Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

Review by Katy

http://whatktreads.blogspot.com/

This is a pretty amazing story. Three Cups of Tea is the true story of Greg Mortenson, who upon failing to summit K2 stumbles quite ill and emaciated into Korphe, a remote village in Pakistan. The people of this village nurse him back to health, and he falls in love with them. During his stay, he asks to visit the school, and is brought to a large field where 84 children were writing in the dirt with sticks. No teacher, no books, just the children studying as best they could. The village leader, Haji Ali, explained that they couldn't afford to pay a teacher, so a teacher comes to the village occasionally, and the children study on their own the rest of the time. Greg promises to come back to Korphe and build the village a school. And he does.

There is so much to say about the work that Mortenson does. He is the director of the Central Asia Institute (CAI), which (as of 2007) has established more than 61 schools in rural areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan. After he learns that providing girls with at least a 5th grade education will help prevent infant mortality, population explosion, and overall health and sanitation of a village, he began focusing more towards (though not exclusively) girl's education. He also helps fund projects for clean water and women's halls (where all the local women can get together to sew, etc). He figures that with the unhealthy water that they have now, one in three children don't even make it to their first birthday in these villages. You can't educate someone that isn't there.

I had the opportunity to hear Mortenson speak at a local event. He seems like an honest, humble man doing what he can to help people he loves. He really doesn't seem to be in this for the "glory." He showed a picture of a school, and said that he was proud of this school because it had taken almost 8 years to convince the local leaders to allow it to be built. He is in it for the long term and he is willing to learn the customs and mores of the area in order to build a school that they will be proud of and use.

Mortenson also had a lot of interesting facts about the importance of education in these areas. He said that people that decide to become suicide bombers are without hope. They see no other way of succeeding in life. By providing an education to people in rural areas, they are given some hope.

The one thing that I didn't like about this book is the writing. First of all, it's written in third person, which is not what I was expecting, considering the main character is listed as the first author.

But, even without that little complaint, the writing really isn't that great. It sometimes takes a long time to say simple things and that can get really frustrating. There are also a lot of non-English words used throughout, and not all of them are fully explained. Possibly they are terms that everyone should know, but I didn't, and I got tired of trying to figure some of them out.

However, even with this small(ish) complaint, I highly recommend the Three Cups of Tea. It gives you lots of food for thought and would make a great discussion book for a book club.

The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen by Syrie James

Title: The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen

Author: Syrie James

Genre: Fiction, Jane Austen

Pages: 303

Date Finished: 27 Feb 2008

Review by Jeanette

My Rating: A"Do you mean to say, that if I believe in your story as you have told it, then it is as good as if it were true?" (303) So asks Jane Austen's nephew in this fictional account of her life and so sums up my feelings for this book. While I know the story is fiction, it was written in such a true and believable fashion that I had to remind myself that it wasn't actually a recently discovered memoir of Jane Austen.

What fan of Jane Austen has not, at some point, lamented the fact that Cassandra Austen destroyed so many of her sister's letters? Who amongst us has not harbored a wish that maybe Cassandra had not destroyed them but just hidden them away really, really well and someday they will be unearthed? Or that some other forgotten and lost work by Jane Austen would be discovered?

That is the premise of The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen by Syrie James. Workmen, repairing the roof at Chawton Manor house, find an old trunk bricked up in the wall of the attic. Inside the trunk they find several old manuscripts and a ring. The manuscripts turn out to be the long lost memoirs of Jane Austen.

The story takes place during a period of time when none of Jane Austen's letters remain for modern audiences to read. This gap in time has left many today wondering what was happening in Jane's life during those silent years. Syrie James gives us a beautiful tale of what could have happened during those years. "Jane Austen has given up her writing when, on a fateful trip to Lyme, she meets the well-read and charming Mr. Ashford, a man who is her equal in in intellect and temperament. Inspired by the people and places around her, and encouraged by his faith in her, Jane begins revising Sense and Sensibility, a book she began years earlier, hoping to be published at last."

I'll admit I was skeptical at first, but this is a love story befitting of Jane Austen. I felt James captured Austen's essence and style. James gave us a mature woman, secretly in love but still grounded in the reality of her time. There have been many who have attempted to write about Jane Austen or her characters but few, if any, have done such a wonderful job. James clearly knew her subject matter and blended the fact and fiction masterfully to give us a most enjoyable, romantic story.

I did have a few complaints. I felt that James took too much of this story directly from Austen's own novels and it read more like a novel than a memoir or journal. How many people writing about events that happened years earlier can remember such long chunks of dialogue?Withstanding these two things, the novel was wonderful and I highly recommend it to anyone, whether or not they are a fan of Jane Austen.

A Walk with Jane Austen by Lori Smith

A Walk with Jane Austen by Lori Smith
Review by Emily from Whimsy Books and Whimsy Daisy

A Walk with Jane Austen is a quiet ride through Jane Austen’s world. This book is not what I expected it to be. It is less about Jane Austen and more about author Lori Smith. It is a soft memoir. Smith’s talented writing weaves countless connections between the life of Jane Austen and her own.

Lori Smith finds herself growing older and unmarried, a position she never expected to find herself in. She tours England to visit the remaining sites of Austen’s world. During this trip, Smith discovers who she is, why we face challenges, and how faith can get us through.

From Publishers Weekly Starred Review. In this engaging, deeply personal and well-researched travelogue, Smith (a PW contributor) journeys to England to soak in the places of Jane Austen's life and writings. The book is sure to ride the wave of Austen-philia that has recently swept through Hollywood and a new generation of Americans, but this is an unusual look at Jane Austen. Readers will learn plenty of biographical details-about Austen's small and intimate circle of family and friends, her candid letters to her sister, her possible loves and losses, her never-married status, her religious feelings, and her untimely death at the age of 41. But it is the author's passionate connection to Jane-the affinity she feels and her imaginings of Austen's inner life-that bring Austen to life in ways no conventional biographer could. Smith's voice swings authentically between the raw, aching vulnerability of a single Christian woman battling a debilitating and mysterious chronic illness and the surges of faith she finds in the grace of a loving God. And yes, she even meets a potential Darcy at the start of her journey. This deliciously uncertain romantic tension holds the book together as Smith weaves her own thoughts, historical research, and fitting references to Austen's novels into a satisfying whole.

Ordinary Days: Family Life in a Farmhouse by Dorcas Smucker

Life is sometimes hectic and busy. Sometimes we need to slow down. Ordinary Days: Family Life in a Farmhouse will encourage you to do just that. Dorcas Smucker, the author, is the wife of a Mennonite minister and mother of six. She has written a collection of stories that will make you want to sit, relax, and appreciate the ordinary, yet important, moments of your life.

The essays are divided into categories: family, seasons, relatives, places, and lessons. While Mrs. Smucker's life on her farm is much different than my own, I found myself nodding and smiling as I related to her stories. Her tales brought back memories of long car trips, helped me remember the way it felt to finish school and begin a seemingly endless summer, and rekindled my appreciation for seeing life through the eyes of a child. Her stories reminded me to value the ordinary days that make up my own life.

Whatever your station in life, you will appreciate that these stories reflect on issues common to the human experience: life, death, work, play, family, friendship, even speeding tickets. These essays are meant to be read slowly and savored, so plan to spend some time as you journey through Mrs. Smucker's ordinary days. The time you spend with her stories will help you remember and appreciate your own.

If you are interested, Mrs. Smucker also has a website and a blog. She invites you to come and visit.

Review by Lauren, regular contributor

Baseballs and Bows