How To Stay Bookish When You’re in a Reading Slump
Lean Into It! Four tips on how to (not) read without the guilt
Eight-ish months ago, my everyday life shifted dramatically and so did my reading habits.
So far, I’ve read 171 books this year and abandoned 17, and while that sounds glitzy, it wasn’t a smooth ride. I’ve had many (many) dry spells where I found myself reading the same line over again, where I found myself reading the same line over again, and I just couldn’t go forward.
This year taught me a lot about myself, and one of those things is how to lean into my reading slump without the guilt. There are tons of articles and videos about fighting our reading slump, but I find “listen to the audiobook instead” tips can only go so far. Instead, here are my four tips for leaning into your reading slump and still enjoying great stories.
1. Attend Online Literary Events
I’ve been finding that a lot of the things I value about literature moves beyond the page - I love being able to connect with people and share my literary experiences with others. These experiences are part of why I love book club, but what happens when you haven’t read the book? That’s where literary events become fantastic. The best part of the pandemic is how accessible literary festivals, readings, and awards have been and I’ve attended at least one lit event every week since March. We’ve been having a few literary events of our own you can check out, that are often geeky literary hangouts, more than a discussion on a single book. Plus, if you’re a travel club member you get access to past event recordings so you can
2. Play Video Games
For years, video games have been criticised for making people antisocial and depressed (jokes on you I’ve always been this way! Kidding… anyway) If you actually play video games you know how deeply rewarding it can be for your imagination and stretching your critical thinking skills.
I’m in love with strategy games and lately, 80 Days has my fav mobile game (I know I’m late but omg this game is brilliant!) This game is based on Verne’s 1873 novel Around The World in Eighty Days, and I’m actually enjoying it more than the book! Strategy and role-playing video games takes story-telling to another level, and it’s interactive nature keeps you constantly engaged to press onwards.
3. Listen to Bookish Podcasts
It’s a bit too easy to plug our own podcast, Like A Real Book Club, here and for good reason. Listening to book clubs and author interview podcasts are a great way to keep up with the literary world, even if you’re in a slump.
And if you’re really deep in a slump, and the traditional bookish podcast induces some level of guilt about not reading, maybe turn to scripted podcasts instead? I love scripted fictional podcasts. The Truth has been a staple for me over the years when I find myself in reading slumps, so give it a try! Find a podcast in your favourite literary genre and enjoy the stories.
4. Watch Literary Adaptations
Back when I thought this pandemic would be over by September I binged, and LOVED, the Hulu adaptation of Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere. Watching it made me want to reread parts of the books soon after and I donated a copy of it to our community library. After that, I quickly turned to my most trusty comfort watches, which include such obvious choices as the Gone Girl, Tales from Earthsea, and the 2005 Pride & Prejudice (this is a safe space, don’t judge my Austen hate-watches).
I’m really looking forward to the adaptation of Dune, and as I’m writing this I’m itching to Mismatched, the series based on When Dimple Met Rishi. I probably won’t re-read these books after seeing their adaptations, and that’s ok. I’m here for the amazing stories.
I hope these tips are helpful fo you if you choose to lean into your reading slump for a bit, and that we can all practice patience as readers.
About Rebel Women Lit
Rebel Women Lit is an open book club, turned literary community, based in Jamaica.
We focus on stories from women, non-binary persons, queer persons, and other voices that have been traditionally marginalised in publishing. Yes, everything we do is political and deliberate.
You can join the Rebel Women Lit community & if you’re a Caribbean Literary Content Creator, join our database
How To Write The Perfect Bookstagram Review
Bookstagram has made everyone a book critic, but how do you join and write the perfect bookstagram review? We asked some of our favourite Bookstagrammers for tips.
Bookstagram has made everyone a critic, and we love that.
The democratisation of literary criticism has seen a rise thanks to social media and places like Bookstagram (Instagram for Books Lovers). Bookstagram has been chipping away at the misconception that only a certain class of people can have something useful to say about literature and has made everyone a critic.
But how do you critique a book in 2200 characters, make it interesting, genuine, and hopefully get people to say more than “cute pic!”?
We asked some of our favourite Bookstagrammers to share their tips for writing book reviews, staying genuine, creative and helpful to other readers. Here’s what they had to say:
Apphia - @soulflower.reading
(Trinidad & Tobago)
Back in 2018 I made the popular resolution to read more books and started sharing about the books I truly enjoyed on Instagram. I wanted to simply document my thoughts and map my reading journey.
My practical piece of advice for writing [great] book reviews is to take notes while you’re reading; anything that caught your attention and how you felt about it, jot it down at the moment because if you’re like me, as much as you try to convince yourself, you won’t remember later. Reread and flesh out or expand on your notes when you’re finished reading the book and you’re ready to write your review.
My more sentimental advice is to be genuine. I appreciate reviews that are sincere. They take on a bit of personality and are best at convincing me to read more books. And even if the review is negative, the necessary ‘why’ was asked and answered! Don’t fake the funk.
Katlen - @therosepetals__
(Cayman Islands)
Bookstagram is a safe place for many, but like other forms of social media, it can develop harmful traits in a person.
A bookstragmmer might experience the plague of comparison, the pressure to be the most “woke,” the need to constantly create content, or the urge to present an inauthentic self to become more popular or marketable.
My advice is to always remember why you started your bookstagram and to remain truthful to yourself. When you write your reviews or reflections, be authentic and honest while being conscious of your impact. People will naturally gravitate towards you, as you remain true. However, it is not about the number of followers. What really matters is the joy of creating and sharing within a community of other book lovers.
Maëlla - @ladyinsaeng
(Guadalupe)
I review like 1 out of 15 books I read because my number one rule before I review anything is: Only review when you care enough to share your honest opinion.
Only then I'll look for answers to these questions:
What did I enjoy about the themes?
What did I enjoy about character development?
What did I enjoy about the plot?
While writing the review, I try not to give away major plot twists. If it's a Caribbean book, I make sure to mention my opinion on the Caribbean culture/history/identity elements.
I don't care much about writing a summary because my goal is to share my experience as a reader and try to make others feel what I felt.
Akilah - @ifthisisparadise
(Jamaica)
Trust your voice. There is no template.
There are so many different ways to respond to a text, to get the most out of your relationship formed with it that does the work justice and gives you creative catharsis (whether the book flop or not).
Never feel that you have to go for any "traditional" critical approach. Your review could be a poem or a visual artwork. Take in other reviews, on and off, bookstagram. Find readers with varied, quality perspectives, with response styles that you like, and feel free to incorporate some of those elements into your own reviews.
In a nutshell: take care of yourself, take care of the book, then write whatever the fuck you want.
If you have a Bookstagram account, or you follow a few, what are some review tips you’d share with new Bookstagrammers?
About Rebel Women Lit
Rebel Women Lit is an open book club, turned literary community, based in Jamaica.
We focus on stories from women, non-binary persons, queer persons, and other voices that have been traditionally marginalised in publishing. Yes, everything we do is political and deliberate.
You can join the Rebel Women Lit community & if you’re a Caribbean Literary Content Creator, join our database
The Girl with the Hazel Eyes: Bookstagram Template & Playlist
Perhaps the best online pandemic trend is all the new bookstagram accounts popping up, here are some templates for this month’s book club meetup.
Perhaps the best online pandemic trend is all the new bookstagram accounts popping up (Instagram feeds featuring books people are reading). As you can imagine we're over the moon about this!
When we started our open book club a few years back it was so unusual (especially in Jamaica) for strangers to meet up to chat about books. Now it's truly the new normal.
It's a thrill to see new Caribbean book(ish) content creators pop-up and older ones flourish, so we decided to create a public database on our website to highlight as many Caribbean Book(ish) Content Creators & Curators as possible. Do go check it out to find new social media literary friends!
We also curated some great content for our new online literary friends who are reading The Girl With The Hazel Eyes with us this month in book club.
Playlist of Suzane Taylor’s Favourite Songs
Here’s the Spotify and Youtube playlist of Suzanne Taylor’s favourite songs.
Bookstagram Templates
Get more book(ish) digital downloads by becoming a Rebel Women Lit member and patron
About Rebel Women Lit
Rebel Women Lit is an open book club, turned literary community, based in Jamaica. We focus on stories from women, non-binary persons, queer persons, and other voices that have been traditionally marginalised in publishing. Yes, everything we do is political and deliberate. We have a podcast, book store, free community library, youtube channel and a few awesome projects.
7 Books We’re Reading in September
Warning: You may lose track of time while reading these. Not that that's a bad thing.
There’s something about September that makes us crave freshly sharpened pencils and that new book smell more than ever. As we compiled our September reading list, we thought of a wide range of books to help us stay at home and read more deliberately.
RWL Book Club Pick Of The Month:
The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemisin
This Hugo award winning groundbreaking book has been on many of our reading lists for a while now and it’s time we finally check this onto our “been there, read that” list.
Summary:
The Fifth Season takes place on a planet with a single supercontinent called the Stillness. Every few centuries, its inhabitants endure what they call a "Fifth Season" of catastrophic climate change. In the prologue, an extraordinarily powerful orogene discusses the sad state of the world and laments the oppression of his race. He then uses his enormous power to fracture the entire continent along its length, threatening to cause the worst Fifth Season in recorded history. The story then follows three female orogenes across the Stillness from different time periods: Essun, Damaya, and Syenite.
RSVP for Book Club to join our talk about this book.
RWL Books & Tea Pick Of the Month
The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi
You really thought we were going to let Akwaeke write a new book and we DON’T read it? LOL!
The theme for this month’s Books and Tea package was ‘Raining Inside Me’ inspired directly from a line by Osita in Akwaeke Emezi’s beautiful third book, The Death of Vivek Oji.
This book builds on Freshwater & PET’s exploration of self-hood in a community through heartbreaking, visceral, and tender prose.
Summary:
One afternoon, in a town in southeastern Nigeria, a mother opens her front door to discover her son’s body, wrapped in colorful fabric, at her feet. What follows is the tumultuous, heart-wrenching story of one family’s struggle to understand a child whose spirit is both gentle and mysterious. Raised by a distant father and an understanding but overprotective mother, Vivek suffers disorienting blackouts, moments of disconnection between self and surroundings. As adolescence gives way to adulthood, Vivek finds solace in friendships with the warm, boisterous daughters of the Nigerwives, foreign-born women married to Nigerian men. But Vivek’s closest bond is with Osita, the worldly, high-spirited cousin whose teasing confidence masks a guarded private life. As their relationship deepens—and Osita struggles to understand Vivek’s escalating crisis—the mystery gives way to a heart-stopping act of violence in a moment of exhilarating freedom.
Rebel Teens Lit Subscription Picks Of the Month
Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi
and Yusef Salaam &
Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron
Cinderella is Dead
We wanted to take classic story and find a cool retelling through a feminist and queer lens that we thought tweens would love. Cinderella is Dead will make readers question the tales they’ve been told, and root for girls to break down the oppressive constructs of the world around them.
Summary
It’s 200 years after Cinderella found her prince, but the fairy tale is over. Teen girls are now required to appear at the Annual Ball, where the men of the kingdom select wives based on a girl’s display of finery. If a suitable match is not found, the girls not chosen are never heard from again.
Sixteen-year-old Sophia would much rather marry Erin, her childhood best friend, than parade in front of suitors. At the ball, Sophia makes the desperate decision to flee, and finds herself hiding in Cinderella’s mausoleum. There, she meets Constance, the last known descendant of Cinderella and her step sisters. Together they vow to bring down the king once and for all–and in the process, they learn that there’s more to Cinderella’s story than they ever knew…
Punching The Air
Summary
Amal Shahid has always been an artist and a poet. But even in a diverse art school, he’s seen as disruptive and unmotivated by a biased system. Then one fateful night, an altercation in a gentrifying neighborhood escalates into tragedy. “Boys just being boys” turns out to be true only when those boys are white.
Suddenly, at just sixteen years old, Amal’s bright future is upended: he is convicted of a crime he didn’t commit and sent to prison. Despair and rage almost sink him until he turns to the refuge of his words, his art. This never should have been his story. But can he change it?
Rebel Women Lit Caribbean Classics:
Song of Night by Glenville Lowell
Rebel Caribbean Classics Subscription - September Books
Song of Night by Glenville Lovell
The Painted Canoe by Anthony C. Winkler
Buxton Spice by Oonya Kempadoo
Song of Night by Glenville Lovell
Summary: So the heroine of this evocative novel introduces herself to the tourist-woman lying on the sands of Accra Beach to whom she hopes to sell the dresses she is peddling. It is an unplanned encounter, but Amanda, the African American tourist, is not in Barbados just for a vacation. Nor is Night the simple, easy-going island girl Amanda takes her for. This is a meeting that changes both their lives
Summary: The poverty-stricken Jamaican fisherman Zachariah is stubborn and, some would say, foolish. When he is lost at sea, his stubbornness makes him refuse to accept that he will not survive, even after being adrift for many weeks. When he is diagnosed with cancer, his foolishness makes him refuse to accept that the disease will kill him. The English doctor responsible for the district is first frustrated, then incensed: what makes a man with so little cling to life with such senseless obduracy?
In this first novel by outstanding Jamaican novelist Anthony C. Winkler, set in the tiny village of Charity Bay, Portland, faith is pitted against fate, irrationality against rationality – all amidst hilarious displays of eccentricity – as Zachariah determinedly battles the odds for survival.
Kempadoo's semi-autobiographical first novel follows bright, sensitive Lula, a girl growing up in Guyana, through her first frightening and thrilling pubescent milestones. In the early 1970s, when Guyana is beset by racial friction between the East Indian and Afro-Caribbean populations, Lula and her racially mixed family find themselves at the center of conflict in their town of Tamarind Grove. A bastion of the PNC (People's National Congress), Tamarind Grove is run by Our Comrade Linden Forbes Burnham, the leader of the Black Socialist Party, and Lula's progress unfolds as a series of vignettes set against this volatile environment. Omnipresent witness to these adventures is the Buxton Spice mango tree--a mute embodiment of wisdom and identity--whose branches hang over the family home.
Join us to read this month!
About Rebel Women Lit
Rebel Women Lit is an open book club, turned literary community, based in Jamaica. We focus on stories from women, non-binary persons, queer persons, and other voices that have been tradtionally marginalised in publishing. Yes, everything we do is political and deliberate. We have a podcast, book store, free community library, youtube channel and a few awesome projects.
After Elections: 4 Ways To Use Your Voice
Often times when discussing political engagement the conversation begins and ends with voting. Let’s become more active in our democracy beyond elections.
It's election day Jamaica, and if you’ve ever cast a ballot you’re familiar with the sense of empowerment that accompanies voting. Often times when discussing political engagement the conversation begins and ends with voting. While voting is important and remains highly essential to the democratic process, there are many other opportunities to become an active and politically engaged citizen.
Here are four ways you can effectively participate, beyond election day:
1. Ask For The Receipts
The day-to-day activities of our government isn’t a mystery if you know where/how to ask the right questions. The Access to Information Act (2002) is a keystone for many of our investigative journalists and advocates, but the truth is that it’s available for everyone. Making an Access to Information (ATI) Request It’s a very simple process that gives us all a general right of access to official government information. You don’t need to know the specific document you’re looking for, you can make a general request for “all documents related to…”, including financial statements, meeting minutes, policies for whatever issues or topics you’re interested in. With very few exceptions, these documents should be made available to you.
Having more information about what your MPs, Ministers, Councilors etc. are (not) doing day to day about particular issues makes it easier to hold them accountable and raise pointed questions in-between election campaigns and is crucial, yet often overlooked tool in participating in our democracy. So go ahead and make your ATI Request and find out exactly what our elected (and selected) officials are up.
Useful Links:
Access To Information Act (2002)
Guidelines on making ATI Requests
How To Guide from JFJ
2. Help Make Decisions
One of the most powerful ways to engage with parliamentarians in between elections is through parliamentary submissions as they directly help to shape our laws and legislations. In Jamaica, the public is frequently invited to be part of the review or design process of our legislation parliament. Think of it like crowd-sourcing ideas on our laws. Parliament says “hey we’re reviewing/creating this thing, any suggestions?” and you can jump in with our ideas. You can even propose new laws, or suggest reviews even without being prompted by parliament. The best part is, you just need to read the bills being reviewed and send an email to clerk@japarliament.gov.jm with your suggestions.
Many persons are unaware that we can do this and it’s time we take advantage of this tool and get our voices heard. You can make submissions as an individual or you can team up with others to write one.
A few of our Rebel Women Lit book club members have made submissions and presentations to parliament on Offences Against Persons Act, and Sexual Harassment Act, and our sister-project - Abortion Monologues - has even been included in parliamentary discussions on our abortion laws here in Jamaica.
Recently there have been calls for submissions around laws and bills we’re expecting many more to reappear in parliament after the elections. So keep your eye out for calls for submissions, or even take the initiative to make propose your own bill or review to parliament.
Useful Link:
How To Make A Submission to Parliament
List of Bills Currently Being Considered by Parliament
3. Understand & Use The Media
Our opinions about the world are definitely a reflection of how media portrays or presents that issue and how we dissect the media deliberations to form our own opinions. And in the age of fake news and click-bait outrage, it’s even more vital to understand what motivates the creation of the media we consume and inquire into what is left out or marginalised. The media has traditionally been used by a few voices to represent many, but we can take advantage of these existing platforms, and create our own, to get our voices heard beyond election.
We can raise awareness of important issues through traditional methods of writing letters to the editor, and calling into a radio talk-shows, to more non-traditional media-creation such as creating a blog, podcast or youtube channel.
For Inspiration
Listen to Lest We Forget history podcast to learn about a wide-range of Jamaican histories rarely spoken about (Also Davey, the host for the show, is super funny).
4. Self-Educate & Organise
We know everyone knows this, but it’s very important to accept personal responsibility to educate yourself, then use your voice and access to educate others. Identify an issue that you feel strongly about and pursue it. Research it from multiple perspectives and find methods to advocate for it when possible.
This means reading about our history with an issue, understanding core reasons why it may not have been fixed yet, what the issue is linked to, and how we can incentivize change for a better society. This also means putting in a lot of work to read, think about, and critique big systems that may be centuries years old, and imagine a new future for us. Move beyond tweets, and dig deeper than our newspaper articles. Read essays and academic journals on what you’re passionate about, attend public lectures and workshops (a lot are now available online for free and we a few we’re interested in in our newsletter).
Once you’ve begun your journey of self-education, bring others also interested with you and be open to meeting and engaging others who are also passionate and working hard to become engaged. Hold grounding sessions, share resources, prepare to unlearn and learn frequently, and practice radical care as your organise around issues you care about.
Useful Links
Learn basic civics
Visit the National Library of Jamaica Archives
Use the Rebel Women Lit Free Community Library
The idea of a strong democracy is intrinsically linked with the idea of active participation which is not a random activity but a deliberate one. This isn’t easy but it’s necessary if we want true freedom and self-governance.
P.S.: If you are voting you should pay attention and get involved in local and by-elections as well! And don’t knock people who aren’t voting, beyond it being a personal choice, voter apathy =/= political apathy.
About Rebel Women Lit
Rebel Women Lit is an open book club, turned literary community, based in Jamaica. We focus on stories from women, non-binary persons, queer persons, and other voices that have been tradtionally marginalised in publishing. Yes, everything we do is political and deliberate. We have a podcast, book store, free community library, youtube channel and a few awesome projects.
Our Favourite Books of 2020 (So Far)
We asked four of our book club members for some the best books they’ve read so far this year and think would be a great accompaniment to your summer adventures, whether you're exploring the great outdoors or sticking close to the A/C.
As we figure out how to stay ‘socially distant’ while planning beach trips, — or chill out on the couch in front of your fan — we have to admit there's no better Summer companion than a great book. Instead of giving in to the torpor of long, hot days, and watching that series for the eighth time, why not use this Summer to expand your mind?
We asked four book club members for some of their favourite reads for the year (so far) and why they’re recommending you read it before the end of Summer.
Candiese’s favourite: Here Comes The Sun by Nicole Dennis Benn
Candiese with her favourite 2020 read (so far) Here Comes The Sun by Nicole Dennis-Benn
I love a good story and “Here Comes The Sun” is a great one. As a dark-skinned Jamaican woman, I saw myself and people I relate to in every single character. I especially loved the way Dennis-Benn was able to address issues we face daily in an authentic way without missing a beat and without dragging on. This story is authentic, entertaining and engrossing, but it will make you think.
The way the writer juxtaposed the white sand, tourist-attracting elements of this country and the struggles faced by those serving those tourists and working to keep the facade going was excellent. The way she brought to the forefront the various acts carried out behind the scenes while using one character to justify those acts while another condemns them... wow. This book is full of twists and turns, heartbreak and triumph. Characters struggle with identity issues, self-esteem issues, financial woes, trauma, sexual and emotional abuse, sexuality and coming of age concerns... just so much but in such a way that you’ll never want to put this down. This is a must-read.
It’s the one book I shove at all my friends and I’m shameless about it. Would I make the leap and say this is my favourite book of all time? I might. There’s just so much to say. I think my favourite thing about this book is how realistic it is. There is no dressing up - and I appreciate that more than anything else. Reading it was an experience.
Go read it and thank me later.
Follow Candiese on Twitter: @CandieseReads and Instagram MsLeveridge
Tyesha’s Favourite: Born A Crime By Trevor Noah
There had been much buzz about this book. However, my affinity for most things South African nurtured by a good South African friend drew me to this book.
In a big nutshell, Born a Crime is Noah's memoir focused on his childhood journey from illegitimate son (by society's standards) born out of an immoral and criminal act (by virtue of South Africa's 1927 Immorality Act with which he opens the book) to young adult. The story flows from Apartheid to democratic South Africa with his mother (she was the star character) as central theme throughout.
I enthusiastically recommend this book, especially to boys, as I enjoyed his easy, authentic and humorous way of dropping some blinding gems about life - racism and discrimination, relationships and friendships, love, sacrifice, charting one's path, acceptance, spirituality and priorities.
As I read the recounting of life under Apartheid in the late 1980s to early 90s and what that meant for black people living in their own country, I could not help but connect that to recent highlighted events of discrimination unfolding in the US and sadly, other parts of the world (Jamaica included) that may not be so widely televised.
In Chapter 15 "Go Hitler!", Noah writes "Every country thinks their history is the most important, and that’s especially true in the West. But if black South Africans could go back in time and kill one person, Cecil Rhodes would come up before Hitler. If people in the Congo could go back in time and kill one person, Belgium’s King Leopold would come way before Hitler. If Native Americans could go back in time and kill one person, it would probably be Christopher Columbus or Andrew Jackson." All key figures that struck a chord in these 2020 riots and sentiments! Are we not progressing? I felt sad and hopeless but never failed to crack a smile at some show of wit or comedy that Noah weaves consistently from start to end.
Shantay’s Favourite: Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
Shantay With Her Favourite for 2020 (so far) Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
Girl, Woman, Other was my first book of 2020, and I could not have started my literary year any better. This book was a JOURNEY! Bernardine Evaristo's writing style pulled me in from the very first page - in the first two lines! She threw the usual rules of punctuation out the window in favor of a more poetic but unconventional structure for prose - what is a full stop? Once I started, I could not put this book down. And as soon as I finished, I began losing my mind trying to find someone - anyone - to discuss this book with. I NEEDED someone to share all this greatness with because greatness like this deserves to be shared. The characters felt like people I've known all my life. Each individual's story was short, but Evaristo created such fully formed characters with each chapter. These are women you've mentioned on Twitter and women whose plays you want to watch. These women are your teachers and your friends.
Then there's the DRAMA! WHEW! It gets spicy. This is the sort of book that makes you want to sit down over tea and gossip about the things the characters are getting up to lately. I began to feel like the nosy neighbour keeping tabs on who is visiting who at what hours of the night and asking questions like "When last you visit your grandma?" The book also has it's more sensitive moments and deals so well with issues of abandonment and abuse. This book has so many POVs with characters of different ages with different upbringings, including immigrants and first and second-generation British women. It truly shows the diversity that is the experience of being a Black woman in Britain and the connections to Africa and the Caribbean. I don't know what else to say besides why haven't you bought this book yet? It is sheer brilliance, and I'm not going to shut up about it for a long time.
Follow Shantay’s mind and reading journey on Instagram & Twitter
Gabrielle’s Favourite: Children of Virtue and Vengence by Tomi Adeyemi
Gabrielle serving and sharing her favourite 2020 book: Children of Virtue and Vengence by Tomi Adeyemi
One of my best reads and this speaks volumes as this was a great year for literature. Children of Virtue and Vengence is the second book in the Legacy of Orisha series by Tomi Adeyemi.I’m obsessed with fantasy especially if it’s based on Afro-spirituality so I really love the retelling of Yoruban mythology in this book.
It was so exceptional but on the other hand, it made me so mad; I wanted to reach within the book and curse the characters for the drama they curated. But again, it is so good at the same time which is amazing for not many persons can write fantasy so enjoyable.
As such, I have all the reason to be frustrated because the release date of the third book is yet to be announced and I am itching to read it. How will I survive the wait? I still haven’t determined that.
Follow Gabrielle on Instagram: @gen_zea where she posts about books and tea
What’s your favourite book so far this year and what are you planning on getting to this Summer?
Come let’s get our Goodreads counter up!
Learning to Love Complicated Mothers - Episode 7 of Like A Real Book Club
In episode seven of “Like A Real Book Club”, we meditate on the complexities of Caribbean motherhood - ladened with a history of patriarchal violence that has architected the tenuous, terrible and beautiful bonds we form with the matriarchs in our lives (and, of course, how these relationships are depicted in Caribbean literature).
There’s a moment in your adulthood where you become aware of your parents’ humanness. The frailty in their bones from years of labour; the knowing in their eyes that can only be won through experience. You begin to understand, with certainty and clarity, how an unjust world shaped who they became and moulded the kind of relationships we end up having with them.
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In this episode of “Like A Real Book Club”, we meditate on the complexities of Caribbean motherhood - ladened with a history of patriarchal violence that has architected the tenuous, terrible and beautiful bonds we form with the matriarchs in our lives (and, of course, how these relationships are depicted in Caribbean literature). For us, humanizing mothers beyond the emotional labour they perform is a catalyst for a host of hard, and sometimes uncomfortable, emotions about what it means to exist as a woman who is mothering, but also how we see these women. Do we recognize their humanity untethered from their children? Do we provide space for their anger? Their resentment and frustration? Have we made room for them to mourn the loss of who they were before they were expected to give life?