Oh boy…I’m definitely hitting a wall in my reading life lately. I am bogged down by heavy nonfiction reads that are really killing my reading vibe. You know it’s bad when I can barely find the desire to even pick up a book! I rarely chose tv over books, but that’s what’s I’ve been doing lately (rewatching Schitt’s Creek and love it even more the second time around)!
Anyway, before moving onto some #minibookreviews, here are some recent posts:
- July 2020 Reading Wrap-Up
- #6Degrees: From How To Do Nothing to The Overstory
- My Halfway Top 10: 2020
What have you been reading (and loving) this week?
Last Week’s Reads:
📱 *** Golden Gates: Fighting for Housing in America by Conor Dougherty
This was an incredibly interesting look into the housing crisis that began in the Bay Area of California (but really is a national crisis as well). While the backstory is a bit heavy at times, I found it fascinating how, in hindsight, the little (seemingly) insignificant things really added up to the big picture that we’re currently experiencing (in regards to housing in the United States). It felt relevant to me in regards to other current events and really made me question the (again, seemingly) small and insignificant daily things and how they can potentially add up to a bigger issue within the next few years. These kinds of books can act as warning bells if we’re only smart enough to pay attention! ⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi
😐 I really don’t know what to say about this one. Educational and very informative, but so much gets lost in the delivery. It reads like a textbook – very dry and hard to remained focus. It took me so long to get through, even with the smaller-chunked reading plan. It’s unfortunate that the information isn’t more accessible because it definitely has value for those that are able to sustain the momentum to get through to the end of the book. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 The Overstory by Richard Powers
This book is broken out into four different sections – and therin lies the problem for me. I really enjoyed section one, LOVED section two, lost interest in section three, and suffered through section four.
The writing is super dense and very nature-y – specifically tree-focused. The beginning was a love letter to trees and their contribution to humanity. The prose surrounding this part of the book was beautiful – many times I needed to read and reread parts because it was so gorgeous. As I entered section two, I was introduced more fully to the characters and their purposes to help further the story. At this point, it was pure genius and I couldn’t stop reading the book. But after a major event that happens – which ends section two – the story began to feel long and drug out. It truly was a slog to get through the last twenty pages – those in hindsight, they were totally necessary to wrap the story up.
This is different than the types of books I normally pick up to read. I’m not sad I read it, but I was disappointed with the overall experience by the end. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Currently Reading:
📖 The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott
This is my IRL book club pick…can’t wait to finally get to it. I’ve heard good things!
DNF (aka: Not For Me and/or Skipping For Now):
📱 Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuck
This was a book I was so excited to get my hands on…my library hold finally came in! The first chapter made me wonder what the heck I was reading. The second chapter started to catch my attention. I started to find passages throughout the chapters that quite literally would stop me in my tracks. But…sadly, as I continued, it started to lose it’s fizzle and I quickly lost interest.
📱 *** Not Like the Movies (Waiting for Tom Hanks, #2) by Kerry Winfrey
I LOVED the first book in this series, Waiting for Tom Hanks. But I forced myself to get through the first 20% and I am just not interested at.all. I’m calling it quits.
Happiest When Reading 
I hear you on heavy nonfiction! I listened to Rachel Maddow’s Blowout and while it was fascinating, it was also depressing. I learned a huge amount abotu the oil and gas industry and Putin’s Russia, but it left me wanting something light and fun!
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I think I could learn a lot from that book, but I’m not sure I’d be smart enough to understand…is it comprehensive?
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I’m no brainiac! She does a marvelous job of relaying facts through personal stories. Yes, there are lots of numbers (you’re talking about some of the biggest companies in the world), but I was never bored. In fact, I got the print copy from the library because I wanted to read through some portions more carefully!
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