Dispatches from the Edge by Anderson Cooper

Title: Dispatches from the Edge
Author: Anderson Cooper
Hardcover: 224 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins; First Edition edition (May 23, 2006)
Source: Library
Genre: Non-Fiction
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

My thoughts:
I love reading books on War Correspondence but sadly out of all I’ve read I’ve only liked two. But Dispatches from the Edge I loved. I had expected to like it but I wasn’t prepared to like it so much.

Anderson Cooper describes his journey, dispatches rather from developing and third world countries. The first section describes the cyclone that hit Srilanka and many other countries a few years back. Having been to Srilanka recently, I could picture the small towns and the people and it was very painful to read about the destruction of life and property.

The middle section is more a mix of his experiences in war-torn places like parts of Russia, Iraq and Africa. At times there are alternate chapters on the same places but in different times. I guess he wanted to contrast or something but to me that section was most confusing because even though it describes the same place the situation was somewhat different, at least politically. It was difficult to just switch between times.

The last section is on hurricane Katrina. He was in the midst of the hurricane then and his experiences were chilling. And because it was his own country, he was more emotionally involved which reflected in the writing.

What I loved most about the book was that Anderson Cooper didn’t hold back. He let the readers know what his state of mind was then. He described how his father’s death affected his and his brother’s life. He kept running away from reality instead of facing his grief and loss. His brothers suicide was another tragedy that made him runaway from his emotions. He describes his need for always being in crisis and how it was unable for him to adjust to normal life.

Although this book is based on difficult subjects, it really is very easy to read. Highly recommended.

Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink

Title: Prophecy of the Sisters
Author: Michelle Zink
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; 1 edition (August 1, 2009)
Genre: Young Adult (Fantasy)
Source: Library
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

My thoughts:
I was excited when I picked up this book from the library because it had been on my Wishlist for some time. I was instantly drawn to the World of Lia and Alice in Birchwood. When the book opens, 16 year old twins Lia and Alice and 10 yr old Henry are at their fathers funeral. Their father dies a strange and sudden death leaving them in the care of their Aunt Virginia.

Soon Lia sees a mark on her wrist, a circle with a snake coiling around it and she struggles to make sense of it. Then she learns of an old prophecy, a prophecy that places 2 sisters on the opposite sides, one evil and the other good. She realizes that there is something sinister at work and that this time she and her sister Alice are at the opposite sides.

I loved the story, I loved the idea of 2 sisters against each other and I loved the Gothic atmosphere in Prophecy of the Sisters. I was engrossed in the book for the first 200 pages and could not put it down. But…yes, I’m sad there is a but, the story got too complicated at times. Lia is trying to understand the prophecy and her place in it for almost the entire book. I was waiting for the action to start, but that was not to happen in this book.

Because most of you know by now, there is a sequel to the book called ‘The Guardian of the Gate’. I was hoping there would be some conclusion, or at least a part of action that would be over and done with in this book. Alas, that was not to be. It just worries me that I will forget a lot from this book before I can get hold of the next one. The book is from Lia’s point of view. The other characters interested me more than Lia. I would have loved to have a first person account from Alice and possibly a little from Henry. Those were the characters I found most interesting.

Nonetheless I would definitely recommend this book to YA and fantasy lovers and begin stalking the library for the second book.

Wordless Wednesday: Petra in Jordan

These are pictures of Petra in Jordan. They were taken by my husband when he went to Jordan for work. Isn’t Petra beautiful? It is an archeological city smack in the middle of the desert. I was reminded of these pictures when I saw a book written by T.L.Gigley.

Rani by Jaishree Misra

As a review for a book, this might contain spoilers but since Rani Lakshmibai is a historic figure, the time line and major events in her life are well known.

Title: Rani (meaning Queen)
Author: Jaishree Misra
Paperback: 432 pages
Publisher: Penguin Global (November 26, 2008)
Genre: Historical fiction
Set in: Jhansi, India
Source: Library
Rating: 4 out of 5

My thoughts:
As an Indian I know that Rani Lakshmibai is known as one of the greatest warriors in India and the fact that she was a woman gives her an entirely different status altogether. It is sad to know that not many people outside India know who she was.

Rani Lakshmibai was born in 1828 with the name Manikarnika and grew up under her fathers love and care. He taught her different languages and horsemanship and everything that was accessible only to a man in those days. She married at the tender age of 14 to the Raja Gangadhar Rao Nevalkar of Jhansi who was almost her fathers age. Manikarna became the Rani of Jhansi and her name was changed to Lakshmibai. See the Jhansi Fort below.

She gave birth to a son 8 years into the marriage but unfortunately he died when he was 4 months old. Her husband died soon after because of poor health. Barely in her 20′s, Rani Lakshmibai had to take over the reign’s of Jhansi. She adopted a boy whom she named Damodar as she had no son of her own. But the British, who had taken control over many provinces in India in the same pretext, refused to acknowledge Damodar as an heir.

As Rani Lakshmibai was trying to find a way out of her predicament, discontent was brewing among the natives in the British army. The discontent reached its peak when British wanted the sepoys to open the new Enfield rifles that were coated with beef and pork fat by biting them. As cows are sacred to the Hindu’s and pork not eaten by Muslims, it was the last straw along with the other problems the native army was facing. This led to the famous mutiny also known as India’s first war of Independence which started in May 1857 in Meerut after which it spread to various parts of India. Many English men and their families were slaughtered and a few of the territories taken back from the British.

Rani Lakshmibai was one of the leaders of the revolt and marched along with an army with her childhood friends Nanasahib and Tantia Tope to Gwalior. Rani Lakshmibai died in battle on June 17th 1958.

The author Jaishree Misra has not only managed to capture the warrior spirit that the Rani was reknown for but has also effectively managed to captured the woman in her. Ms. Misra shows us the child that Manikarnika would have been, the apprehension of a young girl that was married and made a Queen and the fear and helplessness that the woman and ruler of Jhansi felt. Along with this she also captured the loneliness caused by her husband’s and son’s early death and the kind of mother she would have been to her adopted son Damodar.

Statue of Rani Lakshmibai

Rani is not just about Rani Lakshmibai’s life and rule as a Queen. It is, as every good historical novel should be, a story that is intermingled with the circumstances of that time-the British occupation of India and neighboring countries and the 1857 uprising. So the reader does get to know a lot about that time period. I was enraged by the British who conveniently changed policies to suit themselves. Although we were taught all this in school, the details in the book made me feel like I was learning everything all over again.

The only thing I didn’t like about the book is that Rani Lakshmi and Robert Ellis (the British political agent of Jhansi) were shown to have romantic inclinations towards each other, which not only seems absurd but could also hurt the sentiments of a few people (considering Ellis was British and hence enemy). I get what the author was trying to project but she should have taken into account how sensitive some Indians can be about their heroes. But I really do wish that the real Rani found some love with Robert Ellis in reality too. Other than that this book could be a little tedious for someone not interested in the Indian Freedom struggle or someone who is not aware of India and it’s freedom struggle at all.

This book deserves to be read just because it is one of the very few novels on Rani Lakshmibai. The fact that it is beautifully and sensitively written is a major plus point. Highly Recommended.

This book counts for the South Asian Challenge.

Mailbox Monday

I was half way through the last day of BBAW post when the internet stopped working. It started working only the next day and by then I had lost all interest. But I did enjoy reading everyone’s goals for the next year.

Anyway, to get over the disappointment I went to a used bookstore and bought 5 books. Obviously I have to share them with you and what better than Mailbox Monday. (hosted this month by Kathy)

Misery by Stephen King: I have been wanting to read more Stephen King
Dance With a Poor Man’s Daughter Pamela Jooste: Loved the cover and the summary at the back of the book.

The Concubines Children by Denise Chong: It’s a memoir, based in China and the US.
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan: I’ve heard a lot about this book and the author, but I have feeling I might have read something by this author. Maybe I just have one of her books in my TBR.

Safe Harbour by Luanne Rice: A Romance

Have you read any of these books? How about Luanne Rice. I know she is a well known author but I haven’t read anything by her.

What came into your house this Monday?

—————————————————————————————
I just remembered that I have yet to announce the winner for The Pact Price Pack giveaway. Sorry for the delay. Using Random, the winner is

Becca

Congrats Becca, I have sent you an email, please send me your mailing address.

Day Three—Unexpected Treasure

We invite you to share with us a book or genre you tried due to the influence of another blogger. What made you cave in to try something new and what was the experience like?

Before I started blogging or even after a year of blogging I read thrillers, romance, memoirs, literary fiction, horror, and a few other genre’s. But there was one genre that I was not very aware of.

Young Adult.

The only Young Adult books I had read were the Twilight Series and I didn’t even know that YA was such a vast genre. But soon I discovered blogs that reviewed YA books and a whole new world opened up. I have always been attracted to book covers and I think the YA genre has some of the most attractive covers. Then I won a couple of YA books, I got a few requests for reviews and I was hooked.

Now YA is one of the genres I love. I keep reading reasons for why people read YA. One of the reasons I kept coming across is that Bloggers read YA books because they are quick reads and since people don’t have much time or that they are pressured to post reviews. Yes, it’s true that YA books are quick reads but is that the only reason we read? A few bloggers might have that reason but not all bloggers read YA just because they are quick reads. That would be undermining the genre. We as book bloggers read above average and quick reads can be why we read certain books. But we need more than that. Reading is more than having a huge “books read” count.

What I love most about books is their ability to transport us to different places and YA does that effectively. Besides YA has some of the best fantasies.

So thank you to all the bloggers who blog about YA books. I’m not talking about blogs that blog only about YA, I’m talking about blogs that review other genre’s too. So thank you for introducing me to such a wonderful genre.

BBAW appreciation week Interview swap

For me the most exciting and fun part of BBAW is Blogger Interview Swap. Not only do we get to know more about one particular blogger but we also get to answer some fun questions.

I have known Alyce’s blog for some time now, I have added a few books to my wish list because of her recommendations. Although I do have her blog in my Reader and do read it regularly, I wish I commented more. I’m sure most of you know her blog but those who don’t, please do check it out. You’ll be hooked.

Also, don’t forget to check out my interview on her blog.

Please tell us something about yourself Alyce
I am a stay-at-home mom of two boys, ages nine and six.  I play the flute in a community band, and teach flute lessons to a couple of girls who live on my street.  Although I started reading at a young age, I didn’t develop a passion for reading until a book reading competition in the fourth grade.  From that point on I was hooked on reading and I even started hanging around with different kids at school – those who liked to hang out in the library and read in their spare time.  Although I participated in both swimming and track in high school I am hardly athletic.  I was pretty much the worst performer on each team, but loved the camaraderie and the exercise. My favorite form of exercise as an adult is hiking.  I love that I get to see nature while stretching my legs.

I went to college at the University of Oregon and graduated with a degree in Linguistics.  Then I worked at a couple of publishing companies before I decided to be a stay-at-home mom.  Now my husband works for Oregon State University – the arch-rivals of our Alma Mater, and we root against our former school at all of the sporting events. My husband even dyed his hair orange (one of the colors of OSU) for the football season this year.

How is Oregon for book lovers? Does it have enough bookstores, libraries, author signings, second hand, bookstores, book clubs?
Oregon is a great place for book lovers, especially if you live anywhere near Portland, the home of Powell’s Bookstore.  I have lived in three different communities in Oregon over the course of my life, each with decent access to books.  The town where I am currently is the smallest I have ever lived in, with a population of about 7,000.  We only have one used book store and the library, and it’s a half hour drive to a book store that stocks new copies.  Thankfully our library has an excellent (and free) inter-library loan system with 17 other libraries from small communities in the surrounding area.

I wish that I could get up to more of the book signings at Powell’s in Portland.  They seem to have something going on almost every day.  Unfortunately I’ve only been to one author even there because it is an almost two hour drive from where I live, and the signings are all on weeknights.

Too bad about no book signings near by, but yay for libraries. Please tell us about something most of want to know – Time Management. How do you manage your time? Blogging takes a lot of time right? Considering you have 2 kids, how do you manage to do it all?
The biggest asset I have for time management in blogging is a wonderful (and busy) husband.  When I started blogging my husband was traveling a lot for his work – he was gone about one week a month. That’s not to say that his being gone was an asset, but rather an impetus to blog.  I had all of my evenings free during those times, and I was going crazy with boredom.  Blogging filled that time nicely and then quickly started taking over all of the rest of my time as well.  It was a struggle in that first year – not to become obsessed with blogging to the exclusion of other things, like cleaning my house or watching TV with my husband.  He was very understanding in the first year as I worked on finding a good balance.

We have worked out a pretty good system now where I blog while the kids are at school and when my husband travels for business.  In the evenings I hang out with my husband, watching our favorite shows on TV, or streaming shows off of Netflix.  The wonderful thing is that when my husband brings a project home to work on in the evenings, I now have plenty of blog-related activities to keep me busy.

Cleaning the house, well that’s another matter.  I have to admit that I’d rather blog than clean any day, and sometimes the house needs an emergency cleaning session if we’re going to have company over.  I think what makes the whole blogging process fun for me is that I thrive on staying busy.  I like the feeling of juggling a lot of activities at once.

In the summer time I read a lot of young adult titles because I just don’t have the time or concentration for much else.  I have to seize any opportunity to read or blog when I can (which sometimes means putting a movie on for the kids because “Mom is going to write for a little while”).

That’s a pretty good system you have there. Blogging helps me a lot when my husband is away too. And now my favorite question. Does your family and friends know about your blog?
My family and friends know about my blog, but as far as I know most of them don’t read it.  I only have one pre-blogging friend who reads and comments regularly on my blog. I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that not a lot of my friends or relatives are obsessed with reading the same way I am.  I have made some real life friends as a result of blogging though.  I found out that there was a book blogger who lives about a half hour from me and I’m in her book club now.

I noticed you read quite a lot of memoirs which happens to be one of my favorite genres. If you had to recommend one or two memoirs, which ones would you recommend?
One of the best memoirs I have read recently is “Confessions of a Prairie Bitch” by Alison Arngrim.  It is a fantastic account of her days as Nellie on Little House on the Prairie, and includes a lot of fascinating tales from her personal life as well.

One of my favorite memoirs that I read in pre-blogging days is “Madame Secretary” by Madeleine Albright.  She has lead such an amazing life, and is a great role model for women of all ages.  I loved that she didn’t become involved in politics until after she had already raised her children and was middle-aged. It just reinforced the idea that you’re never too old to achieve great things.

If there was one author you could be best friends with, who would that be? Imagine being able to talk/ meet her/ him on a regular basis, imagine having a sneak peek into the future books along with the editor, imagine having him/ her ask you for advice regarding the upcoming novel? You know what I mean.
When I was a teenager I would have said Anne McCaffrey (and part of me still wants to answer that way). She is one of my favorite authors of all time.  I would love to get to know her because her dragon books and sci-fi novels have been a huge part of my reading experience.  However, she hasn’t been writing anything new lately (at least not as a solo author), so I wouldn’t be able to have those chatty conversations about upcoming releases.  I would love it if she came out with some new dragon books, but it seems she has passed the torch to her son.

As an adult I would have to say Sheri S. Tepper, has been one of my favorite authors since college.  She writes a lot of books that are hard for me to categorize.  They usually take place in modern day, but involve elements of fantasy and science fiction.  They usually have some form of story in which the society is manipulated or changed in strange ways (sometimes almost dystopian), and sometimes have a feminist slant.

I also have a few Rapid fire Questions for you since I love asking them.
Your favorite color? Green, any kind of green that falls on the spectrum on the yellow side.  I don’t like blue-greens.

Your favorite movie? It’s so tough to list just one, so I’ll list a few:  Forget Paris, The Quiet Man, Meet the Robinsons, Anne of Avonlea, The Godfather, the Harry Potter movies.
Your favorite singer? John Mayer and ABBA
Your favorite TV show? Doctor Who, The Gilmore Girls, West Wing, The Big Bang Theory
What do you prefer wearing? Dresses or Jeans – Jeans
Winter or Summer? Summer
River or Ocean? Ocean, but only to play on the beach – I’m too chicken to swim in it.

Thank you Alyce for answering all my questions at the last moment. I enjoyed swapping interviews with you.

Mailbox Monday and BBAW

As we all know BBAW has already started and unfortunately I did not really get time to get excited enough. I have been busy managing bookings for my parents visit in December, looking for a job, completing the final PR (permanent resident) formalities, looking for an apartment and a few other things. I have managed to somewhat read and comment on some of my favorite blogs. I did do the things required for BBAW though, sign up and Interview swap and all that. But I feel kind of exhausted.

We did go to Pulau Ubin Island for the long weekend which was a good change but was not really relaxing since we cycled around the Island the entire day.

I opened my google reader today and realized that today was the first day for BBAW. Although I did want to post as required for all the given topics, today’s topic had to take a backseat. It’s difficult to list one blog when I have around 100 blogs I love.

But now that the bookings are done and the hunt for the new apartment is streamlined a bit, I think I can relax and enjoy BBAW. I’m excited for tomorrow’s Interview swap although I wish I had taken more time to set the questions.

And since I’m posting today I thought why not take part in Monday Mailbox as well. Somehow I always forget to post Mailbox Mondays.

I got 2 books. One is YA, the other is non-fiction

Heart With Joy by Steve Cushman
In Heart With Joy, fifteen-year-old Julian Hale’s life is turned upside down when his mother suddenly moves from North Carolina to Venice, Florida under the pretense of running her parents’ motel and finishing the novel she has been working on for years.  While Julian has always been closer to his mother and wants to go with her, she tells him he has to stay with his father until the end of the school year.
Six weeks after his mother leaves, Julian’s father decides to run a marathon.  This surprises Julian because he has never seen his father exercise, but once he agrees to help him train the two develop the sort of close relationship they’ve never had before.  Also, with the help of an elderly neighbor, Julian learns that the most important thing in life is to follow your heart.  And Julian’s heart leads him to a passion for cooking and a young cashier at the local grocery store.  By the end of the novel, Julian is forced to choose between staying with his father and going to live with his mother.
Heart With Joy is an uplifting coming of age novel about cooking and bird watching, about writing and pottery, and about falling in love and the sacrifices we all make.  But ultimately, it’s about the importance of following your heart and trusting that it will take you where you need to go.

Beyond the Comfort Zone by James M Turner
How does one make the journey from the glitzy world of Showbiz to the dark and dangerous world of International Child Trafficking?
As one of the UK’s premier session musicians James M Turner led a life most only dream about, playing Saxophone with some of the UK’s best selling Artists and traveling the globe performing to legions of adoring fans. So, as he stood on stage at Wembley Stadium, raised his Sax and 70,000 people screamed into the night air, he could have been forgiven for thinking that his life would always be this way.
A few short years later however he would find himself deep in The Golden Triangle, fighting for his sanity and survival as he attempts to infiltrate and capture those engaged in the tearful trade of Human Trafficking.
‘Beyond The Comfort Zone’ is the story of one man’s extraordinary journey, from the stages and T.V. Studios of the world to the Jungles of South East Asia.

I’m looking forward to reading both these books.

Cleopatra’s Daughter by Michelle Moran

Title: Cleopatra’s Daughter
Author: Michelle Moran
Genre: Historical Fiction
Set in: Rome
Source: Review Copy
Hardcover: 448 pages
Publisher: Crown; 1st edition (September 15, 2009)
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

My thoughts:
Cleopatra’s Daughter is the story of Selene, who after the death of her parents, Cleopatra and Mark Antony, had to travel to Rome from Alexandra as War Prisoner along with her 2 brothers Alexander and Ptolemy. Ptolemy died in the ship on the way to Rome. When they reached Rome, Octavian paraded them in chains as his conquests. Later he appointed Octavia as their caretaker. Octavia was his sister and Mark Antony’s ex-wife. But Augusta was a kind woman and never held anything against Selene or Alexander in spite of the fact that Mark Antony had abandoned her and her children to marry their mother. Cleopatra’s Daughter is the story of Selene seemingly interspersed with the political background of Rome.

Selene is such a strong character and Ms. Moran brings forth her trepidation, anxiousness, fear, determination and strength of character very well. And then there are other characters too who are equally if not more enchanting. There is Octavian who would do anything to have power over Rome, Octavia who took care of the children as if they were her own, Marcellus, Alexander, Julia and of course Juba. He was someone I paid the most attention to right from the beginning although I didn’t know anything about Selene’s history. I have to admit that these very characters confused me in the beginning for the only reason of having to remember their names and these eventually were the same people I came to love and understand.

And then above all this is the way Michelle Moran brings ancient Rome to life. She does it with the same skill that was evident in Nefertiti and The Heretics Daughter. It made me want to visit Rome just to see the places these people lived in once upon a time.

What more can I say about Michelle Moran that hasn’t already been said before? When I went to a bookstore back in India once, the sales person told me that Michelle Moran books sell like hotcakes. That’s because Michelle Moran writes historical fiction in a way that makes you want to flip the pages like you would do for a thriller. She knows how to make history accessible to all kinds of readers. There is something for everyone in this book. Highly Recommended.

Note: Another news I am very excited about is Michelle Moran’s next book called ‘Madame Tussaud‘ is coming out in April 2011. Long wait but so worth it.

Bonobo Handshake by Vanessa Woods

Title: Bonobo Handshake
Author: Vanessa Woods
Genre: Non-Fiction
Source: Library
Rating: 5 out of 5

My thoughts:
Bonobo Handshake by Vanessa Woods is based in Congo Africa. Vanessa Woods is a research scientist in California. She is also an author and has worked for NatGeo. Bonobo Handshake is, yes you guessed it right, about Bonobos. How many of us know that Bonobos along with chimps and gorillas are closest to us in terms of gene count? But sadly, world is so focused on chimps that people tend to forget or overlook these relatively small apes.

Vanessa Woods moved to Congo with her boyfriend since he was a research scientist and wanted to conduct research on Bonobos. Having worked with Chimps before and having no interest in Bonobos or Congo for that matter, the move was a huge sacrifice for her. But as she came to know the animals, she eventually fell in love with them.

This book is not just about Bonobos. It’s a nice mix of her personal story, the political story of Congo and Bonobos. Congo has suffered extensively for its oil, gold, diamonds, Cobalt and so much more. Instead of strengthening the economy, it has resulted in many wars and suffering. And along with the economy and the people, the wildlife suffered too. People want money and the fastest way to have it is to sell Bonobo’s. They are tortured and orphaned. Most of them are sent to the Lola Ya Bonobo sanctuary when found by well-meaning individuals.

It was here, at Lola YA bonobo, that Vanessa and her boyfriend (later husband) conducted experiments on the Bonobos. These experiments are important because other than comparing them to chimps they are also a key to a better world. By understanding the way Bonobos deal with conflicts we could understand more about how humans deal with conflicts too.

I simply LOVED the book. What more can I say? After the first 20 pages I couldn’t put it down. You would possibly like it even if you don’t like non-fiction because this book is page-turning. It’s a detailed, human, interesting and heart warming look into Bonobos and the people who look after them. I fell in love with Bonobo’s after reading this book and I’m sure you will too. Since I borrowed this book from the library I hope I find a copy for my personal shelf.

Related Articles

• Vanessa Woods Blog (Your Inner Bonobo)
• Lola Ya Bonobo Blog
• Friends of Bonobos