Waiting For Snow In Havana | 
1. The tagged book is on the Commander‘s reading list, but I haven‘t read it yet!
2. Yes
3. I read Women Who Love Too Much after my college boyfriend dumped me the second time. It‘s probably dated now, but at the time it was very helpful.
4. I‘ve left a few books partially finished for years.
5. Good morning Littens!
#wondrouswednesday
Happy Monday! Here is my first draft of options for #LMPBC #GroupM - can we come up with a cute group name? 🙃 I know these are pretty popular/mainstream, so I can totally search for other books if you‘ve read these or are not interested. They‘re tagged in the comments.
This is the memoir I recommend most frequently. Eire tells the story of his childhood in Cuba during the revolution. It's full of wild anecdotes, piercing observations, and seething anger at Fidel.
so-soThis is a memoir of the author‘s childhood growing up in Cuba in the late 1950s/1960s. He grew up in a wealthy family, attended school with the country‘s elite during the Batista years. When Fidel came to power, his entire life changed since his family lost everything. I feel pretty conflicted about this book. I loved parts and found half of it really interesting. I found other parts tedious especially the long sections as a young boy ⬇️⬇️
#riotgrams #currentread
These are my current reads — because I never read just one. 2 print, 1 kindle, 1 audio.
pickThis is the memoir of a Cuban refugee of the change of power from Batista to Castro. He details his life in America somewhat, but mostly his affluent childhood. It was actually easy to read, with the humor and foibles of childhood. There were some very serious parts- televised firing squads, bombs, gunfire- all terrifying, but tempered with a child's POV. Read for #readaroundtheworld @JenP
I'm a little behind on my #readAroundtheWorld this month even though it's a country I was really excited to visit on my reading travels.
About to start this one. National Book Award winner for nonfiction in 2003, it tells the story of the author's childhood in Cuba in the 1950s caught between Babtista & Castro. Author goes from a life of privilege (the author's family was a privileged family during the Batista era) to a one filled with fear.
"Fiesta! One of the very few Spanish words every American knows. Along with its narcoleptic cousin, siesta. Parties and naps, the only two things spics are good at."
I AM SCREAMING
"...I have to make a slight alteration in [Saint] Jerome's prayer -- a small change that makes a world of difference:
Misere mei, Domine, Cubanus sum.
'Have mercy on me, Lord, I am a Cuban.'"
(Same book, different beer. Can't get enough of either.)
An update: my dad told me today that this book made him cry out of nostalgia for Cuba. This is significant for two reasons: 1) My mom has always told me that in the many decades she's known my father, she's only seen him cry once; this happened when I broke my leg as a young child. 2) My father has always gruffly maintained that he'll never return to Cuba. Perhaps pre-Castro Cuba really was the Garden of Eden, as Eire's own father suggests.
This book is wildly overwhelming. As I read I can't help but wonder if Carlos Eire and my father have any overlapping memories of boyhood in Havana -- if they hid under their beds at the sound of the same gunfire, or saw the same grotesque photos in the newspaper of the dead laying in the street, or if they perhaps even shared the same bizarre night terror of a bloodied Christ dragging his cross outside the window of their dining rooms.
"Memory is the most potent truth.
Show me history untouched by memories
and you show me lies.
Show me lies not based on memories
and you show me the worst lies of all...
...Still, all of us are responsible for our own actions.
Not even Fidel is exempt from all this.
Nor Che, nor his chauffeurs, nor his mansion.
Nor the many Cubans who soiled their pants
before they were shot to death."
Watching the replay of Cuba vs Japan on this snowy #PiDay
Help! I'm having no luck finding a book by an author with last name starting with "E" that I've been able to stick with! This one is just not doing it for me. I think I'm out of options from my TBR and this is the third I've tried for that letter. Any suggestions for a good "E" author? #LitsyAtoZ
bailed
