So Far From God

So Far from God by Ana Castillo
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book definitely takes some rumination, On the surface it meanders and it doesn’t seem like anything significant happens. But if you take a moment to ask what the magic symbolizes, what role each sister plays in society, and the overall significance of feminism, culture, and religion on communities, then it becomes a much richer book. Let’s just say I’m glad I read it as part of my grad studies, otherwise I would have missed the point.

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Here Comes the Sun

Here Comes the Sun by Nicole Y. Dennis-Benn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A unique perspective of Jamaican life. Issues include poverty, sexuality, race...which are not unique but told in light of the Jamaican culture. Yet of course these issues are universal and we get to see these strong women try to navigate (mostly unsuccessfully) the world they are thrown into. How much are we willing to sacrifice for success? Wha is success? Money, reputation, power, beauty, love? Lots to chew over while you’re cooking up some jerk chicken...

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Even the red hibiscuses hang from their stems like the tongues of thirsty dogs.

It’s as though Verdene doesn’t exist—never existed—of her own free will.

Perhaps she was oblivious to this loss because she was too busy trying to bury memories of the past, using their brittle bones to construct a future.

The Good Neighbor

The Good Neighbor: The Life and Work of Fred Rogers by Maxwell King
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Fred Rogers was one of a kind. He truly knew who he was and acted in kind ways in all aspects of his life. The writing is not the best, and I wish there would have been more insight into how it was to be his wife or child, but overall informative and inspiring.

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There are many people in the world who want to make children into performing seals. And as long as children can perform well, those adults will applaud. But I would much rather help a child to be able to say who he or she is.” 37

Ironically, John Rogers, the younger son, observed in an interview that “Maybe there was a little too much self-discipline in our family, for my brother and me. Meaning that we weren’t ready for the self-discipline that maybe was exuded upon us. . . . I often feel that—I don’t know if we want to use the term—the hammer should have come down a little harder; more limits should have been set


I’ll never forget the sense of wholeness I felt when I finally realized what I was—songwriter, telecommunicator, student of human development, language buff—but that all those things and more could be used in the service of children’s healthy growing. The directions weren’t written in invisible ink on the back of my diploma. They came ever so slowly for me; and ever so firmly I trusted that they would emerge. All I can say is, it’s worth the struggle to discover who you really are.”

“One of the major goals of education must be to help students discover a greater awareness of their own unique selves, in order to increase their feelings of personal worth, responsibility, and freedom.”

House of the Spirits

The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Allende is a an amazing writer. The book spans four generations of Chileans. History mixed with magic, love, and violence. One of those epics that make you get lost in their world while you’re reading it.

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Wall of Storms

The Wall of Storms by Ken Liu
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I admit this isn’t as good as The Grace of King but I still have to give it 5 stars when I don’t want to stop reading at the end of the book. The book stalls a bit during the peaceful years but it ends with another climatic war with another round of technology, science, and strategy outwitting sheer brute power. Complex relationships, ambitions, and nail-biting action have me watching impatiently for the next installment.


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History is the long shadow cast by the past upon the future. Shadows, by nature, lack details.

Never underestimate the power of the need to appear better than their peers to motivate people, a tendency that I’m happy to indulge.

The cycle starts with the Year of the Plum, which is followed by the Cruben, the Orchid, the Whale, the Bamboo, the Carp, the Chrysanthemum, the Deer, the Pine, the Toad, the Coconut, and finally, the Wolf, before starting with the Plum again.

“True courage is to insist on seeing when all around you is darkness.”

What courage it took for the starving and the poor to continue the mere act of existence, of survival, of endurance. Such quiet acts of heroism were not celebrated, and yet they made up the foundation of civilization, far more than all the honorable sentiments of the Ano sages and the pretty words of the nobles.

Leaving Berlin

Leaving Berlin by Joseph Kanon
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Wonderfully captures the paranoia and repressive atmosphere of Berlin after WWII. Alex is set into an atmosphere of suspicion and threat, and manages to play sides off each other with incredible mental dexterity. What chess pieces he decides to move where and when will keep you hooked, and see if he can figure out who is playing him.


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A Better World

A Better World by Marcus Sakey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A pretty good follow up to Brilliance. Fast pacing, good characters. Suffers a bit from middle triology syndrome, where it feels like most of it is setting up stuff for the last book. Exciting, light read.


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