July Book Reviews

King Peggy: An American Secretary, Her Royal Destiny, and the Inspiring Story of How She Changed an African Village

By Peggielene Bartels and Eleanor Herman

The title literally says it all. This book was required summer reading for my university's honor's college and once I got into the thick of the narrative, I felt entranced. It was an interesting story about a woman who lived with one foot in America and the other in Africa. It starts when Peggy receives a phone call in the middle of the night, telling her that the ancestors have chosen her to become king of an small Ghanaian fishing village called Otuam.  Although the majority of the story was dedicated to Peggy's struggle with corrupt officials, I loved the pages describing the beautiful Ghanaian traditions. I also thought the writers did an incredible job of conveying Peggy's inner struggles, just by giving the readers a glance into her crumbling Washington DC apartment. Even though the book "info dumps" a lot of African history when possible, it taught me a great deal about a culture different than my own. I highly recommend this one. 

Gardens of the Moon

By Stephen Erikson

I have to admit, it took me a really long time to get through this one. In fact, I reread many chapters just to make sure I had gathered the massive information that the author was throwing at me at any one time. But despite how much time I spent on it, I have to say that this books is captivating. The author weaves many characters and story lines into a intriguing story that ties itself together at the end. Erickson leaves trails of clues in every page, starting with the very beginning. I should probably clarify that I am very new to the fantasy genre. The only other fantasy series I've read in the past is Game of Thrones. So as a novice, here is my two sense: read some other fantasy before getting to Gardens of the Moon. It is very intelligent, moves at a fast pace, and at the end -- becomes a page-turner. However, if you don't have anything to compare it to, than the novel wont be as enjoyable. I've already started the second book in the series and can already tell that I wont be disappointed.

Bossy Pants 

By: Tina Fey

After two serious reads, I was glad to read Tina Fey's silly, yet somehow inspiring memoir. There were some really funny moments crafted into the narrative that made me laugh out-loud. One thing I didn't like, however, was that Tina Fey put herself down a lot in the book. I know on some level she was doing it for comic relief and wasn't actually being serious, but it got old very quickly. But despite this, I loved Tina's writing style and her very honest voice. It's fun to finally put a story to the face I see so often on TV. 

Reading Quest

source: casheefoo.deviantart.com

The amount of English books offered in the deserts of Israel is staggeringly low. As you can probably guess, I am an avid reader who is constantly in search of new books to delve into. Obviously this dry spell of stories was a problem for me; a big problem.

My friend Amanda, who lived in my building, found a used copy of Game of Thrones (book one) and gave it to  me when she was finished. I remember when she handed it over, and I was like, no way in hell am I reading this. I think that novel may have sat on my shelf for a good month, taunting me with it's 1000 page long plot line before I actually gave it a chance.

Let me explain something to you. For the longest time, I was convinced that I could not read fantasy novels. Yes, I read Harry Potter and Charlie Bone and other magical children's stories, but once I reached the age where I found the majority of my reading list in the adult section, the fantasy genre grew neglected.

In fact, I realize now that I was nothing but a common book racist. I wouldn't read fantasy, science fiction, steam punk or anything else I considered "unworthy." The stories I loved most were either classics, historical fiction or children's books.

These three categories of literature are great, don't get me wrong, but...oh, how naive I was!

When I finally did pick up Game of Thrones out of desperation, I was pulled into the story in an instant. It was full of mystery and blood and intrigue-- I was majorly hooked. It blew my mind how unfairly I had judged this genre. In actuality, the novel was both expertly plotted and well written.

I finished the first book in a little over a week and was hungering for the second book, but unfortunately could not find it anywhere. It was absolute torture. I finally decided to buy myself a Hanukkah present and purchased a Kindle Paperwhite online, using a Christmas coupon I found on amazon.com.

When it finally made its way to Israel (thank you Mom and Dad for helping me out there) I immediately downloaded the second book and submerged myself into its depths. Just on a side note, I actually thought reading on the kindle was easier on the eyes because the print wasn't so small. But anyhow, this went on for another three books until I finished the series.

So what did I learn from this experience?
1. Judging books before reading them is thoroughly insane
2. It's important to try something new every once in a while
3. Fantasy books rock!
4. I owe Amazon my sanity

Just so you know, when I got home my friend Evan, who is a major fantasy book expert, told me that Game of Thrones isn't actually that good compared to other fantasy novels. WHAT? 
Now I'm reading the Malazan Book of the Fallen series. He was right.... it reaches a new level of awesome.

Thanks for reading,
Loni