Nonfiction
Confessions of an Economic Hit Man (2004) by John Perkins
As someone with a Masters Degree in Latin American history, nothing stated in this book came as a surprise to me. However, having the truth presented by an actual economic hit man (EHM) was hard-core confirmation of the dirty dealings of major American corporations working together with agents of the U.S. government.
By Joyce O’Day2 years ago in BookClub
The Deep Transformation from "The Tattooist of Auschwitz" by Heather Morris
Picture the scene: the ScotRail train coasting eastwards half-asleep against an early Scottish morning, with the dewy, dreary Western Scotland clashing against the awakening buzz of a clear work-day sky of the Eastern side. I'm sitting around the middle of the train, staring at nothing across the passing-by backdrop of the Scottish lowlands, tears streaming endlessly down my face, with a copy of The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris laid across my lap.
By Cameron Smith2 years ago in BookClub
A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes
When I was nine, I watched the Sunday night movie with Mampau like I did every Sunday night. This week, it was a movie based on an actress that had been super famous in the fifties and sixties. Me being the old soul that I was, was instantly intrigued. This movie had been based on her autobiography, which I wouldn't get the chance to read until around twenty years later.
By Judith Jascha2 years ago in BookClub
Ain't No Monologue Like A Vagina Monologue
The script became the play that became a book, or a playbook, or generations of unspoken thoughts and feelings that needed to 'scream-yell-and-tell' like there was no tomorrow because there wouldn’t be. Not without us and our vaginas. Yep, vaginas. But such awful things happened to them. And kept on happening to them. And a massive silent public didn’t seem too outwardly bothered enough.
By The Dani Writer2 years ago in BookClub
Dune is Not About Oil
The prompt for the Book Club challenge is funny because it was David Lynch’s 1984 adaptation that introduced me to Dune. Dune was one of my favorite movies as a kid. It was one of my top picks at the library, besides all the Star Trek and Universal monster movies I could get my hands on. My love for the Dune universe grew in the 90s, with the books from Brian Herbert. Despite this, I would not read the first novel until 2017. Why, I am unsure. Since then I have dove as deep into the Dune universe as I can. I still have not finished the original series, due to a combination of work and school. Well, also after acquiring a copy of the encyclopedia, I decided I wanted to have the time to sit and read the series with that as my companion. Because if Dune does nothing else, it raises a lot of questions for the reader. Both in and out of the universe.
By Atomic Historian2 years ago in BookClub
Silhouettes of Real Things
Grandpa Bernie died from a stroke in 1994. I was only three years old then so I don't have any memories of him. But there have been bits and pieces of him left behind that affected me as I got older. I have a stuffed rabbit and a picture of him handing it to me on my first Easter. I have stories of him and the kind of man he was that was told to me by my family. Most importantly, I have a book of poems he wrote which was published after he passed away.
By Jean Bruce2 years ago in BookClub
A Book that Changed Me: "Don't Ever Tell" by Kathy O'Beirne
I've read many fiction books in one sitting, but the moment I picked up this particular book, I couldn't put it down. I was around 11, about to turn 12, on my first trip to Thailand with my family. I noticed it on my parents' shelf and decided to bring it with me. However, it wasn't until the long journey to Mae Sot that I finally started reading it. The book was called “Don’t Ever Tell” by Kathy O’Beirne.
By Karina Thyra2 years ago in BookClub
The GULAG Archipelago
I've lived long enough now to feel that books rarely change me. Probably the last one was Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt that I read in 2004 or 2005, early in my doctoral program. Even then I wouldn't say that it changed me as much as it shook me in realization that human history was full of misery and suffering universally until quite recently and that we are probably living in the best human times in terms of life's comfort and personal security. And it all is incredibly fragile.
By Lana V Lynx2 years ago in BookClub
365 Days of Happiness
THINK OF WATER AND HOW IT MOVES AROUND THE ROCKS. It always finds a way to flow around, above, and even underneath them. Water flows wherever it wants to flow, and does not stop or get held up by the rocks. It keeps its focus on its purpose … To stay true to your flow, don't make the rocks in your life the most important happenings. Instead, keep your focus on your purpose to flow, and with that, find other ways around them to be and live your truth.
By Teresa Renton2 years ago in BookClub
