Books I Read: January

I read two books this January and love them both, i think its a good sign for this year. Here are the reviews but i'm trying to make it short and not like a synopsis. I hope this can light up your enthusiasm.

The Sun and Her Flowers 

Author: Rupi Kaur

Genre: Poetry

This one is the second time i was exposed to Rupi Kaur's works. I obviously read this one because of her first series i've read last year (read: milk and honey), cause i love it so much. I thought these two books were overrated cause i found it everywhere like e-ve-ry-whe-re. You might find one of these get featured in a typical aesthetic millenial girl's instagram post (sometimes next to a cup of latte) along with a hashtag easymonday haha but turns out they ARE actually a bunch of great poems. I basically love poem but never been really into english poem cause since i'm not a native english speaker sometimes i couldn't easily relate it and i always thought we have to have another level of understanding to be able to reveal a message behind one poem. I might say Rupi Kaur's works are finely decent modern poetry cause even she barely use a rhythm, she uses simple words and arranges it into a deeper meaning. The Sun and Her Flowers is divided into five chapters--wilting, falling, rooting, rising and blooming, it represents grief, loneliness, honoring roots, love and empowerment respectively. You can find many poems about the stages after broken heart, a lot of self-doubts but self esteems at the same way, the intimacy between humans or human and the surroundings and even about what does it feel to be an immigrant. My favorite chapter is falling, mostly dark sorrow poems but it's real. This one is my favorite poem from "falling" chapter and seems the one which influences the whole book..

this is the recipe of life
said my mother
as she held me in her arms as i wept
think of those flowers you plant
in the garden each year
they will teach you
that people too
must wilt
fall
root
rise
in order to bloom

It's What I Do - A Photographer's life of Love and War
Author: Lynsey Addario
Genre: Autobiography

Those who know me well know that biography is my favorite genre, so i definitely said yes to this one. Lynsey Addario is an American photographer who works mainly with the New York Times and National Geographic she covers conflict or underdeveloped zones such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Senegal, Libya, etc. You can say that this piece is basically a memoir of her working and travelling as a photojurnalist, but her story is beyond ordinary. I learned so much from this book, from how freelance photographer works and assigned to a certain place, the reality that most of photographers and journalists face with the publishers cause most of the times the media just simply have their own interest so when they think one picture could bring readers to a reversed perception, they will make it unpublished. I learned what does it feel to be in a conflict zone especially, although she is American, she told her story as a neutral outsider. She is not just reveal the worst things Taliban group have done but how bad American soldier dealing with middle eastern's culture which i believe become the negative influence for both American and Middle eastern people how they think about each other. She also depicted her interaction with the locals which i found so touching, like the story with her local driver that for me, it beautifully described how two different people from very different culture trying to get to know each other and finally be able to learn from each other. You can find this book is so woman empowering cause she not just told about her 'unusual' woman career but also included her personal life story, how most of women are forced to be in a situation where she has to choose between personal life and career and how it is important for women to have a fully supportive partner. I think this book is so emotional not just because it mostly said about the irony of war but it is more because it was narrated by a women. I'm citing one of my favorite part when she was asked by one of her friend at a drink party, "So tell me about your last assignment? was it dangerous? have you ever almost died?" after came back from a horrible war in Afghanistan, she answered,

"Yeah Um I guess. It was really intense. we were getting shot at almost every day and then we went on this big mission, where we got ambushed by the Taliban"

Then she continue with a narration,

And suddenly i felt as if words were completely inadequate to describe what had just endured . How could I describe the disconnect between soldier's mission in Afghanistan and the Afghan's desire to be left alone? How could i describe the terror i felt when i was crouching behind the tipped-over log, with bullets skimming the top of my head, the sadness of seeing Rougle's body in bag, of seeing these strapping American boys in their twenties reduced to tears and horror after being overrun by an enemy they never saw? How could I describe that feeling of freedom and exhilaration i had when i was living in the dirt in a place like Camp Vegas, where life's utter necessities, like water, food, sleep and staying alive, were all that mattered? How could i describe how i was still trembling from the trauma of the ambush, and still regretting flying out ahead of Elizabeth, and chastising myself for being an in adequate journalist? How could i describe how important i thought it was to be there, with the troops in Afghanistan and in Iraq, to document my generation's War on Terror without sounding lofty and self-important?

She went to a restroom and could not stop crying after that.

This book is definitely eye opening and must-read piece for everyones these days as one of the reasons why a war is never a solution. There are many interesting stories that often got me surprised, crying a bit and motivated, which i can't put it all here. She ended this book nicely with..

..but it's my choice, i choose to live in peace and witness war, to experience the worst in people but to remember the beauty