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The Blue Zones
by Dan Buettner (Full book review coming in September)
We Were Eight Years in Power
– narrated (audio book) by Ta-Nehisi Coates
publisher: Penguin Random House (audiobook version, 2018)
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What I learned from this book
Coates offers to us a deep understanding of what it is like to be living as an American through the eyes of a much different viewpoint than many are accustomed to hearing – that of the African-American male . It is an eye-opening discourse on the “flip” side of the American dream and its historical remembrances – as well as many other accounts of the events that took place in this country over the past 400+ years. It really offers a brand new angle for the American public in how we might finally want to address both the answers (and new questions going forward) concerning our legacy.
The Audacity of Hope
The Audacity of Hope – by Barack Obama
Audiobook narration by Barack Obama, publisher: Penguin Random House (audiobook version, 2006)
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What I learned from this book
It’s funny how easy it is to forget that as recently as this book was released, 2006-07, Obama was the sole African-American in the Senate. It’s no wonder that he encountered the level of resistance he did when leapfrogging over this body into the presidency in 2009. I bet more than a few colleagues were completely blindsided by his rapid ascent. Anyhow, with the power of hindsight (being 20/20) it is easy to see now how the U.S. is in the kind of tribal state it is. A large swath of Americans has proven that they were, in fact, completely blindsided by the appearance and success of Barack Obama as a politician and an individual. I suppose it’s just one of many issues the country will need to deal with as democracy matriculates down this long and winding road dubbed “America.”
Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life
pronounced “Eeky-guy”
Authors: Hector Garcia & Francesc Miralles
Publisher: PenguinRandomHouse Books (e-book, 2017)
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What I learned from this book
One of the reasons I decided to weave this review into my book blog fabric is that I just came off editing my own first non-fiction work, and I noticed this book, Ikigai … , might provide some of the answers to several of the questions I touched on obliquely in my book (but, of course, had no intention of providing my readers with any helpful answers!)
I’ve always been curious as to what ingredients comprise mixing the “best cocktail for an extended and fruitful existence.” Unfortunately, at least in my experience of life in the U.S., I’ve seen mostly the opposites – those that shave away years and good health (i.e. a sedentary lifestyle, a poor diet, poor air and water quality, unhealthy climate, congested cities, dangerous crime rates, etc.)
Dreams from My Father
Dreams from My Father – by Barack Obama
Audiobook narration by Barack Obama, publisher: Random House (audio, 2005)
Dreams-from-My-Father-Barack-Obama
What I learned from this book
If anyone has ever taken the time to listen to Barack Obama publicly speak, I think he or she would agree with me that he has an extraordinary way with words. What I didn’t know (and what most people probably don’t either) is that he also has the ability to transform his voice into a wide array of characters – much like a talented voiceover actor.
I’m not talking about one or two voices, but rather something that numbers in the double digits! He uses this ability to paint a creative canvas with different voices/characters that he unveils to us are his family and/ or friends. Whether it was his curmudgeonly (yet likeable) Anglo grandfather from Kansas; the velvety assortment of Kenyan-Kikuyan dialects depicting his late father – as well as other Kenyan relatives (both male and female); his African-American friends and teammates in the mainland U.S.; his Hawaiian peers and other locals; a pinch of Indonesian tongues; and on, and on and on.
What I liked about this book
No matter how impressive I found Obama to be prior to listening to the audio version of his inaugural autobiography, I cannot understate how much more impressive (and relatable) this work made him to me. I certainly had my doubts as to how he could/ would build the foundation of “an understanding of the dreams of someone he barely knew (i.e. Barack Sr.).” He also didn’t have access to the recollection of his mother; who also died very young in life.
Yet, I quickly became convinced at how he “filled in all of the blanks” by taking us on his journey to track down those who knew his father best – the side of his family still residing in Kenya. Without being much of a spoiler, let’s just say he was able to keep from having to “guess” or “manipulate” the details of his father’s life. He was able to track down how his father became who he was, what was important to his father, what made him tick, and what frightened or distracted him. For those of us who are familiar with absentee, enigmatic and/ or abusive parents, it is a unique and crafty approach to discovering the “secrets of the past” without having to create them from his imagination like most of the rest of us do.
Becoming Michelle Obama
- written by Michelle Obama (pub. 2018), 415 pp.
What I learned from this book
Actually, I was shocked at how much of the book was apolitical. I thought going in it would be much more concentrated on White House events, but, much to my relief, there were many more life experiences in the overall mix. My expectations were for 80% politics and 20% personal. In fact, it was more like 90% personal! It is much less a book about living in America’s equivalent of a “Royal Palace,” and much more about one woman’s “journey in its totality.” It is about identity, the struggle, self-doubts and the dream. It is about perseverance. It is also about letting go when you need to let go. But, most of all, it is about family, good friends and, most importantly, always standing firmly alongside the ones you love the most – warts and all!!
What I liked about this book
I’ve read hundreds (if not thousands) of books in my lifetime. However, rarely have I run across an autobiography that is this honest and forthright. Seriously, one would think that autobiographies are meant to be the most candid, but, for the most part, most fall dreadfully short of this goal. I know it sounds cliché, but Michelle Obama really knows how to “put the reader in her shoes.” She understands how to make the reader feel the way she felt in a specific moment, to hurt in her personal moments of real pain, and to feel joy when she was uplifted in one of her finer moments. She is a real person, a “one-of-a-kind” – and that is a rare find! (And I’m a poet and didn’t know it!)