Reviews Of My Summer 2020 Reads

Summer Reading 2020
Summer Reading 2020

I love to read all year round, but especially in the summertime ! There is nothing more peaceful for me than reading outside on a sunny, warm day or evening. It’s how I self-care, and it’s how I relax.

Here are my quick reviews of some of the books I read this summer.

Salt Houses by Hala Alyan
Salt Houses by Hala Alyan

Salt Houses by Hala Alyan

Salt Houses hit close to home as it is set in the Middle East. It follows four generations of the Yacoub  family as they are forced out of Palestine and into neighboring countries such as Kuwait and Lebanon. We follow the family’s experience during defining moments of Arab history starting in the 1960s. And, as happens in many Arab families, various members end up living all over the world, including Paris and Boston.

Each generation faces challenges, including political and religious leanings, as well as family and relationship struggles.

I loved this book because I could identify with the emotions of having to leave one’s home and country and having to find one’s way in the world while still struggling with growing up, day-to-day issues, and living within cultural expectations. Continue reading

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9 Book Reviews From My Recent Spring/Summer Reads

Educated by Tara Westover
Educated by Tara Westover

One of my recent posts, on self-care, talked about my love for reading and how important it is in my daily life. Over the years, I have gone through phases, sometimes reading a lot and sometimes, especially when my kids were younger, not reading much at all other than magazines and newspapers. Reading is one of my favorite things to do, ever. It’s relaxing and it calms me down. It educates and entertains me. And, it connects me to periods in history that only books can do.

My earliest memory of reading is indelible: reading about Dick and Jane the summer before I entered Kindergarten. Growing up in an expat community in Saudi Arabia and reading about the neighborhoods and adventures of these siblings and their parents captured my imagination and my love for anything American. I don’t remember any other books or authors from that time of my life, other than how good I felt when I was reading. Continue reading

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