It’s the first day of September. School has started and summer break is over. It’s time to face the music and see I you actually kept all the promises you made to yourself about how you’d spend the summer. Did you go to the gym three times a week? Did you visit all the new restaurants you wanted to? Did you visit all your friends? Most importantly, did you read all the books you intended on reading?
Yeah, yeah, we all make goals to read a whole bunch in the summer. Sometimes we meet our goals, but sometimes we don’t and that’s okay. Don’t worry. I’m here to tell you this was my goal of the books I wanted to finish over the summer. As of this writing, I’ve read four of these books completely, I’m making my way through one and I’ve read the intro of another. I know, I’m not perfect and this summer was busy but I still whole heartedly recommend these books and I’ll tell you why.
Books I finished and have opinions about
When You Find Out The World Is Against You-Kelly Oxford
I was a huge fan of her debut novel, “Everything is Perfect When You’re a Liar”. I thought it was so candid and easy to read. This sophomore book did not disappoint. It’s still the same candid and honest Kelly. What I loved about this book was how much more she talked about the current state of her family. Modern tales of driving her kids and their friends around, bringing her daughters to Canada because her family friend died, or spending weeks in her house alone while her family goes on vacation. There are stories from her childhood too, but for some reason, I really loved reading about who she was now. My favorite story of the book comes at the end when she discusses her different experiences with sexual assault as she grew up. It was incredibly honest and brave and a surprisingly great way to end this book.
We Should All Be Feminists –Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
This book is short and sweet. You may be familiar with it as an extended version of the middle bit of Beyoncé’s **Flawless. I think it’s a solid introduction to the concepts of feminism for anyone who’s unfamiliar, while also being a lovely and interesting story for those familiar with feminism, from the perspective of an African woman. It’s literally the perfect beach read.
Hunger-Roxane Gay
This book is difficult to read. And I know from listening to many interviews with Roxane Gay, it was enormously difficult to write. If you’ve ever read anything else by Gay, namely Bad Feminist, then you’ve had somewhat of an introduction to her life and who she is. This is much more of a memoir than that book is. She talks about her family, her college experience, her professional life, and obviously, as the title suggests, how it ties into her weight and her hunger. It’s a book about a woman living in a world that is not meant for those who are fat and how she became that way in the first place. Gay is a fantastic yet sometimes brutally honest writer and this book, although heavy and intense, is profound.
One Day We’ll All Be Dead and None Of This Will Matter –Scaachi Koul
I loved this book so much. Like, this might be one of my favorite books of all time. I’m not playing around. The way Scaachi tells a story is like nothing I’ve read. At least nothing since Tina Fey’s Bossypants. The way she strings together sentences is enviable. I had to stop reading so many times because of how often I was laughing out loud. I love how painfully honest she is about first boyfriends, attending Indian weddings, how difficult it can be to maintains all her hair, and how nervous she can get while traveling. I cannot recommend this book enough. And then once you’ve read it, you’ll inevitably want to read more words she’s written, so visit her website. (I now have it bookmarked)
Books I’m currently reading and have somewhat of an opinion about
I don’t have an opinion on these books yet, besides So far So good! I’d recommend them easily off the sections of each of them I’ve read so far. Especially if any of the books above are your jam! But check back with me in a month or two. Maybe I’ll have finished them by then!
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