Two hits and a miss

Happy New Year to all readers.


Okay, first the miss.  I was traveling recently and had extra time to spend in the airport.  Rather than buy a book I just got ideas for future books to read and then have put them on my library list.  The first of these books was Ego is the Enemy.   This book sounded interesting and I thought I'd give it a try.  The basic premise of the book is that one doesn't have to be an egoist to be successful and then continues to tell one how to get control of your own ego.  I read the first few chapters but this book never caught on with me.  I'm in no danger of becoming a superstar in whatever field I venture into.  This just wasn't pertinent to my life and so I freed up my reading time for something else.

That something else was The Magnolia Story.   If you've ever enjoyed the HGTV show "Fixer Upper", then I think you'll like this book as well.  The Magnolia story chronicles the lives of Chip and Joanna Gaines from when they first met until approximately early 2016.   They certainly seem to be the same, down to earth, fun people they are on the show.  As either Chip or Joanna tell their part of the story, the type face changes.  I thought that was a great way to help identify who was talking in the book.  In my library system, this book is classified as a biography and I'd agree.  There is little in the way of decorating tips or business advice.  I'm glad I checked it out from my library as it doesn't seem a book I'll want to re-read.  None the less, I enjoyed reading it and definitely recommend it to fans of the show.

My second hit is a book called So Long A Letter,  by Mariama Ba.  I can't recall exactly where I found this recommended but it may have been on a list of African Literature.  So Long A Letter, is a work of fiction.  It tells the story of Ramatoulaye , writing to her college friend and describing her life after the death of her husband.  I found it fascinating to read on several levels.  First was the story of this woman, somewhat like me, as a wife and mother and how those roles were important to her.  Secondly was the view into a post-colonial Senegal and the Muslim culture there as it effected her marriage and the start of her widow-hood.   If Ramatoulaye was a real person, I would like to know her and have her as a friend.  The insights the author presents as the character talks about changing roles of women in the society, dealing with religious strictures, being a mother, even her love for her bigamist husband are interesting to anyone regardless of their culture and status in life.  It is a relatively short book and well worth your time.