For those of you that follow me on IG, you saw that I joined a bookclub a few months ago. Joining a bookclub has not only made me find time to read but introduced a group of incredible humans, shoutout to Let’s Get Lit!
The best part about this book club, is coming together to share interpretations, perspectives and experiences, both good and bad. Doing so in a safe place, gives everyone the opportunity to learn from on another. One of the experiences I miss about college is being in a class setting and having the opportunity to share, have difficult conversations and listen to difficult discussions. Being involved in a bookclub has the space to do just this. There’s no perfect time than right now, in the midst of all the sh*t that’s happening right now, to learn in a group setting.
I complied a list of books that we either read or that sparked an internal interest to read similar materials.
- My only recommendation: Order Queenie as an audiobook. Hearing the voices and different accents of all the characters made the book experience impactful. I felt like I was watching movie but better.
This month I purchased the following books:
Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams
“Being brave isn’t the same as being okay,” my mum said quietly.”
Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good by Adrienne Maree Brown
“Pleasure activism is the work we do to reclaim our whole, happy, and satisfiable selves from the impacts, delusions, and limitations of oppression and/or supremacy.”
Red At The Bone by Jacqueline Woodson
“Guess that’s where the tears came from, knowing that there’s so much in this great big world that you don’t have a single ounce of control over. Guess the sooner you learn that, the sooner you’ll have one less heartbreak in your life.”
Teaching My Mother How to Give Birth by Warsan Shire
“I have my mother’s mouth and my father’s eyes: on my face they are still together.”
Past Books:
Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall
“One of the biggest issues with mainstream feminist writing has been the way the idea of what constitutes a feminist issue is framed. We rarely talk about basic needs as a feminist issue. Food insecurity and access to quality education, safe neighborhoods, a living wage, and medical care are all feminist issues. Instead of a framework that focuses on helping women get basic needs met, all too often the focus is not on survival but on increasing privilege. For a movement that is meant to represent all women, it often centers on those who already have most of their needs met.”
Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion by Jia Tolentino
“how the internet is built to distend our sense of identity; second, how it encourages us to overvalue our opinions; third, how it maximizes our sense of opposition; fourth, how it cheapens our understanding of solidarity; and, finally, how it destroys our sense of scale.”
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Join a bookclub. Buy your books from local businesses (in-store or online). Do not beat yourself up if you have to buy it from Amazon (been there) and get to reading! 🙂
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