Friday Finds, 30 Jan

Friday Finds is a weekly event hosted by Should Be Reading.

This week’s find:

Gatty’s Tale

I found a gem of a book at the teen section of the bookstore last week. Gatty's Tale is about a field girl called Gatty, a young heroine who lives in poverty and hardship. Set in the medieval world in the year 1203, the story follows through the travels and adventures of the young and feisty girl from Europe to Jerusalem. For more information on the author, who is also a prize winner for children’s books please visit Kevin Crossley-Holland’s website.

Birds without Wings

Birds without Wings is a novel by Louis de Bernieres about a tragic love story of a Christian girl and a Muslim boy. The book's underlying theme apparently revolves around religious intolerance and over-zealous nationalism and the war that ensues because of these factors. For reviews on the book, please visit Reviews of BooksLouis de Bernières.

Have a good weekend y’all, xox.

What's on Your Nightstand- January

What’s on Your Nightstand is a monthly event hosted by 5 Minutes for Books.
 

On my nightstand this month:

Rex by Cathleen Lewis

I received my first book to review from Thomas Nelson on the eve of my birthday, so I consider this a birthday gift. Thank you Thomas Nelson for the freebie! I intend to read this and write the review soon.

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

My Themed Reading Challenge starts in February *shiver* and as I've committed to reading four of Austen’s work this year, I’ll start with Northanger Abbey. By the way, I love the collection of Austen’s books from Headline Review, its got such a chick lit look to it don’t you think?

Weekly Geeks 2009-3

This week’s Weekly Geeks assignment is to choose two or more of the following questions:

1. How do you feel about classic literature? Are you intimidated by it? Love it? Not sure because you never actually tried it? Don’t get why anyone reads anything else? Which classics, if any, have you truly loved? Which would you recommend for someone who has very little experience reading older books? Go all out, sell us on it!
   
2. A challenge, should you choose to accept it: Read at least one chapter of a classic novel, preferably by an author you’re not familiar with. Did you know you can find lots of classics in the public domain on the web? Check out The Popular Classics Book Corner, for example. Write a mini review based on this chapter: what are your first impressions? Would you read further? (For a larger selection of authors, try The Complete Classic Literature Library.
3. Let’s say you’re vacationing with your dear cousin Myrtle, and she forgot to bring a book. The two of you venture into a hip independent bookstore around the corner, where she primly announces that she only reads classic literature. If you don’t find a book, you’ll never get any reading done! What contemporary book/s with classic appeal would you pull of the shelf for her?
4. As you explore the other Weekly Geeks post: Did any inspire you to want to read a book you’ve never read before- or reread one to give it another chance? Tell us all about it, including a link to the post or posts that sparked your interest. If you end up reading the book, be sure to include a link to your post about it in a future Weekly Geeks posts!

I’ve decided to do question 1 and 3:

Answer to question 1:

I’ve always had a fascination with classic literature but to be honest am very intimidated by them. I honestly can’t see myself reading a classic although I’ve bought many with the intention to read them. Recently I started reading the simpler classics just to get me ‘in the mood’ and prepare myself for the bigger classics such as works from Tolstoy for example. Anyway, people who dig classic literature and understand them are in my ‘wow’ list.

This year I’ve made a list of classics that I should read and they include The Count of Monte Cristo, The Great Gatsby and some of Jane Austen’s work. I haven’t read a lot of classic literature so obviously I won’t be able to provide a recommendation although I did read Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and the book blew my mind away. Definitely better than any movie version that I’ve seen.

Answer to question 3 (thought I’d have a little fun with my answers):

If Myrtle wasn’t my cousin and the fact that I love her to pieces, I’d have wrung her neck a long time ago. On the way to the airport we had to turn back to the house twice, first because she forgot her passport and the second time because she forgot her toothbrush! Anyway, while waiting for our flight she tells me she forgot her book as well and proceeds to yap non-stop throughout the journey, taking my time away from my latest Mills and Boons novel... sigh (I’m at the part where he looks longingly in her eyes and suddenly pulls her violently closer to him and... well I can’t read the rest cause Myrtle’s still yapping).

Thank God we found a bookstore almost immediately after we landed and I insisted that we check out the store to see if we can get a book or two for her to read so that I can continue reading in peace on this trip. This is when Myrtle confesses that she only reads classic lit. Really? I’ve known Myrtle almost all my life and often wondered if she could even read at all... (FYI, she is known as Myrtle the Turtle in the family for a reason you know).

Anyway, we scouted around and found a few books that had some classic feel to it like The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, The Road, The Book Thief and The Color Purple. Books which I had read and gave high recommendations to Myrtle on how this book made me cry and that book made me think, ooo and this book is the best... yada yada yada...

After all that trouble I thought you should know that Myrtle ended up with a Mills and Boons novel that she found in the romance section because according to her “you’ll never know if I’ll meet Mr. Right at the beach and when that happens I want to be in the ‘mood’ for romance”... yup that’s cousin Myrtle for you.

Unfortunately, we didn’t meet Mr. Right nor did we meet Mr. Wrong but we managed to enjoy our vacation tremendously; basking in the sun, both of us holding on to our respective Mills and Boons throughout our tanning session by the beach. Definitely a holiday to remember.

Book Review: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

They should have a warning for books that make you cry so that you have ample time to prepare box loads of tissues. This is an excellent book and I cried buckets.

In the first few chapters, the narrator explains that this is a ‘...story of one of those perpetual survivors-an expert at being left behind. It’s a small story really, about, amongst other things. A girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist- fighter, and quite a lot of thievery’.

‘The perpetual survivor’ is Liesel Meminger; the central character of the book, growing up in a time of great difficulty during World War II. The Book Thief is an extra-ordinary narrative from the Angel of Death about the life of Liesel, The Book Thief; her coming of age, her inner struggles, her loss and her survival.

The story begins with Liesel travelling to Molching at the age of nine, where Death meets her for the first time while taking the life of her younger brother. From here, we follow through her survival during difficult times through her love of books and the people surrounding her.

This book is full of memorable characters like Hans & Rosa Hubermann, Ilsa Hermann, Max Vandenburg and Rudy Steiner who shape and enhance Liesel’s life. Even Death’s character is memorable offering occasionally a hint of emotion or feeling. My favourite character is of course Hans Hubermann.

I highly recommend this book as it touches two very important and sensitive topic; prejudice and death. The setting of the story in World War II provides clear examples of the atrocities brought about by hate and misunderstanding.

Have you ever heard of the quote “finishing a good book is like leaving a good friend”? Well, that holds true for me with this book in particular. Definitely an excellent read. If you do decide to read the book, then remember: box loads of tissue people! Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Book Review: Power is the Great Motivator

Power is the Great Motivator provides an understanding of what motivates Managers and how it defines their success. The book features case studies and feedback on what they think makes a good manager.

The book states the following qualities among those that make a good manager:

• Helps subordinates feel strong and responsible
• Rewards and recognises good performance
• Ensures that things are organized so that subordinates know what they should be doing
• Foster a strong sense of team spirit

McClelland and Burnham also categorize managers into three separate categories the Affiliative Managers, Personal Power Managers and Institutional Managers. Each have their own strength and weaknesses but according to the authors the most effective manager is the Institutional Manager.

As explained in the book:

“Institutional Managers care more about using power for the benefit of the organization than for their own aggrandizement. As a result, they are the most successful of the three types at creating an effective work environment- one in which employees have a high morale and feel a strong sense of responsibility and organizational clarity. Two additional characteristics of institutional managers: they tend to have a more democratic leadership style, one that emphasizes coaching rather than commanding, and they possess greater emotional maturity than the other types”

Power is the Great Motivator provides great insights on what motivates us as managers. If you can define yourself as a manager in the categories provided, then you would be able to improve your managerial skills for the benefit of the organization and the subordinates that report to you.

For more information on the Harvard Business Review, please click here for my previous post.

Friday Finds, 23 Jan

Hmm... a bit late on my post for Friday Finds this week but you know what they say; Better Late than Never... Anyway, found three books this week that I’d like to share:

The Medici Curse

For more information on the book please click here. I found this book at the bookstore sometime back and the little that I read from the book sounds good. If you’ve read this before, do share your review link.

The Book with No Name

I thought the title of this book was interesting. But the more I researched on the book, the more mixed reviews I found. Some have mentioned that the book has similarities to the movie From Dust till Dawn... (I absolutely loved this movie by the way...)Anyway, for more information on the book, click here.

What Not to Say

I also found an interesting book from Mark Vernon titled What Not to Say. For further details on the book click here or you could visit Mark Vernon’s site.

Friday Finds is hosted by Should Be Reading.