What Ive Been Reading

OMG its been awhile since I have posted on this site, but just because I havent been writing doesnt mean that I havent been reading. I updated my reading list so you guys can see what it is have been reading in between textbooks. Right now I am currently reading a series of books by Trisha Thomas on my kindle. There are six books the Nappily Series and I am on number five. I really enjoy this series. Now I must admit I am not a huge fan of Urban Fiction. To me it seems like most of them seem to project this negative connotation of African Americans. Its full of drugs, drama, infedeilty, abuse, prostitution, oh wait thats the stuff that makes good books..lol but it just seemed to be the central theme of allllll the books. They all seemed to have the same storyline with maybe one slight difference. I guess to put it plainly, it felt like I was just reading the same book over and over again.








Unlike the other Urban Fiction novels that I have read, this series wasnt recommended to me I just sort of stumbled upon it. I was just on my way the front of the library and I caught a glimpse of the the spine and I stopped to take a look. The thing that stuck out to me was the picture of an African American woman on the spine and the cover with a short natural hair style. The title also caught my attention "Nappily Ever After". Being a "napptural" myself for two years, I was very interested to see what this story was about.


I really enjoyed this first installment, It had its share of drama but it wasnt the "usual" drug dealer turned savior type of drama. This book actually portrays Af.American men and women as educated professionals!!! That was one of the first differences that I noted about this book, the characters were actually pretty classy!! By reading some of these other novels you wouldnt think that this concept was even attainable by black people..lol...Ok maybe that was a little too harsh but as an educated women Af. American women married to an educated Af. American man I get tired of seeing black people portrayed in such stereotypical ways.

I hope that you will give this series a try, I think you will like it. The rest of the books in this series are Would I Lie to You, Nappily Married, Nappily Faithful, Nappily In Bloom (im currently reading this) and Un-Nappily In Love. The seventh book Nappily About Us is scheduled to be released in October 2011. There is also a rumor that the first book will be made into a movie starring none other than Ms. Halle Berry,wow..cant wait.

October/November Book Selections

OK…I know it has been a while….but I am a full time student and I have had NO time Absolutely NO time to read anything except for textbooks!!! I have read some interesting stories in World Literature that I wouldn’t have NEVER read otherwise though, like Andorra by Max Frisch and Coming of Age in Mississippi by Anne Moody a civil rights activist and other short stories like Heart of Darkness, Barn Burning , and The Visit ..Anyway moving on. In my leisure time I am reading The Wench by Dolin Perkins – Valdez and next up will be Getting to Happy by Terry McMillian (the sequel to Waiting to Exhale). The Wench right now is so far so good, I have the book for a month or more and I am only on chapter 5..yea..shows you how much time I have to read, but I am determined to keep reading and keep posting.

July Books (late post)

This is a late post, but I literally just finished reading this book, so this could really be considered an August read as well. :) I have been finishing up my associates degree in social work, so it took me a little longer than normal to finish it.
This is the second book that I have read by Jodi Picoult and I really like her. I like how she organizes her books and writes from the perspective of each character, so you really get a clear picture of whats going on. The first book I read by her was called The Pact. I read it in May right after I read Hannahs List, but I dont know how come I didnt blog about it, because it was very good.
This book was really good. If it were a movie, I would categorize it under "heart felt, family drama". Ohhh it was good, it read just like a good movie, and it was very informational too.
This book lets us into the lives of Sean and Charlotte O'Keefe and their struggle to raise thier two daughters Amelia and Willow. Their lives are no different from anyother famiy except for the fact that Willow suffers from a rare bone disease called Osteogenisis Imperfecta (OI). I had never heard of this disease and its devastating effects until I read this book. This family is pushed to the brink of seperation when medical and other bills began to get out of control.
We can all relate to having to make tough decisions in our lives and sometimes those choices affect more than just us. But we do what we feel is best for our family. This book is about making the hard choices, and in the end it may have you questioning some of your own decisions. I hope you enjoy it, it really makes for a great discussion!!

More June Books

Loved, Loved, Loved this book. I think it is a Miltary spouse must read. The author did a great job at capturing the real life struggles of a miltary family. I feel that every miltary spouse can relate to Grace Bennet in some way. Here is the synopsis of The Ocean Between Us:

Grace Bennett has it all -- three wonderful children, a devoted husband and a life of adventure and travel. But beneath the calm demeanor of an efficient Navy wife, Grace stands at the crossroads -- of her life and her marriage. When she looks in the mirror, she doesn't recognize the person staring back. She's tired, out of shape and feeling invisible. Somewhere between her husband's demanding career, raising a family, the constant uprooting and the Navy's routine, Grace has lost her sense of self. Something needs to change. She needs to change. Steve Bennett simply can't understand the unraveling of his wife's heart. He thought he was proving his love to her with each promotion. He believed he could still be a good husband and father while juggling an officer's myriad duties. But he now realizes they were seeing their marriage through different eyes. And when a nearly forgotten secret resurfaces, Grace's discontent comes into sharp focus. Now Steve must try to make their marriage right again before his next deployment. For himself. For his family. For the twenty years of shared history that have always anchored him to home. Then duty calls. Separated by an ocean of regrets and longing, Grace and Steve take a hard took at their faltering marriage, the love that brought them together and the family they cherish. They confront the choices they've made, the sacrifices they've rationalized and the dreams they've set adrift. But just as they come to grips with their marriage, the unthinkable happens -- a disaster aboard Steve's aircraft carrier shatters Grace's world. As she gathers her children around her and waits for news, she faces a Navy wife's worst nightmare -- the cold truth that life's biggest chances can slip away while you're looking for guarantees.

Enjoy!!

Books Im reading for June

I found out about this book from a commercial on XM Radio...it had been coming on alot on the Oprah channel so I decided to google it and see what it was all about. I found out that this book was on the NewYork Bestsellers List, so I decided to give it a try.

I really enjoyed the book right from the beginning. I found it to be an easy and light read. I thorughly enjoyed every moment of it. As young married woman I wondered to myself if I could have been as selfless as Hannah was, but I still havent made my mind up on the issue...lol. Maybe after you read this book we can discuss it.

Enjoy!

May Book Selection

This book has been deemed as the must read book of the year!! Do I agree??? YESSS…Ahh this book is Uhmazing, I cant belive it took me this long to read it . Thanks to some convincing from my dear friend T.S who heard about it from her friend , who heard about it from her mother…yea, you know how that goes and now I am passing this fabulous read on to all of you.

Now don’t be alarmed by the size of this book (451 pg) , trust me it is soooo good, you will finish it in no time and you may even find yourself wanting more!! It should also make for some interesting conversation

Enjoy!!

Synopsis

Three ordinary women are about to take one extraordinary step.
Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.
Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.
Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.
Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.
In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women--mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends--view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don't.
Copyright ©2009 Kathryn StockettSite

Babylon Discussion Questions

For those who have been reading Babylon Sisters , here are a few questions to discuss.

1. “There is a theory,” she said, slowly, “that women’s romantic relationships with men are totally shaped by their fathers. If it’s a bad relationship, those women will seek out men who are like the father over and over in order to see if they can resolve issues that began in early childhood.” (p. 18) Do you think there’s any truth to this theory? If so, is there anything women with less than positive relationships with their fathers can do to break the cycle?





2.“My generation is still struggling to find the balance between love and freedom, sex and romance, family and career. Sometimes we get it right, but more often, we don’t.” (p. 21) How do you feel about Catherine’s observation that her generation is “still struggling” with these important questions? Is this struggle a challenge in your own life? How do you think women address these questions in their daily lives, personally and professionally?