February through May reading notes

In my last reading notes (January reading notes - got privilege?), I highlighted a couple of titles that had me thinking about privilege and race.  Over the past four months, I read additional titles related to those themes as well as classic fiction, short stories and a couple of food/diet-related titles.  It was a good mix of genres and themes - just what I like.

For those interested in exploring various perspectives regarding race, I highly recommend the timely young adult novel The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas.  Well-written and compulsively readable, it tells the story of Starr Carter, a teenager who lives in an inner-city neighborhood but attends a suburban school.  Starr witnesses the shooting of her good friend by a police officer, and the novel tells of the aftermath.  Starr's voice and perspective are powerful, and the author handles the subject matter skillfully and insightfully.  Read more about the book on the author's website.  This New York Times bestseller has received a number of awards and accolades.

I read the following titles that also deal with race and identity in a variety of ways:

March Trilogy by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell
In my January notes, I mentioned this graphic novel series depicting John Lewis' civil rights activism.  It's a well-done and highly-informative trilogy through which I learned a lot about the civil rights movement.  Read more at the publisher's website.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
My daughter was reading it for her middle-school literature group, so I finally read Alexie's semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story.  I'm so glad I did.  Junior's experiences he navigates two worlds - life on the reservation and school in town - made me laugh and cry.  A great read.

Bad Feminist: Essays by Roxane Gay
I really enjoyed most of the essays in this book.  I laughed out loud at Gay's experiences participating in high-level Scrabble competitions.  And I agreed wholeheartedly with her affection for The Hunger Games and her problems with The Help.  I look forward to reading more of her work.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
I decided to read this nonfiction account of Henrietta Lacks and her famous cells since the book was in the media again due to the release of the film version.  It's a compelling read that tells a fascinating and often heart-breaking story. 

I also read the following fiction titles:

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
I love this book!  It's been called heart-warming, feel-good and charming.  It's all of those things and just really good story-telling and a great read.   

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
I enjoyed revisiting and discussing this classic with my daughter's middle school literature group.

Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes
I've read this wonderful children's novel about the American Revolution to or with all three of my children.  Great historical fiction for kids!

The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
This is a decent novel and definitely tugs at the heart strings in terms of the characters and their relationships.  I'm not sure how accurate it is as historical fiction.  A few of the plot developments seemed unrealistic.

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
Given the publicity about the new Hulu series based on this classic dystopian novel, I wanted to reread it.   And I really enjoyed revisiting this story.  I hope to watch the Hulu series eventually.

Fidelity: Five Stories by Wendell Berry
Since I just finished this today, it's technically a June read.  I'm sneaking it in while it's on my mind.  I've read some of Berry's poems and have wanted to read more of his work.  Thanks to my friend Sarah for recommending this collection.  These stories are so beautifully-written and so moving.  In particular, I was in awe of the title piece "Fidelity" and of "Making it Home" about a soldier's return to his family farm after the war.  Oh my.  I'll be reading more of Wendell Berry.

   

If you read my last post (Sometimes you need a reset), you know that I've been on a quest to improve my eating habits and health.  So I read the following two books.  The first was helpful and informative, although much of the information is on the Whole30 website.  The second was a quick read, and I only skimmed parts.  I don't think the subject matter merited an entire book. 

The Whole30: The 30-Day Guide to Total Health and Food Freedom by Melissa Hartwig and Dallas Hartwig

Food Freedom Forever: Letting Go of Bad Habits, Guilt and Anxiety Around Food by Melissa Hartwig

*****

With only seven days of work remaining before I'm off for the summer, I'm perusing my long list of books to read and looking forward to reading more...

What are your recent favorite reads?  What are you planning to read this summer?