Self-deprecation at its best

I first heard about Scaachi Koul's One Day We'll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter several months ago on BookTube (I will continue to sing its praises) and added it to my TRL as I felt the need to read more Canadian authors. This book is a collection of essays about Scaachi's life growing up as a child of Indian immigrants in Canada. There's a focus on body positivity, feminism, and the endemic racism she and other people of color face in that country. She discusses her family and how she is the direct product of two disparate parenting philosophies. (Each chapter begins with an email conversation between herself and her father. He's quite possibly the funniest man on planet earth.) She's deeply afraid of going outside of her comfort zone and yet she's in a relationship with a man who seems to do nothing but push her to do just that. (I thought I had travel anxiety until I read about her experiences flying.) It's a look into a family as different and yet somehow the same as mine or yours. There's always going to be some neuroses in any family. It's about self-discovery, self-love, and ultimately self-acceptance. It was a lot of fun but judging from the fact that I had to refresh my memory by looking up the blurb it isn't the most memorable book I've had the pleasure of reading this year. So I'm gonna give it a 6/10.

A/N: I really need to start making detailed notes about the books I've read immediately after reading them because my backlog of book reviews is getting more and more lengthy. Stay tuned for a special post on Tuesday by the way. ;-)

Source: Amazon

What's Up Next: Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang

What I'm Currently Reading: Woolly: The True Story of the Quest to Revive One of History's Most Iconic Extinct Creatures by Ben Mezrich

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Activism in India

Like those of you who come to my blog looking for book recommendations, I often check out book vloggers/bloggers and 'what's new in children's lit' to see what I should be checking out next. That's how I heard about Book Uncle and Me by Uma Krishnaswami. Firstly, I don't think I've ready any children's books from an Indian author before so I was interested to see if the styles would be at all similar and what kind of themes would be explored. Secondly, this book is about two of my favorite things: books and community activism. :-D Our main character, Yasmin, is a voracious reader and she gets all of her books from a lending library run by Book Uncle who sets up his 'shop' on the corner by her apartment building. There is no price for these books and if you want to keep it then that's perfectly okay. Yasmin and many members of her community come to see this little library as a constant in their lives but one day their world is upended because Book Uncle has been told that he must leave. What transpires next is nothing short of inspiring and that's just what I think is so phenomenal about this book. It teaches children that their actions matter and that activism can be accomplished by every member of the community. It's a great way to talk about 'doing your part' that doesn't make it overbearing or heavy-handed. It's also a great way to expose children to a different part of the world. 8/10

Note: This book will also make you extraordinarily hungry.

Source: Bright Group International

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Warfare, cultural confusion, and partying in Afghanistan

I'm very thankful to have been sent a copy of Whiskey Tango Foxtrot by the lovely Angela at Wunderkind PR. This book was originally published in 2011 under the title The Taliban Shuffle: Strange Days in Afghanistan and Pakistan (the new title is indeed catchier and took me longer than I'd care to admit to puzzle out). The author, Kim Barker, was a foreign correspondent for the Chicago Tribune who didn't know the language, culture, or the significance of the countries she was assigned. And yet, she managed to feel more at home in Afghanistan and Pakistan (to a lesser extent) than she could have ever anticipated. This is a gritty, comedic, and tragic story of war and the impotence one feels when thrust into the middle as an outsider (or an insider even). At times, I felt the pull of adventure much as Kim did. I imagined myself country hopping and getting to know the ins and outs of various peoples. (After all, I do have a degree in Anthropology.) And then there would be a vivid description of the violence and destruction of war that never seems to have an end. I marvel at her willingness (and eagerness) to stay and experience it firsthand. She says it's an addiction and she continually talks about being in its throes. It is not glamorous and she doesn't sugarcoat it. In fact, she criticizes the foreign governments who refuse to see the truth of the situation. I don't think I will ever look at reporting the same way ever again. You might have guessed that I really enjoyed it. It's a solid 10/10 especially as it highlighted an area of the world that I feel woefully ignorant of...until now!

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is out today and is being adapted into a film due out March 4th starring Tina Fey (also Martin Freeman who I think I've recognized from the book and I'm excited). I hope that it stays relatively close to the book if not in content then in feeling. I think it's a wake-up call that is sorely needed.