An Ordinary Man: An Autobiography

"You cannot understand the magnitude. Just try! Eight hundred thousand lives snuffed out in one hundred days. That's eight thousand lives a day. More than five lives per minute. [...] At the end, the best you can say is that my hotel saved about four hours worth of people. Take four hours away from one hundred days and you have an idea of just how little I was able to accomplish against the grand design." - p. xi

There are times when I read a book and it scares me. It honestly really scares me. If you've watched the movie Hotel Rwanda, you will know all about Paul Rusesabagina's story. You will know that during the 1994 Rwandan genocide, Rusesabagina kept the doors to the Mille Collins open to refugees, ultimately saving over 1,000 lives. As of late, the accuracy of his story has been questioned, but I think it's important to note that Rusesabagina himself states many times throughout the book that in order to save lives, he worked with the enemy. He offered them gifts, drank with them, made deals and worked the international connections he had in order to save his family and the lives of all those within the Mille Collins. Ultimately, this story is one of survive, not heroism - survival in the face of one the most terrible recorded genocides in history.

Book Review: Before I Fall

Earlier this year, I read a list created by my good friend Katie over at Paperback Planes that details the 10 books she believes everyone must read at least once. Luckily for me, I have read the majority of books on the list, save for two, one of which was Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver. I decided to pick this book up first namely because 1. the premise sounded really interesting and 2. Katie strongly recommended it to me and Katie's recommendations have always been spot on.

I'll admit that it took me a while to get really far into the book, but that was largely due to work and other real life obligations. But, once I got past the first 100 or so pages, I couldn't put it down (regardless of whether or not I should have really been heading to the bank...). Samantha Kingston is part of the most popular group of girls at her high school. She's also a mean girl that laughs at and torments others with her friends, actions they believe don't cause much harm. On a Friday night, Sam and her friends go to Kent Mc Fuller's party and the night ends with a car accident that leaves Sam dead. Sam is then forced to relive her final day a total of 7 times, each time changing certain aspects in order to try to save herself. It's only until she reaches the seventh time, does she come to realize that the point of reliving her final day was not what she believed it to be at all.