The reading train continues! In March, I read 4 books (I am doing well, ain’t I?) One was kinda boring, even to my standards; the other was a short but intriguing novella; one was a lovely story that has changed my life… and the other remains a secret.

Read with me:

Firewall – Andy McNab

Last time, I told you I was in the middle of a bad book. Either, the month was drawing to a close and I was tired, or the book was really bad. Anyway, if you are a reader you know you can’t leave a book once you’ve started reading it. It’s like movies and movie lovers.

Basically, Firewall is the story of a disgraced British Intelligence operative Nick Stone who needs money; to pay for the treatment of his traumatized step-daughter – and he doesn’t mind what he does to get it. Even if it means kidnapping a powerful Russian crime boss. But as the operation begins to fall apart Nick finds it harder to identify who the good guys are. And so Stone is thrust into the grim underworld of Estonia, with unknown aggressors stalking the landscape. Russia has launched a cyber-espionage attack, hacking into the West’s most sensitive military secrets. Stone must stop them. But the mafia are waiting in the wings with their own brutal solutions.

Good storyline, right? With all the things we love – thrilling, computer hacking, some sex… but, I hated the flow, the language used… and the cynic monotony. Also, this Nick is like Stephen Seagal… he is invincible!

Death Is Not the End – Ian Rankin

When I saw this title, I was looking for a novella – a small novel I can read in a day or two. The title was intriguing, not in the sense of life after death, but *shrug* I wondered how a detective novel can talk about the afterlife. Or what Ian Rankin was doing writing a novella – he is best known for long-ass novels.

Anyway, I got it, and I read it in two days, sitting in the jam in the morning and evening – that’s where I read, btw. In this neat little novella, he does in 73 pages what many of his peers take three times as long to do–set an interesting scene, solve a crime, develop a character, and allow him to grow and change without sacrificing either pace or plot.

Rebus, agrees to track down the missing son of his high school sweetheart and her husband, a friend of his youth. He takes you into the gritty back streets and criminal byways of his hometown (more like me solving crimes in Maua), following the lost guy from the nightclub where he was last seen through gambling casinos, football matches, and face-to-face encounters with the mobsters who may have been involved in his disappearance. Along the way, Rebus confronts his own mortality, the choices he’s made, and the obligations he owes his past.

And, if you take part in those betting “fixed matches”, in this kabook you will know how that happens.

Start Something That Matters – Blake Mycoskie

Back in the days, when I was working at Bata, we learned of a company in the US that does something remarkable – for every pair of shoes they sell, they donate a pair to a child in the developing world (sisi hao). We actually learned about it when we saw a picture of the First Lady helping a young jigger victim into a pair of shoes that looked like Ngoma and we thought, wow, she bought all those Ngomas from us. Before we tweeted the shit out of that, we noticed they were not Ngoma – they were TOMS. So, I started looking for stories about this amazing idea.

So, when I saw Kendi Gikunda with this book by the TOMS founder, Blake Mycoskie, there was no way I was letting her get away with it. I just took it, without caring where she was taking it, or if she was still reading it.

And it was the right move.

In Start Something that Matters, Blake Mycoskie tells the story of TOMS, one of the fastest-growing shoe companies in the world, and combines it with lessons learned from other innovative organizations. Blake presents six simple keys for creating or transforming your own life and business, from discovering your core story to being resourceful to incorporating going into every aspect of your life. No matter what kind of change you’re considering; Start Something that Matters gives you the stories, ideas, and practical tips that can help you get started.

It will leave you asking: What matters most to you? Should you focus on earning a living, pursuing your passions, or devoting yourself to the causes that inspire you? The surprising truth is that you don’t have to choose–and that you’ll find more success if you don’t. That’s the breakthrough message of TOMS’ One for One movement. You don’t have to be rich give back and you don’t have to retire to spend every day doing what you love. You can find profit, passion, and meaning all at once right now.

Even foor this book, he donates a book to a needy child, for every copy sold!

In this one book, I have learned enough to make me take some decisions that will impact my life, and hopefully the lives of people. It challenged me to look around me, and start something that matters!

You should look for the book. I would have lent it to you, but it is not mine. I doubt Kendi will give it to you either because it is not hers. And I still have it… I want the owner to forget about it.

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March was a successful month, book-wise. I am not telling you about the fourth book. Reasons are best known to me. 🙂

See you next month. And, are you reading with me? What are you reading?