Image Courtesy: Ahmed Elmawi
Continuing swiftly from where we left off last time: https://strokesofmypen.blogspot.com/2019/09/pieces-of-my-heart-part-1.html
6. PURPLE HIBISCUS BY CHIMAMANDA ADICHIE
A beautiful, moving and intriguing story of a teenage girl Kambili and her older brother Jaja who come from a rather privileged and respected family. Their father is very generous and admired in the community. However, he was also fanatically religious and tyrannical with his family. Despite the perfect outward image this cute family portrays, there is a lot of tension within the house, built on deep fear of ever crossing their father's limits and set rules. A military coup becomes the reason these young siblings get to experience freedom and deep joy when they move to their aunt's house, outside the city. But when they come back home, the tension heightens. The two young siblings with their mother silently endure the unendurable until they no longer can and someone goes to jail...
It is an emotional roller coaster built upon the family bonds. You will definitely love this one because it is very relatable. High chances you will relate to Kambili and Jaja or you know someone who lives what they've lived through. I am very fond of this book I think mainly because it is family based and really moves one to the core.
7. BORN A CRIME BY TREVOR NOAH
Trevor Noah is one of my favourite comedians without a say but that aside, this book is magnificent by its own glory. In his book, Trevor talks about being 'born a crime'; having parents who are black and Swiss, something that was totally forbidden during the apartheid period in South Africa. He struggles in a huge way to fit in anywhere and he ends up being the boy who could survive everywhere. He learns five languages and how to adapt to the rather racist system.
His mother is a very firm, independent woman who plays a huge role in raising Trevor into being a smart, witty young man. The best part for me is how they develop a tradition where she'd write him letters on his chores and his duties in the house and Trevor would write back to her :D And she would write hilarious statements (in their context) like 'Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; the rod of discipline will remove it far from him' which is an excerpt from the bible just to threaten him. His mother is literal goals! Then there's his beloved dog Fufi who disappears for a while before learning that he actually has another owner. This also became one of my favourite pieces in the book with the moral of the story being that 'You don't own what you love.'
This book is not only hilarious but there are many instances where we get to learn from the experiences that Trevor lived. The most tragic one being his mother being shot by his own step father. Intense! I know! However, it is always lovely to know the back story of our favourite people in real life. We get to understand where they are coming from and why they are who they are!
8. THE ALCHEMIST BY PAULO COELHO
You definitely, DEFINITELY saw this coming didnt you?! Paulo Coelho is one of the best authors of our times and his books never disappoint but to date, in my opinion, this is his best work yet!!
The story revolves around an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago who travels from his homeland in Spain to a desert in Egypt in search of treasure supposedly buried at the pyramids. This young man is both ambitious and thoughtful. Filled with hope, he follows his dreams and explores the land. He meets many different people along his journey to his quest and learns a lot of lessons. At some point he reaches a dead end with his search and he is robbed too. The different experiences push him to take control of his own life and seek out the spiritual world. He gets to the alchemist; who claims he can turn metal to gold and also meet Fatima who affirms to him the reality of fate and the spiritual forces that align with our dreams, goals, choices and beliefs.
The book is magical in its own way and very intriguing. It makes us readers reflect on our inner world and how our core beliefs inevitably affect our lives. This book is almost always amongst everyone's favourite books.
9. THE PARTNER BY JOHN GRISHAM
John Grisham is a master of thrillers and mysteries. This is one of the books that at the end, you throw it to the wall and stare for many moments at nothing; dismayed, shocked!
Patrick Lanigan,the main character of our story is a lawyer who decided to steal 90 million dollars from his law firm then proceeded to fake his own death in a seemingly brutal car accident. Patrick manages to run to Brazil where he changes his entire appearance and changed his name to Danilo Silva. He starts everything afresh so as to not get caught by the FBI who were looking for him. However, four years down the line he is arrested by the FBI agents at a small town called Ponta Porã.
During the years of his escape, he had a partner by the name of Eva Miranda alias Leah Pires. He entrusts her with EVERYTHING. From covering his tracks to hiding the money, to withdrawals and deposits to disappearing from the world's existence. She was the perfect partner...until she wasn't...
I'll leave it at that so y'all can read it on your own. Nonetheless, it was really captivating and intriguing :D
10. LAND OF THE LIVING BY NICCI FRENCH
I came across this book by mere chance at second hand book stalls and I was hesitant because I had never read the author. But then I went ahead and took it with me (see? sometimes you gotta give unknown authors to you or new ones a chance) When I started reading, I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. The books puts you at the edge and the suspense is intense!!
The story is about a young lady who finds herself in a dark, unknown location and quite disoriented. Abbie Devereaux can't remember her recent past or how she got here with a strange man who keeps promising her death. Abbie stays for long hours alone, imagining the sun and butterflies while still having nightmares; being hopeful that someday she will make it to her world again. However, a twist of events happen when Abbie finally gets to escape and resume her normal life...but guess what? People don't believe her story. Her doctors think it is a fantasy merely made up by Abbie. It is then that Abbie realizes that her before life had been destroyed too. She is terrified whether her kidnapper would find her again. Would she ever remember what exactly happened to her? Abbie therefore desperately tries to reconstruct her life, taking step by step into the past to find out what exactly took place and also prove what everyone didn't believe...Exciting, thrilling, terrifying!!! If you love thrillers, you should consider this.
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Now something I learnt, people have different tastes in books just like everything else. Been checking reviews od the different books I have mentioned so far and I was shocked to find some of my favourites were somebody's 'total waste of time'. Sooo...I am not promising anything but I believe my taste is above average good :) Enjoy!!
Other great books (in my opinion):
-Reclaim your heart by Yasmin Mogahed
-Enjoy your life by Mohammad Al-Arefe
-I know why the caged bird sings by Maya Angelou
-When Breath becomes air by Paul Kalanishi
-I too had a love story by Ravinder Singh
-A walk to remember by Nicholas Sparks
-Nothing lasts forever by Sidney sheldon
-Tell me your dreams by Sidney Sheldon
-The Street Lawyer by John Grisham
-The Poet by Michael Connelly
-The Spy by Paulo Coelho
Local authors (with their instagram handles to get yourself some copies 😊)
-The Striving Soul by meeeee (Contact me at 0704 731 560 to get yours now!!)
-Point of deflection by Dr Mohammad Bahaidar (and 3 other books) @dr.bahaidar
-The billionaire sahaba by Suleiman Ndoro @_draudi
-A Painted Inspiration from the Palm-Fringed Beaches: A Collection of Inspirational Quotes by Salma Abdulatif @expressing_through_salummy
-Building a Million dollar business by Aminah Suleiman @wa_kwale_
-Drunk by Jackson Biko @bikozulu
-Too pretty to be broke by Joan @joanthatiah
Among many many other great books!! Pardon me if I forgot to mention your favourite 😊
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