Category: memes

Throwback Thursday 11/19

On By carryabigbookIn Book Reviews, memes, Throwback ThursdaysLeave a comment

I discovered Throwback Thursday on my friend Carla Loves To Read page.

Throwback Thursday meme is hosted by Renee@It’s Book Talk and is a way to share some of your old favorites as well as sharing books that you’re FINALLY getting around to reading that were published over a year ago. You know, the ones waiting patiently on your TBR list while you continue to pile more titles on top of them! These older books are usually much easier than new releases to get a hold of at libraries and elsewhere. If you have your own Throwback Thursday recommendation feel free to jump on board and connect back to Renee’s blog.

My choice this week is A Message to Garcia, a little known gem whose wisdom has withstood time.

My Original Review

This motivational classic was written one winter night in 1899. A Message to Garcia is a pithy volume of only 17 pages. Written in just one hour it is chock full of pearls of wisdom. It centers on the real life story of Major Andrew S. Rowan who traveled the harsh terrain across the island of Cuba to meet with rebel force leader General Calixto Garcia. In doing so he infiltrated enemy lines and secured information that led to the success of the United States Army during the Spanish American War. Hubbard tells this tale to beseech us to act promptly without excessive deliberation – “To stand still is to retreat.” or questioning – “things that chew cud do not catch anything.”

Other lessons that can be gleaned from this book:

The meaning of success –
“Get rid of the savage fallacy that success lies through sacrifice . . . Success implies joy in your work . . . The man who can lose himself in his work is the one who will succeed best . . . No success is final . . . Every success is a preparation for greater success just ahead.”

The definition of Genius –

“A genius is a man who takes the lemons that Fate hands him and starts a lemonade stand with them.”

“Failure does not exist. One who is successful is too busy putting effort into the work that they do not even know that they stand on the thin line between success and failure.”

“Genius may have its limitations, but stupidity is not thus handicapped.”

The value of education – Hubbard believes that education should teach you to DO something. Too much time, he believes is wasted on telling students how to think when by the time they reach college age they should be productive members of society. A college education is therefore a waste of time according to Hubbard.

To see Colonel Rowan’s account go here:
http://www.foundationsmag.com/rowan.html

Throwback Pic

Paul Leroy Robeson wore many hats: singer, actor, activist, athlete, lawyer. Here he is as Brutus in the film The Emperor Jones—the first film to feature an African American in a starring role. This picture taken by photographer Edward Steichen first appeared in Vanity Fair on August 1st 1933.

Signing off. Hope we get to talk books soon!

WWW Wednesday 11/18/20

On By carryabigbookIn Book Reviews, memes, Reading Challenges, TBR, WWW Wednesdays7 Comments

Hello and Welcome to WWW Wednesday! This meme was created by Miz B formerly of shouldbereading and currently hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words. Just answer the three questions below and leave a link to your post in the comments for others to look at. No blog? No problem! Just leave a comment with your responses. Please, take some time to visit the other participants and see what others are reading. So, let’s get to it!

The Three Ws are:

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?

What I’ve Read

  • Three Women by Lisa Taddeo
  • Case Studies/ Sociology
  • Hardcover, 304 pages
  • Published July 9th 2019 by Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster
  • Nonfiction November
  • Popsugar Challenge
  • Life of a Book Addict Pick It For Me
  • Mem by Bethany C.Morrow
  • Science Fiction
  • Kindle Edition, 189 pages
  • Published May 22nd 2018 by The Unnamed Press
  • PopSugar Challenge
  • 52 Weeks of Women Color
  • Spell the Month in Books

What I’m Reading

This is my second time trying to read this one. The first time I was listening to the audiobook and it just did not click with me. This time reading on the Kindle. Not quite where I was the last time but more of the plot is sinking in and I am connecting more So maybe this time I will finish it.

What’s Next?

  • White Ivy by Susie Yang
  • Mystery/Thriller
  • Hardcover, 368 pages
  • Published November 3rd 2020 by Simon & Schuster
  • 52 Weeks of Women of Color
  • Tattoo by Jenna Cosgrove
  • Young Adult
  • Kindle Edition, 448 pages
  • Published March 27th 2016 by The 8 Percent
  • Goodreads Giveaway

Teaser Tuesday 11/17/20

On By carryabigbookIn memes, TBR, Teaser TuesdayLeave a comment

Welcome to Teaser Tuesday, the weekly Meme hosted by The Purple Booker. It’s super easy and anyone can join in the fun!

1: Grab your current read
2: Open to a random page
3: Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

This week I struggled to find a Teaser for this meme. So I begged help from my tribe of bookworms. My middle son picked the page number (64) and my little ones decided the color. One said yellow and the other pink an Voila! This is what we came up with:

Synopsis

From GoodReads – “Twin sisters Bibike and Ariyike are enjoying a relatively comfortable life in Lagos in 1996. Then their mother loses her job due to political strife, and the family, facing poverty, becomes drawn into the New Church, an institution led by a charismatic pastor who is not shy about worshipping earthly wealth.”

“Following their fate over the course of two decades in Nigeria, this debut novel tells the story of each sibling’s search for agency, love, and meaning in a society rife with hypocrisy but also endless life.”

Teaser

When you’re the youngest in the family, everyone tries to protect you. They lie to you, they cover for you. You learn to do your own investigating. You have to be both persistent and invisible. Sometimes it seemed like there was a duvet of silence over all the important stuff about our family. There was no one willing to lift it for me, to let me see for myself what it was all about.

pg. 64

For those of you with siblings, how much do you think your birth order has affected your personality?

#5 On My TBR – Black Covers

On By carryabigbookIn 5 on my TBR, memesLeave a comment

5 On My TBR is a weekly meme that gets you digging into your massive TBRs to find five special books. Created by E@LocalBeeHuntersNook this meme centers on a new prompt each Monday. This week’s theme is Black Covers. If you think “reading the rainbow’ is a fun idea, please join our group’s monthly color challenge over on GoodReads. Next month the colors are green and red. For those of you interested in participating in #5 On My TBR you can find additional info and future prompts here.

#1 – The Future is Yours

  • Science Fiction; Time Travel
  • Hardcover, 352 pages
  • Expected publication: February 9th 2021 by Del Rey Books

From GoodReads: “Two best friends create a computer that can predict the future. But what they can’t predict is how it will tear their friendship—and society—apart.”

#2 – Let Me Hear a Rhyme

  • Young Adult/ realistic Fiction
  • Hardcover, 380 pages
  • Published May 21st 2019 by Katherine Tegen

From GoodReads: “In this standalone novel, Tiffany D. Jackson tells the story of three Brooklyn teens who plot to turn their murdered friend into a major rap star by pretending he is still alive.”

#3 – Thick and Other Essays

  • Nonfiction/Social science
  • Hardcover, 248 pages
  • Published January 8th 2019 by New Press 

From GoodReads: “Smart, humorous, and strikingly original thoughts on race, beauty, money, and more—by one of today’s most intrepid public intellectuals.”

#4 – Ten Women

  • Contemporary Literature, in translation
  • Kindle Edition, 251 pages
  • Published January 7th 2014 by AmazonCrossing

From GoodReads: “Nine Chilean women with divergent life stories come together to talk about their triumphs and heartaches . . . They all have one person in common, their beloved therapist Natasha who, though central to the lives of all of the women, is absent from their meeting.”

“Despite their differences, as the women tell their stories, unlikely bonds are formed, and their lives are transformed in this intricately woven, beautifully rendered tale of the universal bonds between women from one of Latin America’s most celebrated novelists.”

#5 – Dread Nation

  • Young Adult/ Historical Fiction / Horror
  • Hardcover, 455 pages
  • Published April 3rd 2018 by Balzer + Bray

From GoodReads: “Jane McKeene was born two days before the dead began to walk the battlefields of Gettysburg and Chancellorsville—derailing the War Between the States and changing America forever. In this new nation, safety for all depends on the work of a few, and laws like the Native and Negro Reeducation Act require certain children attend combat schools to learn to put down the dead. But there are also opportunities—and Jane is studying to become an Attendant, trained in both weaponry and etiquette to protect the well-to-do. It’s a chance for a better life for Negro girls like Jane. After all, not even being the daughter of a wealthy white Southern woman could save her from society’s expectations.”

“But that’s not a life Jane wants. Almost finished with her education at Miss Preston’s School of Combat in Baltimore, Jane is set on returning to her Kentucky home and doesn’t pay much mind to the politics of the eastern cities, with their talk of returning America to the glory of its days before the dead rose. But when families around Baltimore County begin to go missing, Jane is caught in the middle of a conspiracy, one that finds her in a desperate fight for her life against some powerful enemies. And the restless dead, it would seem, are the least of her problems.”

Throwback Thursday 11/12

On By carryabigbookIn Book Reviews, memes, Throwback Thursdays2 Comments

I discovered Throwback Thursday on my friend Carla Loves To Read page.

Throwback Thursday meme is hosted by Renee@It’s Book Talk and is a way to share some of your old favorites as well as sharing books that you’re FINALLY getting around to reading that were published over a year ago. You know, the ones waiting patiently on your TBR list while you continue to pile more titles on top of them! These older books are usually much easier than new releases to get a hold of at libraries and elsewhere. If you have your own Throwback Thursday recommendation feel free to jump on board and connect back to Renee’s blog.

This week my choice is Samantha Irby’s We Are Never Meeting in Real Life. I figured if you guys were as wound up as I have been it would do you well to have some humor in your lives. Samantha Irby dishes up just that. And guess what? —– Humor counts as Nonfiction! So you can add another one to the books if you are participating in Nonfiction November 😉

This was rip roariously funny. I know I’m making up words here but Ms. Samantha had me in stitches. I can’t believe that I had this title sitting on my shelf since 2017 and it was only the monthly color challenge that had me cull this book from my massive TBR.

We Are Never Meeting in Real Life could probably be swallowed whole in one sitting but it served me well in small doses of joy served up like cups of sweet coffee – a little bit here to kick start the day, a little bit there to get past the doldrums of work and the ho hum of everyday chores.

This review originally appeared on my GoodReads page April 7, 2019

Throwback Pic

“Beatles Pillow Fight, Paris” was taken in 1964 by Scottish born photographer Harry Benson. His work and iconic photography have been immortalized in the 2016 film Harry Benson: Shoot First.

Signing off. Hope we get to talk books soon!

WWW Wednesdays 11/11

On By carryabigbookIn Book Reviews, memes, WWW Wednesdays13 Comments

Hello and Welcome to WWW Wednesday! This meme was created by Miz B formerly of shouldbereading and currently hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words. Just answer the three questions below and leave a link to your post in the comments for others to look at. No blog? No problem! Just leave a comment with your responses. Please, take some time to visit the other participants and see what others are reading. So, let’s get to it!

The Three Ws are:

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?

What I’ve Read

Rating: 4 out of 5.

See my stop on The Forgotten Sister Blog Tour.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Here’s My Thoughts.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

See my Review Nonfiction November #2

What I’m Reading

Currently I am focusing my energy on cutting down my NetGalley pile while incorporating some Nonfiction titles. Black Sun and The Purpose of Power are ARCs. Three Women is a book club pick from GoodReads.

  • Science Fiction/ Epic Fantasy
  • Hardcover, 454 pages
  • Published October 13th 2020 by Saga Press
  • Nonfiction/ Political Memoir
  • Hardcover, 336 pages
  • Published October 20th 2020 by One World
  • Nonfiction
  • Hardcover, 304 pages
  • Published July 9th 2019 by Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster

What’s Next

“A dazzling debut novel about a young woman’s dark obsession with her privileged classmate and the lengths she’ll go to win his love.”

“You judge me when you look at me because of the tattoos that cover my body—but that’s only because you don’t understand what they mean…….”

“You judge me because my tattoos make me look strange, dangerous. But there’s more to them than that. To understand the way I look, you need to know where I came from. To understand me, you need to know my story…”

Teaser Tuesdays 11/10

On By carryabigbookIn memes, TBR, Teaser TuesdayLeave a comment

“She was dazzling, radiant, not simply to my eyes but somehow to my soul as well. I saw her and recognised her worth.”

63%

Rating: 4 out of 5.

One woman’s secret will shape another’s destiny…

With romance, time travel and the paranormal Cornick weaves an unforgettable story that reminds us the value of women and that history is not to be forgotten or ignored.

Stop by my stop on The Forgotten Sister blog tour for the rest of my review! 😀

If you are a woman, what does it mean for YOU to be SEEN? Men, what are ways in which you can see the true essence of the women in your lives?

#5 On My TBR – Friendship

On By carryabigbookIn 5 on my TBR, memes, TBR2 Comments

5 On My TBR is a weekly meme that gets you digging into your massive TBRs to find five special books. Created by E@LocalBeeHuntersNook this meme centers on a new prompt each Monday. This week’s theme is Friendship. I think this is a timely topic as we are all leaning on our friends, their understanding and compassion right right now. If you are interested in participating you can find additional info and future prompts here.

#1- Dessa Rose

Dessa Rose is an African American classic set in the antebellum South. It is about two women forging a friendship against all odds.

#2 – The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society is an epistolary novel. A treasured book leads to friendship and romance against the backdrop of WWII.

#3 – In Five Years

From Goodreads: “Brimming with joy and heartbreak, In Five Years is an unforgettable love story that reminds us of the power of loyalty, friendship, and the unpredictable nature of destiny.”

#4 – The Great Believers

Makkai’s book is centered on the late 1980s when HIV was raging. Here she shows how friends within the gay community banded together and became family for those who were all alone.

Three Things About Elsie

I automatically bought this book after reading Joanna Cannon’s The Trouble With Goats and Sheep which totally warmed my heart.

From Goodreads: “A novel set in England about eighty-four-year-old Florence, a resident in a nursing home, who has fallen in her apartment, leading her to think about her childhood friend and the secrets of their past that are about to come to light”

Throwback Thursday #3

On By carryabigbookIn Book Reviews, memes, Throwback Thursdays2 Comments

I discovered Throwback Thursday on my friend Carla Loves To Read page.

Throwback Thursday meme is hosted by Renee@It’s Book Talk and is a way to share some of your old favorites as well as sharing books that you’re FINALLY getting around to reading that were published over a year ago. You know, the ones waiting patiently on your TBR list while you continue to pile more titles on top of them! These older books are usually much easier than new releases to get a hold of at libraries and elsewhere. If you have your own Throwback Thursday recommendation feel free to jump on board and connect back to Renee’s blog.

This week I decided to choose a nonfiction book – The World Between Two Covers – as this is Nonfiction November. What excited me about this book was that it broadened my horizons. It made me purposely search out books in translation and from different perspectives. Back then over 90% of my reading was mystery/thrillers from older white men. This year 90% of my books read were women and POC.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

My Review

When I first picked up this book I was excited about the concept of reading texts from all across the world. I could already envision myself with sails cast traveling figuratively to unknown lands. In my mind’s eye I saw clearly the vast array of colors that enveloped the people; could almost taste the exotic food as the aroma of culinary delights wafted into my nose. From looking at the cover, I expected Ann Morgan, “Blogger Extraordinaire”, to include us on her literary adventures. I expected this book to delve into the “The 196 ( . . . AND Kurdistan)” with delightful anecdotes of far-away lands. I supposed it might be a foray into ethnic studies reminiscent of my cultural anthropology classes in college. Ah but alas – One should never judge a book by its cover. What a found between these two covers (pun intended) was a thorough research endeavor in which Morgan painstakingly sought out, found, and was gifted texts from around the world. Indeed some texts had not yet been translated into English and others not even published.


In this global economy that we live in where we can Skype with someone clear across the other side of the world, one might think that Ann Morgan’s endeavor were a simple feat. Over the course of 12 chapters she outlines why we are not as globally minded as we might think we are and the obstacles that stand in the way of authors and readers alike trying to connect across cultures. From the Eurocentrism evident not only in our choice of literary canons, but also in our construction of maps that color how we perceive the world — to the “translation bottleneck” that determines which books even have a chance of reaching the Anglophone reader, Morgan’s thorough analysis is both eye opening and soul searching.

This review originally appeared on my GoodReads page August 4, 2015

Throwback Pic

This photo, Frida Kahlo on White Bench, was taken by Hungarian photographer Nickolas Muray in New York, 1939. The pair are said to have had a decades long love affair.

Signing off. Hope we get to talk books soon!

WWW Wednesdays 11/3

On By carryabigbookIn Book Reviews, memes, TBR, WWW Wednesdays9 Comments

Hello and Welcome to WWW Wednesday! This meme was created by Miz B formerly of shouldbereading and currently hosted by Sam at Taking on a World of Words. Just answer the three questions below and leave a link to your post in the comments for others to look at. No blog? No problem! Just leave a comment with your responses. Please, take some time to visit the other participants and see what others are reading. So, let’s get to it!

The Three Ws are:

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?

What I’ve Read

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

#52WeeksOfWomenOfColor #76

Samantha Rajaram’s background with sex trafficking law is what started her on the path to writing this book. Set in 1600s Amsterdam and Batavia The Company Daughters highlights the real life experience of poor indigent women who were sent to the Dutch colonies and married off to settlers.

For my thoughts on the book visit my blog tour stop.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

First off I must admit that I do not like dystopian novels. I read this one for the Tournament of Books Super Rooster as I have been participating in their challenges for the last 5 years.

For the most part the book was engrossing. It kind of lost my attention around the 2/3 mark. In Station Eleven’s opening scene the lead actor dies on stage while in the middle of his performance. The theater is packed and in the chaos that ensues afterward we learn of the Georgia flu. Gripping right? My mind started racing trying to figure out if our King Lear is patient zero and if Jeeves would emerge as the hero who saves the world. But Station Eleven is more sophisticated than that. Kirsten emerges from the shadows as St. John Mandel takes us on a journey through this afterworld. Shifting time frames between the before and the after, we get to watch Arthur as he reflects on his life and reevaluates his values. And because “survival is insufficient,” we watch as people learn to appreciate what remains of their lives after disaster.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

#52WeeksOfWomenOfColor #77

A solid addition to the scholarship on Malcolm X’s life. See my post Nonfiction November #1 for a full review.

Rating: 5 out of 5.

#52WeeksOfWomenOfColor #78

I received this book WAAY back in February and although I was very excited as you know all he!! broke loose when Coronavirus hit. So here I am 9 months later finally getting to this awesome book. If you would like to read my review stop by my GoodReads page.

What I’m Reading

I probably will be wrapping this one up by the end of the day but I have to say that it has been an eye-opening experience. I walked into this book with so many misconceptions. Although I have not found any of the women featured here endearing I appreciate that the author is like-minded and holds them accountable for their actions.

What’s Next

The Forgotten Sister is an historical novel set during the Tudor era. It involves time travel, a curse and romance. Please check back here on Tuesday, November 10th for my stop on the blog tour.

Those of you who visited my WWW post last week might remember this title. I have not gotten to it yet but will make a concerted effort to get to it soon. With all of the debates and election coverage I got sucked into the TV and social media. Obviously, I have some catching up to do on my reading.