Monday, June 17, 2013

Wicked Wildfire Read-A-Thon Wrap-Up


My goal for the Wicked Wildfire Read-A-Thon was very simple. I wanted to read four books in one week. I started off strong as usual and slowly waned by the challenge's end. Overall, I finished two books and started one more reading about half-way through before I put it down.

My first book that I picked up was Corregidora by Gayl Jones, which was one of my African-American/African book selections for the week. I got about 50-54% done with this book before I was notified that Wonder by R.J. Palacio was available for me to download from the library. Currently,  I have 94 pages before I am done with Jones' book.

I picked up Wonder by R.J Palacio from my library's eBook collection since I had seen so many BookTubers haul this book. I absolutely adored this story and have added it to my favorites of 2013 list. I plan to review this book very soon.

Next, I read Heist Society by Ally Carter, which I got in eBook form as well. I personally expected a bit more than I actually got from this book. It was a good read, but not a great one. I will be doing a series review for this book along with its two companions so I won't have an actual review for at least another month.

Other books that I picked up last week included: The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamed, The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson, Our Souls To Keep by Gary A Caruso, and Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter, which is the second book in the Heist Society series.

Movie & Play Review of Lorraine Hansberry's Raisin In The Sun

I gave the play 5 stars and the movie 3 stars.

The thing about classics of any kind is that you never know what you're going to get when you read or watch them. You can look up all the reviews you want, but until you've cracked open the book or movie for yourself you can't be sure if any classic is right for you.

I have often heard people gush over Lorraine Hansberry's play, A Raisin In The Sun and told myself there was no rush to read it on my own because I would eventually have to read it for some class. Sadly, this book never actually made it onto the required reading list for any of my classes so it was left up to me to read it at my leisure. This summer, I finally had a chance to pick the play up from my mother's collection while I waited for my own boxes to be shipped from Pittsburgh. My ultimate reaction was that this play was nothing like I expected it was infinitely better.

Play Review

A Raisin In The Sun follows the Youngers, an African-American family living in South Side Chicago sometime between the end of WWII and the present. The Younger family includes Mama/Lena, a retired domestic worker;Walter/Brother, her son who has big dreams of making it; Ruth, Walter's wife; Ruth and Walter's son, Travis; and Beneatha, Walter's younger sister who wants to become a doctor. As the play begins, the Youngers are all anticipating getting the insurance check that covered Walter Sr., Mama's husband who has recently died.

Each person in the family has big dreams of what they want to do with the money when they get it however, Walter is the most vocal about his plans. When the check finally comes, Mama takes the money and buys a house in an all-white neighborhood with half of it and gives the rest to Walter with strict instructions to put half in the bank for Beneatha's medical education and use the other half for whatever he sees fit. Unfortunately, Walter does the opposite and things start to unravel from there.

For once, I can actually agree with the general consensus and say that this particular play is worthy of the title of classic. Everything in Hansberry's play felt extremely relevant and real to me, from the characters who were trying to figure out how to spend their new found fortune to the themes that Hansberry brought up about African-American's place in American society. Even on paper, the characters' emotions and actions are mapped out and shown so well that watching a film or live performance for Hansberry's work was actually unnecessary. I personally enjoyed each aspect of the play and could see how certain issues such as, the idea of the black man's ambitions being unrecognized or the questioning of whether blacks are better off assimilating into the American culture vs. African culture are still relevant. Yet, when I watched the 1961 film adaptation, I wasn't necessarily as impressed by it like I was with the play.

Movie Review

For starters, the movie added and deleted key scenes that were important to the overall message of the play. In one deleted scene, Beneatha cuts her permed hair off and everyone is shocked by her actions. This depiction of going natural was empowering in the play. In the film, this scene is cut so that instead of physically shedding what is implied to be her "assimilated American habits," Beneatha just goes into a monologue about how she will not take on anymore American habits and will instead identify more with her African roots. In my opinion, this scene would have been amazing if it was acted out properly by Diana Sands who played Beneatha.

Likewise, the scene where the Youngers' neighbor comes in to borrow cleaning products before the family moves and warns/reminds Mama that going into an all-white neighborhood to live isdangerous for the times. This particular scene while not as profound as Beneatha's hair cutting scene would have been good to show that not only whites were weary of the trouble that could come from blacks and whites living together. Yet, directors of the film chose to show only the white viewpoint instead in the visit that Mr. Linder who acts as the "welcome committee" to the Youngers' new neighborhood makes to the family's South Side apartment.

Even though the film did delete these two scenes and add scenes where Walter is sitting in a bar or shown chauffeuring his white boss around, I did somewhat enjoy it because of Sidney Poitier's acting in the role of Walter. Out of all the actors in the film, he gave the best performance to me. His emotions were raw and he embodied the idea of being a man who the world had beaten down on to a T. Seeing him play Wlater alongside Ruby Dee who played the role of Ruth was interesting since these two seemed to have good on screen chemistry. While I did enjoy Diana Sands in her role as Beneatha, I was a little annoyed with her character in general in both the play and the book. However, I did chalk this up to being just part of the acceptable emotions that Hansberry's play was meant to draw out of me.

I would definitely recommend the play and the 1961 movie adaption. I eventually hope to get a chance to watch the 2008 film adaption to see how Sean "P. Diddy" Combs acted in his role as Walter. Not to mention Phylicia Rashad is one of my favorite actresses so I would love to see her in the role of Mama as well.

I hope everyone's day went well and that a lot of reading was done in between celebrating Father's Day.


Sunday, June 9, 2013

Ruby Red Trilogy Review

I gave this series a solid 5 stars and also added these two books onto my favorite of all times list.

The Ruby Red Series by Kerstin Gier took me by surprise. When I initially picked up Ruby Red, the first novel in the series, I was expecting a quaint story about a teenage girl who time traveled and a few historically relevant scenes that made for just another angsty teen fantasy novel. However, what I got was a fun and witty story about a girl named Gwyneth who inherits her family's "time traveling" gene instead of her cousin, Charlotte who was believed to be the apparent heir for sixteen years. Unlike Gwyneth, Charlotte was thoroughly trained to handle being a time traveler and was initiated into the society's secrets through private lessons since the time of her birth.

Ill-prepared for her new job Gwyneth makes up the rules as she goes along. From falling in love with her time traveling partner, Gideon, to being introduced to the infamous Count Saint-Germane, leader of the secret time traveling society (who has long been dead), Gwyneth proves that she is not just an accessory to anyone else's agenda. Instead, she searches for clues in the past and the present with the help of her best friend, Leslie and the ghost and demons who follow her around.

To make matters even more interesting, Gier has stretched the cast of the series across different time periods, which gives the story a Clue like feel. Each characters' motives come off as suspicious and it seems that Gwyneth can only trust herself, which causes the series' plot to be full of suspense.

The first book in the series is geared more toward character formation and unraveling who Gwyneth is and what role she plays in the time travelers' mystery. However, Sapphire Blue has a bit more action than Ruby Red. In this second installment readers get to see Gwyneth travel back in time more and converse with her ancestors, which allows her to obtain more answers to her questions about why she must time travel.

Also, in Sapphire Blue, the love connection between Gwyneth and Gideon becomes more apparent. Gier constructs this weird dynamic between these two characters in her first book and it only gets
more complicated as the series goes on. At first, it seems like Gideon likes Gwyneth. Then, it seems like he hates her. THEN, it's like okay, maybe he does, maybe he doesn't...in short, his character holds a lot of secrets. None of which, are really revealed until the end of Sapphire Blue.

Gideon's character seems to be good however, my actual feelings toward him changes continuously throughout the first two books. When he's first introduced, I just assume that he is a sort of secret bad guy. Later on, it's revealed that he was mostly raised by the secret society and was unable to
actually spend time with other kids besides Charlotte. Therefore, the fact that Gwyneth is his new untrained time traveling sidekick is a little much for him to bear. Yet, he outwardly warms toward her, but still gives multiple hints that he would rather work alone. This places him on the potential bad guy list along with like 50 other people.

This series is definitely one that I would recommend. I personally am highly anticipating the third and final installment of this series, Emerald Green which comes out on October 8, 2013. Sadly, with this new installment comes a new cover design. Gone are the beautiful original jeweled covers and instead, readers will see a dark-haired girl in various colored ball gown standing next to a clock-tower. I am hoping that I can find a copy of the final book with the original cover since these books are translated from German into English.

Well, I hope ever one is enjoying their reading. I'm still participating in the Wicked Wildfire Read-A-Thon and would encourage everyone to join. If not, I hope you're getting in hordes of reading this weekend. Happy Reading!

Cheers!


Saturday, June 8, 2013

Sweet Redemption: Wicked Wildfire Read-A-Thon

After my last disastrous results with the Bout of Books Read-A-Thon, I feel that I need to redeem myself. Therefore, I have decided to partake in the Wicked Wildfire Read-A-Thon book challenge. 
The Wicked Wildfire Read-A-Thon is a time when the book community gets together to dedicate the days of June 7-14 to getting as much reading done as possible. Each participant reads as much as they can in order to get themselves through their TBR piles or just for the sheer enjoyment of reading. Of course, we all know that real life gets in the way of reading, but that shouldn't stop anybody from participating. Everybody should read as much as they can.
In the meanwhile, the sponsers of the Wicked Wildfire Read-A-Thon will be hosting book-related challenges where participants can win cool prizes through participating in a Twitter party and using the hashtag #WWReadathon! You can posts updates on your blog, Twitter, Goodreads or Facebook — as long as the profile is public and your reading progress can be seen.

Since my last go-round in the Bout of Books book challenge, I hav elearned that I don't necessarily know how to stick with a TBR pile therefore, I shall now only set myself a number goal of four books. Also, I will review all books after June 14 so, I can read as much as possible. I hope you all are getting lots of reading done. New reviews are coming tomorrow.
Cheers!

Monday, June 3, 2013

May Favorites

May was a month of chaos and blessings for me. I graduated from my Master's program and also had a whopping total of two deaths in my circle of acquaintances/family.Yet, I was still able to acquire new experiences and favorites that will forever stand out when I think of 2013.

Random Life Experience: After graduating, my mother and I departed from Pittsburgh on our way home via airplane. What was supposed to be a routine trip turned into a nightmare and ultimately led to the bizarrest adventure I've ever had while traveling.......and that's saying something since I've traveled in foreign countries by myself without knowing a lick of the local language and never had any huge mishaps. Put on standby in Chicago, My mother and I along with two random gentlemen were forced to deplane once we touched down in Branson, Missouri.

You're probably thinking Branson, Missouri?!?! Where the heck is that?!...honestly had I not been forced off a plane in the middle of this destitute city I'd be asking the same thing (no offense to anyone from here). Sadly, I can't give you geographic specifics due to being in a state of shock at the time of this event, but I can tell you under better circumstances, I would've probably enjoyed the peace and quiet of the city and the rustic landscape. Hiwever, I can only offer you the general observation that it had houses that looked like the set from Disney's High School Musical when they showed Troy's house.

After being deplaned, we were all given instructions to make our OWN way to Tulsa, Oklahoma if we wanted to get a flight home since the Branson Airport had no flights in or out for TWO WHOLE DAYS........insert seriously pissed face here......When we all found this out, you can only imagine how we felt. At this point, things got really interesting.

Disclaimer: Growing up, my parents often taught my siblings and I the golden rules of interacting with strangers. These rules included a) Never talking to strangers  b) Never eat anything from them and c) NEVER UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES GET INTO A CAR WITH THEM. Looking at these rules you can only guess how scary and surreal it was for me to actually have to get in the car with two men that I didn't know (Even though my mom was there with me) and riding for about 3+ hours from Branson to Tulsa. While both the men were gentlemen and we were all united in our anger at the airline, I sort of had a what the flip moment where I had to question my mother's sanity doing the beginning of this imprmptu road trip.

Thankfully, we made it to Tulsa and got a new flight home the next morning and arrived all in one piece. The most amazing thing out of the whole trip was the fact that we were literally just miles away from where the tornado in Oklahoma hit. The four of us were literally joking about getting hit by some type of storm as we drove through the countryside and watched the sky turn from clear blue to steel gray before our eyes. At this time none of us imagined that there was an actual tornado reeking havoc so you can only imagine how my mother and I felt seeing the aftermath of devastation throughout Oklahoma. All I can say is I am BEYOND grateful that God let us make it home safely.

Favorite Album: As usual, I am tardy to the party and just got my copy of the 2011 masterpiece that is Megalithic Symphony, which is AWOLNATION's first studio album. Thanks to Amazon having it's bi-weekly sale on mp3 albums, I was able to get this album for a mere $5. I love the sound of this band. Unlike last month's favorite album (i.e., Fall Out Boy's Save Rock And Roll) AWOLNATION's sound gives off more of a rock vibe than a pop one. This album has minimum screaming and is perfect for us pseudo-rockers who are master's of the air guitar. Some song's like "Kill Your Heros" and "Sail" are a bit explicit in the deliverance of their messages, but overall the album is a conglomerate of upbeat non-threatening songs. I would definitely recommend this album to anybody who enjoys a good guitar solo.

Favorite Book: I finally got to crack open Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier, which is one of the books from my Birthday Book Haul. This book is a part of the fantasy genre of young adult fiction. The main aspect of the book deals with time traveling and a long ago foretold prophecy. When I tell you that this book is amazing, I mean that it is literally knock your socks off, laugh out loud ah-maz-ing.This book was so good that I had to scrounge together money to buy the sequel, Sapphire Blue for my Kindle at the crack of dawn just because I didn't want the feeling of reading this series to end. I plan to post a review of tthese two books soon however, I wanted to share this as my absolute favorite book for May. Gier's book is brimming with freshness, crazy plot twist, witty humor, and unbelievable characters. It's a must for all YA lovers.

Personal Challenge: I have recently decided that I need to gain more knowledge about African and African-American Literature (i.e. my chosen area of graduate study). Therefore, I have deemed that this summer I will try my best to read at least one African or African-American themed book a week. To start off my reading, during the last week of May I read the play, A Raisin In The Sun by Lorraine Hansberry and watched the 1961 movie adaptation. Also, I was able to finish So Long A Letter by Mariama Ba. I will be posting a movie and play review for Hansberry's book however, I didn't have much to say for Ba's book so I won't bore you all with a review for that one. If you would like to here my general thought's for Ba's book, you can look at my goodread review.

Once again, I hope everyone is enjoying their summer and reading some good books. Please feel free to post your TBR piles int he comment section.

Cheers!

Through The Voice of the "Other": Book Review on Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

 “I think you travel to search and you come back home to find yourself there.”  - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
I've been struggling to write a review for Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's book, Americanah for the past week due to mixed feelings about it. Upon finishing it, I was equal parts content and frustrated with the book. While it met my expectations in a way, I was also let down by certain aspects of the novel. I end up giving this book 4 stars due to a lackluster ending and the general feeling that Adichie only meant her characters to be mouthpieces to voice her feelings on different cultural and political topics.

At its heart, Americanah is a book about various immigrants who are trying to work their way through discovering what it means to be a part of the countries they've immigrated to while also holding on to their original cultures. For the most part, Adichie's story is told through the perspective of Ifemelu, a Nigerian blogger who has lived in America for thirteen years and Obinze, a wealthy Nigerian business man who still lives in Nigeria. From Ifemelu and Obinze's perspective, the reader learns about different race issues that go on in America, the way the Nigerian government works, and hears the stories of different people who have settled abroad or come home to live in Nigeria after living abroad.

As the novel begins, Ifemelu is set to return home to Nigeria after her hiatus in America and decides to reconnect with her childhood sweetheart, Obinze. The two previously lost contact once Ifemelu went to America to finish college. By the time that Ifemelu reaches out to him, Obinze has moved on with his life and is married. Adichie makes it very obvious to the reader that the two characters have built separate lives from the ones that they once lived as carefree children who were oblivious to the ups and downs of Nigerian politics.

The pacing of this story was fairly good. The author was able to say a great deal about the Nigerian culture while also providing adequate details about each of the main characters' lives. There were times in the book where the background history about Nigeria became long winded, but it never got to the point where I felt the need to put the book down. One thing that also hindered the overall pacing of the story was Adichie's habit of adding different blog post from Ifemelu's race blog at different intervals in each chapter. While some of the post were interesting and thought provoking, others just seemed awkward in their placing or unnecessary.

In terms of characters, Adichie creates solid ones to tell her story without making them seem overly preachy. Ifemelu's character is pegged as someone who "tells it like it is" and isn't afraid to call others out on their BS. Behind this character, there is also an inquisitive nature that helps give her the initiative to voice her opinion about race relations in America, as well as, Nigeria and confront different issues that plague immigrants and non-white Americans. This determination to gain an understanding of racial groups who are deemed as "the other" in America (i.e., individuals who are not a part of the dominate race) can also cause readers to label Ifemelu as a callused individual yet, Adichie makes it a point to eventually peel back this character's layers and expose her reasoning behind each negative assessment of American and Nigerian culture.

On the other hand, Obinze is a character that is a dreamer at heart and is initially hell-bent on making his way to America to live out his fictional dream of "making it." Mentally, he believes that life can only begin once he makes it to this glorified Mecca.  Obinze is an individual who also scrutinizes the immigrant's life, but unlike Ifemelu, his character makes it a point to do so from the role of an unbiased onlooker opposed to a blunt critic. It would seem that his longing to become a part of the Western world keeps him from being overly harsh in his judgement of "the other's" role in society in places like England and America.

With the building of Ifemelu and Obinze's character, Adichie creates a storyline that holds the potential to be electric once it hits its climax, but it ends up falling flat for me due to its lack of originality. To me, this is extremely sad because for a good 3/4 of her book, Adichie makes powerful statements about race relations in America and politics in Nigeria. However, when it comes time to wrap up the loose ends of Ifemelu and Obinze's love life, she creates a weak generic ending that feels dry and so unlike what her reader's expect of her characters. In this way, I feel as if Adichie did more telling than actual showing in her book. I was truly interested in the cultural topics she spoke about, but by the end of the book, I sort of got the feeling that she could've condensed the actual love story of Ifemelu and Obinze into a mere 150 to 200 pages and written another book about her feelings on race in America/ Immigration laws in America and England/ Nigerian politics.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is interested in Nigerian culture or who wants to learn what the American or English culture looks like from a non-white immigrant's perspective. However, if you aren't interested in hearing a lot of back history to either of these culture's, I would recommend reading something else.

Sorry for the wait, I've been a tad busy lately. I hope you all enjoyed it.

Cheers!

Sunday, May 26, 2013

My Top Nine Of All Time

In response to and in celebration of Kate's Book Club's birthday and subsequent giveaway, I would like to do a listing of my top nine favorite books of all time. And yes...I am aware that most people did video responses to this YouTube Book Tag however, I prefer to use my blog to cover my top picks. In no particular order, here they are:

1. Shabanu: Daughter of the Wind by Suzanne Fisher Staples: I remember having to read this book in fifth grade and being so transfixed by Shabanu's story. Shabanu is a Pakistani girl of about 12 or 13 who lives in the Cholistan desert with her nomadic family. Growing up tending her herd of camels she always knew she'd marry young, but as fate would have it, her betrothal comes much earlier than she expects. Shabanu is married to a man that is twice her age after a chaotic event takes place when her family visits her actual betrothed. Staple's book has the type of storyline that sticks with you well beyond you finishing the book. Even though I read the other two books in this series, I would still recommend this book out of the whole series as the one that is most riveting.

2. Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling: J.K. Rowling once said that, "no matter how old you get, the world of Harry Potter will always be waiting for you when you return." As corny as this sounds, it is the truth. I frequently reread this series from beginning to end and always get emotional even though I know what's going to happen. Regardless, my emotions always slip away from me when I read the 6th book in the series. I love the back story that Rowling gives to why Lord Voldemort is the way he is and why their is a rivalry between Harry's father and Professor Snape. If I had to only pick one book from the series as my all-time favorite, this would definitely be the one. I never get tired of this book.

3. Oh, The Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss: The thing you'll quickly learn about me is that I'm a tad sentimental and a sucker for quotable things or things that give some insight into the human experience. I love this book by Dr. Seuss because it makes me feel like I'm not alone in my journey to that great beyond we all call adulthood. This book is usually something that you give to a person who's graduating or just moving up another level in their life. I love the simplicity in the Dr.'s rhymes and the overall messages in the books. The artwork in this book also lends itself to the unique wackiness that can only be found in a Dr. Seuss book. This book is good for people of all ages and something that never goes out of style.

4. Friday Nights At Honeybee's by Andrea Smith I picked this book  up on a whim in undergrad at my
university's bookstore and fell deeply in love with it on first reading it. The book follows two women as they migrate individually to Harlem in the 1960's until the point where they meet at Honeybee's. The two women, Viola and Forestine are both running from their own personal demons. Viola is a Southern Baptist preacher's daughter who gets ran out of her small town by her father and the congregation for what is perceived to be less than sanctified behavior on her part and Forestine is a woman who's only dream is to become a singer. In Smith's story, the recreation of Harlem in the 1960's is beyond believable and the storyline is so gripping that I couldn't put it down until I was completely finished.  I'd recommend to all lovers of Harlem and jazz.

5. The Blacker The Berry by Wallace Thurman: We've all been born in skin that we don't always feel comfortable in. To make matters worse, we may often get told, "oh you would be pretty if..." or "honey, why don't you do x, y, and z to yourself. You would be soooooo beautiful if you did" by some brainwashed individual who has been sold a one dimensional view on what beauty is. In the case of Emma Lou, the hue of her skin is what keeps her from being considered beautiful by others in her family and race. Born as a dark-skinned African-American in the Harlem Renaissance period, Emma Lou is frequently badgered to modify her skin tone to fit in with society's concept of what beauty is. I personally love this book because of the raw emotions that Thurman lets spill from its pages. Growing up as a dark-skinned girl myself, I can understand the feelings that Emma Lou has when it comes to life and her struggle to come of age in an era when blacks were not necessarily as accepting of their skin tone as they should have been. Yet, don't be detoured from reading this novel if your not that into African-American history, it's a good read for anybody who enjoys coming of age stories as well.

6. Flyy Girl by Omar Tyree: This particular book falls under my top picks not only because it is a good book, but because of the way it came to me. Tyree's book was a staple read amongst middle school girls when I was in 6th grade. Flyy Girl was secretly passed back and fourth between us girls like it was the ultimate study guide and each girl in turn would read it and pass it on to the next girl in line. As an adult, this book doesn't hold nearly as much magic for me, but I still keep it in my list of faves because it reminds me of a much more innocent time. The book itself isn't exactly child friendly because of certain scenes where the main character partakes in adult "cardio" exercises yet, the novel itself is about the main character, Tracy's coming of age and learning who she is on her own terms. While I did read this book at a fairly young age, I would caution other young girls to do so under the pretense of being an observer of Tracy's story opposed to using it as an all out manual for living life in the fast lane.

7. The Spook Who Sat By The Door by Sam Greenlee: Action, racial commentary, fight scenes, wise cracking, and an urban setting are all a part of Greenlee's masterpiece. I read this book this semester for my seminar on African-American Fiction after growing up hearing my parents discuss it frequently. Greenlee's novel has a tumultuous back story. Turned down by American publishers and eventually having to go to Britain to publish this book due to its graphic and raw nature, Greenlee's book was lost in the shuffle of great African-American fiction. This book is a fictional account of Dan Freeman, an ex-CIA African-American operative as he fights to exact guerrilla warfare on his oppressors. The novel takes place in the 60's and follows Freeman as he seeks to educate a gang of urban teens on having love for themselves and their race. It was eventually turned into a movie and then, banned by the government upon its release. It has only recently been reintroduced into print and DVD. This novel is not for the faint of heart or for those who are easily offended by racial slurs. I would recommend it as a serious read or just as a thriller selection for any and everyone.

8. Imaginary Men by



Book Spine Poetry #2


Americanah
In The Garden Of Beasts

FREEDOM
  (in a) Dreamland

A Mad Desire To Dance

 The Host
Along For The Ride
  
...What (Ever) Happened to Goodbye? 

Monday, May 20, 2013

Bout of Books Read-A-Thon 7.0 Wrap-Up

This week has been pure CHAOS!

I knew going into this Read-A-Thon that I would not be able to read a huge amount of books. Yet, I did want to try to accomplish reading at least five books by the end of the challenge. Starting my week off with a bang, I finished The DUFF by Kody Keplinger on Monday and promptly reviewed it. Sadly, this was my only reading accomplishment for the week.

Set to read four more books, my plans were interrupted by life, school, and fate. Deaths in my extended family and friend circle along with an airline screw up that landed me in the middle of nowhere and caused me and my family to scramble to drive hours out of our way caused me to put reading on hold. Add to this the fact that I suffered from the minor hiccup of falling into a reading slump on Wednesday and you can see why I was unable to read as much as I wanted.

Yet, with all the bad events that happened, I did end up being able to tick two major accomplishments off my list. I would like to proudly announce that I now hold a Masters from Carnegie Mellon's Literary and Cultural Studies Program. Also, I have successfully spent a year living alone without a roommate in a city that I had never visited before August of last year....and yes I am aware that I have packaged this blog as a book and movie review website HOWEVER, I am sooo excited about these two things I just had to shout them from the heavens \(^0^)/....even in cyber space
Even though I haven't finished any other books this week, I have started Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. This book so far has been overwhelmingly good. I've always enjoyed Adichie's writing style, but this book is just beyond what I expected. The subject content covers everything from childhood love to feminism to issues that immigrants in America face daily. Not to mention the book is a blend of chick lit and serious literature. I seriously can't wait to review this book. I would definitely recommend that anyone who can to get this book you most definitely won't regret this choice.

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Bout of Books 7.0 Read-A-Thon Progress For Last THREE Days

My reading progress has recently been tapered by two events, one foreseen and one unforeseen.

In a previous post, I stated that I would be graduating this week and that my chances to read would be lessened by the arrival of my family. True to form, this hypothesis came to fruition and I was unable to fully sit down and focus enough to read. Add to this the fact that I fell into a random reading slump and these last couple of days have been the pits.

I first started off Tuesday trying to finish Divorce Islamic Style since I only had about 80 pages to go, but I was unable to do so due to my growing resentment at one of the characters constant berating of others who were not Muslim in each of her chapters. After this, I tried to read The Golem and the Jinni, but couldn't really get in sync with the plot enough to become invested in the book. Finally, I decided to just give up all reading and spend time packing my apartment and picking my family up at the airport. Once all this was done I figured maybe it wasn't really an actual slump I was in, but the choice of books I was reading that was leading me to want to stop reading.

With this realization, I decided to switch up my TBR list for the Read-A-Thon and put aside Divorce Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie  instead. Boy! Was this THE best thing that I could've done. I recently had to reread Adichie's Purple Hibiscus for my Global Literature class and was excited to learn that this author was set to release another novel this year.
Islamic Style and The Golem and the Jinni and read Americanah by

Americanah is a book about two individuals, Ifemelu, a Nigerian blogger who has lived in America for thirteen years after immigrating and Obinze, a wealthy Nigerian business man who still lives in Nigeria. As adolescents, Ifemelu and Obinze were sweethearts. Attending secondary school and university together, the two believed that they would one day get married. However, this does not happen and eventually the two lose contact with each other and start separate lives. Set to return home to Nigeria after her hiatus in America, Ifemelu decides to reconnect with Obinze. Unfortunately, he is married now and this is a tad bit problematic. The overall novel follows the two lovers as they fall in love as children and later cross paths as adults.

I'm really enjoying Adichie's book thus far and can't wait to review it. Hopefully, I will finish it by Sunday. Since I fell so far behind in my reading schedule, I think that I will knock a book off my overall Read-A-Thon goal and just aim for finishing four by Sunday.

I hope everybody else is making great strides in their TBR/Read-A-Thon goals. Happy Reading!

TBR List For Read-A-Thon:
1. The DUFF by Kody Keplinger
2. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
3. So Long A Letter by Mariama Ba
4. Where'd You Go Bernedette by Maria Semple
5. I've Got Your Number by  Sophie Kinsella*

Overall Progress:
Number of Books I've read Finished: 1
Book Goal :4
Total Number of Pages I've Read Tuesday: 10
Total Number of Pages I've Read Wednesday: 25
Total Number of Pages I've Read Thursday: 89

 *Random Quick Read

Monday, May 13, 2013

Bout of Books 7.0 Read-A-Thon Progress #1

I'm excited to announce that I have finished one book off my list and am waaaay ahead of schedule for my five book reading goal for this week. I put a book review for The DUFF by Kody Keplinger earlier and will be continuing to read and report as the week goes on.

Cheers!

TBR List For Read-A-Thon:

1. The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

2. The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker

3. So Long A Letter by Mariama Ba

4. Where'd You Go Bernedette by Maria Semple

5. Divorce Islamic Style by Amara Lokhous 


Overall Progress:
Number of books I've read today: 1
Total number of books I've read: 1
Books: 5

Book Spine Poetry Challenge (Bout of Books 7.0)

Today marks the ooficial start of Bout of Books' Read-A-Thon! The first Challenge is the Book Spine Poetry contest held by Escape Through The Pages. Here is my first attempt at book spine poetry:


In the land of Invisible Women 
The Duff 
Maps 
What Is The What 

The Whole Story of Half A Girl 
Ruby Red
(and) WICKED
(...a) desert flower


*words in parentheses were added.

Hope you all enjoyed my novice attempt at poetry (^_^).

Cheers!

The DUFF by Kody Keplinger Book Review

 I gave this book 5 stars.

Kody Keplinger's novel, The DUFF is the type of book you could read at any age and connect to. The main character, Bianca is a tough as nails girl who's heart has been hardened by the pains of love. Adamant about never falling in love again, she chooses to enter into an "enemies with benefits" relationship with Wesley, the notorious womanizer of her high school who has problems of his own. Together the two teenagers work through their problems in the form of..ahem...advanced cardio for the grown and sexy. <spoiler>However,  even with their preconceived rules of "no feelings" being involved, Bianca and Wesley learn the hard way that love can infiltrate your heart when you least expect it no matter how hard you plan.</spoiler>

Keplinger's characters are well developed and likable. Even though Bianca does come off as cynical at times, the reader gets shown that her feelings of anger and frustration are justified. The way that this character antagonizes over being "the duff" a.k.a the designated ugly fat friend, is something that is especially well portrayed by the author and made into a relatable point for anyone who chooses to read this book due to the fact that most people have felt like the dud of their circle of friends at one point of their life or another.

On the flip side, Wesley's character while clearly placed into the cliched role of being resident bad boy is endearing opposed to annoying. Even when he makes Bianca feel ashamed of herself by calling her the duff, it's apparent that his character is battling his own set of demons and does so only as a knee-jerk reaction to his pain.

Keplinger's choice to use cliched roles in her work is balanced off by the fact that her storyline is solid. Never does the reader feel as if they are being rushed off into a tidy conclusion. Instead, the author paces the story so that her audience can get the full benefit of watching the character's lives come undone and then slowly pieced back together again. Both Bianca and Wesley's character are funny, interesting, and sarcastic enough to keep readers entertained and willing to stick wound to finish Keplinger's story. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who is in need of a good chick-lit book or who just loves a good novel about bad boys and strong opinionated female leads. Yet, I would caution against letting younger readers begin this book being that it is meant for a <b>mature</b> audience due to explicit sex scenes throughout the novel.

Sweet Sweet Freedom/Bout of Books Reading Goals

I am happy to announce that....I AM OFFICIALLY DONE WITH MY FIRST YEAR OF GRAD SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!...insert ecstatic shouts of joy here and an uncoordinated impromptu break dance.... I would like to thank all my followers who were patient with my inconsistencies in posting as I wrapped up my school work. I greatly appreciate all of your support in this part of my educational journey and promise to give my all to blogging now that school's out.

Now....

Since I am currently participating in the Bout of Books Book-A-Thon and want to read a little bit everyday, I thought it would be nice to have written goals set for what books I want to finish this week. I haven't exactly set up an exact list of books that I want to get read this week, but I do have a few books that I want to read for this month in general. These books include:



The Duff by Kody Keplinger: This is a book about a girl named, Bianca Piper who is seventeen and designated as the "ugly, fat friend" in her circle by her local high school jerk-wad, Wesley. The story basically follows Bianca as she embarks into a love/hate relationship with Wesley as she seeks comfort from personal drama in her life. This book is really popular amongst the BookTube community and comes highly recommended so, I'm excited to read it.



The Golem And The Jinni by Helene Wecker: Wecker's books is one that I picked up from my local bookstore and it seems to be a part-fairy tale/part-immigration story. The Golem is a mystical Jewish creature that comes from clay and in this story happens to take the form of a woman named Chava. Likewise, the Jinni is an Arabic mythological creature that is a well known figure in literature (think Gene from Aladdin). In Wecker's novel, the Jinni is named Ahmad. From the blurb, it would seem that Chava and Ahmad meet and fall in love. I've been looking forward to this novel as well so I'm pretty stocked to have a go at it.



Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple: I recently put this book into my TBR pile for April and was unable to start it do to time constraints and paper deadlines for school however, I reaaally want to start this book this week. The story line is well known throughout the BookTube community, but basically, Bernadette is a woman that goes missing on a family vacation and it is left up to her daughter, Bee to find her. Using clues that her mother left behind, Bee  sets out to find her mother.




So Long A Letter by Mariama Ba: This book is a book that I anticipated reading for my Global Literature class, but never got around to doing so. The story follows Ramatoulaye, a Senegalese woman whose husband takes a second wife and subsequently leaves her and her children to fend for themselves. The story is written in a letter/diary form and is short (about 90 pages). Issues that are prevalent in the novel include adultery, betrayal, and social issues that come from polygamous marriages.



Divorce Islamic Style by Amara Lakhous: I picked this book up on a whim from the library. The story follows Christian, a man who is skilled in acquiring languages and is therefore chosen to infiltrate a supposed ring of Muslim terrorist in Rome, Italy. Christian is forced to change his name and his identity and become a part of this group to determine who is the ring leader. Along the way, he meets and falls in love with Safia, a married Egyptian immigrant who is unhappy in her marriage and with the lack of chances that she as a Muslim woman has in general.




Hopefully, I can finish these five novels by NEXT Sunday. I'm really excited for the Bout of Books Book-A-Thon book challenge since this is going to be my first one. I hope everyone is doing well and making massive strides in their TBR piles.

Happy Reading,

Cheers!

Thursday, May 9, 2013

for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow was enuf Choreopoem Review & For Colored Girls' Movie Review

I gave for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow was enuf  3/5 stars and For Colored Girls 5/5 stars.

for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow was enuf is a choreopoem (i.e., a poem that is meant to be performed with added movement along with dialogue) by Ntozake Shange, which was published in 1975 and recently turned into a movie entitled, For Colored Girls by Tyler Perry in 2010.

Shange's choreopoem was very interesting to read. In the beginning I was confused by Shange's abbreviations and had to use guess work to figure out what she was saying, but as the choreopoem went on, I got better at discerning what she was saying since she frequently repeated certain words like cd (could) or waz (was). Thank goodness for this because the action in this choreopoem speeds by and if you're not on point, you'll easily miss something. Since this was a choreopoem, the actual character building isn't really meant to be full blown. In addition, Shange's motives for creating the characters is meant more so for them to represent ideas than for them to actually have personalities.

While I did like this choreopoem, I would have to say without actually seeing a visual interpretation of it (be it a theatrical production, the tv movie, or the film adaptation), one could get lost fairly easily. Since I read this choreopoem for an assignment and watched Tyler Perry's film adaptation in tangent with reading Shange's work, I have to say, I actually got a better feeling for what Shange was doing with her work from watching Perry's movie. Without seeing Shange's work in action, I would have just chalked this read up as an overblown classic, but the visual representation made this piece one of my favorite...movies that is. I know this is harsh, but I still felt as if Shange's work would be better off packaged as simple poems in written form opposed to as a single unit that is meant to be read as a full chorepoem/play. And yes, I am aware that Shange admits that she did write these poems singuraly and later preformed then as a collective unit however, I must go off of how it was presented to me in it's published form.


Perry's film on the other hand was OUT-STANDING! At the time this film came out, I was under the impression that it would be similar to his other works and that the film itself was scary since it deals with subject matter like, abortions and rape. However, I was pleasently surprised to find that Perry handled everything tastefully. The actresses he chose to represent each character was phenomenal and fitting. I especially enjoyed Loretta Devine as the lady in green and Anika Noni Rose as the lady in yellow. These two poured their hearts into their characters and it shows.

Out of all the poems though, my favorites from both, the choreopoem and the film would have to be "somebody almost walked off with all my stuff" and "no assistance" performed by Loretta Devine in Perry's film and "my love is too...," which was performed by all the colored ladies in the film and choreopoem.  from the film version and "dark phrases," which was also performed by all the colored ladies in the film and choreopoem in the written form. 

This choreopoem is something I would recommend that everybody read and watch at least once. It's definitely gives one food for thought. But, beware, viewer discretion is advised. Shange's work isn't for a younger audience, it's better suited for individuals who can truly grasp what is being talked about in the poems.


I LOVE THIS SCENE!

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

I'm Officially Free!...Come Friday



Bout of Books

I'm in the final home stretch for my first year of Graduate School and I am Ãœber pumped for the freedom that's going to come from submitting my last paper this Friday. With all my new found free time, I have decided to enter into the Bout of Books Read-a-Thon.

The Bout of Books Read-a-Thon is described as:
The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, May 13th and runs through Sunday, May 19th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 7.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books Team

For this challenge, I want to read at least 10 books 5 books. I'm setting my aim pretty low since next week is my school's graduation ceremony and my family is coming to visit  and I don't want to be reading while I should be "socializing"...LOL I'm not really a big socializer especially, when I feel like my time could be better used reading however, I mustn't be rude so I will choose to finish five books by May 19, 2013. I'll have to come up with which books I'm going to read later. For now, I'll just focus on this final paper. (^_^)

Cheers!

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

April Favorites

This month, I have decided to start doing a monthly favorites post. In this post, I will be paying homage to some of my favorite things, movies, books, etc. that I came across in the stated month.That being said....

My Favorite Book: 
     This month, I got a chance to read Sam Greenlee's book, The Spook Who Sat By The Door in preparation for completing my final paper for my African-American Literature class. For me, this book was a present surprise. I didn't expect to like it nearly as much as I did.
     The novel is about Freeman, an African-American revolutionist who is the "token black" within the CIA during the Civil Rights time period. Angered by the oppression of blacks in America, Freeman takes it upon himself to regain power for this racial group by training African-American gang members in Chicago to become a guerrilla army to fight against Whites. Readers get to see just how far, Freeman is willing to go to gain freedom from those he feel have wrongly governed over
blacks for far too long.
     This book was really powerful for me in terms of its message about how different minority cultures wear mask in an attempt to hide their true feelings about certain situations (i.e., questions of class, social treatment, etc.) or to keep themselves from shaking up other people's perception of certain racial groups. While, I read this book as a part of my course curriculum, I would recommend it for anybody who enjoys a good historical novel or who wants to read a book that is akin to Native Son by Richard Wright or Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. I didn't write a review on this because I had so many emotions after reading it and was unsure how to put them all into a coherent review that was tasteful and informative opposed to sporadic ranting and philosophical musings...after all I do enough of that in school and this is my "happy place." If anyone is interested in this book, I would definitely go on ebay and get a copy. The novel itself is sort of hard to get a hold of due to it being banned for a period of time by the American government (LOL it literally brings a whole new meaning to the term "banned" books).

My Favorite Movie:
      I simply LOVE the movie, Silver Linings Playbook. This movie had everything in it, romance, comedy, drama, mental illness topics...In short, it was phenomenal! The main plot follows Pat Solitano who has recently been released from a mental health facility. Pat's main goal is to reconnect with his estranged wife, Nicki who he feels will fall back in love with him if only she can see just how well he is doing. Unfortunately, his family and friends aren't giving up any information about Nicki to him and he's left to fend for himself in winning his ex-wife back. When Pat meets Tiffany, a fellow unstable individual, he hatches a plan to get Nicki back and pick up the pieces of his life.
      What I loved about this movie is that it felt original. It didn't feel like the characters were transplants from other movies who were just taking on new roles for the sake of drama, everything had a point. I also loved Bradley Cooper (Pat) and Jennifer Lawrence (Tiffany) in this movie. They along with Chris Tucker played their roles flawlessly. Chris Tucker, who played Pat's best friend from rehab, Danny added the perfect touch of comedy throughout the movie. I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone who loves a good romantic-comedy. I also want to read the book, which was written by Mathew Quick.

My Favorite Music:
       This month, I committed a rarity for me, I bought a FULL CD from iTunes instead of just individual songs off an album. The CD I bought was Save Rock and Roll by Fall Out Boy. This CD is phenomenal! In total, there are eleven songs on the album with sounds that range from R&B like tracks all the way to rock. I definitely didn't feel as if the album was one note thanks to the versatility that I saw in the album track list. If I was forced to choose specific songs to play on repeat, I would have to say my absolute favorite songs are "The Phoenix," "Where Did the Party Go," The Mighty Fall," and "Just One Yesterday (feat. Foxes)." Even though the other songs are pure gold too, these four songs are my go-to walking soundtrack for getting to and from school on my early morning commutes.

My Favorite Television Show:
      This one was a bit of a no brainer since, I can't get enough of watching reality television regardless of how scripted it maybe. Since it's debut over four seasons ago, I have been in love with Style Networks' Jerseylicious. This show follows a group of New Jersey hairstylists and make-up artist along with their families. Each season the show centers for the most part around two or more individuals who are at odds with each other and the audience gets to watch the juicy drama that ensues. The show also follows the characters as they go about their daily work lives.
      For the most part, Jerseylicious is tame compared to other reality shows that focus on a set cast. The hairstylists and make-up artist aren't usually overly violent with the exception of maybe once/twice a season when an actual fist fight breaks out at random. The brunt of the drama takes place in gossip form that mirrors that of petty high schoolers so it is safe for people of all ages however, I would advise some parental control for individuals who are at an impressionable age. Yet, it should be noted that the cast do do good deeds such as, raising money and getting donations for Hurricane Sandy victims throughout New Jersey or putting together a coffee table book of different style icons from New Jersey's history. If you ever get a chance, I would highly recommend this show especially, for people who were once avid Jersey Shore fans.

Cheers!

Monday, April 29, 2013

The Power of Greed: Book Review On Aravind Adiga's Last Man In Tower

 The point of this review is more to dispense my troubled feelings about this book than to persuade or dissuade anyone from reading it. I felt something akin to word vomit as I wrote this review so please don't get upset if you find the occasional spoiler within this review. Most of my remarks come from personal feelings about the book and my reactions to my class discussion of this novels.

Cheers!


I gave Last Man In Tower by Aravind Adiga  four stars not because I was head over heels in love with it, but because it lead me to have profound thoughts about the condition of humanity. While this book was required reading for me for Graduate School, there were many times when I wanted to throw it clear across the room out of frustration and anger at the characters' actions.

The story's theme focuses around the duty that one has to his/her community. In this novel, Masterji, a retired Physics teacher living in a co-op in Vakola, Mumbai along with his neighbors are offered the chance to sell their shares in their old apartment building for close to $2,900,000. However, the catch is that the group must do so unanimously. For many in the co-op, the idea of having money and being able to move up in the world is enticing enough to sign without much of a hassle, but for Masterji, the idea of leaving a place where his deceased wife and daughter's last memory rest is unthinkable. Therefore, Masterji refuses to sign and rages a one man  opposition to the builder's proposal. ***SPOILER***Frustrated, his neighbors take matters into their own hands and kills him***SPOILER***

Here, is where my distaste for Adiga's novel sets in. For the whole of the novel, Masterji's neighbor's complained of this man's disregard for his community's wishes yet, everyone ultimately betrayed his wishes for greed. It was argued in my class that Masterji was in the wrong for his action's of refusing to agree to abandon his home and go along with the co-op's wishes however, in my opinion, this line of thinking seems twisted. For the first half of the novel, the individuals of the Vishram Society regarded themselves as "respectable" people and prided themselves on living as upstanding middle class Indians that were commited to doing what was right for their community however, as soon as money was presented to them, they each became greedy and intolerable characters who only thought of themselves exclusively. If the individuals in the society had had better reasons for their actions, I would have felt less trepidation at the characters' final actions, but these characters betrayed Masterji for dollar signs moreso than what they claimed was their chance at "happiness." To me, this greed in Adiga's characters hardened my belief that money really is the cause of all evil.

Not one character in the novel actually ventured to hear Masterji out when he said he wanted nothing from the builder. Since the other characters bathed in the anticipation of becoming rich, they assumed that all Masterji wanted was more money. Even this character's son rejected his father's will and focused more on the money than hearing his father out. This tunnel vision by the other characters sickened me and made reading this novel hard. I wanted to believe by the novel's end that one of them would take pity on Masterji and understand things from his point of view however, this act never surfaced.***SPOILER*** Even though one member of the co-op did get cold feet in the end, this character chose to regain his immorality by the novel's end.***SPOILER***

This being said, Adiga's story is well-crafted and worth a read regardless of it's raw portrayal of humanity. My only gripe besides anger at the characters' pettiness and greed is that in some places, the author overwhelmed the reader with too many details and back history/story. This verboseness had me struggling to keep myself invested in the overall action of the novel (I actually found the last 1/4 of the book to be the best part of the novel). Overall, I would recommend this book at least, as a way to have someone else to discuss the themes and topics in this novel with.

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Book Publishing Screw Up

While re-deciding what books to read this week I encountered a funny publishing mistake.

For the last year, I have been dying to read All Roads Lead To Austen by Amy Elizabeth Smith. I finally broke down and ordered a copy from Thriftbooks.com over winter break as a Christmas present to myself. I didn't get around to actually having time to read the book until this week and was gung-ho to add it to my TBR pile for this weekend until I opened it up....

...It turns out that my copy starts at Chapter 3. At first I thought that this was totally normal and that this book was the type of book where the storyline circles back around. I thought this because the novel is a travel memoir that has been written about Smith's account of spending a year traveling and discussing Jane Austen books with different book groups in Latin America. Sadly, this is an ill conceived thought. According to Amazon First Looks, my book should have started some 30+ pages ago with the Author's Note.


Le sigh...I guess I'll have to write to the company I bought the book from and ask for another copy. I seriously can't wait to read this book. Anticipation is literally swelling inside me and putting me on a book high.

smh...Anticipation is the devil in disguise.

Ammendment to Teaser Tuesday #2

In my previous post, I mentioned that I was in the process of finishing my first year of graduate school and listed the book, Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier as one of this week's pleasure reads.  Unfortunately, I had to rethink this book choice due to it being one of three books in a trilogy. I have learned that once I start a book series of any kind I want to finish it right then and there (hence my frantic search for a copy of Scarlet by Marissa Meyer a month ago after I finished reading Cinder). Therefore, I have chosen to spice things up with two selections from the Chick Lit genre.

The first book is called Goddess For Hire by Sonia Singh. The book follows Maya Mehra who has just discovered that she is the reincarnation of the Hindu goddess Kali. Upon realizing this, she decides to rent her services out for hire with what looks like disastrous results. This book has everything I love in novels that have ties to Indian - match making aunts, Hindu mythology, and a tad bit of romance to tie it all together.

"He'd called once, since moving out, wanting to know if there was a Neiman Marcus in Santa Monica. Before I could inform him the closest was in Beverly Hills, he received another call and put me on hold...After three minutes I hung up."

My  next choice is Sassafrass, Cypress, & Indigo by Ntozake Shange. This book is about three sisters who's names are included in the book title. Each sister is an artists trying to find her way in the world. Sassafrass is the oldest and is a college educated poet who moves from Charleston, North Carolina to Los Angeles. Then, there is Cypress, the dancer, who is only described as "being on a mission to find a new way to move in the world." Finally, Indigo, the youngest is stuck in Charleston. Indigo is also described as a poet however, she is pinpointed as the sister who is "most open to seeing the magic in the world." This books sounds like it's going to be a very creative read for lack of a better word. I know that Shange is notorious for having written for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf and that she deals with very strict subject matter, but I hope this book is more upbeat than her more infamous novel/play.

"I'll eat pork if I want to; I'll paint both my lips red. I ain't goin' to heaven when I'm dead."

Hopefully, this is the LAST book change in my line-up for the week. Hope everybody is having an amazing week.

Cheers!