March Round Up

March flew by for me. That may have to do with the fact that I was laid up with bronchitis for most of it and life seems to pass in a haze of coughing.

The Ever After of Ashwin Rao by Padma Viswanathan

Wow. This is one hard book to review. Let me start off by saying Padma Viswanathan has written one of the bravest books I’ve seen in a long time with The Ever After of Ashwin Rao. Brave because it takes on one of the darker incidents in Canada’s recent past, the 1985 Air India bombing. Brave because it takes on the very perpetrators of this incident and condemns them as guilty in spite of the court findings. Brave because it (rightly) accuses Canada of seeing this as another nation’s problem. Brave because it tackles the inter-religious fighting in India and it’s connections to immigrants in Canada and around the world.

Bad Teeth by Dustin Long

When I saw Bad Teeth by Dustin Long I thought, this is the book for me. It ticks all of my boxes: academic satire- check, Tibet writer who may be a plagiarist – interest peaked, add in a touch of a love story – oh yeah. And did I mention that it has footnotes? I love me a footnote!

Bloggiesta Spring 2014

It’s kind of funny that Bloggiesta always seems to arrive when I need it most. Which is just another way of saying HELP,THIS BLOG NEEDS SOME LOVE. I am too overwhelmed to even give much thought to my To-Do list, so I will likely add to it over the next few days, but here is a start.

1. Update Reviews List
2. Catch up on reading to April 1
3. Write three reviews
4. Clean up Pinterest
5. Update About page
6. River City Reading’s PicMonkey Mini Challenge
7. Doing Dewey’s Social Media (Especially Pinterest) Mini-Challenge
8. Love At First Book’s Twitter List Mini Challenge
9. Get ahead on Cover Wars
10. Do March round up
11. update LinkedIn

And I’m sure many other Mini Challenges will come my way. Good luck to everyone and get busy!

The Beauty of Humanity Movement by Camilla Gibb

 

I love Pho’, Vietnamese noodle soup. I mean, I really love it. One of the major downsides of living in Edinburgh is that I haven’t found a good, cheap pho’ place that hits the spot. While I was down in London I was lucky enough to stumble upon Pho Cafe in Soho and it gave me the strength to wade into The Beauty of Humanity Movement by Camilla Gibb.

Why did I need to fortify myself with pho’ to read this you ask? The Beauty of Humanity Movement is a lot of things, including an ode to pho’. The story centers on Hung, an itinerant pho maker in Hanoi. Everyday people seek him out with their bowls poised to take in the delicate aroma of his broth. But Hung also holds the secrets to Hanoi’s controversial past. The writers and artists who were persecuted and often sent away for retraining once frequented his shop. Maggie, a Vietnamese-American seeks Hung out to uncover part of her father’s life which she knew nothing about.

Visible City by Tova Mirvis

I don’t know why Visible City is the first book by Tova Mirvis that I’ve read, but it is. And I loved it. It is like the books was specifically crafted for me or someone like me: urban dweller (and loves it), failed academic, stay at home mom, the list goes on. Visible City corresponded to my life like few books have. I guess what I’m saying is that I loved this book because of who I am, not because of what the books has to offer.

So what does Visible City have to offer? It is the story of several New Yorkers who’s lives overlap simply because of where they live. The main character, if there is one, is Nina, a successful lawyer who has given up her career to stay at home with her kids. She’s not happy with her life and looks to lives’ of other to fill in a gap. That’s right, she’s a people watcher.

Spring Reading Thing 2014

I started this year off right. I did not commit to reading too many things and everything was manageable. Fast forward three months and things are quickly spinning out of control. Thank goodness Sandra at Musings of a Book Addict has come along with The Spring Reading Thing. I’m hoping this will give my spring reading some organization and structure.

Cover Wars: The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri

This week’s book was recently voted out of The Tournament of Books. I’m not saying that is because of the cover, but we can speculate. As you may recall from my review of The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri, I was not a huge fan of the book. I found it slow and plodding. Do you think that had something to do with the North American cover?

The Muslims Are Coming by Arun Kundnani

Do you ever take the time to reflect on how your reading habits have changed over the years? In writing this blog I’ve come to realize that I am less of a literary snob than I used to be. I actually like stuff that I once would have considered “too light”. Instead of something truly challenging, I prefer a book that will take me away from the daily grid for a couple of hours.

And that brings us to The Muslims Are Coming by Arun Kundnani. There was a time in my life when I would have been all over this book. The topic – Islamophobia in the United States and Britain – is one that I think needs more critical attention and analysis and still appeals to me. BUT, maybe it’s because I am living the post-academic life, can you dumb it down a little?

Capital by John Lanchester

What better book to read whilst in London than Capital by John Lanchester? I know, I know, I could have chosen other iconic novels like White Teeth by Zadie Smith or Brick Lane by Monica Ali, but I went with Capital for two main reasons: the financial meltdown of 2008 and it was on my TBR list. It should also be noted that I was meant to read White Teeth while I was in London as well, but I ran out of time.