Books That Shaped Me: College/Post Grad Edition

 

Hello my lovely readers!

Here is the third and final installment of the Books that Shaped Me series. 

These four books truly and whole-heartedly shaped me. As a child, I was surrounded by books that represented me as a Black girl, but that was mostly by force (thanks, Mom!) or coincidence, honestly. Then teenage Naomi was all about the drama and the books I read reflected it.

As a young Black woman in her early to mid-20s, navigating my profession as a journalist, love and travel, I began to seek out books that represented me. At first, it was unintentional (again, thanks Mom! You'll see why in a bit) and then it became more and more intentional.  I promise this will make sense as we move forward.

Let's get into the post-grad edition of Naomi!

The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson

 

Hello my lovely readers!

This is my THIRD 500+ page book that I read for the Mega May challenge and I'm so glad I picked it! All the books I've read lately are all somehow interconnected. I just finished The Defender and this book mentions the famed Black newspaper so many times. It was great to be "in the loop." Let's get into it!

SUMMARY
From 1915 to 1970, six million Black Americans moved from the South to the North for the chance at a better life where they would be treated equal to their white brethren. It was called "The Great Migration."

We follow the journeys of three unique people: Ida Mae Gladney, who in 1937 left sharecropping and prejudice in Mississippi for Chicago; George Starling, who fled Florida for Harlem in 1945; and Robert Foster who left Louisiana in 1953 to pursue a medical career and ended up in California.

Author Isabel Wilkerson interviewed over a thousand people and with stunning historical detail, brilliantly captures their first treacherous and exhausting cross-country trips by car and train and their new lives in their new cities they'd soon call home.

Daughter in Exile by Bisi Adjapon

 

Hello my lovely readers!

I saw this book a lot on Bookstagram and after reading the synopsis, I thought I'd be an interesting read. It definitely was because poor Lola was going through it! Let's get into it.

SUMMARY

21-year-old Lola is living the life in Senegal. She's a university graduate, an aspiring writer, she has a great job and a vibrant social life. The world is her oyster. But her life gets turned upside down when she falls in love with U.S. Marine, Armand. She ends up pregnant and is on her way to America to live her American dream with Armand, much to the dismay of her mother.

However, once she's on U.S. soil, everything begins to fall apart. Now an undocumented immigrant, Lola will stop at nothing to succeed even with all the obstacles she faces.

Books That Shaped Me: Teenage Edition

 

Hello my lovely readers!

This is the second installment of the Books that Shaped Me series. Welcome to Naomi the teenager! I was your typical moody teenager, dealing with friends, secrets, crushes and everything else in between.

I also devoured any book I could get my hands on, but I particularly liked the "tragic" books filled with drama, drama, drama. I, myself, was not a dramatic person (outwardly), but in my head, I was always creating scenarios that were all about the drama. Here we go!

Roots by Alex Haley

 

Hello my lovely readers!

I don't think a book has EVER made me as emotional as Roots by Alex Haley. I can't believe it took me this long to read this book. I've had it on my shelf since 2005! Let me tell you how and where I bought it....

BACKGROUND

It was June 2005. I was 15 and embarking on my first ever overseas trip (but second international trip ever) to London, England for a writing trip with Teen Ink's Summer Writing Program.

This was only the second iteration of the program and I, along with 27 other high school ladies, were lucky enough to be selected to go on the trip! I'd applied the year before, but was too young.

Now as a rising junior in high school, I'd be able to hone my creative writing skills and take in the sights of London. It was absolutely divine.

While on our way to our next destination, also known as pounding the London pavement, I laid my eyes on the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. A SIX STORY BORDERS.

 For those of you who don't know, Borders was the better, cleaner version Barnes and Noble. It officially shut its doors in 2011 and I've never been the same since!

There was a SIX-FLOOR Borders in London.  Our group stopped and we were able to look around and buy any books we wanted. I bought six. Roots was one of them.

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach

 

Hello my lovely readers!

This was a Libby find. This book was right up my alley, but I just wasn't in the right mind space to finish it. It honestly reminded me a lot of All The Living and The Dead, but I actually liked what I read. Let's get into it.

SUMMARY

Cadavers have been involved in science's boldest strides and weirdest undertakings from France's first guillotines to helping solve the mystery of TWA Flight 800.

For every new surgical procedure, cadavers have helped make history. Stiff investigates the strange lives of our bodies postmortem and answers the question: What should we do after we die?

The Chicago Defender by Ethan Michaeli

 

Hello my lovely readers!

Over on my Bookstagram account, I'm participating in the Mega May challenge where you commit to reading a 500-plus page book that you've been meaning to read.

I've committed to four and honestly, I think I can finish all four! I'm halfway there.

This book was an ABSOLUTE steal. I found it at McKay's Books for $12. Don't you love that? It was in perfect condition and is right up my alley, being a Black journalist. Let's get into it!

SUMMARY

The Chicago Defender was founded in 1905 by Robert S. Abbott and is still in publication today. The newspaper condemned Jim Crow, catalyzed the Great Migration and focused the electoral power of Black America. 

It was smuggled into isolated communities in the segregated South, helped elect mayors and presidents and had contributions from legends like Richard Wright, Ida B. Wells, Langston Hughes and Martin Luther King Jr.

Defender alum Ethan Michaeli brings to life the reporters who braved lynch mobs and police brutality to do their jobs from the age of Presidents Theodore Roosevelt to Barack Obama.