Tag Archives: Books

Day 2648: The President’s Keepers: Those Keeping Zuma in Power and Out of Prison by Jacques Pauw

“A pattern of appointing cronies and loyalists in key positions emerged at the outset of Zuma’s presidency. He was mindful that he could still be brought to book for corruption in the future, and set in motion a shadow security state that would undermine the independence of the police and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).”
― Jacques Pauw, The President’s Keepers: Those Keeping Zuma in Power and Out of Prison

 

It’s 1 : 40    PM on day 2648 of my journey towards independence and I managed to  pray,  read  Malachi 3:1 and promote my 50 New Feet Campaign benefiting MiracleFeet –-raised $5 126 only $7 374 more to raise by June 17, 2018 to help 50 kids with clubfoot (thanks to everyone who has helped out so far).

 

Yesterday I finally finished reading The President’s Keepers: Those Keeping Zuma in Power and Out of Prison by Jacques Pauw the book is about how South Africa’s current President, Jacob Zuma, has used his position to create a shadow state in order to feed his greed and keep himself out of prison I was devastated to find out the President of my country has sold my country to get rich while ordinary South Africans languish in poverty it’s just not right, it’s not fair… it reminded me of the last line in Animal Farm “The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.”

Day 2535: Born A Crime by Trevor Noah

“People thought my mom was crazy. Ice rinks and drive-ins and suburbs, these things were izinto zabelungu — the things of white people. So many people had internalized the logic of apartheid and made it their own. Why teach a black child white things? Neighbors and relatives used to pester my mom: ‘Why do this? Why show him the world when he’s never going to leave the ghetto?’

 

‘Because,’ she would say, ‘even if he never leaves the ghetto, he will know that the ghetto is not the world. If that is all I accomplish, I’ve done enough.”

 

― Trevor Noah, Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood

It’s 12 : 38 PM on day 2535 of my journey towards independence and I managed to pray, read 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 have breakfast  and promote my 50 New Feet Campaign benefiting MiracleFeet – raised to $3 125 only $9 375 more to raise by June 17, 2018 to help 50 kids with clubfoot .

Yesterday I finished reading Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah  the book is set just at the end of Apartheid and the beginning of Post-Apartheid South Africa it’s about race, faith, crime, family and South Africa but most of all it’s about an incredible woman’s love and determination to help her son break out  of the cycle of poverty (and she did- the boy who once had to eat Mopane Worms because there was no money for food now lives in a 10 Million Dollar Penthouse in New York City) I would recommend Born A Crime to all South Africans and anyone in need of hope.

Day 2366: Skyping with the Incredible Laura Schroff

Have the courage to ask and more often than not you shall receive – that’s what I’ve realized.

 

It’s 11 : 22 AM on day 2366 of my journey towards independence and I managed to pray, have breakfast, read Psalm 25:9 and learn a new word – Definitions for middlescence
the middle-age period of life, especially when considered a difficult time of self-doubt and readjustment.

 

Recently I emailed Laura Schroff asking if I could either meet her in person or Skype with her and to my surprise she actually replied agreeing to a Skype chat yesterday we made it happen it was just incredible spending almost twenty minutes talking to the woman whose words have changed me for the better I was so blown away by her humanity and humility I’m so glad I reached out to tell her what kind of impact she has had on my life because nobody deserves to know of her own impact more than Laura does (one gets the feeling she walks through the world completely unaffected by the impact that her life has had on the lives of many others and that to me was just AMAZING hopefully someday when I have something to be humble about I’ll be as humble and as kind as Laura is).

Day 2364: Angels on Earth: Inspiring Stories of Fate, Friendship, and the Power of Connections

“Don’t think of kindness as something you have to do – think of it as something you allow to happen.” – Laura Schroff, Angels on Earth: Inspiring Stories of Fate, Friendship, and the Power of Connections

 

It’s 11 : 00 AM on day 2364 of my journey towards independence and I managed to pray, have breakfast, read 2 Chronicles 7:14 and learn a new word – Definitions for lotus-eater
1. a person who leads a life of dreamy, indolent ease, indifferent to the busy world; daydreamer.

 

Yesterday I finished reading Angels on Earth: Inspiring Stories of Fate, Friendship, and the Power of Connections by Laura Schroff and Alex Tresniowski I didn’t want the book to end I LOVED it so much in it were thirty stories of kindness that quite frankly restored my faith in humanity I would recommend this book to everyone on the planet (yes, it’s that good).

Day 2358: The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here for? by Rick Warren

“Service is the pathway to real significance.” – Rick Warren

 

It’s 12  :  00 PM on day 2358 of my journey towards independence and I managed to pray, have breakfast, read,  and learn a new word – Apocryphal [a·poc·ry·phal] adj. Of doubtful authenticity, although widely circulated as being true. “Apocryphal stories dating from Hollywood’s golden age.”

 

Yesterday I finished reading The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here for? by Rick Warren it’s a Christian book but it also has valuable insights about certain aspects of life I would recommend it to Christians struggling to find direction in their lives (thanks Bithun for buying it for me).

Day 2348: Smartcuts: How Hackers, Innovators, and Icons Accelerate Success by Shane Snow

“The secret to harnessing momentum is to build up potential energy, so that unexpected opportunities can be amplified.” ― Shane Snow, Smartcuts: How Hackers, Innovators, and Icons Accelerate Success

 

It’s 11 :  05 AM on day 2348 of my journey towards independence and I managed to pray,  read Jonah 2: 2, set my  daily goals – 5 things to do today –  and learn a new word – Boorish [boor·ish] adj. Resembling or characteristic of a boor; rude and clumsy in behavior. “His boorish behavior was unacceptable to the directors.”

 

Yesterday I finished reading Smartcuts: How Hackers, Innovators, and Icons Accelerate Success by Shane Snow the book basically teaches you smartcuts (shortcuts with ethics) to success I really enjoyed reading it and would recommend it to anyone who likes learning interesting things from books.

Day 2214: Out of Sorts by Sarah Bessey

“Jesus doesn’t belong to church people. But church people belong to Him, in Him, and through Him.” ― Sarah Bessey, Out of Sorts: Making Peace with an Evolving Faith

 

It’s 10 : 47  AM on day 2214 of my journey towards independence and I managed to pray, have breakfast, read 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12,  learn one new thing – Spurious [spu·ri·ous] adj. Not genuine, authentic, or true; not from the claimed, pretended, or proper source; counterfeit. Not being what it purports to be; false or fake. “Spurious claims.”- and work on my  25 Smiles Campaign    – raised $7 925 only  $4 575 more to raise to reach my second goal of raising $12 500 for Smile Train before Jan 10 2017 (SO SO SO GRATEFUL to everyone who has supported this campaign so far ).

 

Recently I finished reading Out of Sorts: Making Peace with an Evolving Faith by Sarah Bessey   it’s a book that answers questions that most Christians have about faith, God, Jesus and the Bible I would recommend it to all Christians if nothing else this book will make you sure of what you believe.

 

Day 2088: The Terrorist’s Son: A Story of Choice by Zak Ebrahim

“Everyone has a choice. Even if you’re trained to hate, you can choose tolerance. You can choose empathy.” ― Zak Ebrahim, The Terrorist’s Son: A Story of Choice

 

It’s 12 : 31  PM on day 2088 of my journey towards independence and I managed to pray, read Revelation 3: 5 , learn one new thing – “Concord grapes are one of only three fruits native to North America. The other two fruits are blueberries and cranberries.” (Dole.com) “The cranberry is one of just three fruits native to North America (along with Concord grapes and blueberries)” (Pittsburgh Magazine) – have breakfast and work on my  25 Smiles Campaign   –  Jim Mahar donated $26 (thanks SO MUCH  Jim your ongoing  support means the world to me :) )  which brings my total raised to $5 800 only $450 more to raise before Jan 10 2017 (SO SO SO GRATEFUL to everyone who has supported this campaign so far 🙂 ) .

 

Yesterday I finished reading The Terrorist’s Son: A Story of Choice by Zak Ebrahim it’s an inspiring story of a boy who was trained to hate who grew up to be a man who chooses peace and tolerance (I actually know Zak via Twitter he’s such a nice human always advocating peace and love it hurt my heart to know that nearly everyone he came into contact with as a child abused him in one way or another I suppose one has to experience hate and violence to know the true power of love and peace I’m SO PROUD of the human being Zak grew up to be).

Day 2084: The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto by Mitch Albom

“Everyone joins a band in this life. And what you play always affects someone. Sometimes, it affects the world.” ― Mitch Albom, The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto

 

It’s 12 : 30  PM on day 2084 of my journey towards independence and I managed to pray, read Matthew 25: 40, learn one new thing – Other scientists studying bird bones have estimated that under ideal conditions, DNA has a half-life of approximately 521 years, meaning that it would be broken down so much as to be useless after about 1 million years.– go to church, have breakfast and work on my  25 Smiles Campaign   – raised $5 774 only $476 more to raise before Jan 10 2017 (SO SO SO GRATEFUL to everyone who has supported this campaign so far 🙂 ).

 

Yesterday I finished reading The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto by Mitch Albom it’s a book about how everything is connected but it’s also about music, love and life I would recommend it to all the music experts and would give it a 6 out of 10 (some of the technical aspects of music went over my head completely).

Day 2030: Night by Elie Wiesel

“Never shall I forget that night, the first night in camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed….Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust. Never shall I forget these things, even if I am condemned to live as long as God Himself. Never.” ― Elie Wiesel, Night

 

It’s 12  : 25 PM on day 2030 of my journey towards independence and I managed to pray, read Revelation 7,  learn one new thing –Ostrich has the biggest eyes in the whole animal kingdom. Its eye is bigger than its brain. Ostriches don’t hide their head in the sand. They will lay their head on the ground if they sense a danger.- have breakfast,  and work on my 25 Smiles Campaign – raised $4 121 only $2 129 more to raise by 10 Jan 2017 (SO SO SO GRATEFUL to everyone who has supported this campaign so far :) ).

 

Yesterday I finished reading Night by Elie Wiesel – a horrifying yet well-written book about Elie Wiesel’s time in the concentration camps during the Holocaust – in this book one sees the worst in humanity on display and the strength of the human spirit. I am FOREVER CHANGED. Thank you Elie Wiesel.