Mid Eastern Reading Recommends

[Never Claimed To Be A Photographer]

Multiple people have recommended that I read the New York Times Best Seller "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. However, I have to admit I've begun with some trepidation and am not very far into Mortenson's inspirational tale. While the gist of the story sounds interesting, the writing is not to my taste and I find myself criticizing the abundance and frequency of commas and elaborately compound sentences. I would still like to get through it as I've heard it is an amazing true story but it may just have to be a slow side read.

Intro my most recent recommendation, "Girls of Riyadh" (or Banat al-Riyadh) by Rajaa al Sanea. This one was introduced to me just this week as a co-worker not only recommended the novel but lent me her copy. Compared to a Saudi version of my beloved "Sex and the City", how could I resist?? Taking place in Saudi Arabia, and originally ban by the Saudi government, the novel explores the lives of four women a far cry from New York City. As a "westerner" I'm very curious and eager to learn more about the female experience in such a highly stereotyped society. After reading just the writer's note I knew I had to read.

Will let you know!

Comments

Symbols and Intrigue Galor: Dan Brown!

Have you read any of Dan Brown's novels?? If you haven't, you should. Right away. There's been some controversy surrounding his work in the past but I think regardless of personal religious beliefs, or lack thereof, they are indisputably interesting and SO good! Years ago I read "The Da Vinci Code" and absolutely loved the it. The movie was pretty good for what it was, from what I can remember. However I've heard "Angels and Demons" was even better. Sadly I didn't get around to reading that one before seeing the movie, which I loved, and can see why others said that story served a better novel than the other. As always, I'm sure there was more to the storyline surrounding the Vatican and how it unraveled than they were unable to pull together in the movie but it's hard to imagine. Without reading it the movie seemed pretty intricate and complete but I know from experience that there's likely details or meaning that I didn't p...

Make Your Dreams Come True

I wrote the following a long time ago, like a few years ago. It's funny reading it now and of course so many out there are just trying to survive, literally. While others may be re-evaluating this or that in their life. But, hey, no time like a pandemic to set new goals and make your dreams come true...question mark? (Ron Burgundy, if you know, you know.) ***************************************************************************************************************************** 🎵 "The time is now or never, to make your dreams come true. You gotta wake up and pay attention." 🎵 “If you can dream it, you can do it.” “What would you do if you knew you wouldn’t fail?” “If it were easy everyone would do it.” “Live what you love.” - “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” - “You have to start somewhere.” “Lean In.” Lean out. Do the Hokey Pokey. Shake it allll about (ok sorry.) “Make time.” - “Just Do It.” The list goes on and on and ugh, does anyone else just want to ...

How Do I Fit My Workout In? Answer: Planning

We all struggle sometimes to balance everything we need and want to do in a day. Common advice is that we need to make the time for things that are truly important us. I know you may be eye-rolling thinking, but when? For me, it's getting up extra early. For others, maybe it's staying up late. For all of us, it's usually a trade off of some kind. The key to fitting a workout into your day is planning. Creating, and sticking to, a workout routine is all about the planning. Set yourself up for success by planning ahead and thinking of a workout as a given part of your day. This doesn't mean you can never take a day off but once routine is established it's so much easier to stick to. Conversely, once it's broken it can be more challenging to reestablish. More than two days off, the harder it will be to get back at it. If you really want to workout, try what works for me to make a morning workout happen. 1. Plan It. Write it in your planner. Input it i...

Work in Progress

Search This Blog