As per usual I am a day late and a dollar short. I'm always super awesome at planning things, but actually executing them? It's hit or miss.
I only managed to squeeze in 5 books in July, which leaves me super behind my goal of reading 100 books this year. I'm not giving up though! The past week I have been listening to audiobooks like it's my job, so maybe, just maybe 2016 will be the year that I read 100 books.
Out of those 5 read, there were 3 that were clear favorites. In no particular order:
Firefly Lane is the decades long story of two friends. After spending so much time with these two women and seeing so much of their lives, you can't help but feel invested. I found myself feeling like the third member of their friendship, and it was beyond frustrating that they couldn't hear me or feel me shaking them when they did something stupid. I had all but sworn off Kristin Hannah books after reading Winter Garden, and was surprised to find that Firefly Lane was the book that I didn't even realize I needed or wanted to read. I feel like this is the perfect read for someone who plays The Sims and finds themselves a tad upset when a Sim you've played since birth finally meets the Grim Reaper. If you don't play the sims and just enjoy the occasional Facebook stalking to find out what so and so has been up to since high school, just because, then this is also the book for you.
I pulled the quote right below this from Anne of the Island, mainly because that's how I felt as I read this installment. Every time I visit Anne and Avonlea, I find myself wishing that I lived among these pages, that these people were real. This installment covers Anne's college years and ends with you sighing happily. (If you find that it doesn't end that way for you, then you may have a heart of stone.) It's probably my favorite so far and I'm really looking forward to reading more of the series.
I listened to this book and would recommend that, if you read it, you do the same. I have a feeling that had I read the physical copy of the book, I would have been on the defensive, far more than I was. The author refers to whiteness as something bad, as something that isn't valid. At first, all of the negative talk on whiteness grated on me and had I not been listening I don't think I would have realized his point. My skin may be "white," but that is not who I am. I am the culmination of my heritage, my circumstances. The whiteness he seems to be referring to is this thing that was created, by people of many different heritages in order to make themselves feel superior to everyone else. This book was eye-opening to me in many ways.
While reading, I found myself thinking back to a Gender and Communication course I took as an undergrad. We were discussing how a woman walking alone at night would walk and hold herself versus a man. The men in the class were shocked to hear us tell them that we tried to make ourselves looks bigger and more intimidating, because we were scared. I imagine that my reactions while reading this book were similar to those men in my class. It's just not something you spend a whole lot of time on or really understand until someone takes the time to show you.
I honestly believe this should be recommended reading for everyone, because we all have so much to learn.