Blog Posts by Kathy

Although I haven't finished reading it yet, this book definitely raised my awareness of how war, political upheavel and battles over religion are affecting the lives of families and individuals all over Africa. It was particularly distressing to read these short stories as told by or from the viewpoint of children. This book is nothing like watching or reading the news, which fail to show you what is really happening, up close, to the "normal" population, who are now struggling desperately to survive.

The first story, "Ex-Mas Feast" is narrated by a small boy who's family lives in a lean-to shack made of salvaged junk, in an alleyway. The children are sent begging, and the 12 year-old daughter is a prostitute. This is how they collect money for food, and to pay for the boy's school uniform and tuition. On this special holiday, the family celebrates their "good fortune". The boy realizes what has happened to his sister, and feels guilty for being the benefactor of his sister's

This book hit a nerve because I suffered with infertility. I have long since reached acceptance, but I could identify with what the author describes as "the want" for something I could not have.

This fictional story is set in the future, where live births are becoming scarcer either due to environmental issues, couples postponing having children to advance their career goals (sounds a bit realistic, doesn't it?), and increasing failures in fertility sciences. Babies that are "wanted" are microchipped for security and governmental purposes.

The main character is Jack Starbird, a man who makes a career out of kidnapping "unwanted" infants that have not been microchipped and sells them to couples who can both afford his fee and who he believes (through a series of interviews or tests) will love the child and give them a better life.

I was horrified when I read about his methods of taking "the product" - the baby from "the supplier" - a mother with more children than she can handle. The

From the author of The Kite Runner, this is a story about two Afganistan women, and how their lives were affected, and ultimately intersected, by war.

Although the characters are fictional, the setting is very real and based on historical events. This book depicts the way women were/are treated in Afganistan, or should I say mistreated? It is gut-wrenching, painful to read about, yet the sacrifices and abuse these women endured just to survive inspires courage and continues to remind me not to sweat the small and trivial things. While the content of the book is very sad and depressing, there is beauty, strength and glints of hope within its pages.

The book is beautifully written. It makes you feel as if you are actually standing in Afganistan, seeing exactly what the characters are seeing, feeling what they are feeling. It brought tears to my eyes when I read about the deplorable condition of the women's hospital, where the female doctors were forced to operate without anesthetic,

I checked out Soon I will be Invincible by Austin Grossman from the local library and had a fun, light read!

This fictional book is about super heroes and super villians, narrated by a criminal mastermind/evil genius, and also by an up-and-coming half human - half cyborg heroine.

The story kept me interested, because it explores the internal thoughts and observations of people with powers...the ups and downs of living day to day with such enhancements. It's not your typical Superman story, in my opinion.

It was a funny, fantasy novel with a clever ending. Who would you expect to save the world?

I read all types of books, both fiction and non, classics and new. This book stuck out as entertaining to me, because it was pretty off the wall.