My Monday posts are generally just a highlight of what I've been reading during the week so if you'd like to see all that I've been reading, follow my Goodreads page.
Last week I read and loved:
Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole by Susan Cain
I'm obsessed with this book. I spent a better part of yesterday making a bittersweet Spotify playlist and a TikTok review because I am currently in ADHD hyperfixation mode. Cain's book Quiet changed my life by giving me permission to embrace my introversion. And this book equally changed my life by giving me permission to embrace my melancholy side.
Frizzy by Claribel A. Ortega, illustrated by Rose Bousamra
An important middle grade graphic novel about a young girl who wants to embrace her natural curly hair rather than being forced to go to the salon every week with her mami to straighten her hair. This book is an important mirror for young Black girls who want to embrace their natural hair and a window for white readers who are used to seeing their physical features as a cultural default.
Currently reading:
Victory. Stand! Raising My Fist for Justice by Tommie Smith, Derrick Barnes and Dawud Anyabwile
Currently (still) reading with my ears:
Invisible Storm: A Soldier's Memoir of Politics and PTSD by Jason Kander
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I'm looking forward to Frizzy? I might have to give Bittersweet another shot. I picked it up from the library and started it, but gave up on it. I probably should have read a few more pages than I did before putting is aside.
ReplyDeleteI might have to check out Frizzy, that is a new one for me, thanks for the post. Susan Cain was an author I kept hearing about due to Quiet but I never actually picked up the book. I certainly appreciated the discussion the book brought to introversion. Thanks for sharing your thoughts here.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great set of books, Beth! I made note of Frizzy—I'm always looking for more graphic novels, and I read a short story by Claribel A. Ortega a while back that was really lovely. Bittersweet also sounds so important and compelling—I've heard wonderful things about Quiet, so I am sure this one is great too. Thanks so much for the wonderful post!
ReplyDeleteFrizzy is like a flashback for me. For me, the celebration of black hair will always be deeply connected to the rise of the Black Power movement in the 60's and 70's. Is this book set in those times? Victory. Stand! Raising My Fist for Justice sounds like an important read.
ReplyDeleteFrizzy sounds great. I will definitely have to check it out. I love learning about new graphic novels and hair love is such an important topic for middle grade.
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