A Stellar Woman's World

There is this somewhat insulting quote by Malcom X casually thrown around that goes; 'If you want to hide something from a black/african man, put it in a book 😬.' We read it with a pinch of bitterness because it holds some truth to it. However, in this era where multiple forms of media are on our faces each waking day, I feel that the unwillingness to pick up a physical book goes down to an individual's choice. These other sources of media are still as educative as print media, so to each their own. I subscribe to all media forms at my disposal  and occasionally pick up physical books. My resolution this year with regards books was to read 6 books ( See review of the other 5 HERE ). I am thrilled to have hit my target for the year, a notable personal achievement 😊.  Here's a kienyeji review of my 6th read of the year: "My First Time by Janet Mbugua" Book cost:  KES. 1,750/- Store:  Prestige Bookshop, Mama Ngina street, CBD Nairobi. My rating (x/5):   ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐...

'Character is the ability to carry out a good resolution long after the excitement of the moment has passed.' ~ Cavett Robert. Developing a reading culture is easier said than done. Passion to read comes and goes with seasons, just like it does for other hobbies. The good thing about life though is that you can pick, drop and get back to hobbies any time you like.  Three months. I haven't read anything to write about for that duration of time. The excitement to pick a book kinda went for vacation in Bali but recently came back so there's a high chance I'll meet my 6 books by end of year resolution, maybe even more than the intended target, who knows? The leg  injury  I had over this period largely contributed to my lack of morale to hop back into the reading train. I was in a very weird head space I pushed it aside for a minute. In the interest of refining this habit in attempt to make it part and parcel of my character, I used that time to regroup. My recovery...

After having a rough time reading a memoir by a neurosurgeon 😖 (book 3) and had my head almost explode, I had to ‘reward’ myself with an easy fun read that maybe took me a week to finish? I love a simple written high school set up story. Many times when I just want to lay down and surf through Netflix on a lazy boring Saturday afternoon, I go for simple comedy/drama films like, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, Sex Education, Ginny and Georgia, among others. This one here was so interesting, felt like I was watching one of those silly films where teenagers figure our life in high school, in preparation for college. A girl, Jessie Holmes, tells the story of how the sudden death of her mom (cancer) brought about life changes that she found hard to deal with. Her dad remarries and they have to move to another state, a posh and more polished state, she says  - LA, and leave all she knew behind, her best friends, etc. She’s moved into a new school, making friends is tough on her,...

Can’t lie, this one took me longer to read because it’s not my typical read. From high school days, I noticed that I lean more on fiction storytelling books; novels - mystery/crime, African affairs, etc. and less towards biographies, memoirs, self help books and history books. The former take me days to finish unlike this one which took a month (plus). Halfway through I contemplated giving it up but I think treading new waters is part of learning and growth, so here I am. This is a two part memoir, posthumously published about the life of a budding 37yr old neurosurgeon & writer, Paul Kalanithi, his entry into medicine world and exit from it - through Stage IV Metastatic lung cancer. One section talks about his entry into neuroscience, learning the ropes of it all, from being a student, to a resident doctor, to eventually a practicing one. Reading this part was very complicated for me because of the amount of industry jargon used. I had to keep checking the meaning of some word...

Research says that as many as 50% of adults make New Year's resolutions but fewer than 10% keep them for more than a few months  (Reference) . Research also indicates that in January, goals will be set and by the second week of February they are forgotten about at best, abandoned at worst (Reference) . These statements couldn't be truer! Sticking to resolutions is such a hard task. I am a resolutions setter - if there were a word like that, I confirm those findings. Every so often and not necessarily at the beginning of the year, I write down the things I intend to work on. Sometimes I manage to accomplish a huge part of the listed goals, other times I get nothing done. I figured that the only way to stick to my resolutions is to set realistic ones.  I was a sales & marketing exec for a furniture company for about 2 years after campus. I was overjoyed to have found placement in my field which is marketing and sales and had so much fun selling furniture. Every other month w...