Just a quick reminder that reading can take MANY forms. Your reading may look like articles, blogs or audio books – all of that IS reading!!
I fell in love with reading in 11th grade English class. I had a teacher who taught me how to read, how to talk about books, how to hold a pen in your hand and think while you read, making connections with the story and its characters. Thanks to that teacher, I am an avid reader today.
When the pandemic hit I was stuck. I couldn’t read. My mind couldn’t connect, couldn’t get beyond a few paragraphs over and over. This seemed to be a problem for many people. I read about it in this article, titled “Why I can’t read a book right now – and I am not alone”, I had a moment where I felt seen! I wasn’t alone. I shared the article with my book club and they replied that yes, they too were struggling. We struggled through our reading slump together, watching and talking about Netflix shows (Becoming, The Half of It, Never Have I Ever (all worth a watch!)), until we found our own rhythms to get us back into our reading lives.
Here are some books I have read and liked this summer:
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett – What was it about this book that kept me reading and thinking about the characters? In this story set in the 60s and 70s, twins are searching to make their own identities and confront the ramifications of their choices. Bennett tells a beautiful story about sisterhood, love and race. I liked Bennetts writing so much that I quickly read her other novel, The Mothers.
Do you read YA? I am not ashamed to admit that I do! I think that everyone should meet the character Liz Lighty in You Should See Me in a Crown. In her debut novel, Leah Johnson, writes about a girl who is growing up in a town that is OBSESSED with prom. Liz thinks she is not prom material she is too poor, too tall, and too queer to fit into the prom queen role but she needs the scholarship money that comes with the title. You won’t be disappointed by this novel about Black joy!
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and Me by Ibram Kendi and Jason Reynolds – In this YA version of Kendi’s Stamped From the Beginning, Jason Reynolds talks to readers about history, how the history we have been taught in traditional schools centers white people and how racism has been raining down around us for 400+ years. Read this if you are at all interested in topics of race and/or if you work or live with middle or high schoolers (I would recommend reading and discussing this book with them). Additionally, Kendi has a terrific interview with Brene Brown on her Unlocking Us podcast, give that a listen if reading isn’t your thing right now.
Another very approachable book about race is So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo. In this book Oluo tells little stories and gives discussion points about 15 different race related topics.
This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel – Published in 2018, a story of a family of 7 dealing with a secret and the question of if it should really be a secret at all. It is a beautiful story about unconditional love, freedom and gender identity. As a parent I read this holding my breath and thinking of empathy and love.
Coming up next:
What’s on your to be read pile? What have you been reading this summer?