The Literary Adventures of an Opinionated Bookworm

I don't know about you, but the question I have heard since the age of sixteen was, "when are you getting married?" My mother claims that our extended family was always joking when they asked me this question, but I feel like the frequency and repetitiveness of the question means that this was no joke: Everyone expects me to get married.  This is the culture I grew up in. Marriage was a box to be ticked on the list of my life accomplishments. I am almost 24 now, and for some reason, I can feel the pressure of this question even more acutely. It doesn't matter what I am doing in other aspects of my life, according to many in my life the one thing I should accomplish is marriage and motherhood. Unfortunately, I have started to wonder if this is something I even want...why do people get married? Committed This is what brought me to Committed  by Elizabeth Gilbert, who is known for her book, Eat Pray Love . In this next step of Gilbert's journey, she and her partner F...

She writes as she tries to come up with a fancy title for her blogpost... But it's true! A book needs more than a fancy title in order to convince me that it has something important to say. Full disclosure, I did decide to read Why I am Not a Feminist: A Feminist Manifesto  by Jessa Crispin because of the title; I loved the contradiction, and I expected a brilliant read that talked about why popular feminism and neoliberal feminism distract from true gender equality, but what I found was...not that.  Apparently I am (not?) a Feminist At first glance, Jessa Crispin's book is promising, but after the intriguing title there is a while bunch of contradiction and confusion. If I am being completely honest, I am not totally sure what her point was and thus, I cannot fully situate myself. However, here's a list of what I gathered from her book, and my thoughts : We should not lump all forms of feminism together ( which is 100% true, but she continues to critique contemporary femin...

Thirty-one year old Reena Manji may work in finance, but her true passion lies in cooking and baking--especially baking bread! Whenever her job sucks, or men let her down, or her family drives her crazy (all valid concerns, I must say), Reena can always turn to bread for comfort.  The smell of freshly baked bread is endearing to Nadim Remtulla, Reena's neighbor, a new employee of Reena's father, and the man Reena's parents have decided to set her up with. Although Reena is tired of her parents' attempts to steer her towards marriage, Nadim happens to be in the right place at the right time, as Reena needs a fake fiancé for a family cooking competition. But will the pair be able to get through the competition while keeping their agreement a secret from their families, and keeping secrets from each other? Accidentally Engaged Accidentally Engaged is the second novel by Farah Heron; her first, The Chai Factor  was heartwarming and sincere, and while I am usually skeptical...