Review--Little Princes by Conor Grennan

Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal by Conor Grennan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Conor Grennan is an American traveling the world for one year.  One of his planned stops on his journey is at Little Princes orphanage in Nepal.  After this 3 months stay at the orphanage, he promises the children that he would return in one years time.  Hardly did volunteers return to the orphanage, after they left. Conor was abe to keep his promise and after his return he set out on a true journey...to find the families of the children at Little Princes and other orphanages in the area.  He set up a foundation in order to fund this necessary endeavor.  Many of the children had been taken from their homes by child traffickers with the promise to provide a better life for the children  Many of these parents had no idea where their children were and just as many children thought their parents were dead. Conor ended up staying in Nepal for the next three years helping reconnect Nepal's lost children with their families.

Many times when we do volunteer work whether it is within our own country or abroad, we go into it thinking how much good we are going to do for someone else.  What really is the case is that the volunteer is the one who ends up benefiting the most.  Hearts and minds are forever changed.  We implore our friends and family to help with the cause we are involved in and pray that we are making a difference.  I have never met anyone who has not had their lives impacted by volunteer work.

Conor is no exception.  He has made friends with these children, learned something new about a different culture and has taught us all something new with this book.  Little Princes, has touched my heart and I'm eager to know how the children of Nepal are doing now after all of the help that Conor has brought to the region.  You can find out  more about Conor's work visit http://www.nextgenerationnepal.org/


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Review--Thanks for the Memories by Cecelia Ahern

Thanks for the Memories by Cecelia Ahern
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Justin Hancock is a guest lecturer at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland.  He is also a curator for a museum in London which is his new home.  Recently divorced and uprooted from Chicago to be closer to his daughter who is studying ballet.

Joyce wakes up in the hospital to discover that she has just lost her baby and she now knows a lot of things she didn't know before.  Especially Latin and about European architecture.  How could she just know these things?

Then when Joyce leaves the hospital and as Justin is leaving Dublin to return to London, a chance encounter.  When they see each other there is an instant connection.  One that neither of them can explain, but both of them feel.  When they 'run' into each other throughout London and Dublin, but never get the chance to officially meet the connection is stronger.  But what is it that is drawing these two closer together?

Thanks for the Memories reminds me a lot of the movie Return to Me with Minnie Driver.  Joyce has somehow 'inherited' all of Justin's memories, thoughts, and intelligence, from one simple act of kindness.  Can you imagine waking up in the hospital one day and suddenly you are fluent in another language that just a few days earlier you wouldn't even know existed.  Seeing people you have never met, but feeling as if you are old friends.

This was a cute story that makes you think about the connections people can have without ever realizing it.  This book made me laugh out loud a few times and it definitely made me think about what goes into our bodies at the hospital.  This is a great chick-lit book.


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How Are You Readin'?

The Ways I Read

There used to be a time when, if you wanted to read a book, you'd have to go to the library, borrow it from a friend, or buy it.  Now, in this digital age, you can have a book in your hand in a matter of seconds.   Who would have thought something like that could ever happen.  These days, not only can you get a book in a matter of moments, you can also get an audiobook in a matter of seconds.  There are so many different ways to access a book these days, it's a wonder why we have so much crime.  Everyone should be spending their time reading all these wonderful(mostly) things at our disposal.

I have two Kindles that I use to read on.  My Kindle keyboard which I do not keep linked to wi-fi and the original Kindle Fire.  I use that mostly at night to read when everyone has gone to bed.  Every once in a while, I will also read on my phone.  This is my least favorite way.  My phone is way to small and making the font bigger just doesn't do the job.  But, when I have to, I do use the phone and mostly use the Aldiko app for that.

Kindle Fire, Kindle Keyboard, Android Phone

On the rare occasion when I get a book that I can't read through any of the above mentioned devices, then I will read through my computer on Adobe Digital Editions.  This takes me a lot longer to get through a book because I don't want to sit in front of the computer for that long. 

I also have started to listen to a lot of books through my iPod.  I never have been a big audiobook listener, but it does make the time pass a lot quicker while cleaning the house.  I can usually get through a book, depending on it's length, in 1-3 days.  It's quite convenient, and I can borrow one from the library online and have it on my iPod within 10 mins.   I borrow all of my audiobooks from Overdrive.  

iPod Touch

Finally, and the most traditional is a good old book!!  Something you can touch, feel, smell.  Something you can use your fancy bookmarks in.  Hardcover or paperback, it doesn't really matter to me.  I will always read physical books.  It may not be as often as it was years ago, but I can't give them up!  

Hardcover or Paperback

No matter what or how you read, it's a great hobby to have.  Books can take you to faraway places, or teach you something new.  You can connect with millions of people all over the world, just from reading the same book.   

Please share with me in the comments below how and what you're readin'!!