Book Review: Zeina and The Light Between Oceans

Two book reviews for you this week:


I was incredibly busy last week and didn't know if I would get my book finished for the week, but I made it today thanks to a quiet lunch hour and sitting in the car reading while the kids were at piano lessons!   

Review of Book # 45

Zeina by Nawal El Saadawi. 


This book was in the stack that I picked up during my wandering through the library looking for books to read.   I was really intrigued by the back as some of the reviews mentioned that the author is "the leading spokeswoman on the status of women in the Arab World" and that she "has come to embody the trials of Arab feminism."  

In my quest to learn about people and cultures that are different from me so that I can better understand where they are coming from in effort to be more compassionate and understanding, I was excited to read this book.  As I flipped quickly through the pages, I noticed that there are no chapters and really no breaks in the story.   I have never read a novel that is one long continuous story from beginning to end.   I found it to be a challenge in that there was never a convenient time to stop reading which left me pausing in the middle of events.   The story also changes points of view very quickly and changes from present tense to past tense, reality to fantasy just as quickly which at times proved to be a challenge to read at times.  

Some of the main themes in the book are the suppression of women from the poor on the street to the highly educated, hypocrisy mainly among the men with power and status, and how "God's word" can be bent and used to justify anything that is wanted or desired.  All of the male characters in the book viewed women as unclean and low on the social scales but used for pleasure.  The women, except for Zeina, are extremely demeaned.   This is most likely an exaggeration to make a point, but it seems a little excessive when reading the book.   I can't say that this book really moved me and was more of a relief to reach the final page.  



Review of Book # 43

The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman

This book caught my eye on the best seller's list.  Set on a small island off the coast of Australia, the story is of a light house keeper and his wife.   Secluded on the island for months at a time without contact from the main island except for a couple of months every three years, they only have each other to lean on through two miscarriages and a still birth.   When a boat washes up on the shores after a storm with a dead man and a baby who is still alive, Isabel views this as a gift from God.   Tom, meticulous in his record keeping decides to abide by his wife's wishes and does not record the correct time that the boat comes on the shore.   For two years the couple raise little Grace as their own daughter.  On their first trip to the mainland after Grace's arrival, the couple discovers the birth mother of Grace who is still grieving her lost husband and daughter.  

I realize that this type of story could only happen in the circumstances where a couple is cut off from all human contact besides supply boats for years at a time.   This part of the story took me a little to get over, but the author did an excellent job of describing the tensions between all parties involved from Isabel wanting to keep Grace and seeing nothing wrong with it, to Tom who wants to do the right thing, and every other life connected to Grace.

I could not put this book down and would highly recommend it.  

What was a book you couldn't put down that you have recently read? 

Book Review: Escape From the Land of Snows

I had the rare opportunity where there were no books in my "to read" stack, so I went to the

library and walked around just reading the backs of books and picked up a couple.  The following is one of the books selected during that particular visit to the library. 

Review of Book #45

Escape From the Lands of Snows: The Young Dalai Lama's Harrowing Flight to Freedom and the Making of a Spiritual Hero by Stephen Talty

I was so excited when I picked up this book because I am so intrigued by the Dalai Lama and was anxious to learn more about him.

Perhaps my hopes for this book were misplaced.   Rather than a book describing the war, I was anticipating a book about the Dalai Lama himself; hoping to learn about how the Dalai Lama's trip from Tibet to India changed and impacted his life, and perhaps a little more about the Buddhist faith.  I was somewhat disappointed to find that the book covered mostly the war between the "rebel" Tibetans and Communist China.   A great amount of time is spent on how important the Dalai Lama is to the people of Tibet and the desire they posses to protect him from the Chinese that are invading their city.  Jumping between different people involved in the war, the devotion to the Dalai Lama becomes very apparent.   The actual story of the Dalai Lama's journey is sparsely scattered among the other people fighting the war.   I don't feel that I actually learned much about how the journey impacted the Dalai Lama until the second to last chapter of the book.  

I did learn that a young man, twenty four years of age, who is leading the country has to stand up to Mao Zedong and his desire to spread Communism.  Growing up in a completely secluded, protected environment, the Dalai Lama has no idea that people can be evil and trusts anyone who is human.   His trip to India shows him that people can be evil, are very poor, and need help.   Compassion being something that has run deep in the Dalai Lama from early childhood, he begins to understand humans a little better.   He leaves Lhasa a rich man and enters India poor with "poor man's disease" or dysentery.   The escape to India allows him to change some of the traditions of Buddhism that he struggled with, for example separating government and religion.

Overall, I think if I had not had preconceived ideas of this book I would have enjoyed it much more.  Although I did learn some things, so it was not a complete waste of time.

Curious to know what you have been reading? 

Halloween Weekend

Our weekend full of festivities:

In costume, we headed to Haunted Hallways.   

We have never been before and had a great time.  

(They made up their own costumes this year; I thought they did a great job!)

After the Haunted Hallways, a snack was in order, 

 Today involved pumpkin carving.  

We have a theme this year from costumes to pumpkins!   

The kids did a great job picking out their own pumpkins and cleaning/carving by themselves!  

 

My New Year's Resolution in October

I am two weeks ahead of schedule. Considering the year that it has been and the changes to my schedule that I had not anticipated, I was so pleased to log my 44th book yesterday. At the beginning of the year, I set a goal for myself to read 52 books this year. A book a week. I knew it was an aggressive goal but it was something I wanted to try. I got the idea when my college roommate posted on Facebook that she had read 80 books in 2011. I knew that was unrealistic for me, but I wanted a challenge.

On top of the challenge in how many books to read, I wanted to challenge myself to expand beyond my favorite and preferred genre. This year I have read biographies/memoirs, self-help/self-esteem, culture awareness, best selling fiction, and classics that I have not read before and otherwise might not ever read.

There have been so many books that have touched me in different ways that I always wanted to write about and I never got around to doing so. I don't know if I will go back and write about each of them, but moving forward I would like to. I am not an expert review writer, but I would like to share them with you. At the end of the year, I will post my entire list of books read this year.

Unplanned and Much Needed

It is weekends like this that cannot be planned, rather, it just happens.   Without any planning, we had a weekend full of everything that the four of us needed.   There was time to read books, listen to music with headphones, play on the computer, art projects, and movies.   While most of the weekend was spent in pajamas, we did take time to go to the block party downtown, and the kids found some amazing pizza with real cheese! 

 We found some great finds on a trip to Target.

I spent a good portion of the weekend standing next to Mark in the kitchen making food for the week.   While this may not sound that exciting, it is a time when we connect.   We both love to find new recipes and create new meals and dishes.   This isn't usually time for deep or life changing conversations; it is a time that we bond and we can get on the same page as each other again.   I value this time, especially as busy as we have been lately. 

This weekend turned out a couple of great dishes:



Chicken Fried Rice

 (Quick, Easy, and gives me a gluten-free option 

for Chinese when I am really craving it!) 

Louisiana Red Beans and Rice

 (One of Mark's favorites) 

Sunday afternoon is here.  Rather than the feelings of dread about the upcoming week, I feel relaxed and rested.   We have had a productive weekend that has been both quiet, and full of laughter.   Of course it helps that we also have a short three day week ahead of us followed by a four day weekend!  

Have a great week!

Dear Martha

Sunday night while we are getting everything ready and organized for the week, Mark is wiping the dining room table off and says more to himself than to anyone really, "I wonder why there is a white mark on the table by Addy's spot."

In the middle of packing lunches, I don't think much of it until, mid peanut butter and jelly sandwich, my breath catches, my heart sinks, I remember that my darling Addy was taking her fingernail polish off at the table earlier this evening.   Yep.   You know the rest of the story.   My dark stained dining room table has a nice white streak in it.

I had consulted with my mom, she agreed, the was probably not much I could do about the table.   Out of desperation, I went to the internet Monday night typed in my search and came up with results of refinishing the table, sanding and painting, and the worst, "Nothing can be done."

But wait..... one last message on a message board gave me hope:

mix mayo and ashes (fireplace or cigarette) and let sit for 15 minutes, then buff in. you can also spread mayo on it and then sprinkle ashes on top, and buff in. can repeat. sometimes it will make it go away, sometimes it makes it drastically less noticeable. its something about the fat content in it? some people add a little olive oil to the mix and leave it on for an hour before wiping off.

Hope this helps.

Martha

Desperate times call for desperate measures. 

I went out to Mark's grill pulled some ashes from the bottom, grabbed my bottle of Mayo with Olive Oil and began mixing.   Nothing to loose right?   

The first application was 20 minutes with some improvement.   

The second application was 30 minutes with quite a bit of improvement. 

The third application was 15 minutes (I was tired and ready for bed) with more improvement.  

Dear Martha, you have saved my table and my sanity.  Thank you for this weird but helpful advice!   

Vacuumed Stairs

I vacuumed my stairs yesterday.    I know this probably does not seem like blog worthy material, but for me it is a big deal.   It was the first time in the month since school has started that I have had both the time and the energy to even contemplate attacking this project.   For some reason, the stairs being vacuumed is a big deal to me.   The house can be picked up and the bathrooms cleaned, but if I see that my stairs are dirty, it really bothers me.   Don't ask me why.   It is not like I look at the stairs of other houses that I walk into, actually, I never even think about it, but for some reason, mine are a constant reminder to me about my home.  But I digress. 

September has been an intense month, new schedules, new jobs, new classes, and new teachers.  Nothing, it seems, is the same.  The evenings are now filled not only with homework, piano lessons, rock drums, percussion lessons, and soon dance lessons, but also the many things I used to get done during the day time when I was home.   I am not complaining as I know there are many families who do this same routine, it is just very different for our family.   It has taken a lot of getting used to, but we are getting there.  

Amid the busyness and chaotic schedules, there has been so much that has been good.  Both of the kids are doing well with their new schedules, E at middle school, and Addy with the before school care.   Both are making new friends and challenging themselves in school, with music, reading, and math.   And both are exceeding my expectations.  What more can I ask for?   I am able to be home when the kids are home for the most part and help them with homework, something that I didn't have the opportunity to do before. 

I have the opportunity to work with some exceptional young people.  I had no idea I would be able to work with these young lives in the way that I am. I am able to assist in language classes by reading books, math class by helping with math problems, and assessing skills for the work force in the work based learning classes.  I am realizing what Mark hoped would be true, I am learning to love my new job. 


Another gift, the sunrise.   It is not that I am getting up any earlier, but rather than I happen to be driving to work while God is painting some absolutely breath taking sunrises.  As my car heads East, I have a full view of the colorful hues that begin each day.   One morning the clouds looked as if they were lined in liquid gold, set against a yellow, orange, and blue background.   Of course, a picture cannot capture the stunning scene.  It is a moment each day when I connect with God, giving him thanks for the blessings and asking him to walk beside me through the day.   And he does not fail. 

After the intense month of adjusting to the new way of life, yesterday I took time to wake up without an alarm, enjoy a cup of coffee with the love of my life while my puppy snoozed on my lap.   Then I vacuumed my stairs because I had time and energy to, and that felt good.   It felt good to do something "normal" or at least what I felt was "normal" from life before chaos. 

Tomorrow brings a new month and a hope that by the time we end that month, I will feel a little more of "normal" return to life.