Martine’s Must-Reads for March 2022

1- IN THE HEAD: A Book of Art & Words By ANDREW THOMAS VAN EATON

IN THE HEAD is an anthology of illustrations, poetry, and thoughts by Andrew Van Eaton. A collection of around 300 works composed between 2018 and 2021, the book deals with themes of youthful angst, rage, fear, existentialism, self-discovery, uncertainty, feelings of hopelessness, anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues which ravage the minds of young people, especially those who have looked beyond themselves and have seen how difficult life can be. At least half of its content is an exploration of these feelings from a “Christian perspective”, as his spirituality is tied up in the author’s identity. That being said, he would not describe it as a Christian book, just that it’s themes would be impossible to explore without any direct reference to God. It is a book for anyone who has experienced deep pain or existential crises, especially in their youth, and an effort to share that they are not alone. There is no shame in feeling pain or being honest about it. Just because we perceive our pain as less warranted doesn’t mean that we should have to suffer it alone. Life is worth living, so never give up.

2- Significant – A Study of Women in Jesus’ Genealogy: Six Ordinary Women, One Extraordinary God By RACHEL RISNER

How can you walk by faith in the face of uncertainty? 

There’s a big difference between living a life trusting in the fake stability of the world and living a life of significance with an unshakeable God. We’ve all gotten the wind knocked out of our sails, but it’s time to keep going forward.In this study, learn from scripture how to:

Dig in your heels with tenacity when you feel like giving up.

Worship instead of worry when life throws you curve balls.

Quit living skin-deep by cultivating the inner beauty of trust in God.

Come for this timely six-week journey. Walk alongside real women of the Bible through their struggles and successes, and discover how to become a woman of significance.

3- Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World By KATE PANKHURST 

Kate Pankhurst, descendent of Emmeline Pankhurst, has created this wildly wonderful and accessible book about women who really changed the world. Discover fascinating facts about some of the most amazing women who changed the world we live in. Fly through the sky with the incredible explorer Amelia Earhart, and read all about the Wonderful Adventures of Mary Seacole with this fantastic full colour book. Bursting full of beautiful illustrations and astounding facts, Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World is the perfect introduction to just a few of the most incredible women who helped shaped the world we live in. List of women featured: Jane Austen, Gertrude Ederle, Coco Chanel, Frida Kahlo, Marie Curie, Mary Anning, Mary Seacole, Amelia Earhart, Agent Fifi, Sacagawa, Emmeline Pankhurst, Rosa Parks, Anne Frank.

4- Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order: Why Nations Succeed and Fail By RAY DALIO

From legendary investor Ray Dalio, author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Principles, who has spent half a century studying global economies and markets, Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order examines history’s most turbulent economic and political periods to reveal why the times ahead will likely be radically different from those we’ve experienced in our lifetimes—and to offer practical advice on how to navigate them well. 

A few years ago, Ray Dalio noticed a confluence of political and economic conditions he hadn’t encountered before. They included huge debts and zero or near-zero interest rates that led to massive printing of money in the world’s three major reserve currencies; big political and social conflicts within countries, especially the US, due to the largest wealth, political, and values disparities in more than 100 years; and the rising of a world power (China) to challenge the existing world power (US) and the existing world order. The last time that this confluence occurred was between 1930 and 1945. This realization sent Dalio on a search for the repeating patterns and cause/effect relationships underlying all major changes in wealth and power over the last 500 years. 

In this remarkable and timely addition to his Principles series, Dalio brings readers along for his study of the major empires—including the Dutch, the British, and the American—putting into perspective the “Big Cycle” that has driven the successes and failures of all the world’s major countries throughout history. He reveals the timeless and universal forces behind these shifts and uses them to look into the future, offering practical principles for positioning oneself for what’s ahead. 

 

5- The Flower Boat Girl: A novel based on a true story of the woman who became the most powerful pirate in history By LARRY FEIGN

Her father traded away her youth.

Sea bandits stole her freedom.

She has one way to get them back:

Become the most powerful pirate in the world.

South China coast, 1801. Sold as a child to a floating brothel, 26-year-old Yang has finally bought her freedom, only to be kidnapped by a brutal pirate gang and forced to marry their leader.

Dragged through stormy seas and lawless bandit havens, Yang must stay scrappy to survive. She embeds herself in the dark business of piracy, carving out her role against the resistance of powerful pirate leaders and Cheung Po Tsai, her husband’s flamboyant male concubine.

As she is caught between bitter rivals fighting for mastery over the pirates—and for her heart—Yang faces a choice between two things she never dreamed might be hers: power or love.

Based on a true story that has never been fully told until now, The Flower Boat Girl is the tale of a woman who, against all odds, shaped history on her own terms.