In no particular order here are some quotes and reviews of my quarantine reads so far.
The Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
"I won't let your ignorance silence my pain."
"I teach you to be warriors in the garden so you will never be gardeners in the war."
Children of Blood and Bone was added to my list by way of a friend's recommendation. I didn't really know what I was getting myself into with this one. It is a book about magic and injustice and fighting to make things right by those involved doing what they think is best. It was an exciting journey told through the view point of different characters. Although I did not love some of the romance, as I thought it was incongruent with the rest of the story, I understand the importance it brought to the story. Some of the fighting was gruesome and not advisable for younger readers, but really added to feeling the pain of the characters.
In the Afterward, the author explained how the book came into being. This book "was written during a time where I kept turning on the news and seeing stories of unarmed black men, women, and children being shot by the police. I felt afraid and angry and helpless, but this book was the one thing that made me feel like I could do something about it... But if this story affected you in any way, all I ask is that you don't let it stop within the pages of this text... If your heart broke for Zelie's grief over the death of her mother, then let it break for all the survivors of police brutality who've had to witness their loved ones taken firsthand...This is just one of the many problems plaguing our world and there are so many days when these problems still feel bigger than us, but let this book be proof to you that we can always do SOMETHING to fight back."
This was an insanely timely read and left me deep in thought about the book, our world, and the silence that can breed ignorance. Listen, learn, lament.
The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
"How lost do you have to be to let the Devil lead you home?"
This book was dropped off at my doorstep the first day of quarantine by a good friend who had, quite some time ago, recommended it. Excited to finally have this book in my hands I dived in. All in all, this was a unique story and format, although somewhat difficult for me to follow from the changing point of view in which the story was told.
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb
"We think we make bucket lists to ward off regret, but really they help us ward off death. After all, the longer our bucket lists are, the more time we imagine we have left to accomplish everything on them."
Just a couple of weeks before quarantine I hosted a book club for some women in my family. Group decision that day named this book the next to read and discuss. This book showcased a few clients in therapy, their therapist, and their therapist's therapist. As a person in therapy myself, I enjoyed this read and the insight it provided. I even talked to my therapist about it! The (virtual) book club discussion with my family (we missed you H!) provided further insight and sharing which was nice during such weird and hard quarantine times.
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
"In love we find out who we want to be; in war we find out who we are."
The Nightingale was another book mentioned at family book club, but we never decided to formally discuss it. The story, set in World War II France, gripped me from the beginning and for the first time in years I stayed up late several nights in row to get it read quickly. It has been ages since I shed such tears while engaging a story, not to mention the emotional hangover after finishing it. I loved this story, the writing, and the character development.
The Pharmacist of Auschwitz by Patricia Posner
"Fritzi wanted desperately to believe that the man with whom she had fallen in love while both were medical students in Vienna was incapable of doing the crimes with which he had been charged."
This year on World Holocaust Remembrance Day, my parents went to hear a Survivor's story. They came home sharing this suggested read. I later received the book in the mail as a belated birthday present from my best friend and decided to make it my Passover read. I missed out on intentionally participating in traditional Passover celebrations, so I made do with reading. The information in this book is altogether informative and unimaginable to accept as truth. The writing was fine and the information was repeated throughout the chapters, but at the heart of things the information was incredibly real and raw.
Untamed by Glennon Doyle
"We control what we don't trust. We can either control our selves or love our selves, but we can't do both. Love is the opposite of control. Love demands trust."
"Feeling all your feelings is hard, but that's what they're for. Feelings are for feeling. All of them. Even the hard ones. The secret is that you're doing it right, and that doing it right hurts sometimes."
Glennon's wisdom was first introduced to me by a cousin when I was going through a hard time. Since then I have found a lot of truth and comfort in Glennon's words, so when I heard she was publishing a new book I immediately asked my cousin if she would read it with me when it came out and she agreed. It was released right around the start of quarantine, so I had a lot of time to dig deep into it. Truth be told though I sped through it, however, I continue to do a lot of reflecting on what I read and apply certain ideas to my life when it makes sense.
Wolfpack by Abby Wambach
"Power and success and joy are not pies. A bigger slice for one women doesn't mean a small slice for another. We believe that love, justice, success, and power are infinite and meant to be accessible to all."
This author is an American retired soccer player, coach, Olympic gold medalist, FIFA Women's World Cup champion, and a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. Oh, she's also Glennon's wife, from the book above. Early in the year I read Abby's memoir and quickly thereafter added this one to my list as well. For Mother's Day I was gifted a U.S. Women's National soccer jersey along with Wolfpack. This was an extremely quick read that mirrored a commencement speech that Abby gave. Although the content was empowering I would have loved more of it.
Stay tuned as there are still more books to be read. Happy reading and sharing.
