I'm happy to report I finished all the novels I borrowed from my first haul and I have a few notes I wanted to share about the books following my update on my 2nd Library Adventure :)
I attempted to be more ambitious this time around and I chose books from a diverse selection of topics.
Note to self: I definitely need to have a bag with me to carry my books around.
My selections include:
Super Freakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Insurance // Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner
* I really enjoyed Freakonomics and so I figured I should also check out the follow-up work.
Man Made: A Stupid Quest for Masculinity // Joel Stein
* Joel Stein regularly contributes to Time magazine and his articles are usually the first ones I read when I receive a fresh edition, so I am excited to read a longer, in-depth piece by him.
Barrio Boy // Ernesto Galarza
How Does It Feel To Be a Problem: Being Young and Arab in America // Moustafa Bayoumi
* I think someone suggested this work to me once and the title and theme stuck with me. When I saw this book on the shelves, I had to check it out.
The World Is Flat: A Brief History of The Twenty-First Century // Thomas L. Friedman
* I have read selections from this work before. No time like the present to finish the entire work.
How To Talk To a Liberal (If You Must) // Ann Coulter
* Coulter is a big name in news media recently and I figured I should read more about what she's all about.
Wish me luck in my reading endeavors :)
Notes on the Last Book Haul
I absolutely loved the selections I made last time and I blew by a few of the books awfully fast. Here are some notes I had on those books in order to peak your interest.
Amy Chua's Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom was a very quick and fast read for me. As controversial as the book can be in the Ethnic Studies realm, you can't deny that at the very core, Chua is just a mom who wants the best for her kids. Yes, her work has the ability to perpetuate many stereotypes of the Model Minority. And yes, her parenting methods and ambitions for her kids are aligned with a higher socioeconomic status. But still, you can't fault Chua for having grand ambitions for her children; I mean, she even had ambitions for her dog, Coco! (That was my favorite part).
Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner's Freakonomics was also fascinating. It offered interest twists on traditional economic topics. As the writers repeatedly stated, the book is at its core, about the way people respond to incentives. One of my favorite theories within the book most definitely revolve around the idea that the Roe v. Wade case (which legalized abortion) ultimately led to the decline in violent crimes in the 1990s.
Anne Fadiman's The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down was a compelling read. Compared to the other works, I believe this novel required the most time and energy. It was a deeply personal account of a Hmong family whose child suffers from epilepsy and the collisions that ensued between the Hmong family, their culture, and community and the Merced County hospital and medical community. The difficulties that the Lee family and other Hmong families faced in Merced were specific to the culture and sociopolitical history of the Hmong people; however, I feel that these difficulties share great similarities with numerous immigrant experiences. I was most intrigued by Fadiman when she questioned the power dynamic between doctors and parents: who really has the power in the relationship when doctors have the ability to call Child Protective Services on parents who have different opinions about the best medical care?
Sumbul Ali-Karamali's Growing Up Muslim was an enlightening read and highlighted many aspects of Islamic belief that I wasn't knowledgeable about: different religious practices including Ramadan and terms that have been misconstrued in popular media (for example, jihad which simply means "struggle" or "effort" and not, terrorism or acts of violence, etc). I don't believe it takes a law degree or a PhD to recognize that anti-Muslim sentiments have become vastly widespread in the aftermath of 9/11. Although it is difficult to dispel notions of prejudice and hate, it is not impossible. Oftentimes, it's simply a matter of people being uninformed. All it takes is an open heart and the desire to learn and listen. If you're up for a brief but informative read, try starting here.
I attempted to be more ambitious this time around and I chose books from a diverse selection of topics.
Note to self: I definitely need to have a bag with me to carry my books around.
My selections include:
Super Freakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Insurance // Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner
* I really enjoyed Freakonomics and so I figured I should also check out the follow-up work.
Man Made: A Stupid Quest for Masculinity // Joel Stein
* Joel Stein regularly contributes to Time magazine and his articles are usually the first ones I read when I receive a fresh edition, so I am excited to read a longer, in-depth piece by him.
Barrio Boy // Ernesto Galarza
How Does It Feel To Be a Problem: Being Young and Arab in America // Moustafa Bayoumi
* I think someone suggested this work to me once and the title and theme stuck with me. When I saw this book on the shelves, I had to check it out.
The World Is Flat: A Brief History of The Twenty-First Century // Thomas L. Friedman
* I have read selections from this work before. No time like the present to finish the entire work.
How To Talk To a Liberal (If You Must) // Ann Coulter
* Coulter is a big name in news media recently and I figured I should read more about what she's all about.
Wish me luck in my reading endeavors :)
Notes on the Last Book Haul
I absolutely loved the selections I made last time and I blew by a few of the books awfully fast. Here are some notes I had on those books in order to peak your interest.
Amy Chua's Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mom was a very quick and fast read for me. As controversial as the book can be in the Ethnic Studies realm, you can't deny that at the very core, Chua is just a mom who wants the best for her kids. Yes, her work has the ability to perpetuate many stereotypes of the Model Minority. And yes, her parenting methods and ambitions for her kids are aligned with a higher socioeconomic status. But still, you can't fault Chua for having grand ambitions for her children; I mean, she even had ambitions for her dog, Coco! (That was my favorite part).
Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner's Freakonomics was also fascinating. It offered interest twists on traditional economic topics. As the writers repeatedly stated, the book is at its core, about the way people respond to incentives. One of my favorite theories within the book most definitely revolve around the idea that the Roe v. Wade case (which legalized abortion) ultimately led to the decline in violent crimes in the 1990s.
Anne Fadiman's The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down was a compelling read. Compared to the other works, I believe this novel required the most time and energy. It was a deeply personal account of a Hmong family whose child suffers from epilepsy and the collisions that ensued between the Hmong family, their culture, and community and the Merced County hospital and medical community. The difficulties that the Lee family and other Hmong families faced in Merced were specific to the culture and sociopolitical history of the Hmong people; however, I feel that these difficulties share great similarities with numerous immigrant experiences. I was most intrigued by Fadiman when she questioned the power dynamic between doctors and parents: who really has the power in the relationship when doctors have the ability to call Child Protective Services on parents who have different opinions about the best medical care?
Sumbul Ali-Karamali's Growing Up Muslim was an enlightening read and highlighted many aspects of Islamic belief that I wasn't knowledgeable about: different religious practices including Ramadan and terms that have been misconstrued in popular media (for example, jihad which simply means "struggle" or "effort" and not, terrorism or acts of violence, etc). I don't believe it takes a law degree or a PhD to recognize that anti-Muslim sentiments have become vastly widespread in the aftermath of 9/11. Although it is difficult to dispel notions of prejudice and hate, it is not impossible. Oftentimes, it's simply a matter of people being uninformed. All it takes is an open heart and the desire to learn and listen. If you're up for a brief but informative read, try starting here.
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