Tracy C
What an amazing memoir. I was just a teen growing up in the Americas, not very worldly while all of this was originally happening. I can, however, remember news reports of the humanitarian efforts being made by various organizations. I remember supplies being dropped by air for the refugees but then seeing those supplies being stolen by the warlords so that they never reached the people it was intended for. The lengths that Dr. Abdi “Mama Hawa” went to to help her fellow Solami's is nothing short of astounding. The danger she faced for herself and her family was immense, and yet she persisted. She kept on and kept HOPE alive. Dr. Hawa Abdi is a truly inspiring woman that I hope to learn more about.
What a memoir! You run across people in your life who don't know “things”... standard things that you learn in the normal course of growing up, without actually being taught. You wonder how that happned. Now I know!
Tara knew a lot of things with regard to living and surviving on her mountain, but after leaving the mountain, her lack of education regarding anything outside of that mountain, or anything outside of what her father would allow was mind-blowing.
A gripping tale of love and scorn, violence and control, and eventual freedom. The story I was expecting (I'm not sure what I expected, to be honest), but it was an amazing story none-the-less.
Very compelling auto-biography of a Black man growing up in Camden, New Jersey. Read by Darnell himself, his telling of his own stories in his own words and voice (Audible) bring you closer to his humanity. He bares his soul, in complete honesty and openness. Eye-opening perspectives brought out of the darkness and into the light.
Excellent book! First I've “read” from Stacey Abrams. I will be reading or listening to more of her stories. Stacey did a great job of setting the scene and slowly letting the story unravel. I won't say anything to give anything away, but if you enjoy political adventures or murder mystery, this would be one that deserves a place on your shelf! Expertly narrated by Adenrele Ojo. She did a great job of distinguishing between the different characters and even managed Indian and Middle Eastern accents.
Excellent book. Change your thinking, read better, become limitless. I still need to download the extra resources and go through the different Jim Kwik provides. I can't wait to see where these improvements will take me. I was initially about a 350 word per minute reader. Using the pacer method, I bumped up to 450. After a couple of weeks of trying these new tips, I can't wait to see where I am with my new skills.
I didn't know what to make of this book. I was a little captivated and a little bit, “what the heck am I reading?” I kept waiting for the book to get to the point, for a plot twist, for something big to happen. Or for SOMETHING to happen. It just fell flat. I was intrigued by all of the letters back and forth. I didn't know that this is the format the book would take. At first I was put off by it, but then I kind of started getting into it, and feeling where the author was trying to take us. In the end, I just felt confused and as if there was more to come. It felt abruptly halted and unfinished. As if, oh no! My book is due to be done! And so it was done. I wish to find someone I know to talk to about this book. It popped up while searching for electronic books from my library to read on my Kindle. So it didn't come from a referral from anyone I know. Just a random one with a title that caught me, reeled me in, and then left me hanging there on the line.
Eye-opening book for sure. I listened to this on Audible, rather than read it. There is so much that has happened in history that we are never taught. And Dick Gregory calls things into light that I never even questioned, but now I'm questioning. I don't know much about him, but I'd like to know more. He calls himself a conspiracy theorist at the beginning of the book, and I have this in the back of my mind as I'm reading. But now that I've put that into words, could it be that others have called him a conspiracy theorist, and he's just bringing that to light, rather than letting it fester in the abyss. The book definitely provides food for thought.
I thought this book was going to be more about nomad life, and it ended up being a lot about Amazon. Kind of changing my mind about that company without calling it out. Very interesting community out there, and we shouldn't vilify the “nomads” the way that we do. I wanted to read the book before seeing the movie. Will watch the movie next.
Listened on Audible... Gabrielle reads it herself. It's very raw, much like what you'd expect from Gabrielle. I was somewhat surprised by her background. I laughed (literally laughed while mowing the lawn and listening on my iPhone), and cried at some parts. She's a great story teller... and I thank her for sharing our story with us, her readers.
LOVED this book! Although, I have to admit, I listened on audible rather than read the words. But Trevor did such a great job telling his own story! He starts out slow, and isn't great at the story telling at first. But then he gets more relaxed, and the story telling is fabulous. He gives a lot of insight into his upbringing in South Africa. I love how the stories of others are able to give one a small taste of other areas of the world.
It was very informative. Ruth Badger Ginsburg did so much in her life to advance women's standing in the world. I was glad I did this one on Audio-book... I honestly don't think I could have made it through actually reading this on my own. It's about the courts, so there is quite a bit of case discussions that most non-legal people might struggle to get through otherwise. There are a lot of parts in the book (audio) where Ruth is reading her own decisions, or they're recordings of her reading her dissents. We get to hear from her husband, Marty Ginsburg, too. I enjoyed that. And I have a much better understanding of how our Supreme Court operates.
I really enjoyed this book. The reading itself was very easy... the research done on bees was enough to make this all believable, but not so much that it was overwhelmingly detailed. Some of the story-telling was predictable, but the overall book was thoroughly enjoyable.
Like many of the other readers/reviewers of this book, I would like to see a sequel as well. I'd like to know what happens to some of the characters. I didn't want the story to stop. I wanted to find out what happened with Lily and August...
I'm glad that I read the book before reading the synopsis below. If you don't want a spoiler, then don't read that!! I couldn't put this book down. It was set, I believe, in 1971, but there were only a few moments of the book where things were mentioned that makes you remember that it isn't contemporary. It was suspenseful, and you really get sucked and feel for the characters. The author, a few times, throws out these “thought” sections, where you are given insight into what that character is thinking at the time. They were a little disjointed. And by that, I mean, he didn't use them often enough, or consistently throughout the book. It was almost as if he hadn't fleshed out a scene enough, and needed to go back and somehow efficiently fill us in on what he (and subsequently we, as his readers) had missed, without adding too much to the content of the book. It didn't stick out while I was reading, the book. But upon reflection, it was something that stuck out to me. Overall though, I really enjoyed this book. If his other books are similar, I could see reading more.
Very well written book. Easy to follow, jumping from family to family, or person to person, as they track the happenings and the struggles that people face. Very eye opening... especially from someone who lives in Milwaukee, and passes some of the very places called out, oblivious to the challenges the people face, and the cycles that they are stuck in.
My book club was reading this on a sidebar, so I thought I'd give it a shot too. I wish I hadn't wasted an Audible Credit on it, and I don't even like horror books or movies! This started out with a couple of good scares, and seemed like it could go places, but then just turned into a horrible B movie type thing. I'm glad it at least went quickly. I don't do DNF's, so I had to finish it... this one I actually wish I hadn't.
Read book. Recommend for Shea maybe, depending on content due to her love for all things “Paris”, if that's still the case.
Recommended by Nathaniel Drew.
