And
the Mountains Echoed—Khaled Hosseini—BEAUTIFUL book. Written in the most amazing, heart-breaking
way. I cried at many parts. Explored struggles between social classes,
race, poverty, role of a child vs adult, living in a different culture than
your own, how a lifetime of sacrifice can result in happiness, (although it’s
okay if you pursue your own path as well).
Money can’t keep shame and sorrow out of wealthy households!! Normally I am bored with overly descriptive
writing, but Hosseini paints wonderful pictures with his prose.
Dear
Girls Above Me--Charles McDowell—Laugh out loud funny! Not really the most inspirational of books,
but a quick beach read.
A Dog Walks into a Nursing Home--Sue Halpern—I am a sucker for a feel-good book
involving dogs and old people! This is a
powerful story, but written in a humorous light. I’ve always believed in the
animal’s power to heal human spirits. This was an easy, but inspirational read. “Our hearts should never be so wrapped up in
our affairs and problems that they fail to hear the cry of the poor… Reaching out
to others and opening our hearts to their needs can become an opportunity for
salvation and blessedness”.
Best
parts: “I wish I’d had the courage to
live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me. I wish I hadn’t worked so hard. I wish I had had the courage to express my
feelings. I wish I’d stayed in touch
with my friends. I wish I’d let myself
be happier."
“What
are you going to do with your one wild and precious life?” -Mary Oliver
10
Make or Break Career Moments--Casey Hawley—This book was filled with useful
interview tips, networking ideas, and branching out into entrepreneurship. More on this book when I review "Lean In", which is what I'm currently reading.
Bared
to You--Sylvia Day--Which
came first? 50 Shades or Sylvia
Day? Seemed like a bad 50 Shades knock
off. I found this book to be boring, but
at least the relationship between Eva and Gideon seemed to be more realistic
than Christian and Anastasia of 50 Shades.
I did not continue reading the 2nd or 3rd books of
this series, as I did not find it necessary.
El
Amor Como Forma de Vida--Gary Chapman--Voy a escribir mas de este tema y libro mañana.
The Art Forger--B.A.
Shapiro--This book was so
interesting!! I loved the characters, the honesty of Claire, her mission to
connect the past with the present, and her struggle to be original, while
working as a forger. I learned a lot
about art as well. Never knew so many
pieces of art were copied in the world!
Ordinary Thunderstorms--William Boyd--This book was really interesting
as well. What should you do if you’re in
the wrong place at the wrong time? Do
you try to explain what happened, and risk losing your freedom and
independence? Or do you not take that
chance, and live a life on the run? Are
you willing to give up everything to live penniless? Since the e-book expired before I could
finish…What happened to Adam? Was he ever
discovered that he wasn’t Primo Belem? Did he adopt Ly-on? Was the connection between Kagan and killer
of Wang ever discovered? I'll have to wait to meet with my book club to find out!
The Immortal
Life of Henrietta Lacks--Rebecca
Skloot—FASCINATING story about a woman who forever changed the world of science
in the late 20th century.
Little is known/taught about her in K-12 schooling. The woman behind “HeLa cells” should be known
with the same popularity as Jonas Salk or Alexander Fleming, but sadly, because
she was a poor black woman, she changed the world without even knowing it, and
her legacy has lived on in too small of a capacity.
As per this book, it seems certain companies should not be so greedy about their profits, they should be helping people first and increasing access to their screening tests; not making it impossible for people to save themselves. That is the problem with commercializing everything in this generation; ethics goes out the window when people are clouded by greed for wealth and power. We need to adopt a mentality of "what is good for the greater good of the group".
We see this same trend in other areas which Americans are suffering under debt. Sallie Mae rakes in big profits off college students eating ramen noodles, unable to find a job after graduating. Education and health care should be NON-PROFIT industries!! When they are for-profit, integrity is compromised! Shouldn't education and health care be considered basic human rights??
This also further irritates my dislike for research companies that raise billions of dollars EVERY year in the pursuit of eradicating cancer, lupus, autism, etc, and look to the "little guy" to raise money and fund the research when the patent pirates should be the ones donating the money, which again would be for the benefit of the greater good of the group!
Powerful quote: "Like a used tissue in the waste basket of a doctor's office, once a tissue or blood sample leaves your body, you have no control over it, nor the money the sample will generate".
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