Tiny Rice Grains explores the human side of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI).
Given the business case that diverse and inclusive organizations thrive and drive better performance, the question begs to be asked: why are so many organizations still struggling to implement and embed DEI in the workplace?
The book explores this question and tackles how DEI strategies are often approached. as standalone initiatives rather than being woven into the fabric of the organization. Too many people are still afraid to have brave conversations and confront uncomfortable truths in the realm of DEI.
What strikes me as I work in this area is the impact that small actions can have. Like dropping a single rice grain into water creates ripples, small acts of kindness and inclusion can have ripple effects, inspiring others to do the same and creating a cascading impact for those around us.
Each of our small actions adds up to a greater whole. DEI doesn’t need one passionate person leading the charge. It needs all of us to do our part, in whatever small ways we can, to make our workplaces more inclusive.
I have found the three principles of courage, curiosity, and care to be useful when approaching DEI, and I share my learnings in this area throughout my book. I also bring in other people’s stories and perspectives, widening the conversation and giving readers a chance to learn from a collective wisdom far greater than mine alone.
In late nineteenth century Tana Toraja, Indonesia, Minah, an orphaned shaman, makes a dangerous pact with a jinn, Siblis, promising to sacrifice someone she loves. As an orphan with no family, love is a mystery to her. When Minah meets and marries Pong Marno, she believes she’s finally escaped her fate, but their happiness is short-lived. On their wedding night, Pong Marno is murdered by a rival shaman, ensuring Minah fulfills her dark bargain.
Years later, in 1985, Julia, a Malaysian woman desperate to have a child, seeks Minah’s help. Minah performs a ritual that grants Julia the gift of motherhood, but what begins as a miracle quickly takes a sinister turn, drawing Julia into a world of ancient rivalries and dark magic in The Shaman’s Circle.
Ever noticed how your money often seems to disappear when you’re not watching? Hidden fees, impulse purchases, and clever marketing tactics can drain our resources faster than we realize. The truth is, we live in a capitalist society where everyone out there wants to get your money.
This book sheds light on these common traps and provides strategies for you to avoid them. You will learn how to protect your money from slipping through the cracks, and even better, grow it into a sizeable pot of wealth so you never have to worry about money again.
Imagine a life where you could spend without worrying about the bills instead. Or earn passive income even while you sleep. A life where you’ll have enough for and beyond retirement. All that is possible when you learn how to take back control of your money and build it.
In Take Back Control of Your Money, OG personal finance blogger Budget Babe shares a step-by-step roadmap to helping you master your finances once and for all! With her knack for simplifying complex financial concepts into actionable steps, Dawn makes it easy for anyone to learn how to break out of the rat race and become financially free.
Whether you’re just starting out or looking to refine your financial strategy, this book is a must-read for anyone serious about taking back control of their finances and future.
It is in Malang, East Java, Indonesia, in the 1950s, when Ah Lam is married off to Cheng Lei, the son of a wealthy merchant, to help improve her family’s situation as she is of age. Once settled in Surabaya, Ah Lam soon finds herself dealing with an abusive husband while raising her young children and running her own small restaurant to make ends meet during the extreme political and economic hardship of the 1965-66.
Meanwhile, Ming Zhu, Ah Lam’s daughter, befriends a wealthy Muslim Javanese entrepreneur family and falls for Arya, an aspiring scholar, whom she later marries despite her parents’ disagreement for their different cultural and religious backgrounds under the authoritarian New Order regime in the 1970s. Ming Zhu and Arya have fraternal twins, Fajar and Dido, and get divorced as the conservative Islamic culture grows.
Dido, as the female twin and a Peranakan woman, faces gender and cultural challenges as she is torn between her hybrid ethnicity and cultural roots while growing up in the disorienting Reformasi era and the May 1998 riots. She becomes a documentary filmmaker as her way to make sense of the current political upheaval and her own conflicted identity.
As the country is unravelling even further, how will these three generations of women find what they need when intergenerational trauma and family memories haunt their lives and ties to others?
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one most responsive to change.”
For the longest period, society believed that all beings were created at once over a short span of time. Up until Charles Darwin introduced the theory of evolution and argued that living beings as they function today have developed through the process of natural selection, challenging conventional beliefs about the origins of life.
This theory is driven by the differential survival and reproduction of individuals with advantageous traits. The offsprings which acquire stronger traits through genetics, will have a higher chance of adapting to the changing environment.
Darwin’s theory suggests that all species, including humans, share a common ancestry, providing a unifying framework for the diversity of life on Earth.
An absolutely engaging and enlightening read to understand the human body and be more in sync with how we can utilize our physical abilities to adapt to the world’s changing requirements.
“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.”
We all play certain roles in life, at work or with family, which require us to suppress how we truly feel to perform our duties.
Set in London, the play revolves around the lives of two such young bachelors, Jack Worthing and Algernon Moncrieff, who decide to lead double lives to cope with the weights of their social obligations.
Jack becomes ‘Earnest’ to escape his country estate and win the heart of Gwendolen Fairfax. Algernon pretends to have a fictional invalid friend named ‘Bunbury’ to avoid family gatherings and responsibilities. Life takes a turn when their alternate identities collide, leading to humorous misunderstandings.
Through this entertaining satire, the story compels us to wonder how society rewards appearance and superficial acts over authentic living and seeking true happiness; making us question are we truly who we allow the world to see?
“You are today where your thoughts have brought you; you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you.”
One of the earliest thinkers and observers of manifestation, James Allen was the first to identify the connection between man’s thought, actions and destiny. Allen argues that the quality of our thoughts shapes our lives, determines our success and happiness; they are the seeds from which our actions and circumstances grow.
Through the narrative James Allen explains how individuals have the power to control their thoughts, and consequently, their destinies. It is an important read to understand how to overcome negative thoughts, prevent succumbing to defeat, and how to build a strong relationship with one’s thoughts, and be the master of our own minds.
As a Man Thinketh is a clear, easy and powerful guide to self-improvement and personal development.
“The free development of each is the condition for the free development of all.”
The Communist Manifesto, a philosophical document, through its engaging story-like narrative explains the rise of industrial capitalism and sheds light on the capitalistic system’s effect on society.
Arguing that throughout history, societies have been marked by class struggles, where the bourgeoisie (capitalist class) has oppressed the proletariat (working class) for the pursuit of more profits.
More importantly, it urges people to question and think about norms and administrations that are not genuinely working for everyone’s quality of life, asking citizens to live with an open and thinking mind.
“He made me see what Life is, and what Death signifies, and why Love is stronger than both.”
At times, the scary exterior is just a cry for lots of love and understanding; and the Canterville Ghost is no different.
The Otis family purchased The Canterville Chase, a haunted castle in England. The castle is home to the ghost of Sir Simon de Canterville, who has been haunting the castle for over three hundred years. To the Ghost’s horror, the new family was just not afraid of him; instead, they set about trying to get rid of him. What ensues is a hilarious cycle of practical jokes and pranks.
Until one day, sweet and sensitive Virginia Otis, the youngest daughter of the family, discovers the ghost’s hiding place. The ghost tells her his story and asks her for help. The key to the Ghost’s peaceful departure to afterlife, is in her innocent, childlike powers.
What does the Ghost ask? Will Virginia be able to do what he needs? Find out in the most endearing tale of kindness, friendship and forgiveness.
“The silence depressed me. It wasn’t the silence of silence. It was my own silence.”
Esther Greenwood is a beautiful and immensely talented young lady who dreamt of being a great writer. As a college student she travelled from Massachusetts to New York to work on a magazine for a month as a guest editor. While there, she is showered with fancy dinners, and elite networking. Esther knew she should be having the time of her life, but something was wrong, and she felt deadened.
Little she knew that this was the beginning of a clinical depression which would take all sense of life out of her. After a visit from a beloved professor, she starts to believe that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Months of treatment later, Esther leaves the mental hospital in time to start college. She now knew that life would be a seesaw of good and bad days, and the bell jar could ring either with sadness or elation, she just needed to hear it jingle and practice what she learnt.
The Bell Jar is an intimate, and uplifting narrative written with the expert stroke of the finest writers of the century; meant to make the reader feel supported and hopeful in their journey.
