A Note about International Literacy Day

So September 08 was International Literacy Day, proclaimed by UNESCO. Like many of their earlier initiatives, Grammarly got in touch with me to (hopefully) promote some awareness and create a dialogue. Now, some basic research on Wikipedia spewed out the following:

“Some 775 million adults lack minimum literacy skills; one in five adults is still not literate and two-thirds of them are women; 60.7 million children are out-of-school and many more attend irregularly or drop out.
According to UNESCO’s “Global Monitoring Report on Education for All (2006)”, South and West Asia has the lowest regional adult literacy rate (58.6%), followed by sub-Saharan Africa (59.7%), and the Arab States (62.7%). Countries with the lowest literacy rates in the world are Burkina Faso (12.8%), Niger (14.4%) and Mali (19%). The report shows a clear connection between illiteracy and countries in severe poverty, and between illiteracy and prejudice against women.”

Just some appalling stats to mull over; and sadly, I’m not surprised. However, I always take numbers with a pinch of salt, as most of these countries do not have standardised data collection methods. Anyway, as a citizen of a developing country, I have seen hope, I have seen more and more girls being educated… so may be we will get somewhere at some point…

Here’s the infographic from the Grammarly post

Teaser Tuesday (October 07)

My teaser:

“The wind almost rips the car door off. I have to strain bodily just to slam it weakly shut. Jesus Freezus. I close my eyes. The wind flaps and whacks me like a fat black towel that’s been dipped in seaheavy salt.”

From (page 34 Penguin Global 2007) of The Stornoway Way.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Enjoy!

Teaser Tuesday (July 15)

My teaser:

“This child has never, ever had a stable lap on which to cuddle and fall asleep. Too much of her life has been lapless ; too many times she was locked in a room or ignored or even beaten. She had nobody. I picture her cowering , shivering, on a bed or chair or on the floor in a corner. And the times she did have warm, inviting laps in which to rest? Those were only temporary , and she knew it. As she said herself, whenever she was bad, people sent her back. As if she were merchandise. I look down at her innocence and seethe. She’s a kid, not a sweater you can get rid of when it snags.”

From (Kindle Locations 2757-2762 Inkwater Press 2014) of My Life in a Nutshell: A Novel.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Enjoy!

Book Blog Tour – My Life in a Nutshell: A Novel by Tanya J. Peterson

Hello!

By now, most of you know that I’m participating in the blog tour for Tanya J. Peterson’s latest book which is just out. You might have looked at the trailer last week and gotten intrigued by the teaser I shared too! Look out for another teaser up soon and my review of the book this Thursday! We’ll also have an interview on here and speak with the author herself. Like last time, if you have any pressing questions or comments, let me know!

The story, in a nutshell, is this: It’s the story of two people who don’t quite know how to live in the world—the man, Brian, because of debilitating anxiety, the girl, Abigail because of instability and abuse — and their journey to learn from each other. Here is the press release for you!

Teaser Tuesday (July 08)

My teaser:

“I’m nothing but a waste of air. I’m not capable of having friends or even having a conversation with someone. I’m stupid and I don’t even deserve to live. All I do is worry about everything anyway, so my being on this planet is pointless. I hae myself even more than everyone else hates me; I just can’t laugh at myself the way others probably do behind my back because I don’t find myself as funny as they do.“

From (12% Inkwater Press 2014) of My Life in a Nutshell: A Novel.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Enjoy!

Mongol … a review

Uuganaa is from Mongolia and lives with her Scottish husband Richard in Britain. She is in a universe completely removed from her home country, where as a nomadic herder she lived in a yurt, looked after livestock, and made vodka from goat’s yoghurt. Her world is shaken up when her third child, the new-born son Billy is diagnosed with Down’s Syndrome. With his diagnosis she faces prejudice and bigotry, racism, and also support. “In this powerful memoir, Uuganaa skilfully interweaves the extraordinary story of her own childhood in Mongolia with the sadly short life of Billy, who becomes a symbol of union and disunion, cultures and complexity, stigma and superstition – and inspires Uuganaa to challenge prejudice.”

The book has beautiful descriptions of life in Mongolia, a country that I knew nothing about. What surprised me was the number of similarities between the Mongolian culture and the Indian. Both emphasize respect towards elders of the household, family life bordering on communal living, shaving of an infant’s head, large get-togethers and many others. It is worth noting that the books is a memoir, written by a woman whose English is not the best. Sometimes the narrative is repetitive and halting, since it is evident that she clearly missing her homeland, while looking forward to embracing the brilliantness of her husband’s culture.

Read this book, it is worth knowing about places that are remote and hidden, even in this world of over-sharing. Also read my Scottish friend’s blog – she lives in Inner Mongolia, China with her Mongol-Chinese husband.

Teaser Tuesday (July 01)

My teaser:

“The funeral service was fitting, with a Christian minister and the same Buddhist nun both saying their prayers. They all agreed that Billy was a symbol of union. He represented a joining of cultures, love, relationships and religions. I read the poem I had written for Billy in Mongolian.“

From (Saraband 2013) of Mongol.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Enjoy!