“Stamped From the Beginning”

Stamped from the Beginning

By Ibram X. Kendi

My thoughts on this book are complicated. But, as I read, I noted pieces that caught my attention, validated what I already knew, or challenged my thinking. Therefore, instead of a “typical” review, here are some of my abbreviated notes:

• “...minister to African souls and not challenge the enslavement of their bodies.” (33)

• Monogenesis = humans ONE species vs. Polygenesis = multiple origins of human species

• Christianity = more humble and better servants (74)

• Enlightenment = “reason, not religion should command human affairs.” (92)

• Benjamin Franklin - “racist ideas was essential to substantiating slavery.” (96)

• “...loudest yelps for liberty among the drivers of negroes…” (103)

• “Did (Thomas) Jefferson really believe Black people were smart in slavery and stupid in freedom?” (110)

• “...they only cared about Black capabilities to make them money.” (122)

• “New England’s industrial revolution...ran on the wheels of southern cotton.” (161)

• “It is only as they are free, educated, enlightened, that they become a nuisance.” (187)

• “When men oppress their fellowmen, the oppressor ever finds, in the character of the oppressed, a full justification for his oppression.” - Frederick Douglass (199)

• “Like any racist, he dismissed the evidence that undermined his theory, and hardened his theory with evidence that supported it.” -William Lloyd Garrison (229)

• “...should they be carefully civilized or rigidly segregated from whites?” -Jim Crow (268)

• “If White people were racist and discriminated against Blacks, then Black people were to blame…” (294)

• D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation = motion picture(s)...newest visual media by which to circulate racist ideas. (306)

• “The highest aim of human existence is...the conservation of race.” -Adolph Hitler (311)

• “I do not belong to the sobbing school of Negrohood who hold that nature somehow has given them a lowdown dirty deal and whose feelings are all about it.” -Zora Neale Hurston (347)

• “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Martin Luther King, Jr. (374)

• Kerner Commission, 1968 “Our nation is moving towards two societies, one black, one white - separate and unequal.” (404)

• “Those who have the power to abolish racial discrimination have not done so...and they will never be persuaded or educated to do so as long as racism benefits them in some way.” (509)

I am at once saddened at the similarities in thought to today's “divide” amongst people in the United States.

Blame.

Finger pointing.

“Found” justification.

Hate.

“My Notorious Life”

My Notorious Life

Kate Manning

Kate Manning’s novel caught me off guard. As I read, knowing I would write this review, I couldn’t quite figure out what the book was saying to me. But, as I continued to read I realized what it was and it feels pertinent to women today; women should always have the right to make decisions about their bodies, the right to choose. The novel, set in the 1860s, laid the historical groundwork for what would 100 years later become the landmark Supreme Court decision, Roe v Wade. This is NOT a novel for those who do not believe women should be able to choose how they deal with their reproductive health. The ending was a bit of a let down, I wanted the main character to take a stand and fight for the rights of women. 

“The Wedding Date”

“The Wedding Date”

By Jasmine Guillory

Love at first site? Really? This first in a series by Jasmine Guillory was interesting, although I did think that the main characters jumped into bed too soon. I was even concerned that the storyline had peaked too soon...sexual tension broken.  With the story revolving around their sexual interludes (done tastefully), I was actually becoming bored with their bedroom antics. Biracial couple. Woman of color. White privilege. I did like the “dual narrative” where you got Alexa’s take on a situation, and then Drew’s perspective. Happily-ever-after rom-com. Not sure this series will be one I follow up on.

“Beach Read”

Beach Read

By Emily Henry

My faith in love and romance has been restored! Emily Henry’s novel is a rom-com with a twist. I thoroughly enjoyed the plot line that included two writers; one a romance novelist, the other a literary fiction writer. Add that the two studied at the same college competing for top-dog honors, ending as rivals, and you’ve got the perfect summer read. Getting inside the writers’ head, and witnessing their writing process was eye opening. Just enough sex and intrigue to keep the story moving. I will seek out this author in the future. Happily-Ever-After...Happy-For-Now. 

“The Women in Black”

The Women in Black

-Madeleine St. John

Five women working in an Australian department store, who have to wear black uniform frocks. Sounds intriguing, right? I thought so too...my enthusiasm was short lived. It felt like I walked into the middle of a movie and missed some of the backstory. The principal characters were connected by their jobs and little else. It wasn’t until I read some of the Book Club notes at the end that I learned the story was set in the 1950s. That helped, but not enough. St. John left too many loose ends for my taste...her novel needed an epilogue showing what happened to the characters. Pregnant? College? Marriage? Continentals? Ladies Cocktail Frocks? Arghhh, I so wanted to fall in love with this book.

“Killer Queen”

Killer Queen

Julie Mulhern

Spoiler alert: THEY HAD SEX! Oops, I’m getting ahead of myself. Julie Mulhern did not disappoint with installment #11 of the Country Club Murders. How is it that some books put you to sleep, and others keep you up all night tearing through the pages? I tried soooo hard to savor every word, every plot twist, and every conversation with Mr. Coffee. Even the introduction of a new character, Anarchy’s mother, didn’t slow me down. The romance between Ellison and Anarchy had been simmering for over ten-plus murders. I appreciated that Mulhern drew out all those toe curling kisses, and then left the intimate parts to our imagination. Whew...but then I was faced with the reality that I was done with Ellison, Anarchy, and the gang. Until? 

“Deacon King Kong”

Deacon King Kong

By James McBride

The inventive character names; Sportcoat, Pudgy Fingers, Hot Sausage, the Elephant, The Governor, Beanie, Lightbulb, Soup, Miss Four Pie, and Bum Bum, drew me in. James McBride’s storyline cruised through the Projects of Brooklyn and the Five Ends Baptist Church without a hitch. Well, almost. Drug dealers. Contract killers. Drunks. Italian mobsters. Cops on the take. King Kong (moonshine). Love lost. Spirituality. Understanding. Compassion. Redemption. And CHEESE!.

Unforgettable.