Everything I Read in March 2020
Quarantine has given me several opportunities to think about what I would like to do with my blog in the future. I really enjoy seeing travel and style tips on most blogs, but since I'm currently just stuck inside reading all day (no complaints) I had the idea of uploading a post about the books I've read each month.
Washington Black by Esi Edugyan: "Washington Black is an eleven-year-old field slave who knows no other life than the Barbados sugar plantation where he was born. When his master's eccentric brother chooses him to be his manservant, Wash is terrified of the cruelties he is certain await him. But Christopher Wilde, or "Titch", is a naturalist, explorer, scientist, inventor, and abolitionist." I loved this book and I'm sad to say that I have never really read anything like it before. This book is a story of friendship and betrayal, love and redemption. While the book took me awhile to read because I ended up with the flu, it never felt slow. Everyone should read this, the author is a wonderful storyteller and I can't wait to read more of her books.
Rating 4/5
Normal People by Sally Rooney: Normal People is set in Ireland about the relationship over time between two people, Marianne and Connell. I won't ruin any more for you but to be honest, I'm actually surprised so many people love this book. However, I did enjoy the lack on punctuation in lines of dialogue as I've never seen that before. I thought the book was ok, but I probably wouldn't recommend it. I'm certain that the show will be better.
Rating 3/5
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah: "The Nightingale tells the stories of two sisters, separated by years and experience, by ideals, passion and circumstance, each embarking on her own dangerous path toward survival, love, and freedom in German-occupied, war-torn France." Having different personalities and experiences with my own sister, I'm surprised I haven't picked up this book before. If you haven't read this, you need to immediately order it from some bookstore that is still delivering. You will laugh and cry and be up all night trying to finish it. Honestly, I haven't read a book as good as this one in awhile.
Rating 5/5
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain: I somehow came across a review for this book on Goodreads awhile back and it really intrigued me. Non-fiction is not usually my cup of tea, but I definitely had the time this month to really sit down and focus on a book such as this one. I often feel like society treats introverts as outcasts and acts like introversion is something to be fixed. It was really refreshing to read this and learn that there are plenty of people like me in the world, even influential individuals that I never realized were introverts! One of my favorite paragraphs that summed up just how much I related to this was: "In her book Anger: The Misunderstood Emotion, Carol Tavris recounts a story about a Bengali cobra that liked to bite passing villagers. One day a swami - a man who has achieved self-mastery - convinces the snake that biting is wrong. The cobra vows to stop immediately, and does. Before long, the village boys grow unafraid of the snake and start to abuse him. Battered and bloodied, the snake complains to the swami that this is what came of keeping his promise. "I told you not to bite," said the swami, "but I did not tell you not to hiss." The author has done so much research into this topic and it really shows. If you or someone you're married to is an introvert, I highly recommend reading this!
Rating 4/5
I'm a little embarrassed that I only read 4 books this month, but hey, we're stuck inside until April 30th now and my goal is to finish 10 books then!