Jua More - Book Reviews et al

Living Memories

May 27th, 2010 by softie

The author tells the stories of people over 65 years of age who lived during the pre-independence times. Told in first person, he reveals small aspects of their lives, those he thought today’s readers would find interesting. He manages to bring out the unique tones of the people who talked to him. Each of the stories make for interesting-easy reading but embedded at the back of my memory are the stories of Hussein Warutere (the last story in the collection). [...]

Debt is Slavery: and 9 Other Things I Wish My Dad Had Taught Me About Money

May 25th, 2010 by softie

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Great books are usually short, to the point, and interesting enough to cause even casual book browsers to stop and think. Occasionally, the rare title does the aforementioned while highlighting uncomfortable, yet powerful, truths. “Debt is Slavery” by Michael Mihalik is one of those titles. Better still, its one of those books that is tightly focused on the kinds of truths that can make a profound difference in the lives of real people – many of whom are struggling to [...]

Debt is Slavery: and 9 Other Things I Wish My Dad Had Taught Me About Money

Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia

May 25th, 2010 by Kelvin

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Here is a book that either changed people’s lives or irritated them. Count me among the latter. Eat Pray Love – One Woman’s Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert was supposed to enlighten me. It didn’t. OK – First the positive: Overall, it is a well-written book. The author takes many complicated metaphysical concepts and makes them readable. The book is divided into sections: Eat, which is the author’s journey to Italy; Pray, her pilgrimage [...]

Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia

Wasee Wasee!

May 25th, 2010 by softie

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Mchongoanos are very much a part of our (Kenyan) culture today as they were all those years ago during my primary school days. And it’s not only school going kids who enjoy this form of art but adults with a youthful heart (and a sense of humour) as well. This book is chock full of mchongoanos that you can use for every situation. Sample this: ‘Kwenu nyinyi mafala hadi mna patia kuku zenu maji moto ati ndio zitoe mayai boilo’ [...]

Halfway Between Nairobi and Dundori

May 24th, 2010 by softie

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This is a book that takes through the up and downs of being Kenyan and in love, kinda…You will recognize the places, smell the places, love and hate the characters, incredible word pictures! Muthoni Garland’s characters are so sharply etched that you want to ask them for the fifty bob they borrowed from you last week. I can’t decide if I like it as much as Tracking the Scent of My Mother, or even more. I wish it ended ‘my [...]

The Evolution of God

May 23rd, 2010 by softie

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Robert Wright is an intellectually curious journalist and a fine writer whose previous books (The Moral Animal & Nonzero) I enjoyed. Wright’s new book explores the character of religion through history, and, marshalling scholarly research, shows how religious ideas developed in response to changing social and political circumstances. The explanations make no appeal to the supernatural. But Wright sees progress (however haphazard and intermittent) in the moral dimension of religion through time, which leads him to speculate that this phenomenon [...]

Strength in What Remains

May 23rd, 2010 by softie

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Tracy Kidder’s book, briefly, is the non-fiction tale of Deogratias. Raised in Burundi, Deo lives a nearly idyllic life until the outbreak of ethnic violence in his country replaces Wordsworth’s “of splendor in the grass, of glory in the flower” with a living hell that makes Dante’s Inferno look like a pleasant winter destination resort. Deo, a Tutsi third year medical student, flees Burundi, arriving at age 24 in New York City with $200 in his pocket, the clothes on [...]

How We Decide

May 23rd, 2010 by softie

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This book describes the neuroscience behind decision making, and in particular the various parts of the brain that are involved in different parts of problem analysis. It is filled with interesting examples from real world situations such as airplane near-disasters, poker playing, and Parkinson’s patients, and uses these examples to illustrate various parts of our brain machinery. The book is an easy read, interesting, and informative. It is, however, a lightweight read. Do not expect great depth into any of [...]

Stitches: A Memoir

May 23rd, 2010 by softie

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The story revolves around David Small from the age of 6 to adulthood. He comes from an interesting family–his mother and her side of the family is explored in depth. David develops a growth on his neck, which turns out to be cancer. However, his family does not tell him this, which is just one of the sources of conflict between him and his parents. I really enjoyed how the story was told. You can really feel the struggles David [...]