Off the Bookshelf: Lean In

Alright. Lean In--- I found it to be extremely informative. Did I agree with everything Sheryl Sandberg had to say? I wouldn't say so, but I stand by saying that for every women who intends to lead, wants to excel in their careers, and aims to be in a position of power, especially women in my generation, yall need to run on down to your bookstores, or grab this book online.

Now for my opinion. There were some points that she made that I would take with a grain of salt, and I think to an extent she made women come off a little... I don't quite have a word to describe how we came off. I think my interpretation of what she wrote and my disagreement with some of her words definitely falls within generational differences-- when I was six she had already graduated university--so there absolutely would be differences in experience and interpretation.

Her own experiences that she shared, as well the experiences other women shared with her are very far from anything I've experienced in my short 21 years of life, but I understood, felt or have seen the impact of similar situations on women around me.
The bottom line is no one understands the plight of a woman more than another woman. The challenges we still face, that we continue to face, are real. That is the bottom line, and what this book makes painfully clear is that, that bottom line needs to change, and become one that helps and doesn't hamper women's growth and progression.

I've read it, and it's one of those books that I will read again, and you should too.

Via Google

Off the Bookshelf: No Excuses- 9 Ways Women can Change the Way We Think About Power

 My latest read has been a book that is a whole lot of feminist. No Excuses, in my opinion, is a book every woman needs to read. It is a straightforward look at power as an advantage and as a tool that can propel us to new heights.

It's always interesting to read other women's views on the state of our affairs when it comes to our advantages or lack there of in the real world. Granted that this book was written by an American and is chock full of American statistics regarding the women, I think it still very relevant to women from around the world. It was very interesting to learn that in the US women earn 78 cents to a man's dollar; and that on top of that unmarried woman earn 56 cents to a man's dollar--and this is in America the land of equal opportunity and all that great stuff-- so one can only imagine what its like for women in developing parts of the world.

The author, Gloria Feldt, talks about women as a collective shifting our views on power from an oppressive power-over, to an expansive and empowering power-to. I personally feel that any sort of information that can help women progress, is information that should be available to every woman who wants to have it.

This book is absolutely the starting point of the conversation my generation needs to be part of.

Off the Bookshelf : The Sly Company of People Who Care.

I'm a reader. I don't know if you've grasped that yet, but I just love being able to find complete solace in a book. I unfortunately haven't been reading very much but I've been making a huge effort to stop doing everything else, including watching television, and just read. So Sunday afternoons in my nearby Chapters has become my favourite limin' spot. This wasn't one of my finds at Chapters but I had to share it.
The Sly Company of People Who Care by Rahul Bhattacharya was written by a cricket journalist from India, and is about his year long experience living in Guyana-- and boy is it an accurate representation of our culture. I can tell you that if you grew up in GT, or your parents are from there and have shared their stories with you, you will be dying laughing about the entire thing, from his adventures with the poke-knockers who nearly kill each other over some diamonds, to a sweet girl with chile-father issues, and a shine-eye mentality.
Pick it up, you will thoroughly enjoy it.