nomadreader

Lords of Corruption by Kyle Mills is an exciting international political thriller set mostly in Africa. The story opens with an ominous, violent preface that sets a dark tone for the novel. Then, the story shifts to another characters, Josh, who is having a miserable time finding a job, despite his near-perfect GPA as an undergraduate engineering major and now with an MBA. Josh has one felony blemish on his record that makes him undesirable, even next to his otherwise shining record. A recruiter for a charity, New Africa, approaches Josh with a unique opportunity to be a project manager for the charity in Africa. Here's what the publisher has to say: "When an obscure charity recruits Josh Hagarty to manage their activities in a war-torn region of Africa, he is eager to sign on and atone for a past he regrets. After a lifetime of bad luck, someone is finally giving him a chance. All he has to do is not blow it. He tries to lose himself in his new job, but soon the precariousn...

I featured this book in my mailbox delight column on March 11, 2009. Here's how the publisher describes this novel: Author Cassandra Fallows has achieved remarkable success by baring her life on the page. Her two widely popular memoirs continue to sell briskly, acclaimed for their brutal, unexpurgated candor about friends, family, lovers—and herself. But now, after a singularly unsuccessful stab at fiction, Cassandra believes she may have found the story that will enable her triumphant return to nonfiction. When Cassandra was a girl, growing up in a racially diverse middle-class neighborhood in Baltimore, her best friends were all black: elegant, privileged Donna; sharp, shrewd Tisha; wild and worldly Fatima. A fifth girl orbited their world—a shy, quiet, unobtrusive child named Calliope Jenkins—who, years later, would be accused of killing her infant son. Yet the boy's body was never found and Calliope's unrelenting silence on the subject forced a judge to jail her fo...

Smart Girl$ Marry Money is not normally a book I would seek out. Nomadreaderboy and I are getting married, and it's safe to say neither one of us is marrying for money. We are definitely in it for love. Still, I'm intrigued by this book. The subtitle of the book is How Women Have Been Duped into the Romantic Dream-- and How They're Paying for It. The opening lines of the press release are: "Why does society applaud a woman who falls for a guy's 'big blue eyes' yet denounce one who chooses a man with a 'big green bankroll'? After all, isn't earning power more a reflection of a man's values and character?" I know my economic views are left of most everyone, and I think it's more often that earning power often stems from the absence of value and character. It's outrageous to think income is a reflection of value and character. Don't we all know plenty of teachers, librarians, clergy, non-profit workers, and social workers w...