A Thousand Splendid Suns

September 21, 2026 / still a dreamer / Leave a comment

You think your pain and your heartbreak
are unprecedented in the history of the world,
and then you read.
~ James Baldwin

A Thousand Splendid Suns, historical fiction, by Khaled Hosseini was a very difficult read for me. For many reasons.

Most disturbing to me was the horrific brutality to women, to our two main characters, Mariam and Laila, but also to women in general under the shifting periods of leadership in Afghanistan. Under the Taliban, women were severely beaten or possibly executed for being on the street unaccompanied by a close male family member.

The abuse perpetrated on Mariam and Laila in their home by their husband was heinous. Rather than being happy for the two women, I was sometimes simply relieved that they somehow managed to survive. There were happy moments, but very few with him.

While the story begins in Herat, most takes place in Kabul over a period of decades when there is non-stop destruction between warring parties from within and from outside of the country. This would have been hard enough to read, but in the face of the horror going on currently in Gaza, the seemingly endless war in Ukraine, and an unfounded war in Iran, more war was painful to read about.

The fact that I am not a history buff by any means also made this novel a challenge, plus this is a culture I have little familiarity with. I had a lot to learn.

The story itself is essentially about two incredibly brave women who were not raised to be brave. In their fight to survive, Mariam and Laila became bonded like mother and daughter, repeatedly risking so much to protect their children and others they loved. How they endured and overcame so much loss and found strength through one another is at the inspiring core of this story.

As I write this, I find tears in my eyes as I think of Mariam and Laila, of Tariq, of Aziza and Kalmai, of Babi and Mammy, of Nana, and of Mullah Faizullah. Even for Jalil who, too late, came to understand what he had done. For Zaman, who ran the orphanage.

It is, in the end, a story of love, of heroism, of hope, and survival against all odds, but I now know why it sat on my TBR shelf so long after my having read The Kite Runner. Some books just ask a lot of you. This, for me, was one of them. It was worth it.

What’s in A Name?

August 17, 2026August 17, 2026 / still a dreamer / 2 Comments

One thing we are all given upon arrival in this world is a name. That name will follow us, with rare exception, throughout our lives to the day we die. Others respond to our names, as do we. What would the effect be if we didn’t have one?

This is something I wondered about when I finished this book. Why didn’t the story, which was both emotional and urgent, have any feeling of emotion or urgency? And I questioned one unusual quality in the book – none of the characters had names. Only a dog, who was left behind when his family was taken, was given a name by the writer.

Written in first person, the writer was nameless, as was her dearest friend, who is only referred to as “the old man”, and her beloved editor, who is only known as “R”. This depersonalization by the author is obviously intentional, but what was her intent?

The book’s premise hooked me – an island where things are constantly disappearing, and people’s memories along with them. The disappearances are enforced by the Memory Police, a somewhat Nazi-like army. The editor, R, is able to retain all his memories since childhood despite so many of the related items having disappeared from the island. This is sure to make him a prime target to be “disappeared”, so the writer and the old man construct a secret room to hide him.

This has all the elements of a great story; but something was lacking – connection. Did all the characters remaining nameless make a difference? I think it did. Only the rescued dog was given a name – Don, and each time his name was mentioned, I perked up. Oh – what’s happening with Don?

Names are important. They are the first step in how I know you, how I call you. Who are you without a name?

A Book Review

July 6, 2026July 6, 2026 / still a dreamer / 4 Comments

At this particular moment in time, there are literally scores of things that I could write about – some that I’d really like to, and some that might be helpful to, just to get it all out of my head.

So, I’ll write a book review.

I preface this by saying that biographies are not my usual reading genre, but historical fiction is my most often-read. This falls someplace in between. It came very highly recommended, and Hedy Lamarr had a fascinating life, so I dove in.

I had some problems with the story. While I realize that the book focused on a particular period of her life, I felt that the first half+ of the book focused more on the history of Austria prior to the 1938 Nazi invasion/takeover than it did on Hedy. It was more history than I needed to understand her situation.

The biographical elements picked up once she came to Hollywood, where we got to know her better through her role as a screen star, a budding inventor, and her relationships. She developed the technology known as frequency-hopping to be applied to the accuracy and success of torpedoes hitting their targets in the war (and which now ensure the security of our cell phones.). Her accomplishment was buried because she was a woman.

However, since this is written in first person, I wanted to feel more for Hedy. Her life was often very painful, but the writing lacked emotion, and Hedy just seemed too distant. Written in third person, I might have felt differently. In terms of other-character development, it was lacking because of this POV. In the end, I wanted to know Hedy better – yes, her emotional experience, but also her brilliance in her accomplishments – she did so much more, and I don’t feel I really got either. 2.75 stars.

Why Do I Share Books with You?

April 29, 2026April 30, 2026 / still a dreamer / 5 Comments

Basically, because getting new books is exciting for me, and Still A Dreamer is about sharing things that I find worthwhile and valuable. Books – and reading – hold a place of importance in my life, and I just went to a huge book sale!

Maybe because I hope to inspire you, and you are ready for some great suggestions. (in my opinion, of course.)

In the top photo, are 6 books I found and purchased from my carefully curated list of 34 books. Celeste Ng’s book is not the original from my list, but a worthwhile swap.

In the photo above are some extras I found – 3 by authors I know and like, a fictional biography enthusiastically recommended to me by a young woman at the sale, and one for a friend.

The total haul? $22.00. You can’t beat that if you’re a reader.

The love of reading was engendered in me from a very, very young age, around 1 or 2 years old, for which I am deeply grateful. I quickly found that books were magic – they took you places you’d never imagined, taught you all your little mind could grasp with joy. Books laid down the path for a lifetime of curiosity, enjoyment, learning, and inspiration in so many ways.

See anything you like? I hope I’ve offered some interesting possibilities. BTW, if you have kids, and they see you reading, you’re already an inspiration for them to develop a lifelong habit of doing the same .

If you are not currently an active reader, or feel it’s too late to learn, find the book that will get your mind lit up and jump in. It’s never too late.

p.s. The day after the book sale, not having found the few “must-haves” on my list, I decided to buy 6 more on Thrift Books. I think I’m set for quite a while now! Stay tuned ….

Nineteen Minutes

February 11, 2026February 11, 2026 / still a dreamer / Leave a comment

Nineteen minutes is how long it took for high school junior Peter Houghton to enter Sterling High and kill ten people and wound another nineteen. However, it took his whole life from when he was first bullied at five years old to that point, having endured years of emotional and physical abuse from his classmates, to now, when he’d finally had enough.

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult is a complex, challenging, and astonishing read which covers many issues beyond the central focus of the school shooting. Bullying is the thread weaving the entire story together. The novel focuses primarily on one character, Peter, who could never seem to fit in. His non-stop torment began his first day on the bus to kindergarten when bigger kids threw his cherished Superman lunchbox out the window. Peter was five, and had dreamed of his first day of school. Josie, like Peter, and a good friend when they were young, had also always felt out of place until high school, when she became the girlfriend of a popular boy. Being bullied and treated abusively by him was the price Josie paid for her popularity.

Nineteen Minutes is about the many ways a child can be failed, even if unintentionally, by family, friends, and school. It asks what it means to be different in today’s society, and who has the right to judge another. It talks about how easily entire lives can be destroyed; how the truth comes out in the end; and how justice may be served.

Nineteen Minutes is also about individuals and families who are truly doing the best they can in trying to understand the young people in their lives. Ultimately, the book is about love, friendship, judgment, pain, redemption, and death, played out in the lead-up and aftermath of just nineteen minutes of violence.

Ms. Picoult has scrupulously researched every detail and aspect of school shootings and the myriad fields related to them, including forensics, court proceedings, the psychology of school shooters, and more. Her novel is also a consistently banned book, but it might also be the book that teens, their parents, and teachers most need to read.

Nineteen Minutes, published in 2007, is totally relevant today. It is incredibly impressive throughout, and packs an unexpected double punch at the end. It has left me thinking for days, wondering how, as such a supposedly advanced society, we are not doing better. Highly recommended.

This was a long post. If you’re still here, thanks for reading through to the end.

p.s. Last night, I continued to edit this piece, planning to post it today. When I opened my online news this morning, I found that there had been a school shooting in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., Canada. Nine total were killed, including the shooter who took their own life, and twenty-seven wounded. That this was transpiring while I wrote about school shootings confirmed that I needed to post this.

Photo credits: Hallway by Yash Patel/Unsplash; Bullying from WeStockProductions/Shutterstock