Bookwormhole | November

My reading game has been strong this year (33 books and counting!) I tend to read and move on to the next one clickity click as if my enjoyment of reading is just a never-ending checklist. In an effort to honor my high school English teachers and engage in some critical thinking, I've decided to jot down some thoughts/highlights/quotes from every book I read moving forward. Not quite a book review, but just something to stir my thoughts if five years from now I'm trying to remember if I enjoyed a book and what stood out to me. I often articulate my thoughts best in writing, but enjoy sharing them with others once articulated :) So if you ever want to go to coffee to discuss a book or join me in reading one together, just let me know. I'm currently curating my book list for 2018.

Here are the books I read in November along with a few lines from each that struck me.

1. Cannery Row by John Steinbeck
This is a quirky read, but it's more evidence that I enjoy Steinbeck's descriptive writing style. His word choice and imagry is unmatched, making even the mundane seem remarkable and captivating. He does this scene by scene but also weaves this throughout the book. We'll be following the main characters in one chapter and then the next will feature an unconnected soul whose brief cameo helps further paint the atmosphere and essence of Cannery Row.

"Cannery Row in Monterey in California is a poem, a stink, a grating noise, a quality of light, a tone, a habit, a nostalgia, a dream."

"And perhaps that might be the way to write this book - to open the page and to let the stories crawl in by themselves."

"For Monterey was not a town to let dishonor come to a literary man."

"Cats drip over the fences and slither like syrup over the ground to look for fish heads."

"Mack and the boys - the Virtues, the Beatitudes, the Beauties. They sat in the Palace Flophouse and they were the stone dropped in the pool, the impulse which sent out ripples to all of Cannery Row and beyond..."

2. The Myth of Equality: Uncovering the Roots of Injustice and Privilege by Ken Wytsma
A great read to better understand the origins and examples of racism, white privilege, and implicit bias. Lots of good thoughts stored up in these pages, here are some of the key nuggets -

"Everyone has a voice, and we don't need to speak for them. Instead we need to understand and address the processes that steal their voices or the reasons we aren't hearing them."

"Instead of putting energy into denying that we're racist, a more transparent and honest response might be to admit our desire to be free from racist thinking - and commit ourselves to searching for latent forms of bias within ourselves and trying to address them."

"Many people still use the word colorblind. It used to be a common phrase for talking about a post-racial way of living. The truth is, however, that not seeing skin color is a form of not seeing reality. Reality not seen is reality that cannot be affirmed. "Colorblindness" is a way we remain blind to the many subtle ways we're still dealing with a white standard. Colorblindness can lead to a comfort in not seeing or not calling out the need for diversity where it belongs."

3. The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur
Poetry is rarely on my list - maybe one book a year (last year was Grief is the Thing with Feathers), but Kaur's collection was approachable, relatable, and influential. I enjoyed her various metaphors, the floral/gardening motif throughout, and the topics she chose to explore: family, abuse, self-loathing & self acceptance, hardship, love, sex, restoration, immigration, beauty, brokenness, and more.

But your skin can't help
carrying as much sun as possible

It is a trillion-dollar industry that would collapse
if we believed we were beautiful enough already

If you have never
stood with the oppressed
there is still time
- lift them

despite knowing
they won't be here for long
they still choose to live
their brightest lives
- sunflowers

4. I Don't Know What you Know Me From: Confessions of a Co-Star by Judy Greer
I've read most of the I'm-a-female-celebrity-so-now-I'll-write-a-book memoirs (i.e. Bossypants; Yes, Please; Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me; Scrappy Little Nobody) and I think this is one of my favorites. It didn't tap into the crude or I'm-trying-too-hard categories which I appreciated. Instead, Judy came across as down-to-earth with her light-hearted, humorous stories. She splits her book into three sections: Early Life, Hollywood Life, and Real Life. We learn of her Detroit-ish background, how she ended up at an acting school, what her day job is really like, and how she balances being a stepmom. Other favorite parts include the "Random Judy Texts" chapter, her trip alone to Spain and the "alone" conversation with her driver, her list of alternative careers she would have thrived in, and the best pieces of advice she's received, featuring this classic:

"Wear your underwear over your tights; it will keep them from sagging" - Mom

Thinking back to the Accelerated Reader program at my Elementary school,

SJW