I’ve somehow lost my momentum with reading, so this week I only managed to get through one book that I’d already read half of! I did read some longer books with my kid this week, though, so I’m throwing those in as well since I technically did read them too!
Read last week:
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I adored Uncomfortable Conversations. It was structured brilliantly. Each chapter opened with a question asked by a White person – all questions you usually feel like you can’t ask – and then he broke down what the issues around that question are, the history that goes into understanding it, and how to deal with it in a respectful, antiracist way. This book is a perfect place to go if you’re looking for open and honest information, great suggestions for other sources of info (articles, books, movies, TV shows, podcasts etc.) and ideas of concrete things you can do in your day-to-day life to support Black Lives Matter and People of Colour in your community and beyond. I was very impressed.
I’m not sure whether to count the other two – I read both of these aloud to my kid this week. We both thoroughly enjoyed them! We’ve only just started reading longer books, so I’m looking for ideas of others that are not too long, don’t have anything scary (we tried Fantastic Mr. Fox and the tail part early on was too scary, likewise James and the Giant Peach wasn’t great what with the parents being eaten by a rhino and the aunts being so mean) or creepy in them. If you have any suggestions, I’d love to hear them! Thinking of trying Paddington or Winnie the Pooh next.
Currently reading:
I am listening to There There on audiobook from my library, and it is a brilliant performance and fantastic book. I’ve put it on pause at the moment to listen to Weather and Hamnet as both of those will be due back soon – I’m enjoying all three, though if I had to pick a favourite so far, it’d be There There. I’m slowly chipping away at Diary of a Somebody – it’s a series of journal entries, so it’s an easy one to pick up and put down. It’s pretty funny and entertaining so far!
Up next:
Pain and Prejudice is March’s pick for Acacia Ives‘ Patreon book club and I’m really excited to give it a try. It’s not out here yet, and when it is released I’ll have to wait for it to be delivered, so not sure when I’ll get to it! The other three are books I’m really excited about. Don’t Bomb the Suburbs is a follow up to Wimsatt’s earlier books Bomb the Suburbs and No More Prisons, books that I read when I was in my 20s and that helped open up some issues I didn’t know enough about. I’m looking forward to reading this follow-up, and possibly re-visit the other two books. I don’t know if I’ll see issues with the earlier books now that it’s been a decade since I read them and I’m older and (arguably) wiser, but I’m hoping they’ll stand the test of time! Disability Visibility I’m so excited about. It’s a series of essays written by people living with various disabilities – some visible, some not. I have two chronic medical conditions, mental health issues (tied into the physical ones) and chronic pain, none of which are visible to anyone looking at me. I’ve spent years standing on the bus in pain because I didn’t want to ask a stranger to give up their seat to someone who looked, to them, to be young and healthy. I’d try to time my commute when I was more likely to get an empty bus, and sometimes walked blocks to a bus stop that would be earlier on the route and more likely to have free seats. I think this book is a vital contribution to society beginning to understand what it is to live with disability – mental or physical, visible or not – day in and day out. It’s not easy. And finally, I’m looking forward to reading and watching I Am Not Your Negro, which I’d like to do around the same time as each other.
That’s it for my week in reading! What did you guys read this week? Any great books you’d like to recommend? Have you read any of these, and if so what did you think? Do you have any recommendations of non-scary kids books? Share in the comments!
A weekly post that encourages bloggers to share what they have read in the past week, what they’re currently reading and books they’ve recently added to their TBRs. Originally started by Sheila at Book Journey, it is now hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date.