Tuesday, March 29

literary junkies - march 2016.

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Here are this month's questions:

1. What are you reading right now? Tell us about it.


I just finished reading Facing the Lion: Growing Up Maasai on the African Savanna by Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton, which was a new addition to our school library's nonfiction section. I can't stop telling people about it because I learned so much! Joseph's tribe is a minority group in Kenya, where most people live what we would consider modern lives (like my college roommate, Njeri!). The Maasai are nomadic and adhere to traditional gender roles in which the women build houses and take care of children and the men care for livestock, hunt, and train as warriors. When Joseph was six, the Kenyan government passed a law that each Maasai family had to send at least one child to school - Joseph's family couldn't spare their older sons, who were needed to care for the cattle, but he wanted to go to school so badly that he convinced the school officials he was eight, the minimum age. He took to school quickly and found his passion in playing soccer. Being challenged to win a game by the President of Kenya turned out to be the gateway to a college education in America. All the while, Joseph straddled being a child of two worlds - flying to New York on airplanes which confounded his parents and participating in tribal manhood rituals his teachers and classmates didn't understand. Today, he works as a teacher in northern Virginia and works to help preserve tribal traditions in Kenya while improving the quality of life and education for children there.

2. If you could visit any book setting, which would you choose and why?




Could I give any answer but Hogwarts here? It is, after all, my literary second home. I'd love to see the cozy Hufflepuff common room, stroll through the greenhouses, visit the library, and eat a feast in the Great Hall! 

Realistically, I've wanted to take a literary trip to London since college! Not only is it full of Harry Potter locations, I want to visit Notting Hill, tour places associated with Jane Austen's life and books, see a play in Shakespeare's Globe Theater, and pay my respects to Geoffery Chaucer at Westminster Abbey.

3. If you could sit down with any book character, who would it by and what would you ask them?


I'd want to sit down with Alba, Henry and Clare's daughter from The Time Traveler's Wife, and ask her about her experiences in the past and present and how she controls what destinations she'll end up in. Time travel has always been the most fascinating fictional power/ability to me.

4. If you wrote a memoir and it was turned into a movie, what actor or actress would play you?

Since I'm not 100% white it's really hard to see myself in Hollywood actresses. She's older than me, but as a kid people were constantly telling me I looked like Winnie from The Wonder Years (Danica McKellar). The only other actress who I think I look remotely like is Ginnifer Goodwin. She is closer to 30 and would also be awesome, and I'm pretty sure she could sound like me since she's from Tennessee - plus, she's got a built-in younger version, Bailee Madison, who plays young Snow White on Once Upon a Time.


5. What have you recently added to your to-be-read list that you are completely excited to pick up next??

I just picked up Patrick Ness' The Rest of Us Just Live Here from the library - I've heard it's delightful. It's about people like Xander in Buffy - all of the sidekicks and best friends in worlds where magic and superpowers are part of everyday life. The blurb on Goodreads says, "What if you aren’t the Chosen One? The one who’s supposed to fight the zombies, or the soul-eating ghosts, or whatever the heck this new thing is, with the blue lights and the death? What if you’re like Mikey? Who just wants to graduate and go to prom and maybe finally work up the courage to ask Henna out before someone goes and blows up the high school. Again." It's a very clever premise, and I already know Ness is an awesome writer, so I hope it'll live up to my expectations.



What have you been reading lately? Come link up with us at 

6 comments:

  1. Ooo...I had to add two of the books you mentioned to the "books I'm considering" list on pinterest. The Rest of Us Just Live Here sound hilarious, and like one I could read with my oldest son (maybe...gotta preview). And Facing the Lion sounds amazing. I've only read ONE book set in Africa (July's People by Nadine Gordimer...read it because I wanted to read something by a modern Nobel Prize winner...but I had trouble getting into it).

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    1. Facing the Lion is written at about a 7th grade reading level so it's easy to breeze through but so fascinating.

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  2. Wow, that premise to Ness's new book sounds awesome. I love clever ideas like that. I'll have to pick it up!
    (stopping by from link-up) :)

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    1. I'll post a review when I finish it! It had mixed reviews on Goodreads.

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  3. The Rest Of Us Just Live Here sounds really interesting and considering I love Buffy I might need to read this. I also want to visit London for a lot of reasons including the same Jane Austen interest. Ginnifer Godwin with a built-in Bailee Madison is a great combo. I love Once Upon A Time and they matched those two up really well. Thanks for linking up!

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    1. Yes! Bailee even nails some of Ginnifer's speech patterns as Snow, she's an amazing young actress.

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