The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio

Thank you publisher, Random House for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

Illegal immigration is a hot button issue in every election since I can remember. If you don't have any idea what I am talking about then you are either in wrong country or a recluse. It's impossible not to have an opinion on this issue. Anyways, getting back to this book by Karla Carnejo, it is a glimpse into the lives of undocumented immigrants as told by them to the author who also happens to be an undocumented immigrant. It's easy to connect with someone who is in the same shoe as you are and that's the advantage the author has in extracting information that most undocumented immigrants will never share with anyone. It's not just the ethnic similarity  but also similarities with psychological issues. It's no surprise that most of the undocumented immigrants and their children suffer from psychological issues that eventually manifests as physiological issues. They are hot mess to say the least all because of government policies that keeps them paranoid even in their sleep. No surprises that without "papers" you have no access to legal jobs, healthcare insurance, medical care ,driver license , you name it. The things that we you and I as US citizens take for granted are just a dream and something to avoid if you are undocumented immigrants least you will be tracked down by ICE. No wonder this leads to jobs where they are abused such as in day laborers or restaurant workers not getting promised pay or having to work in harsh conditions. They certainly can't get medical care in the US so they resort to care that is based on naturopathy or seek out hidden pharmacies that will give any drug without proper consultation or even voodoo crap. With no social net, there is on such thing as retirement for such people. They are basically left to survive on their own, or go back to their country and die there. The author puts it nicely, this country as in the USA uses these guys when they are young making them do jobs that no American will do no matter how poor they are and then once their bodies give up they are kicked on the side to live out their rest of the years with no social safety net. The children of such immigrants have their own issue they have to deal with. So many families are destroyed because of one of the parents who has been in the US for 10+ years suddenly is caught driving without license and is deported leaving the wife and little kids who are by the way american citizens to care for themselves. It's heart wrenching.

Over all, I think this is some good work by Karla Cornejo who is a Harvard graduate and writes and advocates for undocumented immigrants. 

Narconomics: How to Run a Drug Cartel by Tom Wainwright

I was told about this book by a friend few years ago and I bought the book few months ago at a local library book sale. Eventually I got around reading this book and let me tell you it was very informative and eye opening. Don't let the title of this book make you avert from reading it. It really has nothing to do with what title says. On the contrary this book is a good piece of investigative journalism by Tom Wainwright on the business of illegal drugs and drug cartels if you are to look at a bigger picture. Turns out that legal corporations and drug cartels share quite a bit in common from controlling supply to customer service to everything in middle such as marketing, public relations etc. Knowing how the "system" works can provide useful insight on how to dismantle or weaken the system. The war on illegal drugs isn't new but this book highlights how the efforts are directed where they are least to make any significant impact. For example, rather than attacking supply side the book makes a point how much useful it would be to control the demand side of the business. Rather than allocating more police force to stop the sale of drugs it would be helpful to invest money in public campaigns such as criminal re-education, after school activities, job placements for prisoners after they get out and such. 

There is also the argument of legalizing some of the drugs such as marijuana. Fortunately some states are seeing the point of economists and starting to do that. Not only that will weaken the cartels hold of the drug business but can lead to decrease in violence and more money in taxes and licensing for the states. 

In my opinion this is a well-written book on investigative journalism with arguments backed by statistical data. I recommend highly recommend this book. There are other books in this category one of my favourite is American Kingpin by Nick Bilton. 

Second City Sinners: True Crime from Historic Chicago's Deadly Streets by Jon Seidel

Disclaimer: This book was provided to me by the publisher in return of my unbiased opinion/review.

Chicago has always been close to my heart having been lived there for almost 16 years so any chance I get to explore Chicago either through books or taking a stroll through the city is always thrilling. The title of this book intrigued me and hence I decided to read this book. Chicago is known for many things its chilly winters, deep dish pizza but first and foremost its crime. This book focus on the criminal history of Chicago through its criminals. The author has done a wonderful job by piecing together crime stories chronologically using newspaper archives of one of the most prominent newspaper of the time. The stories flow nicely and full of interesting details that is sure to keep the reader glued.

Overall, I really recommend this book to anyone who is interested in history of Chicago.

Yellow Bird: Oil, Murder, and a Woman's Search for Justice in Indian Country by Sierra Crane Murdoch

Disclaimer: I have received a copy of this book  from the publisher in return of my unbiased opinion and review.

Books on investigative journalism are always fun and gripping to read. This book is no different. The story of this book is multifaceted in that it involves one woman's relentless efforts to find out about a missing person on Indian reservation while at the same time the author takes us through the oil boom on reservations and how it impacted the lives of people living there and the way the boom brought in array of bad things such as violence, drugs, and greed influencing every aspect of lives of those living there. To what extent people droop to satisfy their greed for money and power involving stealing from their own tribes to engaging in morally and ethically questionable things to murders is what this book is about. It reads like a murder mystery and is a page turner. Long book but certainly an eye opener.

Everything is Figureoutable: How One Simple Belief Can Help Us Overcome Any Obstacle and Create Unstoppable Success by Marie Forleo (Goodreads Author)

Disclaimer: I was given a copy of this book for free for my unbiased opinion and so here it goes.

Self-help books have been around for long time and time and time again I have picked up a book that would quality as a self-help book just to get bored of the same material recycled and repackaged ad nauseam. The moment I picked up this book I felt this would be different and thank God it was. No....don't get all excited about learning any breakthrough psychological research or something new that hasn't been preached already. Instead what got me excited about this book is the format and the way of presenting it. Let me elaborate on it a little bit more.  The book is broken down in chapters, exercises and something called field-notes i.e. real life examples of people who have tried and apparently found success using this "Everything is figureoutable" philosophy. The goal of this book is on to make you master of your emotions or pump you up with traits that will make you successful but rather infusing qualities that are vital for survival in current times. Anxiety, desperation, fear, rejection are very prevalent in current times as more and more people are trying to throw the status quo and want to stand out among the crowd. How do you make a unique life for yourself that is fulfilling and worth enjoying? How do you get started on that business idea that has been simmering in your consciousness for years? How do you become financially secure? How do you find courage to get up and start all over again after having dealt a massive blow to your face? All these endeavor needs qualities such as dedication, patience, ability to read your gut(not your mind), perseverance, commitment, measured risk taking, and facing your fear head on. Unfortunately all these necessary skills for living a fulfilling life are not taught in any classroom. Hence, the booming genre of self-help books. 

In my opinion, this is a really good book if you are ready to make some positive changes at the start of this new year. Also  if you are just trying to recalibrate your already awaken sense of positive change this book will hit you spot on. Lastly for people who are not new to this genre you will find material that is presented from a different perspective and lens to keep you motivated in making those changes.

The Billion Dollar Spy: A True Story of Cold War Espionage and Betrayal by David E. Hoffman

Amazing book on CIA's most valuable spy in Soviet and his betrayal by CIA's one of its own. The book is riveting and grips you from beginning to the end. Almost made me want to join CIA. lol. but I doubt and seriously wish we don't have a second cold war. That would be terrible for all involved. US owes a lot to Mr. Tolkachev, the Soviet spy whose material gave US air to air combat technology upper hand for decades.

Overall, I highly recommend book. No matter what genre you are fan of you are going to enjoy this one especially if it's on audio.

I've Been Wrong Before: Essays by Evan James

Disclaimer: I got a copy of this book from the publisher in return for my unbiased opinion.

This book is a collection of short essays about the author's reflection of his time travelling to places. It's like David Sedaris's essays. Each essay however has something deep and philosophical about it. The inner thought process and emotional state is put on the paper in a very tactful manner. There is an undertone of looking for true love only to be sabotaged by the author himself as in when his wanderlust takes priority. Overall, I found this book entertaining and if you like short essays you may like this book too. The chapters are not that long and you can go through them in 30 mins maybe less than that each.

Caging Skies by Christine Leunens

Disclaimer: This book was given to me for free by the publisher for my unbiased review in return.

Stories that are set in the backdrop of historic events are my favorite and this novel by Christine Leunens falls in that category. Set in the backdrop of pre-WWII in Austria the main character Johannes then a child is brainwashed by the propaganda machine of Hitler which his parents don't agree with but has on choice but to put up with their son's misguided love for their leader. The daily interactions between a misguided son and his parents are well-captures by the author. The book is almost fun to see how a child can be made a part of such a machine and cause to blur the line between moral and immoral. The story starts getting interesting once Johannes finds out that his parents have been hiding a jew girl in their house which nobody knows off. First hatred and feeling of supremacy of being an Aryan compared to a jew girl and then irrational obsession towards her makes the middle third of the novel pretty interesting. The lengths Johannes goes to hide the fact that Allies won the war so that he doesn't have to part with his "girlfriend" is what makes the middle third of the book interesting. There is quite bit of tension between the girl and Johannes , again well written by the author. The book starts getting little dis-interesting in the end where the writing takes a mostly philosophical turn making it hard to get by. But the story comes full circle when once a man of free will keeping a girl from achieving her freedom himself becomes a captive of his psyche. 

Overall, a good book. I think most people will enjoy it atleast the first 2/3rd of it. The last couple chapters may feel like a little drag but if you like heavy writing you will enjoy even those last chapters.  

Temper by Layne Fargo (Goodreads Author)

First of all  I would like to thank the publishing company for providing me a copy of this book in return for my unbiased review.

What drew my attention when I asked for this book for review was the cover and the title. I knew it had to be a story on one of the undesired elements of human nature i.e anger/temper. But it's not a flat out vendetta novel nor is there a frank declaration or portrayal of uncontrolled anger. What we have is a psychological thriller of a sort where the constant provocation leads to an ever building passion in which the line between good passion and bad passion is so blurred that one does not know which one is guiding the action of the doer. The doer is a debutante, Kira Rascher who has just landed a lead role in a famous Chicago theatre company production whose director cum lead actor Malcolm Mercer has been known to take his actors to extremes to mold them to his desires by psychologically manipulating them on and off stage. There is a particular magnetism that people feel around him that they can't pull themselves out of and continues to egg along knowing that they might be losing their identity and continues to torment themselves just to prove that they are worth his time. Between a constant psychological manipulation by the director and his actors, there is another character Joanna who is a constant companion to Malcolm Mercer and  has been desiring his validation since the day she met him be it professionally or romantically but to no avail leading to build up of years of resentment that finally finds outlet as the book end draws near. This interplay of human emotions divided in short chapters told from the perspective of two women Kira  and Joanna keeps this book so interesting and a page turner.

Layne Fargo the author has done a good job capturing and exploring the interplay of confusing emotions and relationships in her debut novel. I enjoyed this book and I am sure if you are into psychological thrillers and drama you will too. 

Good Will: Shakespeare's Novel Life by Arthur W. Wiggins (Goodreads Author), Barbara M. Wiggins

This book was sent to me by the authors for free in return for my unbiased opinion of it. So here it is.

Shakespeare has been a man of mystery to many and such an antique personality that hardly someone outside studying English literature would express curiosity about Shakespeare's life. This book is for those who are peripherally interested in knowing about his life. It is a hybrid of facts as gathered by authors during their trips to England and some extrapolated ideas that fills in the gap and makes most sense. Thankfully the language is easy to comprehend and the book reads fast. Interspersed are sonnets as one would expect of any book on Shakespeare. Overall, I think this book is worth reading if you have even the slightest curiosity about Shakespeare and what the life would have been like when he was alive. 

I particularly liked the last paragraph of this book. It is a conversation between business manager of The Globe after it was burnt down in an accident. The business manager asks Shakespeare who is tending his wife who has been injured in the fire while watching a play to commit his time and money to rebuild The Globe and keep writing more plays that makes money for the company and Will says " Cuthbert you disgust me. Your emphasis on money sounds more like my father than yours. Life isn't about money, it's about love. The love of my life and I are going home."

I think that is true no matter if you are a playwright genius like Shakespeare or someone who works long hours just to make ends meet.