Random Thoughts of a Girl in Nairobi

   Growing-up I watched my parents and their friends buy each other cards for birthdays, Christmas, success and we even got congratulations cards when my brother was born. I managed to fish out the cards that have survived in the house. I bought some of them myself and wrote Merry Christmas in my child-like squiggly hand-writing. So why don’t we do that anymore? Because I know from experience that card-buying is an art. You first look for one that passes on the message you want. Then you separate the gaudy from the tasteful. Finally, you pick the one the person you’re buying for would likely like the most. You see, it’s an art! Even the bank used to send me a card for my Birthday! Birthday cards Success cards...mostly mum's Congratulations cards My favourite: Christmas cards    For all the good that technology has done for us, it’s taken away that authenticity in our declarations of affection. Admit it, every time someone sends you an e-...

   I don’t know about your high school experience. But from what I heard mine was better than most. I find that being in the Kenyan public school system there are some things that are commonly done across the board. Therefore let me present a list of things I think most high-school leavers would never admit to having done. 1.        Barter trade Somewhere, somebody came-up with the logic that one small tin of crisps is equal to 10 medium-sized biscuits. And 20 medium-sized biscuits are equal to a 250 ml packet of plain UHT milk. Of course if the milk was flavoured the price automatically went-up!  I don’t know what the current exchange rate is, but this came in handy when you were running low on supplies and had too much of one thing. 2.        School-made chocolate Aka: Mkorogo*. Ingredients: Blue band, sugar and drinking chocolate. All blended together into a nice thick paste. Yuck! What w...

Rating: 5 stars Target audience: Young adult and Adolescent    First off, let me begin by admitting that I first took an interest in this book because of its cover. I know that’s breaking a cardinal rule but come on, just look at it. Advertising experts somewhere should really take notes! Finishing this book was sad, because it was a really awesome ride that...well ended. The main character is Marguerite who is the very artsy daughter of two very scientifically-inclined physicists. Her parents have invented a device that allows inter-dimensional travel: The Firebird. But it looks as if their assistant, Paul has murdered her father, destroyed their research and escaped into a parallel universe to escape justice, or whatever it is that criminals do when they run away. So she does what any devoted revenge-seeking daughter would do. She uses one of the devices ( which by the way have never actually been tested ) to go right after him. Oh and did I mention that thi...

Target audience: All ages Rating: 4 stars Apparently reading about characters half your age isn't that awkward 3 things you need to know: ·          Artemis fowl is twelve years old. ·          He’s also a criminal mastermind. ·          He kidnapped a leprechaun so that he could basically the proverbial pot of gold.  Yeah, I laughed too when I read the blurb to this book. But I read it out of sheer curiosity, because I've heard of it for years and years but I've never really understood what all the fanfare was about. So two and a half hours after starting it and I closed it with a smile ( I'm a really fast reader ). Few books ever make me smile. Smiling is a sign that I've been impressed. All in all, I wish that I'd read it sooner. And for those other curious minds out there let me assure you: 1.        Th...

   This has honestly been a long time coming. If you've been reading my blog for a while then you've probably predicted it. I'm a huge book fan. So it was only a matter of time before I started doing reviews...or as I like to think of them in my head, ' My very unsolicited opinions about what other people have written '. So ground rules: I'll avoid giving away spoilers because I don't like spoilers either. I'll try to give away just enough info to entice. I'll probably only write reviews about books that I've liked. Truth be told I have a bit of a track record for not finishing books that I don't like. Hopefully this won't be a problem because I'm a very picky reader and I usually like whatever books I do pick. Oh well, here goes nothing! Happy reading...