The culture Map is a simple framework for decoding how people think and get things done across cultures. Throughout the book, the author uses real-world examples on how to succeed in managing across the diverse cultural contexts of the current workplace. “Whether you are sitting at a desk in Boston or eating at a restaurant in Beijing, communicating across cultures is the great challenge of the global economy. Getting it right will be the difference between success and failure.” Erin Meyers She provides a systematic, step-by-step approach to understanding the most common business communication challenges that arise from cultural differences …
I love Chimamanda’s books, she is one of my favorite authors in Africa, and I liked reading this feminists Manifesto. Dear Ijeawele is an easy breakdown on feminism that demystifies some misconceptions of feminism in a set of fifteen priceless suggestions. The book was birthed out of Chimamanda’s letter to her friend on how to raise her daughter feminist. She offers a practical, captivating, and fresh perspective on how parents (mothers and fathers) can nurture and empower their daughters to grow into strong and independent women. Offering advice like teaching girls to reject likeability, be brave, kind, and stand for …
Paul lived and taught in Africa during his youthful years. After thirty-five years, he returns to Africa – traversing from Cairo to the cape of Africa in smelly matatus (mini-buses), taxis, cattle trucks, canoes, and a ferry for this travelogue. Starting off by engaging in touristy activities in Cairo, where the locals don’t consider themselves part of Africa because they believe Africa is underdeveloped and dangerous. He traveled through the remotest villages and occasionally made quick stops in the cities, authentically sharing his experiences and stories. Paul does take the reader on the road less traveled in Africa, a road …
As a Christian, I found this book necessary and informative in explaining our way of life and discovering the meaning and purpose through the different disciplines highlighted. Although I was aware of some of the domains only in part, I had not delved deeper into each discipline’s importance and the proper way of practicing each of them. These disciplines are not a set of rules for us to follow but rather a guideline into self-discovery, spiritual growth, and connecting with those around us. That said, this book can be helpful to everyone regardless of their faith or religious beliefs. The …
This book provides a detailed analysis of the different aspects of our interactions with strangers by using real-life events from the news that occurred at various points in time. Examples include the Cuban spy that spent so many years undetected at one of the USA’s most secure agencies – the pentagon; the man who brought down a hedge-fund giant at wall street to the university student that meets a lady at a party and ends up in police custody. How we interact with new people in our daily lives and throughout history is essential, and our first impressions of those …
Americanah takes us on an interesting love journey of two characters -Ifemelu and Obinze and the experiences they encountered on their search for a better life outside of their home country Nigeria. Through their experiences, the characters provide a window into hard issues of race, culture, class, identity and the struggles of living abroad in a fun yet very informative way. Ifemulu and Obinze fell in love in Nigeria and lost touch through the scuffles encountered on their different paths in the USA and UK respectively and find themselves when they both return to Nigeria. All the different characters mentioned …
We are all conditioned in one way or the other to think of the worst when it comes to issues regarding the world and its development. At the beginning of the book, Hans offers 13 fact questions related to poverty and wealth, education, population growth, health among others to help the reader test their knowledge of the world. Based on the questions, he shares 10 reasons and misconceptions of our view of the world. Reading this book opened my eyes and changed my perspective on the growth of less developed countries like Uganda. Although there is still a lot to …
Chameleon Aura is an easy read providing a thought-proving take on the universal experiences of love, pain and the after-effects. The poems speak to the heart bringing hope for improvement and evolvement into the reader’s better self. The message of self-love and acceptance is re-echoed throughout the book. Here are some of my favourite quotes/poems from the book. “As we proceed on this journey called life, we will take on many shapes, many forms, and many identities and this is what makes us truly beautiful. The experiences we go through, and the people we cross paths with, only add more …