Archives for January 2019

Belinda’s Book Nook: Top Ten Most Recent Additions to my TBR

Hello! It’s Tuesday and you know what time it is…Top Ten. Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl, Jana every week, they post a new topic/top ten list and invite everyone to share their own answers. I looked at this week’s challenge and definitely knew I could do this one.

Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom by David W. Blight

 

In this remarkable biography, David Blight has drawn on new information held in a private collection that few other historian have consulted, as well as recently discovered issues of Douglass’s newspapers. Blight tells the fascinating story of Douglass’s two marriages and his complex extended family. Douglass was not only an astonishing man of words, but a thinker steeped in Biblical story and theology. There has not been a major biography of Douglass in a quarter century. David Blight’s Frederick Douglass affords this important American the distinguished biography he deserves.

I have never read any books on Frederick Douglass and this one sounds like a nice place to start.

 

Black Fortunes: The Story of The First Six African Americans Who Survived Slavery and Became Millionaires by Shomari Wills

 

 

 

 

Between the years of 1830 and 1927, as the last generation of blacks born into slavery was reaching maturity, a small group of industrious, tenacious, and daring men and women broke new ground to attain the highest levels of financial success.

Black wealth in the early 1900s is rarely talked about. So I look forward to reading this journey from slavery to wealth. It would be great to read for Black History Month.

 

 

The Island of Sea Women By Lisa See

 

 

 

 

 

The Island of Sea Women introduces readers to the fierce and unforgettable female divers of Jeju Island and the dramatic history that shaped their lives.

 

I love her books. They are always well researched and have strong female characters. I know nothing about these female Japanese divers and can’t wait for this book to be released so I can dive in!! ha ha dive in!!

 

The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict

 

Her beauty almost certainly saved her from the rising Nazi party and led to marriage with an Austrian arms dealer. Underestimated in everything else, she overheard the Third Reich’s plans while at her husband’s side, understanding more than anyone would guess. She devised a plan to flee in disguise from their castle, and the whirlwind escape landed her in Hollywood. She became Hedy Lamarr, screen star.

 

I heard the author interviewed in a podcast talking about this book and I remember the name Hedy Lamarr so I am fascinated to read this book. This is another author that really does her research. I expect to learn a lot while enjoying a great story. Hence the beauty of historical fiction.

 

 

Internment by Samira Ahmed

 

 

 

 

 

 

Set in a horrifying near-future United States, seventeen-year-old Layla Amin and her parents are forced into an internment camp for Muslim American citizens.

I pre-ordered this book because I am trying to learn more about Muslim Americans even via fiction.

 

Black Enough: Stories of Being Young & Black in America Edited by Ibi Zoboi

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by National Book Award finalist Ibi Zoboi, and featuring some of the most acclaimed bestselling Black authors writing for teens today—Black Enough is an essential collection of captivating stories about what it’s like to be young and Black in America.

I currently own this book and haven’t read many short story collections but this one sounds good.

 

The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory

 

 

 

The New York Times bestselling author of The Wedding Date serves up a novel about what happens when a public proposal doesn’t turn into a happy ending, thanks to a woman who knows exactly how to make one on her own…

 

 

Ok, I blushed my way through Jasmine Guillory’s first book “The Wedding Date” but totally loved it. I haven’t read a contemporary in a while so it was refreshing. So I figured I will pick this up to drop between any heavy reads to lighten the mood.

 

A Spark of Life by Jodi Picoult

 

 

 

The warm fall day starts like any other at the Center—a women’s reproductive health services clinic—its staff offering care to anyone who passes through its doors. Then, in late morning, a desperate and distraught gunman bursts in and opens fire, taking all inside hostage.

An yet another author that does her research. I have really enjoyed the few books of hers that I have read and this one sounds like it will draw me in like her other books.

 

My Sister The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

 

 

 

 

 

A short, darkly funny, hand grenade of a novel about a Nigerian woman whose younger sister has a very inconvenient habit of killing her boyfriends.

 

Lot’s of hype about this book last year. I think it’s finally dying down so I can pick it up and experience it for myself.

The Diary of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell

 

 

 

The Diary of a Bookseller is Shaun Bythell’s funny and fascinating memoir of a year in the life at the helm of The Bookshop, in the small village of Wigtown, Scotland—and of the delightfully odd locals, unusual staff, eccentric customers, and surreal buying trips that make up his life there as he struggles to build his business . . . and be polite . . .

A book about a bookstore bookseller…need I say more?

 

Can’t wait to see what you all are adding to your TBR. Happy reading!

Belinda

Belinda’s Book Nook’s Great Reads in 2018: Mem by Bethany C. Morrow

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Title: MEM
Author: Bethany C. Morrow
Copyright: May 22, 2018
Genre: fiction
Format: hardcover
Pages: 184

Discovering the book:

I heard about this book on a podcast sometime in May and I decided to buy it for myself as one of my books for my birthday back in June. I love that it was science fiction speculative fiction written by a black author and this was her debut novel. I made a conscious effort last year to seek out and read a number of debut books by black authors. I will have to go back and see how many I read last year.

Expectations:

So I went into the book with expectations built up from what I heard on the podcast description of the book. I’m always fascinated with the way people come up with concepts for books and then are able to tell a story and bring you someplace that you never thought about. This is especially true and the beauties of many genres but it is especially true in science-fiction and fantasy.

Experience:

One thing I noticed was that I was drawn into the story immediately.   I was fascinated with the idea of being able to get rid of unwanted memories. So my curious was peak from the start to learn what and how the author would handle the subject. I found the characters interesting and easily connected to Delores. I appreciated the subtlety that the author used to inform readers that certain characters in the book were people color. It’s not something that I normally experience in my daily reading and it was refreshing.

Premise of the story:

Set in the early 1920s in Montreal Canada when people that had the means could go to this facility and have bad memories or certain memories extracted from them. Typically the memories were bad memories and they would be put inside of a created “being”. This being would be referred to as a ‘Mem’ and would look like that person at that particular time they would have experienced the memory and would never age. The Mem would be that memory they lived and they would relive that memory over and over especially when they went to sleep. The reason that most people go to this facility was that they wanted to get rid of bad memories. The person going to the facility was called the Source. The Source then had all rights to the Mem but the Mem would reside at the facility.  What they noticed was that the Mem would not live very long lives they would eventually expire and they also noticed that the Source when they had these memories extracted that and that memory would then be gone from their memory but they would also lose more of them selves as well. So there was a price to pay to remove bad memories. The main character of the story was a Mem named Dolores after her source Dolores and she exhibited characteristics that no other Mem had before she experienced feelings and individual thoughts.

Final Thoughts:

There’s so much complexity to the various issues that I’m surprised it was fit in such a small book. A great read and I especially enjoyed at the very end the authors note where the author actually states that the character was black and that she chose not to include even though racism exist then and it exists now in Canada. But that she wanted to have the character and exist without having to deal with racism but as a responsible author, she wanted to make sure that she say did note that racism is still present. Then she recommended different resources to explore issues of race and race relations in Canada. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and give it 5 butterflies. This book was really great and I’m just so impressed with the concepts and the issues that it brought to the forefront for me. Read it!

Happy Monday: Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

Hello everyone! I hope you are all well today. We are in the aftermath of our first winter storm and it’s not the volume of snow that is threatening but the temperature drop (currently 4 degrees Fahrenheit. So everything is frozen and we have high wind gusts which I am hopeful that our power will remain on. Something about winter storms are stressful at times but something else is so cozy and comforting. To be tucked in your home with all the things and people you love makes me happy.  So I am hoping to get some reading and a little crafting in before the day is complete.

Enough about the weather. Happy MLK day!  I hope you all are finding ways to honor his message and maybe sneak in time to reflect on his life. I am embarrassed to say that I have yet to read an adult book on him. I keep waiting for the “right” book. But I really would like to read one this year. A couple that I have in mind as contenders are:

Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? (King Legacy) by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (Author), Vincent Harding

The Words of Martin Luther King, Jr. by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Hopefully this will me the year.

I hope you all are well and I will check in this week with some crafty posts.

Have a great day!

Belinda

Happy Monday: Wellness planning

Hello and Happy Monday! I am writing this post late today because I was hanging out with my husband before he leaves for a long business trip. I am going to miss him but I have a busy week ahead that will hopefully distract me a bit. First, how was your weekend? I hope it was relaxing and fun. We hosted a group of my family over our house to watch a playoff game. I make myself laugh because for some strange reason, I love trying out new recipes when I have company. Now some might call that cool and adventurous but I think it only adds to the stress factor a little when you want to feed a large group.  I can say most of the time, it turns out alright but I do recall some losers. However, this time was a winner and luckily I made a large portion so we could eat throughout the game. It was really fun to catch up with my family and laugh at our old family memories.

Tomorrow I will begin another 21-day cleanse. My last cleanse was in June of last year. I have to admit I have slipped off my clean eating big time. But like the rest of the New Year’s resolution planners, I too made a promise to get my act together. I have been doing cleanses every 6 months for several years and I like to do them to help reset my habits and renew my love of good food. I mean let’s face it, the winter time is pure comfort food, slowing down and indulging in decadent desserts.  So it always presents a challenge for me but I am willing to take it one day at a time.

That all said, I started planning what meals I would like to eat throughout the cleanse. I find that my success really relies on me being organized. I plan the week’s meals then shop for them and assign them a day to make. I put in a lot of soups this week. Because they can replace the less than clean comfort food I have been eating since the holidays.

I will check in with updates on my status and share recipes so be sure to check back.

Well I have to get ready for pick-up but I wish for you a blessed day!

Belinda

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