Necole Bitchie is starting a book club! A lot of people know Necole from her super popular celebrity gossip blog but I follow her personal Tumblr more.
The first book selection will be The Dream Giver
Be sure to "like" her book club page for more information.
Also, Youtuber WhoisSugar is thinking about starting her own book club, too. Check out her blog for more info.
Happy Reading!!
I've been reading a lot lately for a few reasons. I want to become a better writer, for self-education, and mainly because I live next door a brand-new library with over 700,000 titles in their database. I'm obsessed with collecting titles for my "to read" list.
I was one of those people who said e-readers killed the hardcover book industry, but I'm eating my words today. The library is where it's at! One word: FREE! Sure, sometimes I have to wait several weeks to come off the waiting list for popular titles, but I have too many options to choose from to really care.
I know what it's like to live in a county was a deplorable library system.
Been there, done that, had the original 1960s book to prove it. So, I say all of this to say, take advantage of your local library. :-)
I'm still giving my Kindle love, though. I will dust it off next month while on vacation. I'm not lugging around all those hardcover books on the beach. :-)
What's on your reading list?
Since I prefer light (and often humorous) books to fall asleep to, I thought Ellen's Seriously...I'm Kidding
I love Ellen but she could've kept this one. I laughed a few times, but overall she had waaay too many fillers and she rambled like no other. lol The chapters were super short (a plus) and she seems really cool, but...umm, no. lol
On a positive notes, here are some quotes:
" The thing everyone should realize is that the key to happiness is being happy by yourself and for yourself."
"The secret to life-KALE."
"I really do think it's important to let go of things and give things away, to declutter and get out from under that pile of papers and old cereal boxes and harmonicas. It's cathartic. It's freeing."
"I just wish we could hold on to that sense of wander becasue sometimes we don't notice some of he most incredible things in the world."
"I personally like being unique. I like being my own person with my own style and my own opinions and my own toothbrush. I think it's so much better to stand out in some way and to set yourself apart from the masses."
I cried. I gasped. I wanted to fight.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Lacks children grew up in poverty and couldn't even afford health insurance as adults; despite their mother's major contribution to science. Lacks' daughter, Deborah said, "Truth be told, I can't get mad at science, because it helps people live, and I'd be a mess without it. I'm a walking drugstore! I can't say nuthin' bad about science, but I won't lie, I would like some health insurance, so I don't got to pay all that money every moth for drugs my mother's cells probably helped make."
I understand a lot of the ethics that have been established since this situation didn't exist in the 50s, but the part that bothers me, is how Dr Gey LIED about asking Lacks for her consent. I personally don't believe he respected her enough to ask for permission. This young black, uneducated woman was receiving free treatment from Hopkins and he likely felt her cells were a fair exchange. I will say that I don't think Dr Gey did it for profit though, because he wasn't a wealthy man. Also, when he was diagnosed with cancer himself, he asked for his cells to be researched on. Overall, a lot of what was done in this situation was in the name of science. That doesn't mean I think it's fair or right.
There's a lot of science talk (of course) but the author did an excellent job of making it down to earth. Also, I appreciated the short chapters and how thoroughly researched and well-written this book is.
Lacks' daughter, Deborah just wanted her mother to get the recognition she deserves. More than 60 years later, she finally has. :-)
I highly recommend this book.
This story reminded me that I also need to read Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present
Clutch magazine released their 2013 list of books by Black women for Black women list.
I found a lot of great ones and added them to my growing "to read" list.
Some include:
Are Prisons Obsolete by Angela Davis
Sula by Toni Morrison
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones
This Bridge Called My Back: Writings by Radical Women of Color by Various
Ain’t I A Woman by bell hooks
White Teeth by Zadie Smith
On Black Sisters Street by Chika Unigwe
Ones from the list I've already read and recommend:
Caucasia by Danzy Senna
Kindred by Octavia Butler
Gathering of Waters by Bernice McFadden
Black, White & Jewish: Autobiography of a Shifting Self by Rebecca Walker
The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Before You Suffocate your own Fool Self by Danielle Evans
32 Candles by Ernessa T. Carter
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
Happy Reading!