Lakota Woman Review

Tittle: Lakota Woman
Author: Mary Crow Dog

Lakota Woman is an honest memoir that has a lot to offer a reader.

I learned so much from this book. Not only did I learn about important historical moments like the Wounded Knee incident in 1973 or the AIM (American Indian movement) but I also learned about Native American traditions and how important they were, and still are, to the native Americans. I did not learn any of this in public school, which is a little sad.

This book is the memoir of Mary Crow Dog (she also goes by Mary Brave Bird). In the book she talks about growing up and living on reservations, and the difficulties she faced as a Native American - the racism and unfairness that her and her people still deal with today, trying to keep native traditions alive despite crooked cops and laws against them, etc.

The only downside to this book is that the author doesn't write the story in a linear fashion. It can be a bit confusing trying to keep up with what is happening and when.

Still, Lakota Woman was a great read and I would recommend it to anyone wanting to learn more about the struggles modern Native Americans go through. The book is not really all that depressing by the way. Mary Crow Dog writes a lot about the many native Americans embracing past traditions and finding some peace and hope through that, for example.

Rating: 5/5 Caffe Lattes

At the Foot of the Lighthouse Review

At the Foot of the Lighthouse is a short story that can be found for free at Tor.com. Even though it is free it is defiantly a story worth reading.

The story takes place during World War II at a time when the United States was at war with Japan which lead to internment camps in the USA to be made. The main character in At the Foot of the Lighthouse, Amy (also called Aki-san by her grandmother), is a young Japanese girl living in an internment camp during this time.

At the Foot of the Lighthouse takes a sensitive subject and, using rich descriptions, gives the reader a new take on what it meant to be an American and a patriot at that time. Some comparisons about patriotism today in the United States can also be made to how Amy was treated. This story has the ability to make one stop and think about these subjects.

The element that makes this short story pretty unique is the twist at the end. I won't say too much because I do not want to give away the ending but it speaks about sacrifice and makes you stop to think.

Rating: 4/5 Caffe Lattes

Book Haul 1

I love going out and then coming home with a huge pile of books. I had some extra cash one day so I was able to get a few new books. Sorry for the messy table in the picture. That's my art table so I tend to get paint on it. The paint is dry though. I wouldn't want to damage any books.

The first book in this pile is Stolen by Lucy Christophere. I actually won this in a give away from Pretty Deadly Reviews during the Summer Wrap-Up Read-A-Thon. I was so excited to get this book, so thank you for this! The book is about a young girl who gets kidnapped and held captive in rural Australia. I have started reading this book and so far it is very well written and interesting to read about.

The next two books are Figures in Silk and The Iron King. I got these two at Barnes and Noble for about fifteen dollars. I have been wanting to read The Iron King for a very long time now so I'm so happy that I now have a copy. I am waiting for the Fairy Tale Read A Thon though before I start on this book. Also, I just have to add that the cover for this book is beautiful. The theme of the cover is even carried on inside as a header design above each new chapter. I am so glad I have a physical copy of this book for that reason alone!

The last five books are the books I got at Building 19 for roughly the same amount of money that I spent at Barnes and Noble. There are so really cheap books at Building 19 and they are not all bad like one might assume. The books I got are Tell Us We're Home, Sea: A Novel, I, Cariandez (I will also be reading this for the Fairy Tale Read A Thon), Luis Barragan, and Tabaimo. The last two are art books and I've already spazzed out about getting a copy of Tabaimo at my art blog. Of the last five books I have only started reading Sea: A Novel and so far it is a pretty good book.

All of these books sound really interesting and I can't wait to read them! Has anyone else read any of these books? I would love to read some reviews and/or thoughts of other people who have read any of these books that I've recently gotten.

Tolkien Week

Thanks to She is too Fond of Books, I just learned that September 16 to September 22 is Tolkien week! And the 22nd of September is national Hobbits Day. I wanted to re-read The Hobbit before December when the new movie comes out and Tolkien Week seems like the perfect tiem to do it! I am going to try ot read the whole Lord of The Rings trilogy and then end it with The Hobbit on September 22. Even if I don't finish the LOTR books by the 22nd I am just going to start on The Hobbit. Oh! I should watch the movies too after I finish each book. Hello Orlando Bloom~

I read The Hobbit back in sixth grade but I don't remember a lot of what happened in the book. I do remember enjoying it for the most part though.

If anyone else is doing something like this for Tolkien Week please leave a comment with your blog! I would like to read it.

October Read-a-Thons

Fright Fall Read-A-Thon!
October 1st - October 7th

One whole week of reading scary/horror books. More in formation can be found here. This is perfect for getting ready for Halloween. Speaking of Halloween, is anyone dressing up this year? I know it is still more than a month away, but does anyone already have plans? I will probably be passing out candy this year. At the moment I don't have a costume though.

Dewey's 24 Hour Read-A-Thon!
October 13th

You can read more about this read-a-thon here. This sounds like such a fun challenge. I don't know if I can read for 24 hours straight though! I am going to try to participate in this one but it will depend on how much work I have at the time.

The Fairy Tale Read-A-Thon!
October 17th - October 22nd
Please check out Debz Bookshelf for more information about the Fairy Tale Read-A-Thon!

I'm pretty excited for this! I loved reading fairy tales when I was a child so this is going to be fun.

BBAW Day 4

One of the best parts about book blogging is the exposure to books and authors you might never have heard of before. Pimp the book you think needs more recognition on this day. Get creative! Maybe share snippets from other bloggers who have reviewed it or make some fun art to get your message across.

I'm going to share with everyone two of my favorite books that I feel are less known and under appreciated.

A Life Less Ordinary: A Memoir by Baby Halder is a personal memoir about a woman growing up poor in India. She gets married off to a man that does not love or appreciate her. Eventually she is able to leave her husband and finds work as a maid in Delhi but that does not end the hardships for Baby. Now she has to work a demanding job and take care of her own children on her own. Even though she faces a lot of challenges in life, Baby does not pity herself.

Mian Mian's Candy is another absolute favorite of mine. She could easily be one of my favorite authors if they would just translate more of her books! I even used her for one of my art projects, that's how much I liked this book. Well, I guess I'm just going to have to learn Chinese in order to read her other books.

Candy is somewhat based on the author's real life and experiences growing up in China in the eighties. In this book, the main character, Hong, drops out of school at 17 and runs away to Shenzen, China. There she falls in love with a musician. They live together and Hong starts drinking and doing drugs. However, Hong is still not happy with life.

This book ended up getting banned in China too. China during the eighties was an important time for China because things like art and music were beginning to break free again after being under government control for such a long time. I guess China does not want books portraying the country in a negative way out there. I might end up doing a full review of this book later but that's the gist of things.

Little Kitten's First Full Moon Review

Kitten's First Full Moon is about a little kitten who sees a full moon for the first time. She mistakes the moon for a big bowl of milk and tries to chase after it.

The whole book is done in grays, black and white. The softness of the grays add to the atmosphere of the night time and the illustrations work with the book overall.

The story is very cute and makes for a great children's book especially for any kitten lovers out there. Throughout the story the little kitten is chasing the moon but never seems to get close to it. Along the way though she ends up falling and eventually finds herself falling into a pond and getting soaking wet. After a long night of chasing the full moon she returns home to find her mother waiting for her with a bowl of milk to comfort her. This book teaches children that if they get hurt, they can always return home to feel safe and warm.

Kitten's First Full Moon is a very cute story for children aged four or older.

Rating: 5/5 Moons

Book Blogger Hop 2

Time for another Book Blogger Hop!

What book series do you never want to see end?

When I was reading it It never wanted The Hunger Games to end. I just loved the series and all of the characters. Out of the books that I am reading now though, I don't want Sweet Evil to end. This is another book with great characters and an interesting world.