Book Thoughts

Less , Andrew Sean Greer Arthur Less goes on a world tour to avoid attending the wedding of his former lover. Reminds me of the "Alchemist" by Paulo Coehlo, in which the protagonist goes around the world in search of what he has at home. I like how the book has a humorous tone it shows how comedy comes from tragedy. The story is simple but profound, nothing going incredibly wrong, and nothing going incredibly right. There is somewhat of a silver-lining with his misfortunes or perceived misfortunes. Lewis & Clark's relationship really stood out, the ten year ultimatum seemed a bit odd. They both wanted to free themselves... from their perfect relationship . These both characters embodied the nature of not being stuck in a place, even if it is beautiful. The end of their relationship completely fazed Less. It helped develop Less as a character. To throw away a good relationship of twenty years, as if it were some old tickets to a theme-park- a reminder of fun me

Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo Summary: Teen fiction, Xiomara finds a way to express herself via poetry. She feels lost in expressing herself due to the societal restrictions on how a girl should act. She avoids poetry for quite a while, knowing that her mom would disapprove of anything but bible study. She manages the challenge of stifled communication. One of the interesting chapters was about “someone who you feel is misunderstood by society”. X choose Nicki Minaj, who is an exceptional female artist in a male driven industry. 1. Important Question(s) . . . . . . . . . . How do societal restrictions influence you? 2. Three words/phrases . . . . . . . . . . . Suave, coming of age, leaves a lingering taste of emotional vulnerability. 3. What I learned . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Importance of different point of views. Appreciation of writing.

Born A Crime , by Trevor Noah 1. Important question(s) . . . . . . How to remove lasting effects of institutionalized racism? How far do you go to protect a relationship? 2. Three words . . . . . . Comical, Endearing, Inspiring 3. What I learned . . . . . . “ ‘Learn from your past and be better because of your past’ she would say ‘but don’t cry about your past. Life is full of pain. Let the pain sharpen you,’” (pg.66). One of my favorite quotes. Thought dump commentary: The memoir is about his life in South Africa. It reminds me of Nick Carraway, the narrator in The Great Gatsby, when he is at the therapist, and the therapist tells him to write down everything that he remembers and it becomes therapeutic for him. As Trevor grew up he bridged the difference between looking different and he blended right in by learning the languages. (South Africa has 11 official languages! ). Written well, makes you cry and laugh a

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (Blade Runner), Philip K. Dick 3 part book review: Important question(s). . . . . . . . . . . What makes life fulfilling? 3 words/phrases. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Empathy, Rich, Unsuspecting What I learned. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Compassion and empathy make us human Action, Adventure, and Scifi all smushed in a closet of a world that you can get lost in. For the main character life became fulfilling with his sheep.The sheep helps him practice empathy. The book pokes around the question of what it means to be alive. As our main character hunts for robots he finds dissatisfaction and the importance of compassion. *Spoiler* . . . . I didn't really like the goat-fall ending, our character was so close to being in peace, made me sad that he never got the goat. The merciless act by the perfectly encapsulated what it meant to be an android- what it meant to be an almost-human. The Spider mutilation

Educated , Tara Westover 3 part book review: Important question(s) 3 words/phrases What I learned No way this is real! Realizing that this is a memoir made from real memories, real people, and their very real values is… unimaginable to say the least. But I guess reality is unimaginable. Reminds me of I Am Malala. Both are written with life, pain and love. It’s difficult to imagine all the hard w ork it took first to teach yourself to get into college, and to pull a façade of a highly learned student, all that cognitive dissonance. It’s wild. There’s also both physical and emotional abuse that becomes blurred as comfort for Tara.   I understood her motivations of why she would always want to go back to her family, after all home is home, there was comfort in familiarity. cough* Stockholm syndrome??* cough cough. Tara exhibits immense strength in the sense that she doesn’t express self- pity, she remembers the trauma but tries to forget the pain.