Excuses, Excuses, Excuses

I know, every week I promise myself I will read for pleasure, but unfortunately that never happens! It’s just been so busy, and time is flying by, February is nearly over! As motivation for myself, I bought several books recently (NOT from Amazon or Barnes and Noble, but a bookstore in Cambridge though I forgot the name my apologies!). I’ve had a lot of books recommended recently and I thought if I bought them, then maybe I would find the time to read them. I felt as though spending money would have been a motivating factor. However, we know this will be a failed method, but nonetheless, I bought them. 

The first book I bought is Ijeoma Oluo’s So you Wanna talk about Race. I’ve heard so many good things about this book, and because I want to teach high school this would be really beneficial and overall intriguing to read/learn her approach. Oftentimes when the word race is even mentioned people often shut down or are reluctant to talk because they feel uncomfortable. 

Though I acknowledge I haven’t yet finished The Emperor’s Babe, I bought another Bernadine Evaristo book, Blonde Roots. I am just fascinated by her mind! This book reverses history and looks at what would have happened if Africans enslaved Europeans? How would that change the way people view inhumane behavior?  I would love to talk to her. Maybe I will be a brave soul at her book signing, or in a more realistic scenario, I’ll just stutter and forget my name again!

I also bought NW and Swing Time. I think I mentioned this before, but I also love Zadie Smith. She wrote White Teeth when she was in her 20s, in college, could you imagine? I can’t even read a book for leisure let alone write a paper, she wrote a whole book! I am blown away by her passion and skill. White Teeth is one of my favorite books, it is one of the few books I reread because I feel as though there is just so much to unpack, I find something new everything I reread it. I haven’t read very many of her other books, though I have heard many good things about Swing Time and NW. The last sentences also sold me. They’re so thought-provoking, now I have to (eventually) read the books

I finally bought Sula! I just had to. I still have a goal of reading all of Toni Morrison’s books by 2021, though I question if it will happen? I doubt it will, but I am trying! I want to be able to fully dedicate myself to Morrison’s books, that is why I am so hesitant to start one and fail to finish it in a timely manner or just have time to process it. Morrison is my all-time favorite author and I just want to be able to fully immerse myself in her books.