RCM Book Reviews

Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur

Title: Milk and Honey

Author: Rupi Kaur

Genre: Poetry

Publisher: Andrew McMeel Publishing

Publication Year: 2014

Language: English

Blurb

my heart woke me crying last night

how can i help i begged

my heart said

write the book

~Rupi Kaur

Rupi Kaur’s Milk and Honey is a poetry collection that features the best kind of poetry there is.

Simple. Profound. Relatable.

Like the four seasons of the year, Milk and Honey is divided into four emotional sections. Each section captures a different feel and indulges the reader a smooth transition from one emotional train into another.

Summary

Milk and Honey especially pirouettes through strong, powerful themes: love, loss, violence, and femininity. It runs across four sections that intertwines a number of the mentioned themes. Those sections are:

The Hurting
The Loving
The Breaking
The Healing

The Hurting

every time you

tell your daughter

you yell at her

out of love

you teach her to confuse

anger with kindness

which seems like a good idea

till she grows up to

trust men who hurt her

cause they look so much

like you

– to fathers with daughters (Rupi)

This section of the book depicts what it’s like to be locked in a pseudo expression of love. It feels much like winter. Cold, dark, fuzzy with pain. It opens the readers to how hurt can exist in subtle and inconspicuous ways. It especially focuses on the physical hurt that women go through, the pain that stems from home, from family, and extends to the rest of the world.

What is it like to be hurting? Rupi Kaur gives us a peep into the answer in this section.

The Loving

The loving dances around the beautiful colours of love. The author brushes on the magic in loving someone else without losing touch with oneself.

i do not want to have you

to fill the empty parts of me

i want to be full on my own

i want to be so complete

i could light a whole city

and then

i want to have you

cause the two of us combined

could set it on fire

~Rupi

It is only when we’re whole that we can truly love another completely. We are not made to lean weakly on each other but to be a powerful force in our own right.

The Breaking

you were not wrong for leaving

you were wrong for coming back

and thinking

you could have me

when it was convenient

and leave when it was not

~Rupi

The breaking feels like autumn. The time after sunshine and rainbows. When all of the butterflies are gone and all that’s left is a tale of two exes. Ever slowly, love withers into hate and dust gathers on tender emotions.

the way they

leave

tells you

everything

~Rupi Kaur

The Healing

The healing feels like spring. When love is gone and life goes wrong, all that’s still left is love.

you must enter a relationship

with yourself

before anyone else

~Rupi Kaur

In this section of the book, the author captures the importance of self-love.

Loving someone else begins with loving yourself, with accepting yourself for all your weaknesses and strengths. It begins with looking into the mirror and seeing yourself as beautiful. It does not lie in the validation that extends from someone else. Not from the smoothness of their words. Not from the tightness of their abs or the swaying of their waists. It springs from within.

you are in the habit

of co-depending

on people to

make up for what

you think you lack

who tricked you

into believing

another person

was meant to complete you

when the most they can do is complement

~Rupi Kaur

Milk and Honey is a deeply impactful and emotional book that everyone in love, hurting and going through heartbreak should read.

Book Of The Week: Who Am I?: Self-Identity and Purpose

Book Title: Who Am I?: Self-Identity and Purpose

Author: Kevin Munga

Pages: 87 pages

Genre: Biography, Practical and Motivational

Published: 21 April 2020

Review: 4.5/5

“We are all running away from something or running towards something. Make sure you are running in the right direction (your purpose)”

Main Points Of The Book:

1- Discipline is not a restriction, it is freedom
2- Comparing yourself to anyone else is the worst mistake you could ever make
3- Sometimes you’ve got to create what you want to be a part of
4- Decisions become easy when you can live with the consequences
5- Trust God not society

Introduction:

Who am I? is an inspirational book written by Kevin munga. Kevin Munga is an Activist, Author, and Public speaker. It contains three parts with nineteen chapters. Kevin was born in Sarcelles, France during 1993, and he moved with his family to the United Kingdom in 2003 and studied Law. This book tells about the challenges that young black males face their whole life, whether in personal or in professional life. He has shared his encounters with crime and violence in his neighborhood. The first primary experiences shape our identity and thinking about right and wrong. Being born into a wealthy family, and privilege does not make that person more valuable. He has great faith in God and his prayers.

Summary:

In the first chapters, Kevin has shared his childhood. After a few weeks after his birth, his parents were awarded citizenship to the UK, and they moved there. He shares his first fight with his brother’s friend at the age of six. How a six-year-old feels pressure and what a six-year-old child knows about fighting, and it becomes his norm. At the age of nine, his mother was diagnosed with Sarcoidosis, a serious condition that results in tumors, and can harm the entire immune system. They decided to move to the UK to their aunt for the betterment of his mother’s health. He shares his sad memories of his childhood. His aunt considered him “evil” and maltreated him and his brother. He then shares his primary school life, where he quickly learned English and felt isolated. He further highlights the importance of culture and how it is defined.

His heritage is Congolese, which is extremely diverse. He says he finds himself caught between his Congolese heritage and the French/British culture. He was not born in Congo, but his mother had made sure that he becomes aware of its history, tribes, culture, and cuisine.

He describes his struggles to get enrolled in a university and his decision to apply for a low ranking university. He decided to try a business course, and he failed all the modules he had taken, except one. After that, he discovered an advertisement offering Access courses and applied for that. His application was accepted successfully, and he started his law course.

He received a huge wake-up call when he received the news of the death of his childhood friend. He shares his memories with his friend how nice he was, and he could not comprehend that the life of such an amazing individual had been taken at such an impressionable age. He began to view life for what it really was.

For blacks when they enter into respected and high-level professions, there are subliminal limitations for them. He shares his journey of activism and how the thought of writing a book came to his mind. He had various reasons to write a book like breaking a system, stigmas, stereotypes, toxic masculinity, and gangsterism. He explains detailed efforts to his community and organizations. He spoke in many schools and churches about motivation, inspiration, and culture. He shares his disappointment in giving one of his interviews when they referred to him as a former gang member even though he was not a part of it in the present. He further shares his more positive experiences of his other interviews and how much they honored him.

He says that our friends and family often advise us on what we should do, what university degree we should study, and what profession to choose. At times We even allow society to dictate what we should or shouldn’t do. We have allowed society to define what beauty means to us. That is all true. One should focus on not about doing what is popular, but about doing what is purposeful. He has shared his trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo, his place of origin, his speeches there, and his Congolese TV debut. Kevin is influenced by the Martin Luther King Jr and Dr. Myles Munroe.

Conclusion:

This book highlights the struggles of black minorities and the challenges they face. This book tells the inspirational journey of Kevin Munga, a Community Activist. This book gives a great insight into the choices that we make and how we can create our future and increases faith in God and prayers. You can find this book on Amazon.

Author of the Week: Angie Thomas

Angie Thomas

Angie Thomas, 31, is an American Writer born on the 20th of September, 1988. Born and bred in Jackson, Mississippi, she resides there till date.

In 2017, she published the first of her most notable works, The Hate U Give.

The Hate U Give exploits really powerful themes such as racism and police violence and carefully details the intricacies of black people trying to fit into white communities and even among their pairs.

Thomas shared in an interview how she picked influences from her experiences and the things going on around her at that time.

She explained how Oscar Grant’s story played a vital role in her book. While she was still in college, Oscar Grant had just lost his life in Oakland, California. Like many others, he was an unarmed young black male who had a record and at the time when his death was making headlines, more people were talking about what he had done in his past than the fact that he unjustly lost his life. Two major conversations surrounded his death among two classes of people: those that believed he deserved it and those that saw him every single day and knew him for who he truly was.

In that time, Angie Thomas wrote a short story that later widened in scope to become The Hate U Give while she was still a senior in college.

Not just Oscar, but a lot of the cases of police brutality involving unarmed young black males provided the inspiration and material for the book. There was Philando Castille, 32, killed in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, after being pulled over for a traffic stop (his girlfriend and her 4-year-old daughter were there to witness the incident unfold), Stephon Clark, 22, who was standing in his grandmother’s backyard, killed a year after the book was written, Botham Jean, 26, killed while seating on his sofa at home, eating icecream, also killed in 2018. The list goes on and on.

In the end, the book comes to sensitize the public on these things and teach us that our voices matter. What we do, how we stand for others when they come face to face with oppression and injustice means everything. It was such a powerful book.

Little wonder that within a very short time, The Hate U Give gathered so much acclaim, gained prominence and bagged a well-deserved number 1 spot on the New York Times Bestseller list for young adult hardcover books.

It remained on the bestseller list for more than 125 weeks.

Her book The Hate U Give was eventually adapted into a movie and released on the 19th of October, 2018.

The book won several awards within the year it was published. These include the William C. Morris Award, the Michael L. Printz Award, and the Coretta Scott King Award among many others.

Two years later, Angie Thomas pushed out another gift to the world, On The Come Up. In 2021 comes yet another gem, Concrete Rose, from the 31-year-old American author.

One thing is for sure, Concrete Rose will be nothing short of a blissful read.

Book Of The Week: I Can’t Make This Up: Life Lessons By Kevin Hart, Neil Strauss

Book Title: I can’t make this up

Author: Kevin Hart

Genre: Humour, Biography, Autobiography

Book Pages: 378

Published on: 6th 2017 by 37 Ink

Review: 4.1/5

‘There is just one thing that tomorrow demands of you to make this happen: that you never stop believing in your power to create a better day‘

Main Points of the Book:

1- Be persistent

2- Embrace the negativity or ups and down in your life and find something positive in it

3- Always defend yourself from bullies

4-Every experience is a potential life lesson

5- Success takes time, dedication, and hard work

Introduction:

Kevin Hart is an award-winning American stand-up comedian, actor, and producer. I can’t make this up is his debut book. He has shared the stories of his success and life and particularly about life, success, parenting, and relationships. He has written his autobiography in a humorous, emotional, and funny tone. The book reveals the life and struggle of popular Comedian Kevin Hart. He has shared all about his growing up struggles, his right and wrong choices, his relationships, his family, friends, his failures, and the story behind his success. This book has lots of lessons to learn from. Apart from his success stories and journey, Hart is not shy from sharing his failures and mistakes that he had made. As this is an autobiographical book, the tone used in this book is humble and honest, you can feel the writer’s journey and feelings through his words. Hart has explained how he became a better person and professional after the awful experiences. He shares his childhood life with an absent father and protective mother, his toxic first marriage, and his slow rise to fame, defining each section with a lesson and positivity. In his book debut, he takes us on a journey through what his life was, what it is today, and how he has overcome each and every challenge to become the man he is today.

Summary:

Hart describes his life as growing up in North Philadelphia in the 1980s and ’90s with a cocaine-addict father and a caring, determined, and tough mother. He was born as an accident, unwanted by both of his parents. His father was a drug addict who was mostly in and out of jail. His brother was a drug dealer and a petty thief. His mother was overwhelmingly strict, beating him with belts, frying pans, and his own toys. His brother got kicked out of their home by his mother for drug selling and being violent to his mother. His mother worked hard to give both her sons a decent life, and she kept Hart busy with his after-school activities to make sure that he was never alone to get into trouble like his older brother.

He tells how he came into the world of comedians. He landed a job as a salesman in an athletic store and became the best salesman of that store. He was outgoing and Jokester. His friends and coworkers suggested and encouraged him to audition at a local comedy club. That’s when he realized and started his career as a stand-up comedian. You can choose the path of your life. If you go right, you will get closer to your destiny, but if you go wrong, you will go further away from your goals. The decisions that we make in our life surely make our life better, but having positive thoughts about life also matters.

Your life is the sum total of your choices. You can always look back at your life and start making different life choices if you aren’t happy with the current ones. The one goal in life should be learning from your mistakes to make better life choices.

He shares his childhood story of the bully. A kid from his teammate called him ugly, dirty and talked shit about his mom. He shares how to tackle the bullies that harass you. You should defend yourself all the time. Don’t let anybody mess with you. If you don’t stand up to them, they will keep bullying you.

“In life, you can choose to cry about the bullshit that happens to you or you can choose to laugh about it.
I choose laughter.”

He is grateful to his mom for her strict rules, values, and discipline. It’s really easy to complain about your life. Most of the time we complain that our life is tough, stressful, and unfair. If for one day we step into the life of someone that we envy we will realize how difficult their life is and even worse than ours. The problems in our life help us grow and do better in our lives. During our ups and downs, we should accept it and always try to find something positive in it.

Conclusion:

Kevin Hart’s story is powerful and inspiring. He is not shy to share the bitter realities of his life, relating it with humor, and positivity. He has worked hard to get where he is now. The readers will enjoy this book more than they think they would.

The Perfect Take: A Musician’s Guide to Happiness & Wellbeing

Book Title: The Perfect Take: A Musician’s Guide to Happiness & Wellbeing

Author: Rory C. Morgan

Genre: Self-help

Subject: Music

Blurb

The Perfect Take: A Musician’s Guide to Happiness & Wellbeing was borne out of a desire to impact the younger generation.

Rory C. Morgan, a rapper, a songwriter, an author, and an entrepreneur amidst many other things puts out this gift to the world- the lessons and the experiences he picked up from doing music for over a decade.

The Perfect Take is an eye-opener to making great music and living an overall balanced life in every regard. Rory recognizes how ambition tends to take a toll on one’s mental health.

He therefore reminds us to be mindful, points us to the things that affect our mental state, and overall teaches high impact techniques that’ll help us live a happier, healthier life while steadily progressing with our musical careers.

Summary

In a world filled with musicians who remember to chase only the clout and give little regard to wellbeing, Rory C. Morgan has come out with a very powerful book.

He reminds us that our wellbeing comes first- physical, emotional, and most importantly, our mental health.

He dips into over a decade of experience rapping and structuring bars to filter out this priceless read- an indeed fixating and perfect take on the musician’s path to well-being and happiness.

From the very beginning, the author’s intention was clear: to connect with his readers. Unlike rigid guides with equally rigid language, The Perfect Take is personal and essentially a conversation.

Rory shares his experience growing up, embracing his 75% black Caribbean and 25% white Norwegian identity in the most unlikely of places.

The Perfect Take captures how his experience growing up widens his perspective and fuels his embrace of the human race.

Suffering is suffering no matter your ethnicity, job title or social status.
Rory C. Morgan

As he has learnt, he teaches us to embrace other cultures as well. it does not matter where they’re from. It does not matter what races, what skin tone, what ethnicity, gender or social class.

He sheds light on the personal experiences that influenced his perceptions. The writer goes on to delve into the power of words.

As a rapper, how long should a verse be? What level of commitment should you invest into each line? He brilliantly answers these questions.

Words travel thousands of miles and words recorded in songs will live forever. As you are writing your next song realise that you are writing words which will subsequently outlive you.
Rory C. Morgan

‘Essentially, your music should be liberating and cathartic. Each word should reflect your innermost thoughts and feelings,’ he expresses.

Rory C. Morgan reinforces Eminem’s principal that every line of your music should be a punchline. It’s just so important. Every word. Focus more on the impact of your Lines rather than the length of the verse.

The Perfect Take also goes on to discuss in detail the powers of collaboration with friends and technical experts of the production craft.

Like a musical Scripture, The Perfect Take reveals the paths to the purest rhymes and resonance, tonality, studio drills, and techniques, currently unknown to you, that would greatly help to improve your lyricism, delivery, production, and your music career in general.

Book Of The Week: The Hate U Give

Book Title: The Hate You Give

Author: Angie Thomas

Genre: Young Adult Fiction

Release Date: February 28, 2017

Book Length: 444 pages

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Review: 4.5/5

“Sometimes you can do everything right and things will still go wrong. The key is to never stop doing right.

Main points of the book:

1- Racism does exist in today’s world

2- No one should have to debate or justify whether or not they should have basic human rights.

3-No one should have to defend their humanity at every single step, repeatedly and constantly.

4- Privilege is invisible to those who have it

Introduction:

This book is written by Angie Thomas, an American young adult author. The hate u give by Angie Thomas calls out issues such as police brutality, and racism. It is Angie Thomas’s debut novel. This novel is inspired by the Black Lives Matter Movement. This emotional novel, inspired by volatile race relations in America today, explores the importance of family relations, friendship, identity, and the courage to seek justice.
It was published in early 2017, and was among the bestseller book in the USA and stayed there for a year. This book also won the 2018 Waterstones children’s book prize. The book was recognized in 2018 by the American Library Association with the William C. Morris Award for best debut book for teens, the Coretta Scott King Award for the best novel by an African-American author for children, and was an honor book for the Michael L. Printz Award for best novel for teens. It has now sold more than 2 million copies globally. Last year, a film adaptation was released, based on this novel, which has been a critical and commercial success.

Summary:

It is a story of sixteen-year-old Starr Carter, a black girl and an expert at navigating the two worlds, one where she lives in at the Garden Heights, her black neighborhood, and the other at Williamson Prep, her suburban, mostly white high school, where she is one of the two black people in her grade. This is a powerful novel about one girl’s struggle for justice. The story starts with Starr going to a party in her neighborhood with her half brother, Seven’s sister Kenya. Starr feels lonely at the party and ends up reconnecting with her old childhood best friend Khalil. Khalil drives Starr home, that’s when Khalil and Starr are pulled over by a white police officer with the badge number One-Fifteen. One-Fifteen orders Khalil to come out of the car and starts searching for him. White police officer commands Khalil not to move and returns to his car. Khalil opens the door to check on Starr, where the police officer fires three shots at Khalil. Khalil was unarmed. Khalil’s death became national news, where he was being called a thug, possible drug dealer and gangbanger. His death becomes justified in the eyes of many people, including one of Starr’s best friends at school. People talk about how Khalil seems to be a drug dealer or how he was talking back to the police officer or how he would have been a bigger threat. But it was all baseless and did not matter as the police officer barely knew his name, and no drugs were found on him or in the car.

There are other characters too in the novel like Starr’s father Maverick, who runs a grocery store. Her mother, who is caring but also a tough mother. Other characters mentioned in the book are Starr’s uncle, her half older brother Seven, and her younger brother Sekani.

After this incident, the book follows the growth of Starr from being an introverted girl who was afraid to speak up against racism and stereotypes starts embracing things for how they are, and becomes someone who stands up against evil and wrong and is not afraid to stand up for what’s right. It tries to highlight that the words or comments that we make unintentionally or are not said in a racist sense can affect someone entirely negatively.

Conclusion:

“What’s the point of having a voice if you’re gonna be silent in those moments you shouldn’t be?”

A thoughtful, honest, and powerful book about Racism and Justice. This book was truly phenomenal. It is educational in knowing what is happening in today’s world. It is excellent in writing, and storytelling focusing majorly on Black Lives Matter. Highly recommended reading this book, readers won’t be disappointed.

The Art of War by Sun Tzu

Book Title: The Art of War

Author: Sun Tzu

Published: 5th Century BC

Language: Chinese (translated to English)

Author of Summary and Review: Akeju Emmanuel Oluwanifemi

Subject: Military Art

Introduction

The Art of War is a timeless classic that was written in the 5th century by Sun Tzu.

Sun Tzu was a military strategist and an elite Chinese General in his time. He was also a philosopher and a writer with his most notable work being The Art of War.

The book is an ancient military treatise that details superb war tactics and strategies.

Written by a master of the craft, it accurately depicts strategies that could help simplify the intricacies and complexities of war and reveals the most effective ways to victory in any battle.

Main Points

Wars are most often won before they are fought
The general (army) that makes the most calculations will come out triumphant
All warfare is based on deception
According to circumstances are favourable, one should modify one’s plans
Know when to fight! Know when not to fight!

Detailed Summary

The Art of War analyzes the Chinese military weapons and tactics from an insider’s point of view.

Sun Tzu is considered to be one of the finest military tacticians in all of history. Because of the priceless information that lay within the book, it was translated to French in 1772.

Over a century later, in 1905, a British Officer named Everard Ferguson Calthrop attempted to translate the book to English in an attempt to reveal this century-old tactic to English natives.

Eventually, the first annotated translation was completed in 1910 by Lionel Giles.

The Art of War is divided to 13 chapters. The first of these chapters expresses in detail the energies that should go into the preparation for a battle.

It highlights the importance of calculation and thinking and goes on to explain all the important aspects of it.

All warfare is based on deception
Sun tzu

Sun Tzu warns that deviation from these rules can only mean one thing: loss!

The enemy cannot defeat us without our own help, he says.

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

The subsequent chapters explain the process of going to war against the enemy.

How should you go about it? What measures should you take on the battlegrounds? How do you increase your chances of winning the battle? What positions are most favourable? Sun Tzu answers all these questions and more.

Conclusion

The Art of War is indeed a classic. It has booked a spot among bestsellers and, even till now, continues to sell in tens of thousands every single year.

Author Of The Month: Candice Carty-Williams

Candice Carty-Williams

“I’m not Queenie, but we see the world through the same lens”

Candice Carty-Williams is a British writer and author of the Sunday Times bestselling Queenie. She was born in Westminster and grew up in South London. Her debut novel Queenie is a bestseller. Candice Carty-Williams is also the first Black writer to win Book of the Year at the British Book Awards. She was nominated alongside Lisa Taddeo, Oyinkan Braithwaite, and Margaret Atwood. She has contributed to Guardian, i-D, Vogue International, the Sunday Times, BEAT Magazine, and Black Ballad. In 2016, she created and launched the Guardian and 4th Estate BAME Short Story Prize, a prize that aims to find, advocate, and celebrate black, Asian, and minority ethnic writers. She has worked in media before moving into publishing at the age of 23. Candice Carty-Williams has worked on marketing literary fiction, non-fiction, and graphic novels. Candice studied media at Sussex. She also was a Bookseller Rising Star in 2016.

Her debut book Queenie tells the story of a 25-year-old Jamaican British woman whose life starts to unravel when she takes a break from her long-term boyfriend and struggles with her Jamaican British identity. She has shared what it means to be a Black and British. Candice Carty-Williams is a famous public figure, who is admired and an inspiration for many people. Her book has been the most talked about in 2019 after receiving a wave of critical acclaim. Her book Queenie has sold more than 15 million copies. In the USA, Queenie has received an overwhelming response from the readers. She has also contributed an essay to the anthology New daughters of Africa (2019).

After winning the Book of the year title, she said, “I don’t quite know how I feel about winning Book of the Year; I’m proud of myself, yes, and grateful to the incredible team that helped me get Queenie out of my head and onto the shelves” She also added “I’m also sad and confused that I’m the first black AND female author to have won this award since it began,”

“I think everyone has a story to tell – whether you’ve got it from a specific place, or you’ve grown up in it, or you’ve got it from your imagination.”

Many newcomer Black authors struggle to make their first book published, and even more difficult it is to make out in a competition. About only 6% of authors published in the UK are people of color.

Candice Carty-Williams is most inspired by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and also the surrounding women. Her favorite authors are Alexia Arthur, Diana Evans, and Courttia Newland. She thinks that writing can help with better mental health. When you are anxious or depressed, you can write what you are going through but also through the lens of someone else. Or sharing your thoughts and what are you feeling on paper can help you release anxiety and stress. Her writings around blackness and sexuality are very popular all over the world. She has dedicated her debut book to her two childhood friends who died young. Candice Carty-Williams has written the first draft of her second book which will be published very soon. Her second novel is about Grief and how Grief does not ever leave you.

Her mother worked as a hospital receptionist, and her father was a cab driver. Talking about her childhood, she said that it was shit and lonely. She thinks that movements like Black Lives Matter are very important. In her opinion Finding one’s true value does not come from love or sex. One has to find its true value within him/herself. Candice has been successful in empowering Black females and highlighting that it is impossible to cope up with life the entire time. Life can get messy, which is okay. Her winning is an interesting moment and memory in the cultural history of Blacks.

Harry Potter Series Book One: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

Book Title: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

Author: J.K. Rowling

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Publication Year: 26th of June, 1998

Genre: Fiction, Fantasy

Next book in Series: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Blurb

Harry Potter is one of the bestselling books of all time with over 500 million copies sold.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s stone is the first of a seven-book series that follows a growing and lovable character, Harry Potter.

Harry Potter, after several years of believing a lie finally discovers his magical heritage on his 11th birthday. The rest of his life unfolds to the rhythm of this new, defining fate.

Summary (Spoilers beyond this point)

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone reveals the start of a very long journey that begins with the birth of the main character, Harry Potter.

After his parent’s death, Harry is moved to live with the Dursleys- a family that comprised of muggles (non-magic folks): his aunt, Petunia, her husband, Uncle Vernon, and their son, Dudley.

Harry is left on their doorstep and his aunt, even though she disliked the Potters, was left with no choice but to accept him.

Harry grows under her stiff watch, living a normal life- being bullied by Dudley, only wearing oversized and worn clothes, and living in a cupboard under the stairs- until an unexpected incident changes his life forever.

A message is sent via an owl addressed to Harry Potter. He is not allowed to view this letter until the intervention of a giant some days later who comes around to explain Harry’s past, his present, and his expected future.

“Harry — yer a wizard.”

Harry, happier than he’s ever been, embraced this new and vibrant adventure.

He learns the ways of the wizarding world, the structures, and its entries: Platform nine and three quarters, Gringotts- the wizard bank guarded by Goblins, Hogwarts, the wizarding school to which he is enrolled, the Mirror of Erised, and an ancient secret that has been guarded for several centuries- the philosophers stone.

Along the way, he meets the best and worst of people, he makes his only friends – Ronald Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Rubeus Hagrid, the giant and keeper of keys at Hogwarts.

It’s a rosy new life, but also one where terror and fright lurk in every corner.

Amidst these ups, Harry is introduced to who would come to be his grandest and most lethal enemy in the rest of the series, Lord Voldemort, so terrifying that his name could not be said by most of those in the wizarding world.

Harry must stand strong, come face to face with him and keep his head high. It is only the beginning of his journey after all.

Conclusion

J.K. Rowling is nothing short of brilliant. She knew exactly how popular her character was going to become. This is seen where she spoke through one of her characters as like a prophesy,

“He’ll be famous — a legend — I wouldn’t be surprised if today was known as Harry Potter Day in the future — there will be books written about Harry — every child in our world will know his name!“
Professor mcgonagall

And I don’t think there’s any child in all of Britain and beyond that has not at one point or the other heard the name, Harry Potter.

It’s such a beauty she’s put together and I would recommend it to everyone – old and young.

Book Of The Week: Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment

Title: “Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment”

Author: Steve Harvey

Author of the Summary and Review: Sabrina Mahar

Page Count: 240

Published: 2009

Rating: 3.5

Genre: Nonfiction, Self-help, Relationship, Psychology

“Stop heaping your own definition of love on men and recognize that men love differently.” Steve Harvey

Introduction:

Act like a lady, think like a man is a self-help book of relationship advice for women. The entire book revolves around what men want and how to understand men. Steve Harvey is an American comedian, radio host, and television host. The book has 3 sections with 15 chapters in the book. He has shared dating and relationship advice for women. How to know that he is the one and how to make a relationship last longer and stronger. How to bond with men and their families. Steve Harvey has guided on dating, relationship, and marriage.

He also tells about how we as a society and as a family have set the mindset and behavior of men in childhood and teenage years. How he is always considered to be the head of the family and to look after his family. Harvey says that women do not know about men like what they want or their needs. From Harvey’s point of view, men are simple human beings, they only want simple and straightforward things. Therefore, women need to declutter their thoughts towards men and provide them with the needs and the behavior that they actually deserve.

Women sometimes live in a toxic or unhappy relationship because they don’t talk things out with men. To the point conversations and real talk with men about how you want your relationship can help resolve many issues in relationships and with men. He says that women think that men will naturally be able to understand what they want and how they are feeling. But, confronting each other and talking about how you are feeling, thinking, and wanting from others is beneficial for both parties to make things work out between them. You can find many relationship guides and advice for women about how to start a relationship, walk out of a relationship, and make things better in a relationship.

Main points of the book:

1- Women need to change their thinking and behavior towards men in a relationship
2- Real men extend themselves to women they care about
3- A man who is worthy of you will be there for you no matter what bad circumstance comes along
4- Men are the head and providers of the family
5- Men are very simple creatures whereas women are complicated creatures

Summary:

This relationship self-help book focuses more on the actions and behaviors of women, rather than men. The entire book has focused on how women should behave and act to make a man happy and make a relationship stronger. The book starts with what men need and what they think. A man’s love isn’t like a woman’s love. Women want men to show continuously how much they love them like frequent phone calls, texts, and dinner dates. Harvey says that a man’s love is different, much more simple and direct. To know if a man loves you he will do three simple things for you, that is: Profess. He will claim you in front of everybody. Like he will give you the Title “This is my woman/lady” If he gives you a title, then he has genuine feelings for you. If a man is serious for you, then he will surely claim you. The title will let women know that he is serious about you and sees himself in a long-term, committed relationship with you.

The second thing that will prove that a man loves you is: Provide. The very core of manhood is to be the Provider. A man will provide you with all the monetary things you need, from groceries to paying bills. He will put himself far below the responsibility only to provide for his family. Even if he is broke, he will make sure to do everything within his power to make up for you by supplying your needs in other tangible ways.

The third thing is to Protect: A True/Real man will protect you from every calamity, problem, or disrespect. Protecting women isn’t just about using physical force against someone. A man who truly cares about or loves you will always protect you in other ways, whether it be with advice, or performing a task.

Harvey shares that men only need three things from women and relationships, which are support, loyalty, and the cookie. He further shares how we can distinguish between the marrying types and playthings. His philosophy is that men will treat women as one of these two things: a Sports fish or a Keeper. A sports fish woman doesn’t have any rules, requirements, respect for herself, or guidelines. She is clueless about how to approach men. She has no plans for any ongoing relationships and is not expecting anything in particular from a man.

Whereas, a keeper woman understands her power. She knows her power from the start of a relationship. She knows that she wants a serious relationship with her man, and therefore, will get straight with him. She is smart and demands respect for herself.

He further shares the example of mama’s boy. He shares a letter from his popular segment called “Strawberry Letter 23”, in which a woman was distressed about her husband being Mama’s boy. He would go any time of the day or night to accompany his mother. The controlling behavior of his mother was driving her crazy. A woman should set rules, standards, and requirements for a man in a relationship. Men cannot read minds, and they are incapable of anticipating what women want. So, women have to speak up to better their relationship.

He explains why men cheat. He says women change, and they don’t appreciate men like they used to. A lot of arguing going on between them, and when the man misses the spark that used to be there in their relationship, that’s when they cheat on women.

He shares the 90-day rule for women to figure out men whether or not he’s good enough for you. And how to get the respect you deserve. Women must first figure out what exactly their requirements are in a relationship and in men. He has listed 10 questions to ask oneself when dating or in a relationship, to make sure that women know what they want and expect from a relationship and man.

Conclusion:

This book is an easy read but has a narrow-minded perspective. Harvey suggests that women need to change their thinking and behavior towards men to make a relationship better or start a relationship, as men are simple creatures and Women complicate things. Women should lower their expectations from men. I didn’t agree with everything he has said. He thinks that even if a man cheats, it is all women’s fault. He does not blame men for cheating. As relationships form and work out because of both the man and woman. Both parties are equally responsible to improve their behavior and make a happier bond and relationship between them. But, Harvey has pointed out that only women need to change their minds and actions. Men are always right in their way, and they need not be changed.