by Lisa Niver Rajna that have appeared at Huffington Post Books, Huffington Post World, Technorati.com, Wandering Educators, Jewish Journal and Westside Today.

Revolution 2020: Does Life Imitate Art? by Chetan Bhagat 

Huffington Post World Section: Reading Chetan Bhagat‘s Revolution 2020 in December 2012 while traveling by bus throughout India, it has seemed that art imitates life. The newspaper has been alive with the protests in the street with the “pink revolution.” The people of India are angry about the mistreatment of women and the lack of government response and protection.

Read the full article here.

The Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian

Bohjalian’s narrator tells us: “History does matter. There is a line connecting the Armenians and the Jews and the Cambodians and the Serbs and the Rwandans. There are obviously more, but, really how much genocide can one sentence take?” I agree with the Jewish World Watch that we must not stand idly by, and I want to recognize his story and all it represents on this day, April 24.

To read the full post: CLICK HERE

Have Mother, Will Travel by Mia and Claire Fontaine

Can Mothers and Daughters be friends or are they always foes? Mia and Claire Fontaine’s travels together in Have Mother, Will Travel: A Mother and Daughter Discover Themselves, Each Other, and the World
tell a story in two voices of each women finding their footing in their complicated lives. One in a quarter life crisis and one in a mid-life crisis–although they desire to support each other, they have been ignoring each other. Mia wonders how her mother could move across the country, bought a crumbling home which mirrors the state of her latest marriage and changed to a completely unsuitable job. As she says, “Mom, is this how you pictured your life would be when you’re fifty?” CLICK HERE to read my full review.

The Voluntourist by Ken Budd

The Voluntourist: A Six-Country Tale of Love, Loss, Fatherhood, Fate, and Singing Bon Jovi i Bethlehemby Ken Budd starts with the line, “I want to live a life that matters,” and so he does. Inspired by the need to deal with the loss of his father, he searches for answers, but this quest requires a passport and patience. Patience to wait in line at customs, for airplanes, for young children in China and Costa Rica, for Ecuadorian birds to fly in the cloud forest, and for all things in Palestine. During his journey, he states, “I’m not only working for free, I’m paying for the privilege.” Read the full review

Will YOU Answer the Call?

In Chetan Bhagat’s One Night at the Call Center, six Indian coworkers share their life stories while working together during one night at Connexions. Due to their hours, the story begins with Shyam Mehra (Sam Marcy) missing a family wedding. Over the course of the narrative, each team member reveals various secrets, dramas and personal traumas. Issues from arranged marriage to relations between genders and generations were all pertinent issues dealt with in this novel. At one point, on the verge of personal and physical disaster, the team is asked, “Are you going to answer the call?”

Read the full article

Sri Lanka: To Go or Not To Go?

The conflict is estimated to have killed up to 80,000 people with over one million displaced…Both sides may have committed war crimes…Sri Lankan refugees are still living in transit camps while the land is being de-mined…The government continues to hold 11,000 alleged LTTE in ‘rehabilitation centers with no legal representation, no access by human rights groups or relatives.” BOOKS:  Not Quite Paradise: An American Sojourn in Sri Lanka
by Adele Barker. Ru Freedman’s A Disobedient Girl: A Novel Michael Ondaatje’s Anil’s Ghost: A Novel

The Tao of Travel by Paul Theroux

Paul Theroux and Lisa Niver Rajna

His new book talks about types of travelers and travel books: those in search of food, who travel to break a record, who travel alone or “lie” about being alone, learning about how long do people stay in a place, those who survive an ordeal, those who never actually went to a place they write about, and those who stay home like Emily Dickinson. I enjoyed hearing the categories from the books and his incredible anecdotes about different authors and locations.

In answer to the question, “are you still traveling?,” Theroux said “it is a stimulating way to live my life.” I agree travel is amazing. When asked about writing, he said, “Writing is not hard. Living is hard. Being a plumber lying on your back is hard; writing is not hard. Art is easy. Life is difficult.” Read the full article

Gorillaland by Greg Cummings

Lisa Niver Rajna, Greg Cummings, Batman and Richard Bangs

Greg Cumming’s Gorillaland describes a compelling and terrifying trip through the heart of Africa. The reader is treated to a cast of characters like individual strings in a Byzantine intrigue, from the pristine to the corrupt, to the archetypal and historical. When each is tightened into place and woven more completely together the story’s tapestry reveals the chaos, greed, natural beauty and power of Earth’s largest continent. Read the full review on Technorati.com

Glass Geishas by Susanna Quinn

Susanna Quinn’s Glass Geishas is a compelling and cautionary tale. Just reading the sub-heading: “Every Girls Has Her Price,” I was drawn in. From the first lines of the prologue, “Breathe in, Breathe out,” I felt like I fell down a rabbit hole. What world had I tumbled into?

The stories of young blond Western girls made me think of my hometown of Hollywood, where naive young girls hope to make it “big.” The mystery of “Where is Annabelle?” and the drama of Julia not knowing Steph, and the many parallels of Mrs. Sato’s daughter, and Mama-san’s desire to support her missing daughter all create a fascinating read. I rooted for the main character, Steph, at every turn and could not put this book down. Read the entire review.

Tony Danza’s I’d Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had

Photo Credit: Thinkfactory Media/Barbara Johnston

Book Review: I’d Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had, by Tony Danza

“Never smile before Christmas…They will eat you alive.” This advice, given to countless new teachers for decades, is given to Tony Danza as he starts his next adventure as an educator. Danza’s warm banter makes me feel I have a front row seat in his classroom and to his dramatic moments—crying over classroom poor performance (his), enthusiasm for team sports (staying in Philly instead of returning to Los Angeles for Thanksgiving), encouraging other teachers in a talent show, and field trips to Washington DC and New York City. Extravadanza, the student run show, raises money for the crisis in Haiti—at every step you can hear Danza engaging students in their own learning.

Cruising Attitude by Heather Poole

In Heather Poole’s insider memoir, Cruising Attitude: Tales of Crashpads, Crew Drama, and Crazy Passengers at 35,000 Feet, she says, “Just goes to show anything can happen if you just take a chance!” Her story will inspire many to finally take that next step and make their dreams a reality. While her anecdotes are not all of the fairy tale variety, many of her moments along the path to dream come true are sticky in many unpleasant ways! But she does share her hopes, and her disappointments and she does get to live the life she imagined. Read the full book review at Wandering Educators.

The Good Girl’s Guide to Getting Lost

by Rachel Friedman

Twenty Miles Per Cookie

Here We Are and There We Go  by Jill Dobbe

In Here We Are & There We Go: Teaching and Traveling with Kids in Tow, author and teacher Jill Dobbe tells a revealing tale of naive travelers turning into global citizens. She and her husband, who are both teachers, decide on a whim in July 1991 to move their family of four to Guam and teach overseas. As she says, “At times it was frightening and we often asked ourselves, “What did we do?” but it also made Dan and I stronger and closer as we had to rely on each other for advice, help and friendship.” It is clear that they did not realize all they would learn and suffer from living abroad, but during their years of teaching in different countries, their fantastic experiences seem to outshine the daily dramas and hardships of working in foreign lands. Read the full review.

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