Happy first day of March! It’s a brand new month with new opportunities to achieve new goals. If you are like me, then reading more is ALWAYS a goal – one that I am better at some months than others! In January, I read 10 books and then only about 2-3 in February. Granted, I started a new full time job in February, but we can all do better right??
It’s been a MINUTE since my last book review, and I am so happy to be back to writing them! When I first started my blog two years ago, I was diligently keeping a list of every book I read, which made it super easy to reference when I wanted to write a book review.
Last year, I totally dropped the ball on keeping track of the books I was reading, and thus totally slacked on writing any reviews! But it is 2020 and I am back on my bullshit, so keep reading to see what books I have loved so far this year!
The Wedding Party and The Royal Holiday by Jasmine Guillory
Jasmine’s expertise is writing light hearted and relatable stories centered around Black female protagonists, without centering the whole plot around her being Black. The main character is allowed to be normal, flawed, funny, interesting (or boring) and the reader is allowed to breeze through a guilty-pleasure kind of book that is entertaining without needing to be a literary masterpiece.
What We Lost by Zinzi Clemmons
This book was very melancholy and a little depressing, but definitely moved me in a way that I liked to be moved by books. The narrator walks the reader through the sorrow and confusion of losing a parent, and the myriad ways in which it shaped her adult life. Definitely worth checking out!
Useful Phrases for Immigrants by May-Lee Chai
A collection of short stories told from the perspective of different immigrants, this book weaves a tapestry of varied but shared experiences of those who come to this country and struggle to fit in, succeed, and have a normal life. There are a few stories that tie in the same characters, but most are unique and all refreshingly unexpected.
Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
I read The Underground Railroad last year or the year before and was deeply moved by the heartbreaking sacrifice, trauma and struggle the characters went through, so I jumped to pick this book up at the library. This novel, based on a true story, tells the account of a reformative boys school in the south that did much more harm than rehabilitation for the boys who attended, and was a dark spot in their past (for those who survived). I was totally shook by the end – do yourself a favor and pick this one up!
You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero
I have read this book three times now – and probably written about it in a past book review – but this is one of those books you have to revisit every so often. I spent a while reading it the first time, and thinking/journaling through the prompts to give myself time to really reflect and process my discoveries. It was super helpful and transformative! Now, I just breeze through it once a year as a reminder of what a badass I am!
Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson
I had seen a lot of recommendations for this book and was super excited to read it, but it definitely was not as good as I was expecting it to be. It took a while to get into the change of narrator every chapter – which I normally like – and I felt like it tried too hard to be poetic. Sometimes I am just like can you get to the damn point already?? If anyone else has read it, I would be curious to know what you thought, so leave a comment!
Can We All Be Feminists?: New Writing from Brit Bennett, Nicole Dennis-Benn, and 15 Others on Intersectionality, Identity, and the Way Forward for Feminism
I have read another book like this before (The Crunk Feminist Collection) and loved the multiple perspectives it was written in and the refreshing take on feminism it offered. Anything short of intersectionality is NOT feminism as far as I am concerned, and these authors absolutely agree! If you are looking to expand your worldview even more, beyond feminism even, do yourself a favor and read this book!
Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World by Melinda Gates
I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book – it is a book on women empowerment by a rich white lady, which as you can see by my previous book review that I do not put much faith in – but I was pleasantly surprised. Not only does she talk about the EXTENSIVE in-person on-the-ground research she has done on poverty, women’s rights (or lack thereof) and how they are intrinsically intertwined, but she is SO humble about everything she is presenting. She is not preachy, not self-righteous, and most importantly, admits her blind spots and privilege OVER and over in the book. She knows she has a lot to learn still, and emphasizes how important it is to learn from the women and overall communities that she seeks to help, rather than go in and force Western ideals on “poor people”. The stories she shares are heartbreaking, but the findings and solutions she offers are inspiring and uplifting. Women’s rights and empowerment are not only one of the main interest areas I pursued in school, but they really underlie my life’s mission both in my career and my personal life, so I was very touched by this book and truly enjoyed reading it!
What books have you been reading lately? Have you read any of these? Do you want to read any of these? Let me know in the comments! Happy reading 😘
