I am not who you think I am, and I never will be.

The Summer Book (Finland)

I did not think that with COVID-19 I would be able to keep reading around the world. The libraries here are closed and it is hard to get books from other countries unless it is through the library system. I am on Litsy and there is a book group called #LMPBC that I have been doing for 2 years now. This last round, #LMPBC is done is rounds, was novellas or short stories. One of the books that was…

Told by Starlight in Chad by Joseph Brahim Seid wsa translated from French by Karen Haire Hoenig is a wonderful short book. It is full of tales of the oral tradition from the country Chad.

There are many familiar components to the stories, wicked stepparents, talking animals and the like. There is also history and bits of wisdom in the writing of this little book. I keep saying it is a little…

Daba’s Travels from Ouadda to Bangui by Makombo Bambote Central African Republic

Daba’s Travels from Ouadda to Bangui was written by Makombo Bambote and translated from French by John Buchanan-Brown.  There is not going to be a link to this book as I have not been able to find one.

This book is adorable. Daba leaves his village to go live in a town where he can get schooling. There he makes friends, enemies, and starts to learn skills that he needs to grow up.

This is an…

The Last Will and Testament of Senhor da Silva Araujo (Cape Verde)

The Last Will and Testament of Senhor da Silva Araujo by Germano Almeida and translated from Portuguese by Sheila Faria Glaser, was the book that I chose to read for Cape Verde. First I did not know that Cape Verde was a Portugal colony, and when I read that the book was translated from Portuguese I was a little surprised.

The book focuses on the life of Senhor Napumoceno da Silva Araujo, and…

The Sacred Door and Other Stories (Cameroon)

The Sacred Door and Other Storiesby Makuchi, was a delight to read. When I find and read a book of folktales from other parts of the world I am amazed at how similar some of the stories are. There are stories in here that remind me of Cinderella, and others that remind me of Aesop’s Fables. That being said they was enough difference in the stories for me to know that I was not reading a western…

In the Time of the Butterflies (Dominican Republic)

It has been a while sense I have read a book that qualifies for around the world. With all that is happening in the news, and just life it is hard to want to explore. It is also hard in getting books that meet my criteria. When I do find books I want to read I have to get them with an inter library loan, and I get five books at the same time.  Most if not all of the books are on a hard subject…

Letters From Burma (Burma)

  Letters from Burma by Aung San Suu Kyi is a series of essays about her view of Burma, and what the political climate was under Military  rule. I loved the descriptions of the county side and of the festivals.

One of the festivals that I would like to see in person is the Thingyan. It takes place in April and is the Burmese New Year.  There are a lot of Buddhist traditions involved in the…

The Movies of My Life (Chile)

When I was researching what book to read for Chile, I came across this one. In my research it said it is a work of fiction, but it reads like a memoir. The Movies of My Life by Alberto Fuguet made me forget that the author and the main character Beltran Soler were two separate people.

The book starts out with a conversation between Beltran and his sister Manuela, set in more modern times. The…

Cannery Row by John Steinbeck is a classic in American literature, and if this had not been for the book club I would have quit reading it a few chapters in. First I had to look up some raciest words I had not heard before. So, I will admit that it was neat knowing that a raciest word that was common when the book was written was falling out of use.

When the book club met to talk about this…

Love Letter to Jane’s World

OMG y’all I love Jane! Love Letter to Jane’s World by Page Braddock is just amazing. This is a collection of the Jane’s World comic from the past twenty years. I have been reading Jane’s World for years.  Jane’s World was one of the first lesbian comics to be picked up by major publishers. Go Page!

I first found her by accident and after a few panels I was hooked. This woman who was just trying…

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton is one of those book that I should have read a long time ago. Is it better than the movie? In some ways yes, in others no.

If you have seen the movie then then you know what the story is about, a tech company that with some DNA recreates dinosaurs on an island. What could go wrong? Right!

Some of the differences that I noticed where minor and had to do with real…

March Book One , Book Two and Book Three by Senator John Lewis.

I heard about this series and I thought that if they have one at the library I would get it and see what the hype was all about. The hype was worth it.

March starts out at Obama’s inauguration and through flash backs tells the life story of Senator Lewis, but it is so much more than that. It tells the history from the inside of part…

This book was picked by my book club for some light reading after a very intense book. I enjoyed Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson. I got this book on audio and she narrated her own story.

This is her second book this first one Lets Pretend This Never Happened was a bit better but I think that is the way it goes with second books. I listened to the first as an audio book as well, and she is again…

  All Fall Down by Jennifer Weiner was part of a book exchange that I did a few months ago. This is a book about a woman and her addiction to prescription pain killers.  This must not have been an easy book to write, there is so much information on this topic out on there, it must have been hard to limit what she wrote about.

Unfortunately, that is something that can be seen in this book. If I…

A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo

  While A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo by Jill Twiss appears to be a children’s book about a boy bunny who falls in love with another boy bunny. It is more than that. For adults it has a political feel to it that is very much based on things that are in the news.

There is a bug who runs the yard, and looks like someone who is in the news a lot right now. All of the creatures gather together…

As the Crow Flies

As the Crow Flies by Melanie Gillman is one of my library finds. I was happy to find it. This is a graphic novel about a young girl and her adventures at an all girl sleep-away camp, they are going to a Christian feminist holy site. I know sounds like an oxymoron but it fits in with the story.

Charlie is the only non-white person on this trip, and as the story is told about how the site was…