2013-39 - Is Socialist Revolution in the U.S. possible?, by Mary-Alice Waters

39 - Is Socialist Revolution in the U.S. possible?, by Mary-Alice Waters
WHY I PICKED IT: Picked up at Word On The Street Book Fair
ELAPSED TIME: 3 Days
RATING: Not Good

This book of (3) essays, taken from speeches at the Venezuela Book Fairs in 2007 and 2008 is an argument of why a socialist revolution is not only possible, but probable.  Unfortunately, although they do make good points about the fight from the immigrants perspective, and the need for cross-race support, I do not believe they adequately (a) define the meaning of what is a socialist revolution, and (b) describe how it would come about.

I bought another book at the fair, called Pity the Billionaire, outlining how the disastrous collapse of the free market economy in 2008 heralded a popular revival of the right... perhaps this will be a better read.

2013-38 - The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, by Rachel Joyce

38 - The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, by Rachel Joyce
WHY I PICKED IT: Recommended by my friend Ling Sian
ELAPSED TIME: 3 Days
RATING: Good

Harold Fry, a retiree in Southern England receives a letter from an old friend one morning, she is saying goodbye to him from a hospice in North England.  Harold writes her a quick note, and then walks to the post box to send it to her.  He skips the first box, ... and the second one, and the post office in town, and finds himself walking to see his friend himself.

Over 87 days and 600 miles of walking we experience Harold's life through his memories.  His childhood, his career, his friendship with Queenie, his relationship with his son, and the relationship with his wife.  We also see how Harold grows through the experience of walking, and can watch the re-development of the love for his wife.

This is the second book recommended to me by Ling Sian (the other being One Day, by David Nichols), and both were character driven love stories spanning distances between the couple.  They are also dominated by characters who will seep their way into your consciousness... people who I will miss now that the story is done.

2013-37 - Generation NGO, edited by Alisha Nicole Apale and Valerie Stam

37 - Generation NGO, edited by Alisha Nicole Apale and Valerie Stam
WHY I PICKED IT: Picked up at Word On The Street Book Fair
ELAPSED TIME: 10 Days
RATING: Very Good

This book, 10 essays detailing first experiences in the developing world, is fantastic.  It offers a reminder on ways to interact with those who live in the developing world, on the value that a young Westerner offers, on the challenges of fitting in “there” and the resulting challenge of fitting in “here.”  It’s about finding your path, and about the friendships that form.

I highly recommend this book to … gosh, anybody who has worked in the developing world (the book will serve as a reminder of your (first) experiences.  Or anybody who wants to work there (to see how others have done it).  Or anybody who has a passion for learning about other people and their experiences.  Or anybody.  (I really enjoyed this book!)

2013-36 - Ostrich, by Matt Greene

36 - Ostrich, by Matt Greene
WHY I PICKED IT: Picked up at Word On The Street Book Fair
ELAPSED TIME: 4 Days
RATING: Not Good

This is the story of Alex, a 10-year old (-ish) kid in England.  He has a hamster named Jaws 2 (in that Jaws the original died), a girl that he likes... and brain cancer.  The book is supposed to make you fall in love with him as he goes through the experiences of growing up while enduring something extremely challenging, yet being "normal".

I didn't.  Book wasn't very good at all.

2013-35 - Kalashnikov AK 47, by Gideon Burrows

35 - Kalashnikov AK47, by Gideon Burrows
WHY I PICKED IT: Picked up at Word On The Street Book Fair
ELAPSED TIME: 1 Day
RATING: Good

This short book included some really interesting facts about the AK47:
a) The USA purchased 10,000 of them and sent them to Iraq and Afghanistan to arm their military and police
b) They purchased the guns from an Eastern European manufacturer, in violation of the patent (owned by a Russian State-Owned manufacturer)
c) American soldiers in Vietnam used to pick them up from dead Viet Cong, because they work much better than their Colt M16.
d) 88% of the world's arms exports are from the USA ($14 billion), UK ($4.6 billion), France ($3.4 billion), Russia ($3.4 billion), and China ($0.5 billion) - not coincidentally also the 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council.
e) Oman, Syria, Myanmar, Sudan, Pakistan, Eritrea and Burundi each spend more on their military than they do on education and health combined.  Another 14 developing countries spend more on military than they do on education and health (separately).

Despite making general statements about the impact of the gun on civilian populations (in terms of deaths and rape, as well as the difficulty in coming to peace when small arms are readily available and ridiculously cheap), they provided little hard data on that (prices for new / used AK47s in different countries was a bit anecdotal rather than carefully collected).

Overall, interesting as a quick read, but nothing special.

2013-34 - River of Smoke, by Amitav Ghosh

34 - River of Smoke, by Amitav Ghosh
WHY I PICKED IT: Recommended by my friend Wendy
ELAPSED TIME: 5 Days
RATING: Good

The second book in Ghosh's trilogy about the opium wars, this book was a lot more history and not enough fiction.  The protagonists failed to capture my heart.

One interesting (and redeeming) feature by Bahram, the Indian businessman whose fortune was tied to the British, was the acknowledgement that the Westerners only speak of Free Trade when it benefits them... and when the opposition is winning, they rely on their government to step in and protect their space in the market.

All in all, I won't recommend this book... and likely will forget the characters and storyline in short order.

2013-33 - It's My Choice, by Somya Singh, Maryum Anis, and Farrah Khan

33 - It's My Choice, by Somya Singh, Maryum Anis, and Farrah Khan
WHY I PICKED IT: Free book
ELAPSED TIME: <1 Day
RATING: Good

This illustrated novel is really three short novellas about Maya, Karina and Ash (respectively)... and about various scenarios that could result in a Forced Marriage (the topic of the conference).  A hard topic that I learned a lot about; the book is a really simple way of showing what can happen and what choices are available to you.