Favorite Book Of The Month: The Kitchen House
I have read a plethora of slave narrative stories. “The Kitchen House” blew me away. It is told from the perspective of a white indentured servant and a slave in juxtaposition to each other. The viewpoints are incredibly nuanced, the story is complex and the relationships between the characters are entangled in such a way that you can only imagine how difficult life must have been in the antebellum south for every party involved.
Better Understand A Community’s Experience: Everything Inside
Edwidge Danticat is a master storyteller. “Everything Inside” is a collection of short stories about the Haitian-American experience. These stories are not sugar-coated nor for the faint of heart. They are real. They are painful. And they urge you to not judge people, because you simply cannot fully know nor understand their circumstances.
Super Deep: The Road Less Traveled
This book was recommended to me, and was definitely more than I bargained for- but a book that I will definitely be returning to regularly. It makes you question: how you were raised, how you want to raise your children, how you love, how you want to be loved, how spiritual you really are, etc. If you are in need of introspection and reflection and a guidance for growth – this one is a good place to start.
Great Airplane Read: Daisy Jones & The Six
Taylor Jenkin Reid is DOPE! The story of Daisy Jones is written in such a unique way, almost like a super extended magazine interview article. This is a story of Rock and Roll, sex and drugs but truly is a love story in so many ways. It makes you think about your favorite music celebrities and what they may be experiencing and struggling with on their roads to stardom. Great fun read.
Add To Your Shelf: The Water Dancer
Ta-Nehisi Coates is one of the best writer out on black history and culture right now. I have read most of his books and many of his articles. His first foray into historical fiction was deserving of all of the hype. “The Water Dancer” is another slave story, but this one, similar to “The Kitchen House” is incredibly unique. It explores the effects of slavery and the power of the underground railroad in a slightly fantastical way. It is magical in a variety of ways, and worth your time and having on your shelf.
Expected More: Talking To Strangers
Malcolm Gladwell’s “Talking to Strangers” was not as great as I expected or as the reviews led on. Gladwell is urging us to think about our interactions and conversations with strangers in a different light. To question why we struggle as a species to understand and trust actual strangers and how and why we don’t actually understand the people that we do not see as strangers. However, all that this book really is is a high level overview of some of the biggest news stories of his generation: Sandra Bland, Jerry Sandusky, Bernie Madoff, Amanda Knox, etc.
If you’re interested in the CIA and cuban intelligence – this is the book for you. Otherwise, check out any of his other books.
And as I have been told: the audiobook is lightyears better than the book itself.
MBA: The Blog 