Books That Shaped Me: College/Post Grad Edition

 

Hello my lovely readers!

Here is the third and final installment of the Books that Shaped Me series. 

These four books truly and whole-heartedly shaped me. As a child, I was surrounded by books that represented me as a Black girl, but that was mostly by force (thanks, Mom!) or coincidence, honestly. Then teenage Naomi was all about the drama and the books I read reflected it.

As a young Black woman in her early to mid-20s, navigating my profession as a journalist, love and travel, I began to seek out books that represented me. At first, it was unintentional (again, thanks Mom! You'll see why in a bit) and then it became more and more intentional.  I promise this will make sense as we move forward.

Let's get into the post-grad edition of Naomi!

The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson

 

Hello my lovely readers!

This is my THIRD 500+ page book that I read for the Mega May challenge and I'm so glad I picked it! All the books I've read lately are all somehow interconnected. I just finished The Defender and this book mentions the famed Black newspaper so many times. It was great to be "in the loop." Let's get into it!

SUMMARY
From 1915 to 1970, six million Black Americans moved from the South to the North for the chance at a better life where they would be treated equal to their white brethren. It was called "The Great Migration."

We follow the journeys of three unique people: Ida Mae Gladney, who in 1937 left sharecropping and prejudice in Mississippi for Chicago; George Starling, who fled Florida for Harlem in 1945; and Robert Foster who left Louisiana in 1953 to pursue a medical career and ended up in California.

Author Isabel Wilkerson interviewed over a thousand people and with stunning historical detail, brilliantly captures their first treacherous and exhausting cross-country trips by car and train and their new lives in their new cities they'd soon call home.

Daughter in Exile by Bisi Adjapon

 

Hello my lovely readers!

I saw this book a lot on Bookstagram and after reading the synopsis, I thought I'd be an interesting read. It definitely was because poor Lola was going through it! Let's get into it.

SUMMARY

21-year-old Lola is living the life in Senegal. She's a university graduate, an aspiring writer, she has a great job and a vibrant social life. The world is her oyster. But her life gets turned upside down when she falls in love with U.S. Marine, Armand. She ends up pregnant and is on her way to America to live her American dream with Armand, much to the dismay of her mother.

However, once she's on U.S. soil, everything begins to fall apart. Now an undocumented immigrant, Lola will stop at nothing to succeed even with all the obstacles she faces.

Books That Shaped Me: Teenage Edition

 

Hello my lovely readers!

This is the second installment of the Books that Shaped Me series. Welcome to Naomi the teenager! I was your typical moody teenager, dealing with friends, secrets, crushes and everything else in between.

I also devoured any book I could get my hands on, but I particularly liked the "tragic" books filled with drama, drama, drama. I, myself, was not a dramatic person (outwardly), but in my head, I was always creating scenarios that were all about the drama. Here we go!

Roots by Alex Haley

 

Hello my lovely readers!

I don't think a book has EVER made me as emotional as Roots by Alex Haley. I can't believe it took me this long to read this book. I've had it on my shelf since 2005! Let me tell you how and where I bought it....

BACKGROUND

It was June 2005. I was 15 and embarking on my first ever overseas trip (but second international trip ever) to London, England for a writing trip with Teen Ink's Summer Writing Program.

This was only the second iteration of the program and I, along with 27 other high school ladies, were lucky enough to be selected to go on the trip! I'd applied the year before, but was too young.

Now as a rising junior in high school, I'd be able to hone my creative writing skills and take in the sights of London. It was absolutely divine.

While on our way to our next destination, also known as pounding the London pavement, I laid my eyes on the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. A SIX STORY BORDERS.

 For those of you who don't know, Borders was the better, cleaner version Barnes and Noble. It officially shut its doors in 2011 and I've never been the same since!

There was a SIX-FLOOR Borders in London.  Our group stopped and we were able to look around and buy any books we wanted. I bought six. Roots was one of them.

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach

 

Hello my lovely readers!

This was a Libby find. This book was right up my alley, but I just wasn't in the right mind space to finish it. It honestly reminded me a lot of All The Living and The Dead, but I actually liked what I read. Let's get into it.

SUMMARY

Cadavers have been involved in science's boldest strides and weirdest undertakings from France's first guillotines to helping solve the mystery of TWA Flight 800.

For every new surgical procedure, cadavers have helped make history. Stiff investigates the strange lives of our bodies postmortem and answers the question: What should we do after we die?

The Chicago Defender by Ethan Michaeli

 

Hello my lovely readers!

Over on my Bookstagram account, I'm participating in the Mega May challenge where you commit to reading a 500-plus page book that you've been meaning to read.

I've committed to four and honestly, I think I can finish all four! I'm halfway there.

This book was an ABSOLUTE steal. I found it at McKay's Books for $12. Don't you love that? It was in perfect condition and is right up my alley, being a Black journalist. Let's get into it!

SUMMARY

The Chicago Defender was founded in 1905 by Robert S. Abbott and is still in publication today. The newspaper condemned Jim Crow, catalyzed the Great Migration and focused the electoral power of Black America. 

It was smuggled into isolated communities in the segregated South, helped elect mayors and presidents and had contributions from legends like Richard Wright, Ida B. Wells, Langston Hughes and Martin Luther King Jr.

Defender alum Ethan Michaeli brings to life the reporters who braved lynch mobs and police brutality to do their jobs from the age of Presidents Theodore Roosevelt to Barack Obama.

Books That Shaped Me: Childhood Edition

Hello my lovely readers!

Welcome to the first installment of the Books that Shaped Me series! The series is pretty self-explanatory, but if you haven't already guessed, this series is about the books that shaped who I am as a woman. It's a three part series starting with my childhood and will go through my teenage years (middle school and high school) and college/post graduate years. Here we go!

The Silent Woman by Minka Kent

 

Hello my lovely readers!

Another day, another book.

This was another audiobook exclusive thanks to a free credit on audiobooks.com. Let's get into it.

SUMMARY

Newlywed Jade Westmore is in newlywed heaven with her husband Wells. He's a charming, successful and recently divorced architect. But there's a catch. His first wife Sylvie still lives with him.

Three years ago, the original Mrs. Westmore suffered an accident and has been in a comatose-like state ever since. She sits in a caretaker's cottage behind the house saying nothing and doing nothing. 

But one day, while Wells is away, Jade visits Sylvie bearing a peace offering: a bouquet of white lilies. And Sylvie has something for Jade as well: a piece of paper that reads one word. Run.

Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka

 

Hello my lovely readers!

This is going to be quick and to the point. Let's get it over with.

SUMMARY

Ansel Packer has 12 hours left to live. He's sitting on death row for the murder of three women, but he doesn't want to die. He wants to be celebrated and understood.

Through three women, his mother, his sister and a homicide detective, we learn about his life. As the clock ticks down, these three women sift through the choices that culminate in tragedy and explore the damage of those choices.

MY THOUGHTS

It was an interesting premise, but this book was BORING. I was exclusively listening to this on Libby and I had to turn it off an hour in. NOTHING HAPPENED.  It was just dull ramblings and didn't feel like it was going to liven up. So yes, this is a DNF and I'm not ashamed. I'm not going to waste my time reading or listening to something that just isn't working.

Lover of Unreason: Assia Wevill, Sylvia Plath's Rival and Ted Hughes' Doomed Love by Yehuda Koren and Eilat Negev

 

Hello my lovely readers!

Welp. This book...man. I recently read Red Comet, which an extensive biography on Sylvia Plath. I'm pretty sure that when I bought it, I saw that there was a biography on her husband's mistress, so I bought that as well. It's not everyday you get a full biography on a mistress right?

The whole triangle between Sylvia Plath, Ted Hughes and Assia Wevill showed just how messy and flawed human beings are, but whoa. I did not realize Ted Hughes was such a weasel. Let's get into it!

SUMMARY

The failure of the marriage between famed poets Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes has always been considered from three viewpoints: his, hers and hers. The other "her" in their marriage was that of Assia Wevill. The mistress. The homewrecker. The other woman.

Plath and Wevill shared parallel lives. Both were poets, both were lovers of Hughes for seven years. Both women gassed themselves to death. But the stark difference is that Wevill also killed her daughter. Who is Wevill? What is her story?

For the first time ever, we get a full-length biography on Wevill, a three-times divorcee, career woman, mistress, single mother and everything else in between.

All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M. Morris

 

Hello my lovely readers!

I've been on a "thriller" fiction kick, but I've been sadly disappointed with the thrillers written by Black authors (save for When the Reckoning Comes). This is just another example of my disappointment. Let's get into it.

SUMMARY 

Ellice Littlejohn has it all: an Ivy League law degree, a well-paying job as a corporate attorney in midtown Atlanta, great friends and a relationship with her white, married boss Michael.

But one cold January morning, Michael is found dead in his office with a gunshot to his head. Ellice finds him and promptly leaves. Why? Well Ellice has her own secrets including a dark small-town past and a kid brother who has a rap sheet. She can't risk being thrust into the spotlight: again.

Now, things are changing. Ellice is promoted to replace Michael and the police are getting suspicious. People are gossiping and Ellice uncovers shady dealings inside the company. Now, her past and present lives are colliding and she must find a way to stop a conspiracy far more sinister than she could have ever imagined.

When the Reckoning Comes by LaTanya McQueen

 

Hello my lovely readers!

My reading slump is no more and I've been reading, reading reading! Also, I finally put together two really great short story ideas that I want to start writing, so I'm excited! Stay tuned for The Wives and The Mommy Group. 

Until those are finished, let's get into a good thriller by a Black author....FINALLY.

SUMMARY 

Mira fled her small, segregated hometown in North Carolina to forget. A little over a decade later, it's time for her to return.

Her best friend Celine is getting married and she wants Mira and Jesse to be there on her special day. The three have a lot of history together. Celine was mocked by their town for being the only white girl with Black friends. Jesse--the boy Mira secretly loved--was almost arrested for murder on a terrible day when the two explored the eerie Woodsman plantation, rumored to be haunted by the spirits of slaves.

But now, Celine is having her wedding at that same plantation, which is now a lush vacation resort. Yet as the weekend unfolds, Mira, Jesse and Celine are forced to acknowledge their history together and save themselves from what is to come.