Books Without Borders

A few months ago I decided to marry a few passions together: learning about different cultures, reading, and activism. From there, Books Without Borders was born; an offspring of my dream for a community of like minded individuals who delve into broader world issues and are willing to take a stand for what is right.
Thus far, our fun little group has read:

Not On Our Watch, by John Prendergast- a novel that provides a prescription for ending genocide and other atrocities against humanity. Though the book was difficult because of the many descriptive anecdotes by John and Don Cheadle (co-author, actor, and activist), it was a masterpiece from beginning to end. From the meeting, five of us made distinct decisions to utilize our talents and strengths to help end genocide in Darfur (and DR of Congo and Uganda). For more information and to keep up to speed on events in Africa visit www.enoughproject.org

On a lighter, but still controversial note, we read Kabul Beauty School by Deborah Rodriguez. As a group of women readers, this was a great book to ignite conversations surrounding what it means to be a woman with personal freedoms. I had already pre-warned the club that I have an insane fascination with Afghanistan, and this only sparked further interest!

We also read Peony in Love, by Lisa See. This amazingly beautiful story details the journey of a Chinese woman through her short life, her afterlife as a ghost, and the pains associated with guilt and distrust. Ms. See did an amazing job at describing the different cultural beliefs of the Chinese, including those customs that were perpetuated by dynastic rule. The "ghost" story was riveting from beginning to end....a must read.

For the summer we will be reading (and for many of us, re-reading) Eat, Pray, Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert (not from Little House on the Prairie). This book personally pulls at my values of cultural learning, introspection, writing, believing, trusting, and giving.

If you would like to join our book club, please send me a note! You won't be disappointed (shameless plug).