Three or four months ago I took my Kindle out of the drawer it had been living in. After deciding that I was not going to be cheating on my beloved appreciation for books if I used it. Since its resurgence in my life I’ve been able to more quickly devour great books in what seems like half the time. I’m not sure if it’s the ease of being able to carry more than one book at one time or because I can check out books from my local library without ever leaving my house, but it’s proven to be an excellent addition to my life. Today I want to share with you some of the delightful books I’ve read lately.
Obviously reading is fundamental, we’ve known that since Pizza Hut was giving out personal pan pizzas for every book you finished in the 90s. While BOOK IT! isn’t as popular today, sad thing for elementary school kids, I still get great joy out of finishing books. With or without the pizza attached. Being a part of a book club gives me the chance to read some novels I’ve been eyeing as well. As a writer and one day best-selling author – (manifestation is real around these parts) – I live to dive into fiction. Seeing how others have created worlds, characters and watching them come to life is something I find pleasure in. Hopefully my picks can do the same for you.
I’d like to begin by saying, yes to writers who look and feel like you.
Those were my opening thoughts on the review I did on IG for the novel, The Mothers by Brit Bennett. A book that transfixed me by hitting so close to home. With its story taking place in California and the backdrop being that of the church, it was quite personal. As I read the novel I recalled some of the experiences I had growing up as a young, Black girl in the suburbs of Los Angeles. Spending many of my nights and weekends at a church I called home for nearly 25 years before I outgrew it.
The Mothers was a look into the life of a lost girl and those who watched and prayed for her from afar. Without giving away too much of the story I felt like the characters were people I knew and could certainly understand or empathize with. While it was a work that read easily and intrigued me, the end did leave me longing for more. Abrupt in its completion I felt like there was more to the story that I hadn’t completely gotten closure from. I heard it was optioned for a movie deal as well so I suggest reading the novel before you hightail it to the movies to see Kerry Washington and Gabrielle Union-Wade take on the story.
Reading books written by women is something I’m really focusing on as well this year. I’m interested in hearing how they view the world and their ideas surrounding how it should go. I reached for Little Fires Everywhere after seeing it pop up on my Twitter timeline more than a few times. As a mom the storyline centered on two mothers and how they choose to rear their children was interesting. So often motherhood is looked at as this assignment that’s supposed to go one way and if diverts from that, then we condemn those women. I appreciated how this novel touched on that notion.
We spend so often judging women for anything they do that we don’t see them as people. Especially when they’re also mothers. Little Fires Everywhere was a book that showed how minding someone else’s business can also lead you to missing out on where you’re falling short in your own life. As the main character Mrs. Richardson spends her time trying to dig into the past of her tenant Mia under the guise of trying to help a friend, she’s blind to her own children needing her. I was also moved by the racial elements that also underscored the book and to know that the setting was based on a real town made it all the more captivating. Once again, I was disappointed by the ending of a book because I felt that I was left in the lurch. However guess that is where you as the reader insert your imagination to decide what you think should happen.
Like everyone else I sorely miss the Obamas. Vehemently. Especially while the country is being run amok by some overgrown child. Needless to say I have to get my sanity any way I can. So I’m in the throes of reading former forever FLOTUS’ memoir, Becoming. As I read about how her childhood in Chicago living in an apartment with her family shaped her life; I think about how my upbringing is helping me to become. How the choices I have made have led me to become a mother, an entrepreneur, a blogger, an influencer, and a television host. All of those thoughts rise to the top as I pour through her journey. I will have to report back on my finals thoughts for this but I think I can say with conviction it is a must read for everyone.
While I did not set a definitive goal to read more this year, I know that it gives me peace and calms me, since that IS what I am asking for this year you can expect more posts on what I’ve been reading lately to come.
Are there any books that I should be adding to my list? Let me know.
xo,
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