book-blogging for four and a half years by now, and if I had to look at the big picture and say where it took me, I'd say nowhere. I don't write for any publications. I haven't written a book. Heck, I haven't even been to BEA. I haven't written fan-fiction. And I still blog at the same place I started, all those years ago. Yep, what a bummer. And I was saying that I'm going to write a book. Yeah, chuckles. I have come across tons of blogs that have made careers for their writers. Remember Julie and Julia ? Julie Powell started a blog on a whim and decided that she was going to cook all the recipes from one of Julia's books, and what do you know, but a year later she has become famous! Heck, she even has quite a few books to her name AND a movie. A movie, folks! Not something I can even dream of for now. Not that I have any interest in seeing myself on the TV screen, but hey, it's still an achievement. What about Erin

A Long Story of my Affair with the graphic book *Armchair BEA Week*

As any long time reader of this blog will probably know, I am a big fan of books in the graphic medium. Not comic books, but literary fiction and memoirs in the graphic format. I don't know exactly how I came to love this medium. Which is the first graphic book I ever read? I don't know. When did I read my first graphic book? I don't know that either. Did I always love graphic books? Pretty sure, I did not. I do know that the first graphic book I remember reading is Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi. For the longest time, I had the misconception that graphic books = comic books, of the Superman and Batman variety. Not that I have anything against them, but they are not exactly my cup of tea. And then, I found the book Persepolis in my best friend's bookshelf. I have to say - that moment was certainly very momentous for me, because that was probably the day I started looking for graphic books actively. I devoured Persepolis in two sittings, and I wan

Kicking off!! *Armchair BEA Week*

Hello, Armchair BEA ! After armchairing at BEA for two years (the first two years since the inception of Armchair BEA ), I took a two-year break, because, Armchair BEA can get really hectic, and I spent the last two years taking it slow in the blogging world, without being on my computer or phone all day long. Obviously, I've been missing all those buzz-filled days that the BEA brings with it, because I'm back again doing this. From the year I started blogging, I've wanted to go to BEA one of these years, and I still haven't done it yet. Interestingly, I don't feel as eager to go to BEA as I did four years ago because of a change in reading tastes?  of a change in motivation for blogging/reading?  I am generally less keen on new releases as I am on the backlist? I don't see that many books at BEA that excite me as much as I wish there were? Or, most probably, I'm more likely to pick a book if people are talking about it already than just seeing

Why we need more books written in the vernacular

Last week, I started reading We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo, after hearing from many about how good it was. I had read a few African literature before, though, as the main character in We Need New Names , Darling, points out, Africa is not one country but a continent of fifty-some countries. When I started reading the book, I was disappointed by how slow I was having to read it just to understand what the narrator was trying to say. Rereading chapters, and sometimes, restarting a book after already reading a couple of pages or chapters, is very normal for me. That helps me reorient myself in the book's atmosphere and relax into the book's world. With We Need New Names , restarting did help, but the writing continued to be a tad difficult. Darling had only done a few years of school, and her English, while better than that of her friends and family, was still very shaky and could use a lot of refinement. As We Need New Names is narrated by her, it is written mostl

Child of Dandelions by Shenaaz Nanji

She and her family had been treating the Africans like the untouchables in India. Katana could not share their utensils, could not use their washroom. As if he'd pollute them. Every day he waited until they finished their meal; then he cleared the table, washed the dishes, and sat on the kitchen floor to eat the leftovers or cook the bubbling white ugali, a corn mush. Sabine's face felt hot with shame. It was not only Mr. Singh or Lalita who were prejudiced, but she and her family as well. Sometimes it takes a drastic event to put things in perspective. President Idi Amin has just decreed that all foreign Indians must be "weeded" out of Uganda within 90 days. Fifteen-year old Sabine suddenly finds her world upturned. While her father reassures her and her family that they are not foreign since they were all born in Uganda, Sabine secretly shares the same worries as her mother. It doesn't help that wherever she goes, she sees animosity from other Ugandans.

The Sunday Salon: Wrapping up the readathon and other great reads

Hello, y'all! How is this beautiful Sunday treating you? At least, I hope it's as beautiful there as it is here. We've been seeing some good weather here lately. A few really warm days (90s gah), and then a few days with a lot of rain (whoopie). Today is sunny again, which is just as well, because our lawn is in need of mowing. This past week, I tried really hard to actively be a readathoner. But until Thursday, it was just like any other work day - tiring, and spent in front of the TV. Both The Originials and The Vampire Diaries had their season finales this week, and TVD seriously killed me with what they did. It was a beautiful episode - after weeks of boring predictable ones, it was nice to be reminded of what I always liked about this show - the edge of the seat feeling. But I can't say I liked how they ended, and immediately after the show, this is what I tweeted, because it left me all broken inside. Anyways, about that readathon - the Bout of Book

The City Son by Samrat Upadhyay

"I'm not hungry," Apsara says. "Then why do I slave in this house, cooking and cleaning? And he breaks his back teaching, just so we have the luxury of wasting our food?" Didi was going through her sons' old clothes when some stranger woman stopped by to tell her that her husband (called Masterji through the entire book because he tutors students) has been cheating on her, and now has another wife and son living in the city. This is news to Didi but it doesn't seem to inspire in her the kind of reaction you would expect from scorned women. Earlier, the Masterji had sent her a letter saying that he will not be visiting her this year as he is quite busy (Masterji lives in the city while Didi stays in their native village with their two sons). Didi packs up her bags and arrives at the Masterji's city apartment with their two sons in tow, surprising her husband and leaving him no way to pretty his situation, in anticipation of her arrival. Very

Throwing my hat into the ring (or, rather, joining Bout of Books readathon)

After much consideration, browsing (and snooping) through other bloggers' posts, and loving the idea of this event, I've decided to take part in the Bout of Books readathon . I've seen this event mentioned many times in the blogosphere, but have never been a part of it before. Now is probably a good time to do it. My reading has considerably slowed down, my trysts around the online book world has reduced, and I find myself often wondering what happened to my dedicated reading hours. It took finishing an amazing book in four hours to make me want to do this. Bout of Books starts today and runs all the way to the 18th. It will be great to be able to just read and rediscover all the thrills it brings with it. So here are my goals for the week: 1. Find at least two hours every day when I can just read. I need to get away from online and TV distractions as much as I can. I also need to not read unless I will get a good amount of undistracted time with the book. My enjoym

The Sunday Salon: Yet another trip to DC and places hither

Whoo! It's good to be back after a two week impromptu break! I did not mean to disappear like that, but the disappearance just happened to happen. We had friends over at our home the last weekend, and then this past week, I impulsively decided to be as absent from the digital world as I realistically could (Since I write code for a living, it's never entirely possible). Yesterday I played catch-up with my emails, and finally today, I am ready to blog. Last weekend, we had a gala time when our friends were here. We visited Natural Bridge and then hiked to the Lace Falls . Since our friends are from Chicago, where domes and skyscrapers are the norm, they were quite enamored by the more rustic beauty of this part of the country. Our dog also joined for the hike and she was knocked out by the time we were done. A tired dog is a happy dog, right? The scenic drive throughout Luckily for us, she was so tired the next day as well that we did not feel too bad about dropping