Reading fills me with a sense of peace and accomplishment. I have tons of academic material to read. Which means my time to read "books chosen by Diana" is scarce.
The Fifth Season by N.K Jemisin
It's a profound book that paints a fantastic world. The Fifth Season is a very hard book to describe in it's entirety it contradicts itself its set in a continent called the Stillness that never stops moving. Some of it's habitants are called 'orogenes', who are able to manipulate the earth under their feet from an unknown power. Another contradiction here; orogenes are both discriminated against and the only reasons for life's survival. In a nutshell this books covered everything from the awful state of earth to racism.
"For all those who have to fight for the respect that everyone else is given without question"
Spoiler alert! this book is written in first person you read through the eyes of Damaya, Syenite and Essun. Damaya was young when she had to join the Fulcrum and her experience their was not pleasant I'd say she was treated as a pet with a sick purpose. In this Fulcrum orogenes are trained to controlled their power (the ability to control platonic plates) so they can one day potentially save the earth. I'd expect them to get treated better. Syenite was paired with Alabaster to procreate and prevent orogenes from ever being extinct. From the beginning of the book Alabaster rebels against the Fulcrum's teachings while Syenite is more... it is what it is. Alabaster understands the abuse done to orogenes, however that understanding doesn't give him a way out and gives us the readers a shared desperation. Essun lost a child and is curranty looking for another. Her search takes her many places and she meets interesting characters. At the end of the book you realize those woman are all the same and not just hypothetically no, they are all the same woman. I don't have to relate to the books I read all the time. However, I enjoyed the fact that this book shows the duality of women and it's a picture perfect description of how outside conflict can freeze a humans momentarily. Simultaneously showcasing the crucial moment in which they pivot to redemption or freedom. We all pivot in life, right?
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Before I go into why this was such a motivational read lets talk about the title for a moment. The title is obviously symbolic because 'Alchemist" means "art of transmuting metals". It's an ancient practice centered on the attempt of converting metals into gold. The story focuses on Santiago who sets out on a quest to find his personal legend. Along the way he meets many interesting characters each one imparting a lesson. He meets a Crystal merchant that wanted to visit Mecca, and the Tarifa Baker wanted to travel the world. These two characters do not follow their legend which holds them in a perpetual wishing state. Santiago starts his journey to find a tressure but he found the tressure within. This story is a solid way of describing how transformative and powerful dreams can be. His tressure was turning into a wise content individual he learn how to appreciate every stop in his journey without loosing sigh of his dream and those stops along the way are what sculpted him into GOLD.
This story has endless takeaways but mine is simple: we have to make sacrifices in life in order to reach our destination. Another riveting thought maybe it isn't truly a sacrifices it's simply life and you have to live it and enjoy every step of the way.
See you next time!
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