Books – Page 4 – Dimples Migraines and Aahs

December 21, 2020December 21, 2020

66 books in 366 days

Yes, I am also in awe!! I did it and you too can. The journey was one of progress over perfection. There were days I was too lazy or in the wrong mindspace but each week, I had to compensate the readings for the days I had skipped. My intention was to begin each week on a clean slate. I would not carry missed readings of a previous week onto the next. Also, I only read the Bible when I could internalize it and be present in my reading. You must have been thinking I literally read 66 books gotya!

I had an accountability partner who was interested in my reading journey. I would tell him if I came across something interesting and because he is also on his journey, and happens to own a study Bible, he would tell me the explanation given on that particular text. Thereafter, we would each add our own input. I am so excited about this that I am writing a draft in September because I am quite sure I will finish my Bible reading. Also, I just finished a text whose story I would like to share before I downplay the details when recalling 3 months from now.

I will definitely share this sometime in December to convince you to take this journey come 2021. The good thing is that there is a link that caters for your needs. You could choose whether you want to read it theme by theme, related stories together, sequentially or one book in the old testament and another in the New testament. I chose related stories together so that I can see the references made through the entire Bible as one sequence. An example would be reading about a battle David fought in the book of Kings and relating it with the song he composed after his loss or win in the book of Psalms. This reading kept me in the moment. It was as if I was watching the events unfolding. Here’s the link https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-reading-plan/ and those who need a planned Bible for this journey, one is available at Keswick Bookshop. The Kenyan branch I know of is at Prestige Plaza.

I am picking up the writing in December and true to my word, I am days away from finishing my Bible reading journey. I am very proud of this milestone and I will be taking it up again come next year. I came across interesting stories that are not told and some facts that have been misrepresented. Also, the book needs to be studied as there are various interpretations by scholars that shed light and some juicy back stories.

The book of Acts captivated me. It is based on Paul, his travels, his teachings and tribulations. Paul was accused and brought before the King because some people opposed his way of teaching. Every time he was put on trial, the ruler did not find what exact crime he was being accused of but his accusers wanted him punished by death nonetheless. He was in Prison for more than 2 years and different Kings heard his case. Somewhere in the middle of the book, there is a story about one night when Paul was preaching till past midnight and a man was dozing off. Eventually, the man lost the battle and slept only for him to fall down from the third storey of the building. The other believers present rushed to his aid but unfortunately he was dead. Paul took him to a room and stretched his body on top of him and the man was brought back to life. This is a funny way to die. I can only imagine the words exchanged by Paul and the man once he is brought back to life. This is great fodder for a skit!

The book of Jonah has become one of my favorites. We often hear about prophecies but the book of Jonah focused on the prophet. It reminds me that prophets were human despite the supernatural things happening to them like being fed by ravens. Jonah was quite stubborn and rightly so. He explained that he knew the Lord was patient and forgiving. He therefore saw no need for him to go to Nineveh and warn the people about a destruction upon them yet he knew once they repented that would not come to pass and his journey would have been in vain. I wonder what would have happened if he had chosen another means of transport. Might he have been swallowed by a bird? I guess we will never know but that is parody potential. I found it funny that while in the fish’s stomach, Jonah prayed for the Lord to save him and keep him alive but once he was out, having delivered his message and realizing that the Lord will not punish Nineveh he says I would rather die than watch this!

My accountability partner shared great insights about the book with me. From his perspective, the writing poses questions to us on whether we are okay with the fact that the Lord loves and is willing to forgive our enemies. He said the book is like a mirror to anyone who reads it. In Jonah we see the worst parts of our own characters magnified and it shows how the Lord puts up with the Jonah in us. I agree with him because I would have had the same reaction as Jonah.

Another story I loved was that of the shrewd manager in the book of Luke. The story is concluded by these words: “ My disciples, I tell you to use wicked wealth to make friends for yourselves then when it is gone you will be welcomed into an internal home. If you cannot be trusted with wicked wealth who will trust you with true wealth” The study Bible explained that this passage was to inform us to make wise use of financial opportunities we have not to earn heaven but to help people find Christ. I still do not know the difference between earning heaven and helping people find Christ hence why I will have to reread and probably get guidance.

I like how the Bible is a collection of stories, how the gospels are written during the same time frame but from different perspectives. I like how it has a subtle back and forth nature in terms of prophecies and what comes to pass, I like how the story is just not in prose, there are songs, poems, letters… I like the fact that you just don’t get it right off the bat and how scholars have taken time to study texts and theologians go to school to learn the same. I like how one has to study the different people who wrote the different books to understand the times and the nature of the writing. Most of all, I like how amused I got when something finally clicked. I like how you are considering taking this journey come next year.

September 11, 2020September 11, 2020

Books in 2020 read different

The more you read, the more books and authors you discover. The more you want to read, the less time you have. In 2020 I read books differently. I had them read and discussed to me and I also got to be part of a book in addition to the traditional reading. I of course had book slump moments when I did not feel like reading at all but this is when I turned to reading blogs and the letters I have been receiving and sending on a weekly basis.

You are probably wondering how books can be read and discussed to you. Allow me to introduce Mike Carruthers. He has a podcast called Something you should know and there are very many things that one should know. I thought of having a standalone post on this podcast and maybe I will. He addresses our day to day concerns, things that happen to us or around us that we never bother question. Turns out that there are people who have devoted their time to let us understand these things happening, with their research and studies. The people he brings on the pod are experts in a field and they are authors of a book in the same. They discuss what they wrote about, how they came to that conclusion and the studies they carried out to establish that theory. With this detailed discussion, I believe I have read as many books as the authors brought in each episode.

Choices is my platform to be in a book. It is an application that has several books of different genres. You choose how the characters in the book should look like and you even get to name the main characters. As you are a character in the book, you are entirely in charge of the choices you make and perhaps this is the insight to the tittle of the application. As usual, each book has chapters. You need keys to access a chapter and you are only given two at a time. Once you use your first key, it takes about 2 hrs for it to be renewed hence giving you time and controlling your pace.

As I mentioned, there are choices to be made. Some choices cost you dearly and others are given to you freely. Each day, you have the opportunity to collect 5 coins after watching several advertisements. At the end of each chapter, you collect 2 coins. As I am writing this, I have been part of 2 books; the royal romance and America’s most eligible. Royal romance was a typical grass to riches story. The story starts when I am a waitress who gets to serve a Prince in disguise while he is visiting New York. He takes a liking to me and using my coins, I unlocked a scene where I got to spend time alone with him. Next thing, I’m in the race with other suitors to be the future queen. In that journey, I learnt all about the waltz at least all I could learn in book 1. I did not proceed to book 2 as my faint heart could not take it that I was not chosen queen. I realized that although the book sets you out to be the main character, things do not go in your favour just because.

Disappointed by that book, I turned to America’s most eligible. It is a reality TV based book which reminded me of Netflix’s show Too hot to handle. There are challenges that you take part in and you learn basic life skills. I have become a connoisseur of sorts thanks to the two books. In this book, you have to choose a personality, you can build relationships and mostly, learn about your reaction to different situations. All through you work on winning the admiration of fellow contestants but also trying not to be too perfect as that breeds envy which leads to enmity. You also have to entertain the audience by stirring up just enough drama and knowing the balance so as not to go overboard. You need to remember things about different characters throughout the book as this knowledge comes in handy when making choices. Like the previous book, I was not crowned America’s most eligible nevertheless I was proud of my achievements throughout the book and the new catch phrases that I have already started dropping in my everyday parlance.

Other important skills you gain from this form of reading is patience and tact. Patience because you’ll have to wait for the 5 coins collected in a day to add up to a sizeable amount to trade in. When in possession of coins, you have to decide on the most worthy decision to spend them on. There are instances where you have the option of visiting a stylist to enhance your look or maintaining your day to day style. If anything, dressing really goes a long way but you have to weigh this against other opportunities that may put you in a better position.

This was to be a draft in readiness of my annual book reading recap but given that the word count is far in for a stand alone post, I shall leave it as such. I am worried that I may not be able to get to my target of reading 40 books as my schedule is getting busy. Nevertheless, I will be happy if I achieve my other reading goal this year which was to finish reading the Bible from cover to cover. There is a Kenyan readathon being held and this would be my first time participating in one if I get to do it. Also, I am crossing fingers to win book vouchers that are up for grabs courtesy of this readathon.

January 10, 2020January 8, 2020

My 2019 reading feast

2019 plummeted my reading culture. Without realizing, I preferred travelling with a book in hand. It enabled me to withstand traffic and made waiting for people who don’t keep time bearable. Slowly I developed a culture and quickly joined a community of people who love reading. I go for book club meetings once a month, I subscribe to a podcast that has monthly book discussions and several book suggestions, I devote an entire board on my Pinterest to book titles I have to read and lastly I share my thoughts on books I have read and insist that my friends and family read the same.

By the 31st of December 2019 I had finished reading around 35 books. The figure is not exact because I was simply reading for the fun of it and only made a count of those I could remember after getting to know that people had set reading targets for the year. I beat myself up because there are some books I out rightly refused to set my eyes on and others I consider nuanced like the classics but still struggled reading. Thanks to a comment on the bookclub podcast I tune to ‘any reading is good reading‘; It validated my choices and made me more comfortable sharing them.

One book I reread to refresh my memory as it became a book club read later in the year ( It ends with us by Colleen Hoover), four I reread because I enjoyed the story so much and wanted to relieve the feeling the writing had evoked in me at a past time( What the future holds by Sarah Mkhonza, Memories of midnight by Sidney Sheldon, the Other side of Midnight by Sidney Sheldon, and Rage of Angels by Sidney Sheldon).

If it isn’t evident thus far, Sidney Sheldon is my all time favorite author. I have read all his books even the ones Co- Authored by Tilly Bagshawe. Rage of Angels holds a special place in my heart. I prefer the books solely written by him to the co-authored ones. Nevertheless, I am grateful that Tilly Bagshawe brings to life his unfinished manuscripts.

If I had my passport stamped for every place I have traveled to in books, I would have been to Nigeria thrice, France, the US more than 10 times, Greece, Norway, Poland, Thailand, Somalia, Brazil and Switzerland. These are among the notable countries I remember due to their vivid description. Katerina by James Frey took me to Paris, France. I landed at Charles de Gaulle and really explored the streets of Paris. I dined at a local Cafe, had a local bar that I frequented, spent days at the Louvre admiring striking pieces of Art and had conversations next to the Seine.

The genres I read were diverse. The Tattooist of Aushwitz a historical Fiction by Heather Morris made me experience Hitler’s ruling. The fact that I was reading this book while on a luxury vacation heightened the pain felt by those in concentration camps. I remember finishing the last sentence while at Border Control getting my Passport stamped and I shed a tear.

2019 was my first audio book listening experience. There is this podcast called nipe story hosted by a Kenyan, Kevin Mwachiro that gives voice to a compilation of African short story fiction, Kenyan stories. The story that got me looped is The Prostitute and heartbreak by Michael Ochoki. You have to listen to this. The story telling is just amazing and credit should also go to the story itself but the narrator, my oh my! Here’s a link https://podtail.com/en/podcast/nipe-story/the-prostitute-and-heartbreak-by-michael-ochoki/

Eleven minutes by Paulo Coelho is a book that should be read. I had a wild guess on what the tittle would be alluding but the discovery I made in the pages of the book was not one that crossed my mind. Three women by Lisa Taddeo gave me a list of vocabulary as well as a different challenge in life. When I think of a breakdown in a relationship, I tend to focus on the wrong things either party did. What of the things neither party did?

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire was a totally pointless read. I finished the book simply to voice my disappointment at my book club meeting. The only silver lining the book had were the life lessons ‘quotes’ that i’ll share. ” Another secret of the universe: Sometimes pain was like a storm that came out of nowhere. The clearest summer would end in a downpour.” I do relate to this. “Maybe we just lived between hurting and healing” this is food for thought. “I got to thinking that poems were like people. Some people you got right off the bat. Some people you just didn’t get- and never would get” I almost conquer with John Green when he says that our favourite quotations reveal more about us than the authors who wrote them.

A girl walks into a bar by Paige Helena was a first read of its kind. It is a book where you get to choose what happens to the character and therefore determine your ending. I enjoyed reading it so much that even after having my ending, I went back to look at what the outcome would have been if I had made a different choice. Don’t we all want this? This reminds me of Dark Matter by Blake Crouch. It brings out the existence of a parallel universe and there being different versions of us living the life of the path we did not take when we were at crossroads.

Hidden in Plain sight by Nurrudin Farah is one of those books I am pleased I got to lay my hands on. It is based in Nairobi, Kenya and Somalia. Reading about the streets you know, places you frequent resonates with you. Given that the theme of the book is terrorism, I cried uncontrollably when reading it despite the fact that I was on public transport which raised an alarm from the concerned driver whom I sat next to.

The Blessed girl by Angela makholwa is another notable read. It brings to light challenges faced by young girls and is very realistic.

My author of the year has to be Colleen Hoover. I have read five of her books and enjoyed each one of them. I think she first has a theme then writes around it. Each of the five books has addressed a particular issue. Hopeless is on defilement and its effect, Without Merit is on Mental Health, It ends with us is on physical abuse in a relationship, All your perfects is on infertility and Verity is just twisted. This is the book that introduced me to the author and i’m still intrigued by it. I have questions that only Colleen can address.

Alafair Burke is an author whose books I will read more of in 2020. The two I read this year have been thrilling( The wife, and The Ex). Given the background of the Author, hers is a mind I would love to pick. The Book club podcast I have been referring to is called bad on paper. I got to learn about it sometime in November in time to join them for their December read which I really enjoyed and helped get me in the Christmas mood. The book is titled One day in December by Josie Silver . Three Women by Lisa Taddeo was also a podcast bookclub read and they brought the author in for a discussion which is a rare opportunity.

2019 in books has been an opportunity to live vicariously and I hope you too decide to enjoy life as a different character all through the 365 days.