2014 in Books-March

1. Lipstick Jihad

This has been in my to-read pile for about two years now, and I was interested to read about the perspective of an Iranian American who moved back to Iran. This book took me about two weeks to get through, there were parts I really enjoyed and parts that seemed to drag.

It’s obvious that is a journalist and would often describe Iran in a journalistic manner. I was more interested in hearing a personal perspective of her move and the journalistic tone threw me off. However, at times, she did give more of her personal account and reflected thoughtfully and emotionally about the identity shift, and how that related to when she lived in California and when she lived in Iran. Those parts I loved and learned from. I wish the whole book came from that personal perspective.

2. Waking

This book is a memoir by a paraplegic man who was in an accident when he was a teenager and became a yoga instructor as an adult. This is the current selection for my book club and I was very interested in the subject matter. This book was amazing. I was hoping it would not be a typical, “inspirational” memoir and it wasn’t, it was thoughtful, honest and such an interesting perspective about yoga. I found it fascinating to read about how someone who could not feel half of their physical body was still able to connect with it, and still able to guide other people into a deeper connection with their whole body. I highly recommend this book.

3. Don’t Believe Everything You Think

This book gave an explanation and analysis of the Thirty-Seven Practices of Bodhisatvas, by Togmay Zangp0, it also contained personal excerpts from various people who had examples of how they had applied the principles to their life. I love the explanations given by Chodron. She breaks things down very simply, but poignant. It helped changed my perspective on how to view people who treat us badly, and helped me think a little deeper about attachment.

What did you read in March?