A Burning by Megha Majumdar

 

Hello my lovely readers!

Since I started reading again, I haven't been too impressed with my selections. A Burning by Megha Majumdar was no exception even though the plot seemed so good! Let's get into it.

SYNOPSIS

Jivan is a Muslim girl from the slums, determined to move up in life, who is accused of executing a terrorist attack on a train because of a careless comment on Facebook. PT Sir is an opportunistic gym teacher who hitches his aspirations to a right-wing political party, and finds that his own ascent becomes linked to Jivan's fall. Lovely--an irresistible outcast--has the alibi that can set Jivan free, but it will cost her everything she holds dear.

These three characters find their lives entangled in the wake of a catastrophe in contemporary India and examine what it feels like to face profound obstacles and yet nurture big dreams in a country spinning toward extremism. 

The Block Party by Jamie Day

Hello my lovely readers!

It's been a long time and I apologize!

I'm currently pregnant and was in my first trimester the months of August and September. As a first time mother, I had no idea how tired and nauseous I would be all the time! Needless to say, I didn't pick up nary a book or audiobook for weeks and I only managed to finish the three books I did read in August while in a first trimester haze.

Now that I'm safely into my second trimester, I've gained more energy and FINALLY got back into reading. I played it safe and decided to go with the thriller The Block Party by Jamie Day on audio.

Unfortunately....this book did NOTHING for me. At least I'm reading again, though, right? Let's get into it!

SYNOPSIS

The residents of the Alton Road cul-de-sac are entangled in a web of secrets and scandals that are unknown to the rest of the world and each other.

Then on the night of the annual summer block party, there's been a murder.

But who did it? Why? Those answers will take the reader back to a year earlier as rivalries and betrayals unfold and when everyone discovers that nothing and no one is ever as it seems.

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

 

Hello my lovely readers!

This was a vacation read for me while out in Egypt and Jordan and this book was...interesting, but very surface level. Let's get into it!

SYNOPSIS

Authors June Hayward and Athena Liu are supposed to be rising stars in the publishing world, but Athena comes out on top as a cross-genre literary darling while June can't even get a paperback release of her debut novel.

When Athena dies in front of June, she acts on impulse and steals Athena's "masterpiece," an experimental novel about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers to the British and French war efforts during World War I.

June Hayward soon becomes Juniper Song and becomes a New York Times bestselling author thanks to the edits she made to Athena's novel, which no one knows about.

But June can't get away from Athena's shadow, and emerging evidence threatens to bring June's (stolen) success down around her. As June races to protect her secret, she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves.

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

Hello my lovely readers!

This was another re-read for me. I hadn't read this book since high school and this book, along with The Awakening are two books that I'll regularly (and happily) re-read in each decade of my life. Let's get into it!

SYNOPSIS

Independent and articulate, Janie Crawford sets out to be her own person which is unheard of for a Black woman in the 1930s. Janie's quest for identity take her through three marriages and into a journey back to her roots.

The Man Who Lived Underground by Richard Wright

 

Hello my lovely readers!

When I saw that Richard Wright had a new book coming out in the Year of Our Lord 2021 you know I had to pick it up! It did not disappoint. Let's get into it.

SYNOPSIS

Fred Daniels, a black man, is picked up randomly by the police after a brutal murder in a Chicago neighborhood and taken to the local precinct where he is tortured until he confesses to a crime he didn't commit. After signing a confession, he escapes from the precinct and takes up residence in the sewers below the streets of Chicago.

Author Spotlight: Kim McClarin

Hello my lovely readers! 

In this second installment of Author Spotlight, I want to introduce you to the author whose book shaped me as a young Black woman in her early 20s navigating the journalism industry.

Say hello to Kim McLarin!

Kim McLarin is a former staff writer for The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Associated Press. She graduated with a bachelor's degree from Duke University and is also a graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy.

She is the author of three novels, Taming it Down, Meeting of the Waters and Jump at the Sun. McLarin co-authored the book Growing Up X by Ilyasah Shabazz and is the author of several essay collections and memoirs.  Her work has also appeared in several publications including Glamour, the Washington Post, The Root and The Boston Globe to name a few.

The Awakening by Kate Chopin

 

Hello my lovely readers!

This was a re-read and it is as good as I remembered it. I first read this in high school for my AP English class, but that was the first and last time. When I was in college, we read a lot of Kate Chopin in my English 1101 course, but I can't believe it took me this long to re-read The Awakening. Let's get into it!

SYNOPSIS

I would give up the essential; I would give my money, I would give my life for my children; but I wouldn't give myself. I can't make it more clear; it's only something which I am beginning to comprehend, which is revealing itself to me.

Twenty-eight year old Edna Pontellier is a wife and mother spending the summer on Creole Isle with her husband and two young sons. While she's here, she meets Robert Lebron and the two take a liking to each other.

However, as feelings begin to grow deep, Robert leaves to Mexico for several months on a business trip. Her husband returns to New Orleans and the boys are send to their grandparents and Edna begins to experience her awakening. Edna starts to shun what's expected of her as a woman in society and live freely. 

Edna resists authority in her quest for freedom in a book that is now regarded as a landmark in American fiction.