Thursday, March 2, 2017
Where Have I Been: A Mini Trip Report
Hi readers, long time, no talk! But I have good reason of course. I had taken a longish vacation half way across the world. Well Karachi, Pakistan AKA the motherland to be specific. It was my first time there, ok fine my second time. (But I was a baby the first time I visited and have no memory of it, so really, this trip should count as my first time 😁 ). Pakistan was pretty great! It was fun at times and super crazy and hectic sometimes. Everyday would bring new adventures, experiences, and of course memories! Life there is so different compared life in America, but Pakistan has it's own charm. I thought I would share a few highlights with you.
Tuesday, November 15, 2016
Book Review: Small Great Things
Hello dear readers! Hope you are doing well! I recently finished Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult and wanted to do a quick review!
***Disclaimer: I requested this book through NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are my own***
***Other Disclaimer: Minor spoilers ahead***
Synapsis (taken from Goodreads):Ruth Jefferson is a labor and delivery nurse at a Connecticut hospital with more than twenty years' experience. During her shift, Ruth begins a routine checkup on a newborn, only to be told a few minutes later that she's been reassigned to another patient. The parents are white supremacists and don't want Ruth, who is African American, to touch their child. The hospital complies with their request, but the next day, the baby goes into cardiac distress while Ruth is alone in the nursery. Does she obey orders or does she intervene?
Ruth hesitates before performing CPR and, as a result, is charged with a serious crime. Kennedy McQuarrie, a white public defender, takes her case but gives unexpected advice: Kennedy insists that mentioning race in the courtroom is not a winning strategy. Conflicted by Kennedy's counsel, Ruth tries to keep life as normal as possible for her family—especially her teenage son—as the case becomes a media sensation. As the trial moves forward, Ruth and Kennedy must gain each other's trust, and come to see that what they've been taught their whole lives about others—and themselves—might be wrong.
With incredible empathy, intelligence, and candor, Jodi Picoult tackles race, privilege, prejudice, justice, and compassion—and doesn't offer easy answers. Small Great Things is a remarkable achievement from a writer at the top of her game.
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
My Thoughts: Sometimes, you read a book that is so gripping, you keep on turning the pages, wanting to know what is going to happen next. And when you finally tear yourself away from that book, you find yourself wondering about it. Wondering about the characters, about the theme and ideas, and again, what is going to happen next. Small Great Things is that book.
While I wouldn't call Small Great Things political, it does focus deeply on the social issues of today surrounding racism. And that is why I feel every adult needs to read it regardless of your ethnicity, religion, or political affiliation. Every adult needs to read it because unfortunately, it is still an serious issue in today's modern age. Will the story get uncomfortable at times? Yes, it will, but I think it is because the subject itself is uncomfortable.
My favorite thing about this book was the points of view. Small Great Things tells the story from three different points of view: Ruth, Kennedy, and Turk. I loved how the chapters revolved between the three characters because their backgrounds, opinions and characteristics were so polarizing and different from each other and thats what I felt made the story so well-rounded and realistic. There really isn't anything negative that I have to say about this book, except that it is aimed at adults (maybe 17 years and older?), because it does contain violent and uncomfortable language and scenes at times. Other than that, Small Great Things has become one of my favorite books of the year!
My Rating: 5 Stars!!
What I'm currently reading: I just started reading Showboat. It's a biography about Kobe Bryant.
Have you read Small Great Things? What was your favorite part?
***Disclaimer: I requested this book through NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are my own***
***Other Disclaimer: Minor spoilers ahead***
Synapsis (taken from Goodreads):Ruth Jefferson is a labor and delivery nurse at a Connecticut hospital with more than twenty years' experience. During her shift, Ruth begins a routine checkup on a newborn, only to be told a few minutes later that she's been reassigned to another patient. The parents are white supremacists and don't want Ruth, who is African American, to touch their child. The hospital complies with their request, but the next day, the baby goes into cardiac distress while Ruth is alone in the nursery. Does she obey orders or does she intervene?
Ruth hesitates before performing CPR and, as a result, is charged with a serious crime. Kennedy McQuarrie, a white public defender, takes her case but gives unexpected advice: Kennedy insists that mentioning race in the courtroom is not a winning strategy. Conflicted by Kennedy's counsel, Ruth tries to keep life as normal as possible for her family—especially her teenage son—as the case becomes a media sensation. As the trial moves forward, Ruth and Kennedy must gain each other's trust, and come to see that what they've been taught their whole lives about others—and themselves—might be wrong.
With incredible empathy, intelligence, and candor, Jodi Picoult tackles race, privilege, prejudice, justice, and compassion—and doesn't offer easy answers. Small Great Things is a remarkable achievement from a writer at the top of her game.
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
My Thoughts: Sometimes, you read a book that is so gripping, you keep on turning the pages, wanting to know what is going to happen next. And when you finally tear yourself away from that book, you find yourself wondering about it. Wondering about the characters, about the theme and ideas, and again, what is going to happen next. Small Great Things is that book.
While I wouldn't call Small Great Things political, it does focus deeply on the social issues of today surrounding racism. And that is why I feel every adult needs to read it regardless of your ethnicity, religion, or political affiliation. Every adult needs to read it because unfortunately, it is still an serious issue in today's modern age. Will the story get uncomfortable at times? Yes, it will, but I think it is because the subject itself is uncomfortable.
My favorite thing about this book was the points of view. Small Great Things tells the story from three different points of view: Ruth, Kennedy, and Turk. I loved how the chapters revolved between the three characters because their backgrounds, opinions and characteristics were so polarizing and different from each other and thats what I felt made the story so well-rounded and realistic. There really isn't anything negative that I have to say about this book, except that it is aimed at adults (maybe 17 years and older?), because it does contain violent and uncomfortable language and scenes at times. Other than that, Small Great Things has become one of my favorite books of the year!
My Rating: 5 Stars!!
What I'm currently reading: I just started reading Showboat. It's a biography about Kobe Bryant.
Have you read Small Great Things? What was your favorite part?
Monday, November 7, 2016
Top Ten Tuesday: Recent Additions to My TBR List
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by the awesome ladies at The Broke and Bookish. This week's theme are the books that I've added to my to-be-read list recently. For this week's post, I'm going to use my Goodread's Want to Read shelf. I'm adding to it constantly- it's at 321 books as of right now! Some of the books are added from blogger/booktuber recommendations, some are books recommendations through Goodreads, and a few are books that just caught my eye.
Tuesday, November 1, 2016
Top Ten Tuesday: Classics Book Club Recommendations
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by the awesome ladies at The Broke and Bookish. This week's theme is about book club recommendations so I decided to do recommendations for look clubs who read classics. I've been reading quite a few classics lately due to the Classics Club 50 challenge (which I will post up on of these days lol).
Friday, October 28, 2016
Top Five Weekly Book Bargains # 1
Hello dear readers and happy weekend! One of my favorite things is discovering new books. And one thing even better is finding books at a bargain. But... not all books are created equal. So, this week, I searched the web looking for best selling books at low prices. Some are at a bargain permanently (like The Metamorphosis), while others are only at a low price for a limited time so get them while you can!
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
Top Ten Tuesday: Books to Get You in the Mood for Fall
Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by the awesome ladies at The Broke and Bookish. This week's theme is a Halloween/ Fall Freebie so I thought I'd talk of books that remind me of Fall, since I don't really read Horror. (Whatever Catches My Fancy doesn't hold any responsibility if you get spooked from any of these reads lol)
Friday, October 21, 2016
Friday Link-Ups #1: Small Great Things
Happy Friday Dear Readers! As you can tell from the title, this will be my first ever Friday Link-Up. With what blogs? Well, I'm participating in Book Beginnings by Rose City Reader and the Friday 56 by Freda's Voice. I discovered these linkups through the blog, I Wished I Lived in a Library and wanted to join in the fun!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)