Anxious People

Anxious PeopleTitle: Anxious People
Author: Fredrik Backman
Genre: Literary Fiction
Format: Kindle
Pages: 341
Rating:

My Thoughts

I’m so glad I decided to read ANXIOUS PEOPLE because I absolutely adored this book. I was giggling from the outset and I was hooked from the get-go. I loved how it was written, that we got the story in parts. I wanted to keep reading so I could figure out how everything would play out.

After I finished it, I felt almost spiritually moved and like Backman had spoken to me through his characters on a deep personal level. Backman made me feel a gambit of emotions for every single character, including the grumpy know-it-all who thrived on causing conflict. It made me love every single one of them. He even made me have feelings for bridges.

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Keep Moving

Keep MovingTitle: Keep Moving
Author: Maggie Smith
Genre: Memoir, Non-Fiction
Format: Hard Cover
Pages: 215
Rating:

My Thoughts

KEEP MOVING was really quick read because it’s mostly pages of affirmations. I liked a lot of the affirmations, but my favorite parts of the book were the parts where Smith went into more detail, where she talked about her losses from losing her grandmother, two miscarriages, and divorce. Those were the times I felt a kinship toward her. Even if I hadn’t experienced loss quite the same way she had, I could still empathize with her and think of ways to apply her advice to my own life.

I really liked her perspective on things, especially when she talked about serotinous pine cones and how they only open and spread their seeds in the midst of fire. Or, how she likened trauma and loss to kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing ceramics with gold. The ceramic piece is beautiful because of its brokenness instead of in spite of it.

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They Called Us Enemy

They Called Us EnemyTitle: They Called Us Enemy
Author: George Takei
Genre: Memoir, Non-Fiction
Format: Kindle
Pages: 212
Rating:

My Thoughts

I’ve only ever read one other book about the Japanese Internment Camps during World War II. I don’t remember what it was called but I know it was fiction. I was in middle school when I read it and it was how my teacher taught our class about this part of U.S. history. Reading about Takei and his family’s experience in THEY CALLED US ENEMY was very eye-opening and heart-wrenching. Even with what I was “taught” or read about, I didn’t know most of what Japanese Americans went through in these camps. It’s so disheartening that humans are capable of treating other humans like this simply because of their race and nationality.

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Uncomfortable Conversations With A Black Man

Uncomfortable Conversations With A Black ManTitle: Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man
Author: Emmanuel Acho
Genre: Informative, Non-Fiction
Format: Hard Cover
Pages: 295
Rating:

My Thoughts

Kami recommended UNCOMFORTABLE CONVERSATIONS WITH A BLACK MAN to me and I’m glad I read it. Acho doesn’t pull any punches as he discusses race, Black culture, and racism in a very open and sometimes uncomfortable conversation with his readers. I thought Acho’s words were eye-opening and they gave me a lot to think about. If more white people were willing to sit down and read his words, maybe we could actually learn from our mistakes and end racism and bias once and for all.

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Biased

BiasedTitle: Biased
Author: Jennifer L. Eberhardt
Genre: Informative, Non-Fiction
Format: Audio
Pages: 350
Length: 10h 25m
Narrator: Jennifer L. Eberhardt
Rating:

My Thoughts

I’m glad I read BIASED and I’m really glad I listened to the audiobook. Dr. Eberhardt was a fantastic reader and was very engaging to listen to. She came across as genuine as she had experienced some of the discrimination she wrote about herself. I thought the information on implicit bias was very interesting and eye-opening. I enjoyed learning about it and about myself. I think this information is important for people to learn, especially in today’s political climate. I think every white person should read this book.