Meanwhile...

I hate starting my posts like this-----> It has been a while...

Am tempted to though, because indeed...it has been a while. And when "it has been a while", it also means it has been busy...it has been crazy...and sometimes it means it hasn't been good either. It is 3 months since my last post and I am deeply ashamed.

The good thing though is I have still been reading and I have managed to read 5 books at least. Not too bad eh?

So let's see how well my memory serves me on the first two...

The Girl Next Door by Elizabeth Noble

The title of the book lies. This book is hardly about the girl next door but more about each and everyone living in an apartment complex in New York's Upper East Side and their lives! I think a more appropriate title would have been "All about the Neighbours" :-) but that not withstanding, it's a wonderful book.

The main focus of the book is Eve who is English and has just moved to New York with her husband who is taking up a high flying job. Soon, Eve finds herself stuck in the house with not much to do (In bloody NEW YORK????). She eventually befriends Violet, one of her elderly neighbours who is originally from England.Violet has lived in the US for a long time.

INTERLUDE: At this point, I rudely discover that a Peanut butter & Jelly sandwich is really just bread with Peanut butter  and JAM...Yes..JAM! Why the Americans call it jelly is beyond me. All these years I have secretly relished having one...even anticipating its deliciousness (otherwise why do they...the Americans.... talk about it all the time?). At this point...I think about Chimamanda Adichie's TEDEx presentation on "The danger of a single story". It takes me reading a book written by an English author and set in America to know this basic fact...that there are no pomp and bells involved in a peanut butter & jelly sandwich! Even recalling this annoys me. Back to the story......

What is the essence of this book then? The Author interweaves Eve's story with that of Violet and all their other neighbours. There is the gay couple (for political correctness I suppose otherwise there isn't much to tell about them) one of whom is a lawyer, then there are the single girls (the introvert, the drop dead gorgeous girl and the diva). There is also the rich boy with a trust fund, the perfect couple with two little perfect children and the imperfect couple who hardly speak to each other any more and are contemplating divorce. There is also the old man who hates the gay couple and would send them to hell himself if he could. He later on dies in his apartment and nobody notices until he has been dead for a number of days. The classic American tale. The book is simply a medley of stories and not a moment of boredom!

At some point in the story, Eve gets pregnant and is happy to have something to focus on. As the story progresses and the readers are busy waiting for the wonderful birth of Eve's baby....the author gives the story a twist. Eve goes into premature labour and delivers a baby girl who lives only for a month. At this point of the story....I have to stop reading the book for a little while because as the story unfolds...it only makes me cry. As a mother, I deeply relate to Eve's anguish and pain. I also like to cry every once in a while for reasons that do not involve my own life. It's healthy. A healthy excuse to cry :-) i.e.! To top it all, the author brings out Violet's own pain and anguish story about loosing her husband and her 5 year old daughter. Am happy when the book finally ends and I can stop crying! YES..YES! I cried about fictional characters Elizabeth Noble created in her head but that right there...THAT is the power of a true author.

All in all it is a good read...though not the kind of book that will keep you up late into the night because you simply cannot put it down.

The Marriage Bureau for Rich People by Farahad Zama

Take a good look at the cover. Take another good look. Not exactly attractive...makes you wonder what kind of book this really is. I picked it up...then put it down again but something drew me back and I decided to give it a try. Boy am I glad that I did!

The book is set in rural India. First problem....rural India? Second problem...Marriage Bureau? Still...something keeps me going. And here is why.....

Bored with retirement, Mr. Ali sets up a desk, puts up a sign, and waits for customers for his new matchmaking business. You would think with all the online sites available, a matchmaking business (its all analogue) wouldn't make sense at all. But this is India and that is what makes a difference. Any Indian family with a daughter looks forward to finding a husband for her. Its not easy though due to the deeply rooted cultural beliefs THAT COMPLICATE EVERYTHING. Perhaps I should have been born there...then that would be one headache off my mind. I would only need to know these things;Where, What time, What do I wear? Is he human?

Within no time, Mr Ali's business is booming and he makes his first perfect match...then a second...and a third. Soon he is overwhelmed and needs an assistant! It may all sound easy but there is a lot of complexity involved due to the caste system, family preferences, financial capability etc. Not once does love come into the equation. Soon, Mr. Ali is able to get an assistant, thanks to his wife. This book is really about her story.

I will leave you to find out more if you so wish. When I finally finish reading the book, I have a big smile on my face...a high... fueled by a renewed hope and belief in love. It only lasts for the remainder of my evening....but while it last....I ride the wave for all its worth.

Blistering barnacles!!! (You know what am talking about if you followed the Tin Tin series)....I have 3 more books to talk about! Till next time....

Happy New Reading!

So, the New Year is here....and with all the expectations that come with the newness and with the fact that it is a Jubilee Year. I plan on NOT getting disappointed and getting all the jubilee I can! If there will be a measure of how much jubilation one has experienced at the end of the year....I plan on being at the top of the list.

I am done with my first book of this year and I will write about it soon..as soon as the pressure from my boss is off for a little while! :-) . Actually, I have to review my last read of 2012..and then get to my 2013 one. Don't worry though...I will deliver :-)

All in all...am grateful for the ability to read. Something we often take for granted. Yes..am very glad that I can read. It is truly... a beautifully PURE gift!! 

Happy Reading in 2013!

An unexpected delight!

Am strolling through the streets of Nairobi, headed to the salon when I came across a street vendor selling second hand books at a more than reasonable price. Of course, I had to stop. I picked up a couple of books for Levi and 2 for myself. The books I picked for myself were randomly chosen. I had not heard of the authors before and I only briefly read the descriptions. One was a love story (I was in need of one) and the other a detective story. Nice balance...don't you think? Between love and crime.  Both of these books set me back Kshs 100 (slightly over 1 USD). Unbelievable especially given the pleasure I derive from reading. WAY WAY More than my money's worth!

I read the love story first. As I mentioned, I was in need of soapy, mushy story and this was to be delivered by one through DAKOTA HOME by Debbie Macomber. Turns out it's part of a whole series based on a little town [Buffalo Valley] in..you guessed it. Dakota. 

Dakota Home, Dakota Born, Always Dakota, Buffalo Valley etc runs the series. After reading Dakota Home, I must say that I wouldn't mind reading the rest. 

The book surprised me simply because it was not based on one love story....but a couple of them between several couples living in Buffalo Valley though one particular story is given prominence. It's a typical story with an unbelievable ending but oh well, what to do. What I liked about the book though was in between one or two love scenes, the author tells the story of the town..its slow death and eventually it's revival. That's the real story actually.

One of the secondary love stories is a story of a single mum who falls in love and the struggles involved especially with regards to her son accepting her new love. The other story I loved is one of reconciliation between a married couple on the road to a divorce. There is also the story of this cocky,  rich, handsome heir who is totally thrown off by this beautiful lady who hardly cares if he exists whilst he is used to women falling all over themselves to get his attention. 

In conclusion...it's not your usual mundane romance novel and I have had my fair share of those...a carton or two full of Mills & Boons and Harlequins and other titles I cannot even remember. 

PLOTS & ERRORS by Jill McGown

Am sure you have all heard of the phrase or cliche' "The plot thickens". Now...in this book....the plot not only thickens, it balloons into a gigantic maze that leaves the reader REELING! 

I simply loved it! It's been a long time since I have been tempted to take a book to the loo cos I couldn't put it down...but to the loo we went!  The book is based on a thrilling plot based on the rich and wealthy Esterbrook family

Pick it up..if you may and you will not be disappointed. That's all I'll say otherwise I will just spoil it for you. I must mention though that Jill McGown is a real detective...thus I believe, why this story or should I say PLOT is really EXCELLENT. The Esterbrooks do not disappoint.

To quote The Times (London) "McGown always manages to people her books with characters who are entirely believable, fascinating human beings. This is a rare skills....Jill McGown is one of the most seriously underrated crime novelists around". I fully agree.

And now...to my next stop by the Street Vendor's corner.

WHAT DELIGHT!!! 

Three choices we make daily.....

I believe I have heard two leadership guru's say this statement in one way or another...."Greatness is not something that you seek out to achieve as an end result to a process...it is something that happens (or you do) daily"

If one was to critically examine the paths and stories behind great people, for sure the above statement would be confirmed. Greatness cannot be attributed to a single event within ones life. Even though to the outside world, it may seem so....the reality is, a lot of work, thought, effort has happened daily in that person's life in order to culminate in that one single event.

Mandela's triumph in the 1990's when South Africa was freed from Apartheid did not lie in that one single day. It was a long journey that included 27 years in prison. Behind every Olympic gold medal won, you will find hard work, determination, self-drive, tears, pain, hurt, sacrifice..... borne over many many days. I believe you would also agree with the fact that not every greatness story makes it to the headlines...not every hero is celebrated or remembered. Where am I leading to? The book. Everyday Greatness. A book filled with the kind of greatness we never get to hear about or see in the headlines. This type of greatness happens in our lives everyday, with the people around us at home, at work, on the street..everywhere but many times, nobody is there to tell the story, take a picture and shout about it from the rooftop. Yet...greatness happens and it will continue to do so. It's rare to find a book that captures these stories all in one....and I can tell you for sure..I found the book! I found it...I say.

The title of the book has two meanings to me.

1. Everyday Greatness - As in....the day to day things that we do, the choices that we make, the values that we choose that culminate in 'Greatness" as I inferred above.

2. Everyday Greatness - As in.... what we can term as "kawaida" (normal) acts that occur in our lives daily and will never be highlighted in the news or papers, yet matters a lot. The kind of greatness that we casually 'walk by" in the streets without a single glance...the kind of greatness that happens in our homes daily.

When you examine the stories in this book...they touch on either one of the above areas....and sometimes both. I treasure this book very much, not only because it was given me as a gift by someone dear to me at FranklinCovey (Stephen Covey's organisation) but because when I started reading it, the stories touched me so deeply, so so movingly that tears come to my eyes when I remember some of them. ITS A MUST READ and here's why.

Everyday Greatness has a foreword and insights from the late Dr. Stephen Covey but really....it's a combination of stories previously published by the Reader's Digest. To quote Dr. Covey's introduction ...

"Occasionally, the world witnesses a heroic feat or discovers a person with rare talent...But most people know there is another type of greatness that tends to be more quiet by nature, one that generally escapes the headlines. Yet it is a greatness that in opinion is deserving of higher honour, even more respect. I call it Everyday Greatness."

Dr. Covey's introduction further goes into breaking down the roots of Everyday Greatness. He reckons that the answer lies in three daily choices, choices that each of us make every day of our life, whether we are consciously aware of them or not. Those choices are: -

1. The Choice to Act - i.e. Will we act upon life or will we merely be acted upon? 
2. The Choice of Purpose - Many of us make the choice to act, only to find that we made poor choices - choices that turned out to be of no value to ourselves or to others, some perhaps even hurtful. So alone, the choice to act is not sufficient. To what ends or purpose will our daily choices lead?
3. The Choice for Principles - Enjoying a life rich in meaning and progress - a life of Everyday greatness - comes only as we live in harmony with timeless, universal principles. Will we live our lives in accordance with proven principles or will we suffer the consequences of not doing so?

Dr. Covey reckons that the people who exhibit Everyday Greatness in today's world - distinguish themselves through their responses to these three choices. The collection of stories he says, is not intended to highlight what others have done or said, but rather to encourage you to examine your own life. What YOU contribute on a daily basis. How you treat people. How you use your time. Whether you are doing good or doing your best. He asks some pertinent questions in ending his introduction.

- Is your life like driftwood being tossed to and fro, or are you instead making your own waves and going in directions you - by choice - want to go? 

- To what ends, or purposes, are your daily choices leading? To what ends, or purposes, would you like them to lead? 

- Is your life in harmony with timeless, universal principles? 

The stories in the book are categorised into 21 different principles like Courage, Humility, Respect, Vision, Innovation, Unity, Empathy etc. 

ITS A GREAT READ! Pick it up as soon as possible.

Of Gold, Pride & the River Piedra....

It's been a long time coming....and this is the last time I want to use that phrase again!

It's been a marathon month for me...August that is. Other than being my birthday month, I had a lot going on both in my professional and personal life....and in between I have only managed to squeeze in a few hours of reading, aside from academic studying.

I have been juggling between three books: -

- John Maxwell's Leadership Gold which is on my Start! Stop! list. I intend on getting it out of that list.

- Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen

- By the River Piedra, I sat down and Wept by Paulo Coelho

All three are amazing books. My highlights so far have been: -

Leadership Gold - A combination of the "best" leadership lessons from John Maxwell. Each page, each chapter is full of leadership nuggets and real life experiences that are truly enriching. I struggle with leading people a lot as I would rather NOT but his book is helping me quite a bit and I can see improvements in my leadership skills. What I love about JM is that he is so real and is not afraid to share the leadership mistakes he has made in the past. I also love the fact that this copy am reading was autographed by him...:-).....make its all the more special.

Pride and Prejudice - Am still trying to get over the scramble for husbands in this story....and how a good husband target was first determined by how much he earned a year - interesting how certain things never change, century in, century out. What am loving about this book is the depth and crisp quality of the English....and whilst am reading it, I can't help but wish AND hope that my brain is absorbing the new words....the grammar.

By the River Piedra, I sat down and wept - I started this one yesterday and immediately one can sense the depth that only comes for Paulo Coelho's writing. I could not help but think about how a writer can not give what he or she is not, or does not have. I believe the depth of his work is a reflection of who he is.  It's still too early to comment...but all I can say is that it's a love story like no other!

I read on....

A long time coming

Hi guys!

Boy..hasn't it been a while. Each time I see a copy of "Living History" am reminded of how I haven't finished penning down my thoughts. It's been a busy time....and whilst I have exams around the corner, I feel compelled to finally finish this so that once am fully back post-exams....we can look at a new book...isn't it?

Now...to begin with, I finished reading the book a couple of weeks back and I must say...the details are foggy and grey ;-). Please do forgive me. I rushed through the last couple of pages....dying to finish the damn book! Like I had said earlier....it's NOT an easy, breezy read. Now that am done with the book.....this is what I can say in summary..

She is Human!

Am talking about Hillary Rodham Clinton of course (just in case you are reading my blog for the first time). She is simply human. I can confirm that she had some really good days....some bad days....and some awful days. Like the day she found out from Bill that he had been lying to her all along about the Lewinsky story. She takes the reader behind the scenes to witness a glimpse of her pain...and the fact that she behaved like any other woman....or so we would like to think. The truth is, she controlled her pain, she respected her husband and did not put him down publicly and she took time out to grieve and deal with her pain. She never brought her drama to the public....at least from what I know. And that, people....that is not how every other woman would take it. In times like this, we like to bring the drama on...we turn it to full volume, so that all the neighbours can hear it (at least), see it and sometimes, we take the drama over to the neighbours house too. We rave and rant and want to show the world how "wronged" we are and how "men are all lying, cheating "xxxx". Well, it's normal to WANT to react that way. What takes a lot of effort, grace and maturity is reacting the way Hillary did. She certainly gave Bill a piece of her mind but in the public eye, she carried her pain with maturity and grace. Now, that's a woman I admire. Well...on her humanity again, as you read the book, you will discover she made a couple of blunders and is quick to admit them. So there....she is human.

A Political Power House

Bill didn't introduce Hillary to politics. It was running in her veins all along. She did a lot of work prior to meeting him and continued with it after they started dating and after they were married. I wish I could bore you with the details herein....but one bored person is enough. Let's not spread it to the rest of the world. If you love politics and especially are interested in America's political history, please read the book. It's full of historical details and other nuggets on the Clinton Administration. A part of me found it fascinating and if I applied myself, I would most certainly have delved into it but I chose not to. Perhaps in the next couple of years when I develop a keener interest in politics, I will take time to re-read the book again.

Technical Competence

Loads and loads of it! Pouring out of her ears, nose and mouth...but I suppose you already knew that...didn't you?

Protective Mother

She did her best to keep Chelsea out of the media and constantly protected her against any undue attention.

Sometimes, what we are looking for is an easy read, a light hearted book - this is not it. However, if you are looking for a serious, educative read full of political nuggets....pick up this book now!

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - A tribute to the late Stephen R. Covey

I first heard of the book from my sister who had interacted with his material. In a word, she told me that I simple had to attend the programme. I never thought that I would have an opportunity to interact deeply with his material, leave alone meet him in person....but only God knows the future....and if he had told me what lay ahead, I would have probably told me "you've got to be kidding".

In 2004, the impossible became possible and I began working with the organization that represented Dr. Covey's organization locally. I got the opportunity to read the book and attend the 3 day programme. As the people who had that privilege can attest - it was and still remains today an absolutely life changing experience! We are not talking about flimsy, self-help mambo jambo but rather deep reaching, practical life principles! His video's were piercing, provoking - honestly, only a blind and deaf person would walk away unchanged because you CANNOT interact with his material and remain the same.

When I finally got to meet him in 2006, it was such a pleasurable experience. He is one of the few people I have met who smiles with his eyes and has such a deep, honest, warm gaze that reaches deep into your heart. I could see immediately, that he lives what he teaches. His first question to me was "Vickee...do you have a boyfriend?" :-). I can't remember what I told him....only that I blushed and blushed! I should have asked him if one of his sons was still single ;-). My colleagues and I spent one and a half hours locked up in a room with him....and we got to share some special moments. One of the funny things he taught us was to not to say "Cheers" as we took photos but rather to say 'Eight" because it's impossible to say "Eight" without smiling. Try it and see! He was warm, kind, loving and an absolute gentleman. Here we are trying the eight thing out!

Say "Eight"! - Nairobi, Kenya

Out of all the 'Guru's" I have met.....I admired him the most. A few years later, I had the privilege of heading the section that oversaw the partnership with FranklinCovey, SA and I got the opportunity to delve deeper into his material around Time Management, Execution, Leadership, Trust etc. Solid...ROCK SOLID is all I can say. Many organizations and individuals globally have greatly benefited from his works. Around execution, I cannot forget the processes I learnt from the "4 Disciplines of Execution" or 4Dx as it is known internally within FranklinCovey. I also had the opportunity to meet him again in Cape Town in 2008.

As a parent, I plan to bring up my son knowing the love of Jesus Christ & his principles PLUS the 7 Habits as part of the life principles that he MUST live by and pass on to generations to come. I have a copy of the " The 7 Habits for Kids", beautifully illustrated and waiting for Levi to learn how to read.

I feel such a deep sadness at his passing but am more determined to make sure that I do the things I have purposed to do around sharing his material. One of the key ones is giving out his books to students who are performing poorly in school and who have given up on themselves as I believe the principles can transform their lives. Here is a summary of the 7 Habits.

RIP SRC...true to your teachings, you have left a strong LEGACY.

I shed tears for you sir.....I truly do!

Other Books by Dr. Stephen R. Covey

• The Leader in Me
• First Things First
• The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness
• Living the 7 Habits
• Beyond the 7 Habits
• FOCUS
• AND MANY MORE!

For more information, visit www.stephencovey.com or www.franklincovey.com


If you have never read the 7 Habits, go out and buy a copy now!