Spring Reading Thing

While "blog-hopping," I came across the "Spring Reading Thing" where people can share their reading lists. Since I love to read and hear about good books, I decided to join. Although I plan to read a lot during spring break, I might not finish all these by the deadline (June 20). So my Spring Reading Thing might continue into a Summer Reading Thing.

Here's my list:

1. The Hour I First Believed (Wally Lamb) - Finished 4/3
2. The Translator (Daoud Hari) - Finished 4/6
3. 3:16 The Numbers of Hope (Max Lucado) - Finished 4/14
4. Daughters of the Desert (Claire R. Murphy et. al.) - Finished 4/8
5. Handle With Care (Jodi Picoult) - Finished 4/25; WOW!
6. A Lion Called Christian (John Rendall et. al.) - Finished 5/24
7. The Choice (Nicholas Sparks)
8. The Tale of Edgar Sawtelle (David Wroblewski)
9. Same Kind of Different as Me (Ron Hall & Denver Moore)
10. The Glass Castle (Jeanette Walls)
11. Merle’s Door: Lessons From a Free-thinking Dog (Ted Kerasote) - Finished 6/12
12. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (John Boyne) - Finished 4/14, Excellent Book!!

Ladysmith Black Mambazo

Ever since my first trip to South Africa in 2005 I've been interested in African music. I had heard of the grammy award-winning South African singing group, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, but have never been fortunate enough to hear them until last night. They were performing as a special event with the Grand Rapids Symphony - it was a great concert!

The group's name comes from their hometown of Ladysmith (near the large city of Durbin) in South Africa, black oxen which are the strongest farm oxen, and the Zulu word for ax - mambazo. The musical style is called Isicathamiya (Is-Cot-A-Me-Ya) and was begun by black workers in the mines during the days of apartheid. They were poor and kept away from their families; they sang to entertain themselves and eventually held singing competitions.

This group, begun by Joseph Shabalala in the late 1950s, won every singing competition they entered and now travel around the world, sharing the traditional culture of South Africa as well as hopes of peace and kindness for mankind.