Explore: Kenya

Explore The World 2022
through books, films, etc.
October: Kenya

AUDIOBOOK:

Circling the Sun
by Paula McLain
Historical, Africa, Kenya | Published: 2015 | Goodreads
Brought to Kenya from England as a child and then abandoned by her mother, Beryl Markham is raised by both her father and the native Kipsigis tribe who share his estate. Her unconventional upbringing transforms Beryl into a bold young woman with a fierce love of all things wild and an inherent understanding of nature’s delicate balance. But even the wild child must grow up, and when everything Beryl knows and trusts dissolves, she is catapulted into a string of disastrous relationships. Beryl forges her own path as a horse trainer, and her uncommon style attracts the eye of the Happy Valley set, a decadent, bohemian community of European expats who also live and love by their own set of rules. But it’s the ruggedly charismatic Denys Finch Hatton who ultimately helps Beryl navigate the uncharted territory of her own heart. The intensity of their love reveals Beryl’s truest self and her fate: to fly.

READ:

Mark of the Lion
by Suzanne Arruda
Mystery, Historical, Africa, Kenya | Published: 2006 | Goodreads
After driving an ambulance along the front lines of World War I, she can fire a rifle with deadly precision. Still suffering trauma from the Great War, she sets off for Africa determined to fulfill a man's dying wish...never expecting to become involved in murder.Rich with romance, mystery, and adventure, Mark of the Lion introduces a fascinating new heroine and explores the elusive heart of a compelling and exotic world.

WATCH:

Honey at the Top (2015)
Directors: Dean Puckett, Rebecca Wolff
Documentary, Africa, Kenya | imdb
Honey at the Top is a film about the Sengwer forest people of the Cherangani Hills, Kenya, being evicted from their ancestral land in the name of conservation.
EAT:

Teranga Foods
332 Golden Gate Ave
San Francisco, CA, 94102
(details)
TERANGA is on a mission to create refreshing and healthy prepared foods, snacks, frozen treats and drinks handcrafted in small batches using baobab and other unique ingredients from around the world.

VISIT: someday...

Prestige Bookshop
Prudential Building, Ground Floor
Mama Ngina St, Next to Imax.
Nairobi City, Kenya
(details)

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* part of Explore the World (here)

Lovely Books and Things - 4.25.21

Lovely Books and Things
My Weekly Books and Films Update

Linking up with:
Sunday Post (details)
Mailbox Monday (details)

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HAPPY THINGS:

1. Oscar party tonight
2. Grishaverse on Netflix
3. Yummy treat from Schubert's Bakery

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Bought:

Arsenic and Adobo
by Mia P. Manansala
Mystery, Cozy, Food, Filipino, Book of the Month | Published: 2021 | Goodreads

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Virtual Author event: hosted by Alta Magazine
Listen to archive of this and check out their calendar for future free author events (here)

Mean
by Myriam Gurba
Memoir, Feminism, LGBTQ | Published: 2017 | Goodreads

Virtual Author event: hosted by Green Apple Books
Check out their calendar for future free author events (here)

Abundance
by Jakob Guanzon
Literary | Published: 2021 | Goodreads

The Son of Good Fortune
by Lysley Tenorio
Literary, Coming of Age, Filipino | Published: 2020 | Goodreads

Virtual Author event: hosted by Book Passages
See the archive of this: (here)
A conversation between:

When the Stars Go Dark
by Paula McLain
Mystery, Thriller | Published: 2021 | Goodreads

The Favorite Sister
by Jessica Knoll
Mystery, Thriller | Published: 2019 | Goodreads

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AND watched: PBS

Down A Dark Stairwell (2020)
Director: Ursula Liang
Documentary | imdb | my rating: 5
On a fall day in 2014, Peter Liang, a Chinese American police officer, shot and killed an innocent, unarmed black man named Akai Gurley. Unfolding in the dark stairwell of a Brooklyn housing project, the shooting inflamed the residents of New York City and thrust two marginalized communities together into the uneven criminal justice system. Gurley's death sparked cries of police brutality and a raging, anguished debate about racial bias in criminal prosecution of law enforcement officers.

AND watched: DVD

Saving Face (2004)
Director/Writer: Alice Wu
Stars: Joan Chen, Michelle Krusiec, Lynn Chen
Comedy, Drama, Romance, LGBTQ, Asian American | imdb | my rating: 5
A Chinese-American lesbian and her traditionalist mother are reluctant to go public with secret loves that clash against cultural expectations.
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* comment and TELL me what you have acquired for your shelves recently

Thanks for stopping by :-)

Literary Wives

Literary Wives
hosted by Ariel, Emily, Angela, and Audra
details here
The premise:

A series in which we discuss books about wives and tackling these questions:

1. What does this book say about wives or about the experience of being a wife?

2. In what way does this woman define “wife”—or in what way is she defined by “wife”?

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I decided to join this reading challenge as I love the idea of it.

I will give my rating and brief comments below on the books read. So, this post will be updated throughout the year. Alerts to new comments will appear on the sidebar caption for this challenge.

I will also include some other "wife" related books read not currently on the official reading list.

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The reading list:

May 2013: American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld
-my rating: 4
Had a hard time reading this at first knowing that it was based on Laura Bush. But I liked the main character's personality and growth throughout the book.

June 2013: The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
-my rating: 5
Great mix of history, Paris and perspective on Ernest Hemingway.

July 2013: A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick
-my rating: 5
Engaging tale of life, love, forgiveness and non-forgiveness that come with harsh realities.

August 2013: The Aviator’s Wife by Melanie Benjamin

October 2013: Ahab’s Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund
-my rating: 4
Good dose of lighthouse living, the sea and a perspective on Captain Ahab in Moby Dick.

December 2013: The Wife, the Maid, and the Mistress by Ariel Lawhon
-my rating: 5
Loved the attention to details of the 1920s.

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February 2014: The Inquisitor’s Wife by Jeanne Kalogridis
-did not read

April 2014: The Zookeeper’s Wife by Diane Ackerman
-my rating: 4.5
Good tale that presents a perspective of WWII in Poland that also includes affects on zoo animals.

June 2014: The Crane Wife by Patrick Ness

August 2014: The World’s Wife: Poems by Carol Ann Duffy

October 2014: Wife 22 by Melanie Gideon

December 2014: The Shoemaker’s Wife by Adriana Trigiani

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February 2015: The Last Wife of Henry VIII by Carolly Erickson


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Books read not on the official list above:

The Silent Wife by A. S. A. Harrison
-my rating: 5
Good thriller that gives an interesting perspective on the "do nothing" mode.

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
-my rating: 5
Loved the concept of this time travel tale.

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Feel free to comment and let me know if you liked or disliked any of these books, etc.

In My Mailbox - 4.08.12

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren and inspired by Pop Culture Junkie. A post where we share books acquired via mailbox, library, store, etc.

Bought:
Alien Diplomacy
Alien Novels
by Gini Koch
-Paranormal Romance, SciFi

Sacre Bleu:
A Comedy d'Art
by Christopher Moore
-Art, Comedy, Paris
-obtained from author reading
yes! saw him in the flesh
he spoke of his ear hairs and all ;-D

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Continuation of Paris mode...

From the library:

Walks Through Napoleon & Josephine's Paris
by Diana Reid Haig
-historical

The Paris Wife
by Paula McLain
- historical
- audio version

!!! - ! - ! - ! A L E R T ! - ! - ! - !!!
G U E S T
P O S T S
W A N T E D
F O R
J U N E
I am looking for guest posts with a Paris theme to post in June from bloggers and authors.

Those interested can include book giveaways not related to Paris - but the post itself needs to refer to Paris in some way.

Feel free to contact me for more details vvb32 at yahoo.com

For Review:
Death Sentence
Last City on Earth: Book 1
by Rhiannon Paille
-Dystopia, YA
courtesy of author
Thanks Rhiannon!

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* get a heads up on free or discounted ebooks from Books on the Knob

* per usual, check out the sidebar for my current giveaways to you

* image from Leafcutter Designs - world's smallest postal service and you can get a letter kit at Chronicle Books