What I Read While I Was Backpacking for 3 Months
For One More Day by Mitch Albom, 2006
This is a book that I've had for a while and it was the only one I brought with me from back home. I bought it while I was on holiday with my family in Sri Lanka back in 2016. My cousin from Canada told me about it and how much she liked it which convinced me to buy it. Also it only cost me like 3 dollars. How often do you come across quality books that cheap? Only in Asia!
For One More Day follows the story of Charley Benetto. A man who has been through quite a lot. In short, he has taken many wrong turns and ends up wanting to take his own life. He chooses to do this in his hometown where he also goes to his old house. Here he finds his deceased mother who turns out to be very much alive. In a stage between life and death, Charley gets an additional day with his mother where they go through the ups and downs of Charley's life, how he took his mother's love for granted and other mistakes he made along the way leading up to his attempted suicide.
This is a very realistic story about life. It teaches us that throughout our life, we will go through many hard times, but it's important that we don't let those times control us. At the same time, we all make mistakes, but it's okay as long as we learn from them. It is especially important to forgive! We must be able to forgive other people, but most importantly ourselves. We are imperfect, but that's how we were made.
I absolutely loved this novel and would recommend it to anyone. It's an easy-read, but very thought-provoking!
For One More Day follows the story of Charley Benetto. A man who has been through quite a lot. In short, he has taken many wrong turns and ends up wanting to take his own life. He chooses to do this in his hometown where he also goes to his old house. Here he finds his deceased mother who turns out to be very much alive. In a stage between life and death, Charley gets an additional day with his mother where they go through the ups and downs of Charley's life, how he took his mother's love for granted and other mistakes he made along the way leading up to his attempted suicide.
This is a very realistic story about life. It teaches us that throughout our life, we will go through many hard times, but it's important that we don't let those times control us. At the same time, we all make mistakes, but it's okay as long as we learn from them. It is especially important to forgive! We must be able to forgive other people, but most importantly ourselves. We are imperfect, but that's how we were made.
I absolutely loved this novel and would recommend it to anyone. It's an easy-read, but very thought-provoking!
Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal, 2017
I finished reading "For One More Day" in Thailand, I know, it took me a while, and when we got to Ubud in Bali, our hostel had a small bookcase with random books left behind by other backpackers. Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows caught my eye because of its cover. Now I normally don't care that much for book covers, but this one is truly captivating with its colorful drawings. The next thing that surprised me was the title. It was just so random and I just thought that each word in the title was a rare combination? Where would you find a title like that? I read a few pages and that was it. I had to finish it, so I left behind For One More Day and I brought this new book with me all the way to the Fiji Islands where I finished it and gave it to an Indian girl from England where the story takes place.
A very interesting story about the 21-year-old Nikki who lives in London. She is the daughter of Indian immigrants, but has distanced herself from the traditional Sikh-community where she grew up. Although Nikki needs a job, and when she discovers the opportunity of becoming a creative writing's teacher at the Punjabi community center, she takes it. However, it turns out that Nikki's students are widowed pubjabi women who don't even know how to read or write. The story takes a drastic turn as the women start writing erotic stories. Something all the women enjoy doing. It frees them and the women become more open and independent.
So yeah, this is indeed an interesting story. It also contains some secrets and a crime story. In short, it's about the traditions of the Indian culture and how it in some ways decreases some individuals within the community. Especially women. It's about giving these women a voice, allowing them to be heard. It tells us that women also have desires that are as equally important as those of men.
A very interesting story about the 21-year-old Nikki who lives in London. She is the daughter of Indian immigrants, but has distanced herself from the traditional Sikh-community where she grew up. Although Nikki needs a job, and when she discovers the opportunity of becoming a creative writing's teacher at the Punjabi community center, she takes it. However, it turns out that Nikki's students are widowed pubjabi women who don't even know how to read or write. The story takes a drastic turn as the women start writing erotic stories. Something all the women enjoy doing. It frees them and the women become more open and independent.
So yeah, this is indeed an interesting story. It also contains some secrets and a crime story. In short, it's about the traditions of the Indian culture and how it in some ways decreases some individuals within the community. Especially women. It's about giving these women a voice, allowing them to be heard. It tells us that women also have desires that are as equally important as those of men.
Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson, 1998
This is the first book I purchased on the trip. I got it from a small bookstore in Hoi An in Vietnam. I'd heard about it before and found it really interesting so I got it. Without a doubt.
It's kind of hard to explain what this book is about without giving the entire story away. So let me just tell you what it teaches us. Very shortly. Because the book itself can be read within a few hours, but it teaches us some important life lessons about how to deal with the changes in our lives. Who Moved My Cheese teaches us how important it is that we anticipate change and that we don't expect everything to be the same as it's always been. Because changes occur no matter what. There is no way for us to stop changes from happening. We are taught how much easier our lives will become if we just accept change and move with it. Don't be stuck in the past! Move with the cheese (change). Accept, adapt and anticipate change!
It's kind of hard to explain what this book is about without giving the entire story away. So let me just tell you what it teaches us. Very shortly. Because the book itself can be read within a few hours, but it teaches us some important life lessons about how to deal with the changes in our lives. Who Moved My Cheese teaches us how important it is that we anticipate change and that we don't expect everything to be the same as it's always been. Because changes occur no matter what. There is no way for us to stop changes from happening. We are taught how much easier our lives will become if we just accept change and move with it. Don't be stuck in the past! Move with the cheese (change). Accept, adapt and anticipate change!
Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella, 2015
I got this novel from our last hostel in Los Angeles. The reason is that while we were staying right next to Venice Beach there was a cute bookstore that had this 'Blind date with a book'-campaign. So there were these random books wrapped up and the only thing that could help you decide whether or not to buy them was a small note on the front. I got two. One of them had a note saying something along the lines: "Shhh, can you keep a secret?" When I opened it, it was some erotic book about eavesdropping which did not catch my interest. I swapped it for Finding Audrey.
Audrey has a severe case of social anxiety. She doesn't even go outside. She can't hold eye contact with anyone but her younger brother. Audrey does not go to school and doesn't see anyone. She stays inside all day with the exception of the days she goes to see her doctor. However one day she meets her brother's friend Linus. The first time she meets him, she gets a bad panic attack. But she grows used to Linus. They develop a friendship. He helps her. And slowly, Audrey makes progress. She manages to go out a bit. It all takes time, but she is slowly getting better.
This is a typical young-adult fiction. It's also about young love, but most importantly it gives us an insight into social anxiety. It's a real thing that a lot of people struggle with. It can be hard to understand it, but it's important to be patient with the people suffering from it. Finding Audrey teaches us that change takes time. It's about allowing other people to see you and help find yourself when you feel like your completely lost in the world. There are always people out there to protect and help you!
And that's it, guys. Those are my short reviews on the few books I read while I was out seeing the world. Give them a chance! I enjoyed reading all of them :)
Audrey has a severe case of social anxiety. She doesn't even go outside. She can't hold eye contact with anyone but her younger brother. Audrey does not go to school and doesn't see anyone. She stays inside all day with the exception of the days she goes to see her doctor. However one day she meets her brother's friend Linus. The first time she meets him, she gets a bad panic attack. But she grows used to Linus. They develop a friendship. He helps her. And slowly, Audrey makes progress. She manages to go out a bit. It all takes time, but she is slowly getting better.
This is a typical young-adult fiction. It's also about young love, but most importantly it gives us an insight into social anxiety. It's a real thing that a lot of people struggle with. It can be hard to understand it, but it's important to be patient with the people suffering from it. Finding Audrey teaches us that change takes time. It's about allowing other people to see you and help find yourself when you feel like your completely lost in the world. There are always people out there to protect and help you!
And that's it, guys. Those are my short reviews on the few books I read while I was out seeing the world. Give them a chance! I enjoyed reading all of them :)
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