The Summer of Hella Reading PT. 2
I've read a lot of things: people, articles and books - here are my recommendations
Growing up, I was always a reader. More than likely this comes from being an only child and having an overactive imagination. People in my family always say they remember me with a notepad and a book growing up which are still two constants for me.
The nice thing about living in the times of the pandemic is that it has given me an opportunity to fall back in love with my one true love, reading. Since the stay at home times we are living in, I managed to read the following books since March 2020 — note I have added stars to the ones that were the best:
Circe by Madeline Miller***
Yes, this book is as good as everyone said it was.Girl, Woman, Other by Bernadine Evaristo***
What a beautiful book. I love the way this book was written - multiple short essays weaved together.Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close by Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman***
I stan Aminatou and Ann. I was curious how a book about friendship would be and it was pretty good. I did find that some of the things in the book I didn’t necessarily relate to - going to relationship counseling for a friendship, but what I did love is how transparent they were about their friendship. I think for Christmas, I’m going to get this book for my friends - well now some of you know your Christmas gift.NW by Zadie Smith (Re-read)
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert*** (Re-read)
I have reread this book so many times and although I know some of the critiques about this book best said in this newsletter intro, I still enjoy the book. I think I enjoyed reading it more during this time of stay at home because traveling is nonexistent. Reading about her travels, and the people she met and the experiences she had made me somewhat jealous during this read.Dear Girls: Intimate Tales, Untold Secrets & Advice for Living Your Best Life by Ali Wong
Untamed by Glennon Doyle***
Love this line from the book: “When a woman finally learns that pleasing the world is impossible, she becomes free to learn how to please herself.”Open Book by Jessica Simpson***
John Mayer is a creep. Jessica had a very interesting life. I really enjoyed reading about her time on MTV with Nick Lachey.Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Everyday by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky***
Good book about how to maximize your time and getting out of the cycle of being busy just to be busy.The Vanishing Half by Britt Bennett (Still Haven't Finished)
Luster by Raven Leilani***
Being in your twenties is a trip. Reading this book I kept gasping. I will say however, some of the word choices made me cover my face.
What books are you reading? Let me know in the comments:
Here are a few things that I consumed that I think you should as well.
Reading:
Jesmyn Ward has a way with words. This is something that has reigned true in her books Men We Reaped and Salvage the Bones. This article she wrote for Vanity Fair continues the beautiful writing as it’s both beautiful and heartbreaking. Another article that I loved from this edition of Vanity Fair was the interview between Ava Duvernay and Angela Davis. Loved this answer Angela gave about the term diversity and inclusion:
Virtually every institution seized upon that term, “diversity.” And I always ask, “Well, where is justice here?” Are you simply going to ask those who have been marginalized or subjugated to come inside of the institution and participate in the same process that led precisely to their marginalization? Diversity and inclusion without substantive change, without radical change, accomplishes nothing.
“Justice” is the key word. How do we begin to transform the institutions themselves? How do we change this society? We don’t want to be participants in the exploitation of capitalism. We don’t want to be participants in the marginalization of immigrants. And so there has to be a way to think about the connection among all of these issues and how we can begin to imagine a very different kind of society. That is what “defund the police” means. That is what “abolish the police” means.
Tracee Ellis Ross Felt Lost in Hollywood. Then She Changed Course
I always love reading interviews with Tracee Ellis Ross whether it’s about her mom, her career, or her love life. I loved how she said looking at validations from awards, isn’t necessarily rewarding for her. Instead, she assesses her achievements based around something she grew up doing with her mom: Did you do your best? How did you feel about it?
Randomly, I’ve been thinking a lot about two articles that I read on Business Insider about how much this lady makes being a phone sex operator and a Twitter Thread (really a Business Insider article but premium) about a day in the life of a OnlyFans Creator. There’s actually a lot that goes into the life of a OnlyFans - lots of organization. Is it weird that I read it and was like “wow that’s a lot of time management.”
Listening:
I had a conversation with a friend a few weeks ago about music that you listened to that always evokes some sort of memory when you hear it. For me, one of those artists is Big Sean. Whenever I listen to Big Sean I think of a wild time in Austin during SXSW riding in the car with my friend’s from Detroit who kept playing “Mula.” I got out of the car, sick. Real sick. I say all this to say I am loving his new album, Detroit 2. I’ve found several quotes for my social media bios:
Most of the girls I know addicted to social media. All the time they put in, they’ve could’ve wrote encyclopedias.
He created a great body of music. I’m also loving the new album from Disclosure ENERGY. It’s about time they released a new album and here comes a shady comment……………………..
I’M EXCITED TO SEE SAM SMITH IS NOT ON THE ALBUM.
I had to get that out. I’ve also been diving through the new EP from The Dirty Projectors Super Joao, VanJess’ new single “Come Over,” and my fave Sasha Keable’s cover of “Just Friends.” I’m still on a quest to re-find her music. She took it from all streaming sites and off of YouTube.
All of these songs have made their way on my playlist - check it out.
That’s it for this week, love and light beautiful people.
The Death of Vivek Oji