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Books Previously Recommended by Bronwyn

The beerbistro Cookbook by Stephen Beamont & Brian Morin
As a declared white wine lover, beer has never interested me, other than on a hot day at the cottage. This all changed when I went to The beerbistro restaurant in Toronto a few months ago. I was incredibly impressed with the amazing array of gourmet food and the science of matching beers to it. The owners, Stephen Beaumont and Brian Morin, have created their own taste specifications for beer categories. They match their menu to the different categories and you can chose a beer that will perfectly compliment your meal. So I was excited to find out that the pair had written a cookbook. This is a wonderful book! The first half was an education for me in the way beer is made, how to taste it and how to match it to your food. And the second half is the recipes. And what amazing recipes they are! I had no idea that beer can be matched to fois gras or even brownies! And have you heard of beer ice cream? I think Whole-lotta-Gelato could be the Waterloo creators. This book shows off the art of beer like never before - Bottoms UP!

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

In Jackson, Mississippi, in 1962, there are lines that are not crossed. With the civil rights movement exploding all around them, three women start a movement of their own, forever changing a town and the way women--black and white, mothers and daughters--view one another. This is a fantastic novel and an important examination of Black female maids in Mississippi in the 1960’s. Aibileen is raising her 17th white child. Her own son was killed in a work accident while his white bosses looked the other way. Minny, Aibileen’s best friend is the best cook in Jackson. But she “can’t mind her tongue” and has just lost another job. Enter Miss Skeeter, the white daughter of a cotton plantation, who craves more than the mundane Women’s Leagues meetings. These three ordinary women come together to collaborate on an extraordinary project that will put them all at risk. This book is hard to put down – I can testify to reading it in 48 hours.

A Woman Among Warlords by Malalai Joya

Malalai Joya has been called "the bravest woman in Afghanistan." At a constitutional assembly in Kabul in 2003, she stood up and denounced her country's powerful NATO-backed warlords. She was twenty-five years old. Two years later, she became the youngest person elected to Afghanistan's new Parliament. In 2007, she was suspended from Parliament for her persistent criticism of the warlords and drug barons and their cronies. She has survived five assassination attempts to date, is accompanied at all times by armed guards, and sleeps only in safe houses. Often compared to democratic leaders such as Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi, this extraordinary young woman was raised in the refugee camps of Iran and Pakistan. Inspired in part by her father's activism, Malalai became a teacher in secret girls' schools, holding classes in a series of basements. She hid her books under her burqa so the Taliban couldn't find them. She also helped establish a free medical clinic and orphanage in her impoverished home province of Farah. While many have talked about the serious plight of women in Afghanistan, Malalai Joya takes us inside the country and shows us the desperate day-to-day situations these remarkable people face at every turn. She recounts some of the many acts of rebellion that are helping to change the country -- the women who bravely take to the streets in peaceful protest against their oppression; the men who step forward and claim "I am her mahram," so the fundamentalists won't punish a woman for walking alone; and the families that give their basements as classrooms for female students.A controversial political figure in one of the most dangerous places on earth, Malalai Joya is a hero for our times, a young woman who refused to be silent, a young woman committed to making a difference in the world, no matter what.

Burmese Lessons by Karen Connelly

Burmese Lessons was a surreal and very personal reading experience for me! I was hooked on this book after the first chapter, reminiscing on my own travelling experiences in 1999 in Thailand. Reading about Karen's travelling through Burma made me reflect on all of the stories that I had heard when I was in the north of Thailand. Once Karen meets Maung, a leaders of one of the rebel groups fighting the Mynamar military junta, I was hooked into this book. Karen's description of falling in love with Maung was thrilling and also felt personal to me as I reflected on how I met my husband. This is both a travel journal, a love story and a very political tale. Karen explores some pretty intense topics of Burmese politics, poverty and development. And she notes the gender inequalities among the Burmese rebel groups - women are victims of high rates of domestic abuse. This was a fantastic read.

Half the Sky by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl Wudunn

I'm only half way through this book and I feel like my eyes are opened at every chapter on issues affecting women in "developing" countries. I think most of us are aware of the trafficking of people (mostly women and children) but with so many other issues stalking our media landscape, this slips into a forgotten corner. The authors are trying to bring these important issues back to the forefront. One idea that I am already impressed with is a solution to fighting terrorism: educate girls - most countries that breed terrorism are extremely patriarchal.

The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Heidi Durrow

At a reccent book conference this winter, I met Heidi Durrow, the author of this engaging debut novel. She was a lovely young lady and even sent me a handwritten note a few days after we met. Though that is not why I think you should read this novel. I think you should read this novel because it is FANTASTIC! The Girl Who Fell From the Sky is about Rachel, the daughter of a Danish mother and an African American G.I. who becomes the sole survivor of a family tragedy.