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Showing posts with the label cultural

H = Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

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“You want to know what weakness is? Weakness is treating someone as though they belong to you. Strength is knowing that everyone belongs to themselves.” ― Yaa Gyasi, Homegoing SPOILER ALERT!  I couldn't make myself cut down my review to avoid them. I feel like this book should be taught in schools. It's basically about the birth of racism in America. It starts in Africa, where villagers on the Gold Coast strike a deal with the Europeans. The locals are willing to facilitate the trade of other Africans from other villages in exchange for payment. Effia and Esi, two sisters who will never meet, are unfortunately worlds apart. Effia will marry into a life of luxury, while Esi will be sold into slavery. I couldn't really figure out how to review this book, without giving spoilers. I had a US History teacher lecture once on slavery: He said during the days of slave trade, a black woman had more value to a plantation owner than a black man because a woman could be used to make mo...

The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living by Meik Wiking

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  "Hygge is humble and slow. It is choosing rustic over new, simple over posh and ambience over excitement." Denmark has been voted one of the happiest nations in the world, and that's largely attributed to their concept of Hygge. Hygge is all about creating a quiet and warm atmosphere and taking time to enjoy the simple things in life. I feel like the book spoke to me on a personal level, as the secret to Denmark's happiness includes a lot of things I already enjoy doing. I'm no stranger to curling up with a hot cocoa and a good book or a night out by a campfire. It's always been important to me to make time to connect with nature, and it seems strange to me that others refuse to leave their houses... Now I find there's an entire country who believes this is the correct way to live. It seems Denmark took, what I always considered to be the introvert's way, and made it into a social event. In this I missed the mark, as I struggle to find connections in...