Book Review - Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

I received an Amazon gift coupon for Rs 200 recently, and I began looking for a book to buy. I zeroed in on 'Between the World and Me' by Ta-Nehisi Coates for a few reasons.

One, the book deals with a subject (race) that is at the heart of contemporary social fabric of the US. We wish the country has moved on, but regularly we get to hear of issues and events that only point to the contrary.

Two, the author is a well-known journalist. He works for The Atlantic.

Three, this book, his second, is a very recent one, and the news of its publication is fresh in memory.

The book is in the form of a letter to his 14-year old son, about what it means to be black in the US. Apparently, the book came about after Coates asked his editor why no one wrote like James Baldwin (whose The Fire Next Time, is in the form of a letter), and the editor told him to give it a try.

Drawing a lot from his childhood in Baltimore and many other personal experiences, Coates brilliantly paints a haunting picture of violence. References to brutality are powerful enough to linger in our minds for long. He constantly refers to the body that is always under the threat of being harmed, his feelings of being in a country that has been built by whites with the labour of blacks.

I haven't been in the US long enough to know first hand how race relations play out in everyday lives. I have heard both versions: one, that the country has moved far, far ahead from where it was once; and two, there is still lot of racial ill-will among the whites for the Afro-Americans. Segregation may not legally exist, but in reality it does still, if not so much on the ground, definitely in the mind.

The book paints a very pessimistic picture: almost tells you there is just no hope of anything getting better. I got a feeling that he was going on and on. The bleak tenor was off-putting. One shouldn't be taking so much pains to explain and convince why something will not improve; it should be for the contrary, why there is still reason for hope.

Nevertheless, Coates's autobiographical accounts and his arguments on why he doesn't see much hope, is a good read, giving us a frame of reference to understand the complex topic of race relations in the US.

Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

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Interesting US presidential poll season ahead

So it's Ted Cruz and Bernie Sanders who are hogging limelight after the Iowa caucuses yesterday.

On the Republican side, while I can understand the sentiments that are bringing in the numbers for Donald Trump, his radical thoughts are unnerving. Between the two, Cruz is preferable.

On the Democratic side, my choice is Hillary, mainly because of her overall career record and experience. Bernie Sanders isn't appealing. He is talking of a policy line that is far too Leftist that one can imagine would work in the US. Barack Obama's policies themselves weren't going down well.

This US presidential poll is promising to be very exciting.

Valentine's Day Giveaway

Hello!
Starting today and lasts for thirteen days there is a giveaway for a new Kindle Fire and a $50 Amazon gift card! there are twenty-eight authors that are part of the giveaway! Check it out while it is still available.

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Book Review: Life is What You Make It by Preeti Shenoy

This is the second book of Preeti Shenoy that I am reading. The first was "The One You Cannot Have". One of my friends suggested that I must read Life is What You Make It.

I am glad I read it.

It's a work of fiction, but it's very real. (Maybe because, as the author herself says, "... it's based on some real-life experiences".)

Ankita, the central character, could be any one of us. Many things that happen in her personal life -- as she moves from an undergraduate course in Kerala to a very coveted Management course in a Mumbai institute -- can happen to anyone of us, albeit in different forms, proportions and intensities.

The book tells us that successes and failures are ephemeral. It's the way we deal with them that finally matters. As the title aptly says: life is what you make it.

The book is inspirational: it is about a fight, not with people but with emotions, with intangible elements, difficult-to-understand perceptions and feelings. Physical scars and injuries are visible; but the hurt that is caused to one's emotions and mind are difficult to understand: not just for others but for the person who is suffering too.

Preeti has a very simple writing style. The story-telling form of narrative makes her work easy to read. The little twists and surprises keep the reader engrossed even while she delves deep into commonplace thought processes, simple as they may seem but could have very defining repercussions.

I won't introduce spoilers here. Pick up the book and read.

Life is What You Make It by Preeti Shenoy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
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Book Review - Connect The Dots by Rashmi Bansal

The book is a compilation of thumbnail sketches of 20 entrepreneurs who made it big though they didn't have MBAs or degrees from branded institutions. It also drives home the point that you don't need big degrees to make it big. All that you need is perseverance, hard work and commitment. It's inspirational, especially for people who are dreaming big and aiming high.

Two stars because 1) There are words and long sentences in Hindi for which there are no translations. They look out of place. 2) For each person featured, the heading appears twice, one for the rather longish summary and then again for the biographical write-up. 3) Since these are real-life stories of real persons, the author could have added photographs of people and their establishments. That would have made it more more appealing.

Connect The Dots by Rashmi Bansal -- My rating: 2 of 5 stars

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#NewYearHop

Good Morning!
Today is a Hop! What is this hop? There is a list of authors below and each one is having a giveaway on their facebook page! All you have to do is look for the #NewYearHop hashtag and there will be a giveaway. Each author is giveaway different things, books and gifts. Below is my giveaway and the next stop!

Check out the next stop at R Holland!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Here's the full list of participating authors:

Mia Hoddell

A.K. Morgen

Aimee McNeil

Lindsay Detwiler 

Marianne Rice 

Michelle Jo Quinn

Debbie De Louise

Susan Mac Nicol 

Kat Shehata

Natalina Reis

A. Gorman 

Ottilie Weber 

R. Holland 

BK Rivers

Theresa DaLayne

Carissa Lynch

Jaci Wheeler

Carolyn LaRoche

Lilly James

Amy Reece

S Valentine

Alison Mello

Lisa Cardiff 

Blissfully Bookerized 

Jennifer Allis Provost 

L.J. Sealey

M.A. Stacie 

J.L. Drake 

Kim Black 

ES Carter

Free Project US

Good Morning!
With the holidays it is nice to see a deal and some of us are still on winter break from school. For a limited time (until Sunday night) Project US will be free for all e-readers! Please share and enjoy :)

 

Rachel is used to being in control of her emotions, never letting anyone get close to the real her. Nick is exactly the kind of guy Rachel has been trying to avoid getting involved with. Yet, when their school arranges a mysterious project that puts them together, they soon become trapped in a marriage that turns out to be real and legally binding, and they aren't the only ones.

While their parents try to get four hundred students out of these marriages with legal help, the teenagers must live in a compound with their respective spouses for the duration of the project. Being trapped together leaves no room for denials. As Nick begins to fall for Rachel, she does everything in her power to avoid his charms and protect her heart. All she wants is to get out of the marriage, but does she truly want out, or is she only lying to herself?

Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/project-us-ottilie-weber/1122252225?ean=9781514810576#productInfoTabs
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/555929