New Crayons+ School Starts Tomorrow

School starts tomorrow. It's also senior year. That means anyone who likes reading college essay applications and offering feedback leave comments or email me! Haha (I'm serious). But more seriously it means that I definitely won't have as much time to blog. I'm no longer accepting books to review unless I specifically ask for them (and I'm going to try my hardest not to accept) until November 1. That's the goal I've set for myself to be done with ALL college applications. I will of course still write reviews for books sent to me for review.

On to New Crayons hosted by Color Online

Won from Helen, thank you so much!

A Cup of Friendship by Deborah Rodriguez

The story of a remarkable coffee shop in the heart of Afghanistan, and the men and women who meet there—thrown together by circumstance, bonded by secrets, and united in an extraordinary friendship.
After hard luck and some bad choices, Sunny has finally found a place to call home—it just happens to be in the middle of a war zone. The thirty-eight-year-old American’s pride and joy is the Kabul Coffee House, where she brings hospitality to the expatriates, misfits, missionaries, and mercenaries who stroll through its doors. She’s especially grateful that the busy days allow her to forget Tommy, the love of her life, who left her in pursuit of money and adventure.

Working alongside Sunny is the maternal Halajan, who vividly recalls the days before the Taliban and now must hide a modern romance from her ultratraditional son—who, unbeknownst to her, is facing his own religious doubts. Into the café come Isabel, a British journalist on the trail of a risky story; Jack, who left his family back home in Michigan to earn “danger pay” as a consultant; and Candace, a wealthy and well-connected American whose desire to help threatens to cloud her judgment.

When Yazmina, a young Afghan from a remote village, is kidnapped and left on a city street pregnant and alone, Sunny welcomes her into the café and gives her a home—but Yazmina hides a secret that could put all their lives in jeopardy. As this group of men and women discover that there’s more to one another than meets the eye, they’ll form an unlikely friendship that will change not only their own lives but the lives of an entire country.

Brimming with Deborah Rodriguez’s remarkable gift for depicting the nuances of life in Kabul, and filled with vibrant characters that readers will truly care about, A Cup of Friendship is the best kind of fiction—full of heart yet smart and thought-provoking.

-As I find myself drawn more and more to books about the Middle East I begin seriously considering studying Persian, Farsi or Urdu in college (as well as finally mastering Spanish). I love learning about this region and I'm not particularly sure why. I think part of it has to do with the era I'm growing up in. I also think it has to do with how much I adore that they have civil (for the most part) political discussions, that point is often made in books I read. Anyway, I've only read two books set in Afghanistan (Three Cups of Tea and Shooting Kabul) so I look forward to this intimate portrayal (and perhaps I will be drawn to coffee....).

Received from Lyn while having lunch in Brooklyn with her, Zetta and Gbemi!

No Ordinary Day by Deborah Ellis (ARC)

Release Date: September 13, 2011

Even though Valli spends her days picking coal and fighting with her cousins, life in the coal town of Jharia, India, is the only life she knows. The only sight that fills her with terror is the monsters who live on the other side of the train tracks, the lepers. When Valli discovers that her aunt is a stranger who was paid money to take Valli off her own family’s hands, she leaves Jharia and begins a series of adventures that takes her to Kolkata, the city of the gods. Valli finds that she really doesn’t need much to live and is very resourceful. But a chance encounter with a doctor reveals that she has leprosy. Unable to bear the thought that she is one of the monsters she has always feared, Valli rejects help and begins an uncertain life on the street.

-I'm fairly certain I've been remiss in not reading Deborah Ellis, she seems to be an author brought up a lot for better or worse. This sounds like it will be tough for me to read about, I've gotten even more sappy when it comes to stories about hardships, I just want to solve all the problems y'know? But I'm ready to read about a grittier side of India

Bought from Borders (the bargains are getting better!)

The GQ Candidate by Keli Goff

After a sex scandal brings down a local politician, Luke Cooper finds himself catapulted into the Michigan Governor’s mansion, making him one of the few black and—by virtue of adoption—Jewish elected officials to hold such an office. His national celebrity is increased when he heroically saves the life of an avowed racist, and his good looks and charm earn him the nickname “The GQ Candidate.”

One day Luke stuns his inner circle by informing them that he has decided to run for president of the United States. His friends offer to help out with the campaign but a fundraiser, hosted by Luke’s good friend, becomes the subject of an incredibly negative gossip item that threatens to jeopardize the campaign. Meanwhile, Luke’s wife is ambivalent about her husband’s political aspirations, and grows increasingly wary of life in the spotlight.

The GQ Candidate gives readers a behind-the-scenes look at what happens in the lives of candidates, and the people closest to them, when the cameras aren’t rolling. In addition to the story of the campaign, the novel also follows the lives of Luke’s tight knit circle of friends and reveals how his amazing race changes their lives forever.

-At first glance it sounds like this book could be modeled after Senator Obama. That's part of why I picked it up but I mostly chose to buy it because I love reading about politics, fictional or not. Especially Black politicians since they are so rarely written about.

Well what did you buy this week? Anyone else dreading going back to school?

PS I pre-ordered What You Wish For. Have you preordered it yet?????

School Reading Part 2: Iran & Brit Lit

It's been awhile since I did one of these posts. Here's my first one all about what I'm reading for school. I didn't actually stick to doing these posts once a month, but ah well. I doubt any of you are EAGERLY awaiting to hear what I'm required to read for school. I detested Beowulf, liked The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly well enough (strange book but I'm glad it was the first Brit Lit book we read, I would have hated starting off with Beowulf. The remixed fairy tales were very cool) and liked Macbeth. I really liked The Canterbury Tales solely because they were so scandalous! I haven't finished them yet because we only read certain stories from the book, but I have to finish the book on my own (I can't not finish a book, I have no idea why). The Wife of Bath's tale? The Reeve's tale? WHOA! It's funny because it shows that even people in the Middle Ages were gossips and had raging hormones. People really don't change. We skipped around in the book but I'm currently on "Chaucer's tale of Melibee", our teacher definitely picked the best stories for us to read because the rest seem to be dragging on. I would recommend reading "The Wife of Bath's tale" and "The Reeve's Tale" because they are so funny.


We just started Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. She is one of two female authors we will be reading (and no the second author is not Jane Austen, any of the Bronte sisters or George Eliot. Someone named Josephine Fey, I think. It's a more modern tale). I'm not vary familiar with this story actually, never saw the movie or anything. I know the bare minimum so I look forward to reading this tale that is so often quoted around Halloween.

We recently finished up studying the Romantic Poets. I wasn't particularly impressed with any of them, but I only like funny/sarcastic/witty poetry (or anything Nikki Giovanni does). I'm hoping to finish the year finding one English poet I like that we've studied, but I'm not so sure that's going to happen. I am happy that I learned about all these great poets of color when I asked for help in picking British poets to memorize 100 lines of their work. Unfortunately they either a) weren't funny or b) their poems were too short or too depressing for me to memorize. I've decided on A.H. Herbet and Edward Lear and maybe Pam Ayres. On the bright side, I now at least know who Robert Burns, John Keats and George Gordon Lord Byron are (along with Percy Shelley, Thomas Grey, etc, etc.) and I liked learning about their personal lives (Lord Byron=MAJOR PLAYER). Their actual poetry? Not so much. At least I now understand So Shelly and I want to read it.

What am I reading in my Comparative Government & Politics class? We don't actually have required reading aside from the textbook but our teacher makes recommendations. I love reading memoirs and learning about different cultures so I'm trying to keep track of all she recommends.

We started off with the UK and I actually don't remember what books she recommend for that unit (I do know she mentioned reading Tony Blair's autobiography...). Same thing with Russia. But I wasn't particularly fond of our Russia unit. I do remember some of the China titles but I don't have much of an interest right now. haha. The only reading I really want to do is on Iran. We started off the year with a bit on Iran (that's when I read Lipstick Jihad, SO GOOD) but we don't go in-depth. Now we're going back to Iran and I'm ready to read. My teacher recommended.... (I got these books this week)

Iran Awakening: a Memoir of Revolution and Hope by Shirin Ebadi

The moving, inspiring memoir of one of the great women of our times, Shirin Ebadi, winner of the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize and advocate for the oppressed, whose spirit has remained strong in the face of political persecution and despite the challenges she has faced raising a family while pursuing her work.

Best known in this country as the lawyer working tirelessly on behalf of Canadian photojournalist, Zara Kazemi – raped, tortured and murdered in Iran – Dr. Ebadi offers us a vivid picture of the struggles of one woman against the system. The book movingly chronicles her childhood in a loving, untraditional family, her upbringing before the Revolution in 1979 that toppled the Shah, her marriage and her religious faith, as well as her life as a mother and lawyer battling an oppressive regime in the courts while bringing up her girls at home.

Outspoken, controversial, Shirin Ebadi is one of the most fascinating women today. She rose quickly to become the first female judge in the country; but when the religious authorities declared women unfit to serve as judges she was demoted to clerk in the courtroom she had once presided over. She eventually fought her way back as a human rights lawyer, defending women and children in politically charged cases that most lawyers were afraid to represent. She has been arrested and been the target of assassination, but through it all has spoken out with quiet bravery on behalf of the victims of injustice and discrimination and become a powerful voice for change, almost universally embraced as a hero.

The following two books my teacher did not recommend. She recommended 5 other books but my ridiculous library didn't have them so I requested them and I will share the titles later. I'm not sure if I'll review them...

Rooftops of Tehran by Mahbod Seraji

In a middle-class neighborhood of Iran’s sprawling capital city, 17-year-old Pasha Shahed spends the summer of 1973 on his rooftop with his best friend Ahmed, dreaming about the future and asking burning questions about life. Pasha is also wrestling with a crushing secret: he has fallen in love with his beautiful neighbor, Zari, who has been betrothed since birth to another man. Despite Pasha’s guilt for loving her, the long, hot days transform their tentative friendship into a rich, emotional bond. The bliss of one perfect, stolen summer is abruptly shattered in a single night when Pasha unwittingly guides the Shah’s secret police to their target: Zari’s intended. The violent consequences awaken Pasha and his friends to the reality of life under the rule of a powerful despot, and lead Zari to make a shocking choice from which Pasha may never recover. In poignant, breathtaking prose, Mahbod Seraji’s stunning debut novel lays bare the beauty and brutality infused into the centuries-old Persian culture, while reaffirming the human experiences we all share: laughter, tears, love, helplessness and above all, hope.

-I discovered this book solely because I am a book blogger and saw reviews of it. I love when book blogging and school intersect :) This one I will review. Anyone know if it's YA or adult? I found it in the adult section...

Even After All This Time: A Story of Love, Revolution and Leaving Iran by Afschineh Latfi

At the age of ten, a young Iranian girl witnesses the horror of her father's execution and escapes the revolution with her sister.

Growing up in Tehran in the 1970s, Afschineh Latifi and her sister and two brothers enjoyed a life of luxury and privilege. Their father, a self–made man, had worked his way up from nothing to become a colonel in the Shah's army, and their mother, a woman of equally modest roots, had made a career for herself as a respected schoolteacher. But in February, 1979, Colonel Latifi was arrested by members of the newly installed Khomeini regime, and publicly pilloried as an "Enemy of God." Some months later, after having been shunted from one prison cell to another, and without benefit of a legitimate trial, Colonel Latifi was summarily executed.

Fearing for the safety of her children, Mrs. Latifi made a wrenching decision: to send her daughters, ages ten and eleven, to the west, splitting up the family until they could safely reunite. Out on their own, Afschineh and her sister, Afsaneh, were forced to become strong young women before they'd even had a childhood.

Even After All This Time is a story of hope and heartache, a story of a family torn apart for six harrowing years, and finally coming together to rebuild in America. In the richly evocative tradition of the bestselling Reading Lolita in Tehran, this is a story of a family that had the courage to dream impossible dreams and to make them come true against impossible odds.

-Cover image above. I just found this book while I was searching for Iran Awakening. I'm hoping I can recommend it to my teacher. I decided to read it because the author's father was a supporter of the Shah so it provides a different perspective. It might have a more negative view of the Islamic Revolution as well. It's a sad story because her parents are absolutely aw-worthy and I love the proverb (saying? short story?) the book is named after. I'll most likely review this one.

So what do you think of what I'm reading? What did you read for your Brit Lit class? Anyone else love their Comparative Government class? It makes me feel so knowledgeable because I now understand what the House of Commons does, why Brits so love the monarchy, why China may not be Communist forever and why the Russian people like strong-willed leaders (extremely strong-willed leaders).

Help Needed Re: Poetry

We were given an awful assignment the other day in my British Literature class. Immediately I knew that at least I wouldn't be at a complete loss since I have at least 300 people who love to read and at least a few of them must be familiar with the topic introduced ;)

The assignment is to memorize 100 lines of poetry by a British poet. The poet can also be from a former colony of Britain (India, Jamaica, Nigeria, etc.) and I can memorize the works of more than one poet (i.e. ten lines from one, forty from another, etc.). Besides the obvious problem of memorizing 100 lines (of which I have no doubt I will fail miserably at), I'm also at a loss for finding British poets. Oh sure, I could Google them. And I intend to. But I would love to receive recommendations from people who love poetry and have favorite poets. I would prefer humorous poems since I have a hard time delivering emotional poems, but I would be up for the challenge of attempting an intense poem. I would prefer British poets of color, but honestly, I'm willing to settle for a female, humorous poet. Above all, I would love some funny poets.

In sum: BRITISH POET RECOMMENDATIONS NEEDED

You can leave them in the comments or email me. It would be especially awesome if you included the name of the poet and your favorite poem by them. I look forward to reading some great poetry (and shudder at the idea of memorizing it) :)

New Crayons + School Reading

New Crayons is hosted by Color Online. In this meme we share what new books we got for the week, specifically, multicultural books.

But first here's an update on my school reading:

We finished The Book of Lost Things. It was decent. I don't plan on re-reading it and I probably wouldn't recommend it to anyone unless you are obsessed with all British literature or you like creepy books. It is a sad and bizarre book and it's less of a coming-of-age and yet David (who is 12) matures considerably. My favorite part was the dwarfs, they are hilarious and if you ever see this book in a bookstore, pick it up and flip to the part about the seven dwarfs. It was the only part that made the book really good. I found it interesting to read John Connolly's revamped fairy tales. They resemble more of the Brothers Grimm original fairy tales than the cutesy Disney ones.

We also FINALLY finished Beowulf. It was tolerable (barely). I kept mixing up character's names and I don't think Beowulf has all the qualities of an Anglo Saxon hero. He is NOT humble in the slightest. He's constantly boasting about all his good deeds. Gimme a break. I detest Beowulf even more now because I have to write a paper on it (Christianity & Beowulf) and the book was boring as it is so this paper is putting me to sleep =/ Seriously teachers. Want to make a student hate a book? make them write papers on it? I get giving us tests and having class discussions (those can be cool) but papers suck.

Next up is Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. I don't really know anything about this book. It sounds like it will be OK. If you've read it, what did you think?

That's it for my school reading update. I will do these posts once a month, generally just talking about the last book we read and the upcoming one.

This week I got....

Tutored by Allison Whittenberg

Release Date: December 14, 2010

Wendy Anderson and Hakiam Powell are at opposite ends of the spectrum—the social spectrum, the financial spectrum, the opportunity spectrum, you name it. Wendy lives in an all-white suburb of Philadelphia, where she’s always felt like the only chip in the cookie. Her dad, who fought his way out of the ghetto, doesn’t want her mingling with “those people.” In fact, all Wendy’s life, her father has told her how terrible “those people” are. He even objects to Wendy’s plan to attend a historically black college. But Wendy feels that her race is more than just the color of her skin, and she takes a job tutoring at an inner-city community center to get a more diverse perspective on life.

Hakiam has never lived in one place for more than a couple of years. When he aged out of foster care in Ohio, he hopped a bus to Philly to start over, but now he’s broke, stuck taking care of his cousin’s premature baby for no pay, and finding it harder than ever to stay out of trouble. When he meets Wendy at the tutoring center, he thinks she’s an uppity snob—she can’t possibly understand his life. But as he gets to know her better, he sees a softer side. And eventually—much to the chagrin of Wendy’s father and Hakiam’s cousin—they begin a rocky, but ultimately enlightening, romance.

This edgy story about a star-crossed couple features strong African American characters and sparkles with smart, quirky dialogue and fresh observations on social pressures and black-on-black prejudice.

-I decided to request this book from the publisher after seeing Shalonda's review. She gives the book an almost perfect rating! I was already intrigued due to its discussion of black-on-black prejudice, but after that review, I didn't want to wait for December. Thank you Delacorte (Random House)!

Won from Alyssa at the Shady Glade

Tiger Moon by Antonia Michaelis

How does a story of India begin? Does it begin with the three great rivers—the Ganges, the Yamuna, the unseen Sarasvati pouring her dreaming waters down from the snowy mountains to the hot, dry plain?

This bewitching story within a story, set in magical India, explores the power of narrative to change the course of lives. Raka, the doomed young bride of a violent merchant, weaves a tale of rescue so vivid, it might just come true. She tells a servant boy the story of Farhad, a thief and unlikely hero, who must retrieve a famous jewel in order to save a kidnapped princess from a demon king. Farhad’s unforgettable companion on the journey is a wisecracking white tiger with an unnatural fear of water. It is their unusual and funny friendship, and the final sacrifice that they must make, that is the heart of this grand, beautiful novel about summoning the hero within.

-I want to read more fairy tales so this book caught my eye. And the tiger is sarcastic, heehee. Sounds lovely, thank you Alyssa!


Boys Without Names by Kashmira Sheth

For eleven-year-old Gopal and his family, life in their rural Indian village is over: We stay, we starve, his baba has warned. With the darkness of night as cover, they flee to the big city of Mumbai in hopes of finding work and a brighter future. Gopal is eager to help support his struggling family until school starts, so when a stranger approaches him with the promise of a factory job, he jumps at the offer.

But Gopal has been deceived. There is no factory, just a small, stuffy sweatshop where he and five other boys are forced to make beaded frames for no money and little food. The boys are forbidden to talk or even to call one another by their real names. In this atmosphere of distrust and isolation, locked in a rundown building in an unknown part of the city, Gopal despairs of ever seeing his family again.

But late one night, when Gopal decides to share kahanis, or stories, he realizes that storytelling might be the boys' key to holding on to their sense of self and their hope for any kind of future. If he can make them feel more like brothers than enemies, their lives will be more bearable in the shop—and they might even find a way to escape.

-My least favorite kinds of books as a child were ones about slavery. And working in a sweatshop seems to be too similar but I'm older now so we shall see how it goes. Most importantly, this is an important topic to read about AND Ah Yuan calls Ms. Sheth her "must-read MG author" (and assures me that I won't be a sobbing fool by the end). Thanks Alyssa =)

That's what I got this week. Your turn!

School Reading List 2010-2011

I forgot to check my mailbox this week so I'm not sure what new books I got. I apologize if you sent me something last week and I still haven't thanked you yet!

I didn't want to not post today so I thought I would share a bit about what I'm reading for school. I'm curious if people want some school updates? Nothing too long, just what we are reading and whether I liked the book or not. Or something like that. Let me know in the comments (if there are no comments I'll assume that means no one cares about my school life, which I completely understand. Hearing about school is depressing).

Social Studies Reading



How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization by Franklin Foer

Soccer is much more than a game, or even a way of life. It's a perfect window into the crosscurrents of today's world, with all its joys and sorrows. In this remarkably insightful, wide-ranging work of reportage, Franklin Foer takes us on a surprising tour through the world of soccer, shining a spotlight on the clash of civilizations, the international economy, and just about everything in between. How Soccer Explains the World is an utterly original book that makes sense of our troubled times.

-Did this book explain the world? Was it utterly fascinating? Yes. I know how to play soccer but I don't watch it, I just hop on the bandwagon when the World Cup comes along. This book provided a great look at the world of soccer (it's not the best book to use as an introduction to the soccer world because at times I was a bit lost). We had to read a book over the summer for my Comparative Government class (which was a first. My school never assigns summer reading) and the choices included this book, The Post-American World by Fareed Zakaria or Lipstick Jihad by Azadeh Moaveni. Obviously I picked this book and while it wasn't my original choice (Lipstick Jihad was checked out of my library at the time), I'm very glad I read it.


Lipstick Jihad: A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America and American in Iran by Azadeh Moaveni

Azadeh Moaveni was born in Palo Alto, California, into the lap of an Iranian diaspora community longing for an Iran many thousands of miles away. As far back as she can remember she felt at odds with her tangled identity. College magnified the clash between Iran and America, and after graduating, she moved to Tehran as a journalist. Immediately, Azadeh's exile fantasies dissolved.

Azadeh finds a country that is culturally confused, politically deadlocked, and emotionally anguished. In order to unlock the fundamental mystery of Iran-how nothing perceptibly alters, but everything changes--she must delve deep into Tehran's edgy underground. Lipstick Jihad is a rare portrait of Tehran, populated by a cast of young people whose exuberance and despair bring the modern reality of Iran to vivid life. Azadeh also reveals her private struggle to build a life in a dark country--the struggle of a young woman of the diaspora, searching for a homeland that may not exist.

-I have a friend who doesn't like to read much (at least I don't think she does. I don't know, we never talk about books but I digress) but she really really liked this book. My teacher has talked about it a bit and I think it sounds like a great read. The first country we are studying is Iran and since I don't know much about Iran's history, I figured I would start reading this book while we study Iran. I'm heading to go get it today. Plus I'm eager to learn about youth culture in Iran, specifically the underground movement.

English Reading

Junior year is British literature. I'm not particularly pleased about that (dead white male authors), but I will try and have an open mind (based on the syllabus we received the only book we read by a white female is Daughter of Time by Josephine Fey. There are no authors of color on the list, even though our teacher told us that Brit Lit includes literature from former British colonies like Jamaica, India, etc. For the record my English teacher is not white, but is a male.)We are starting off reading The Book of Lost Things.



The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly

High in his attic bedroom, twelve-year-old David mourns the death of his mother, with only the books on his shelf for company. But those books have begun to whisper to him in the darkness. Angry and alone, he takes refuge in his imagination and soon finds that reality and fantasy have begun to meld. While his family falls apart around him, David is violently propelled into a world that is a strange reflection of his own -- populated by heroes and monsters and ruled by a faded king who keeps his secrets in a mysterious book, The Book of Lost Things.

Taking readers on a vivid journey through the loss of innocence into adulthood and beyond, New York Times bestselling author John Connolly tells a dark and compelling tale that reminds us of the enduring power of stories in our lives.

-This was a surprise read. I had never heard of this book and I didn't think we read modern literature (published in 2007). We are currently reading it and it's very good. Very creepy, but I love the twisted fairy tale setting. I can't wait to finish this book (I usually read ahead in school reading but I don't have much time to do that this year) because I have a feeling the ending will be good.

Beowulf: A New Verse Translation (Translated by Seamus Heaney)

Composed toward the end of the first millennium, Beowulf is the classic Northern epic of a hero's triumphs as a young warrior and his fated death as a defender of his people. The poem is about encountering the monstrous, defeating it, and then having to live on, physically and psychically exposed in the exhausted aftermath.

-We read this next. I.DO.NOT.WANT.TO.READ.THIS. It sounds boring, the movie looks too long to watch and it had to be translated from Old English to modern English. UGH. I need someone to tell me that I will not despise this book.

The rest of our list consists of Chaucer, Shakespeare and Dickens.

I would love recommendations of British literature that is not by white males (Helen Oyemi comes to mind). I can't read it now, but maybe for the summer.

So has anyone read these books? If so, what did you think of them?