Books Read Week of November 19th

Relish:  My Life in the Kitchen by Lucy Knisley
​I find graphic novels to be great fun if the subject matter appeals to me.  This particular graphic novel was all about FOOD, so the subject matter definitely appealed!  This was a lighthearted memoir that completely hit the spot on my sick day - between trips to heave my guts out.  I felt only slightly more grown up than I did in junior high and high school, spending my sick days with Betty and Veronica.
My only complaint about Relish is that I finished it too quickly and could've gone for a few more chapters.  I really enjoyed learning about Lucy and her wonderful foodie family.  I'll definitely have to get my hands on her other books.  Five stars!

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Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
One of the reasons I read - anything, even a light book like Relish - is to better understand the world and the viewpoints of the people who populate the world.  While I'll never understand what it's like to be a black man in America, I want to better understand that viewpoint - so I was excited to read this man's letter to his teenage son about what it means to be black in America.
To be honest, I could spin around in circles a little bit.  As in, "Look at the white girl thinking she's doing the right thing by reading one book about race!  She's going to change the world by understanding viewpoints!  Everyone applaud the white girl."  To that end, i could've just read the book and kept it to myself.  But then I miss the chance to recommend the book.  See?  Circles?  I'm chasing my tail.
So - I'll land on my default position of not taking myself too seriously and hoping that my six blog readers know where I'm coming from.  
I recommend this book.  It helps shed some light on, for example, why one picture of a black kid hugging a white police officer does not equal "hope."  
I did struggle with the format, as it is pretty much just a huge long letter with few breaks.  That, along with the complex content, had me doing a lot of re-reading.  It's basically like you have a guy sitting at your kitchen table explaining to you the realities of being black in America and he doesn't stop for a drink or to go to bathroom and you're just sitting there, trying to understand, sipping your pumpkin spice latte like the basic white girl you are.  But when he wraps up his monologue, you feel slightly less clueless.  So that's something.

Next up:
I'm finishing up the new book by the author of my VERY FAVORITE BOOK!  Have a great week!

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