January Wrap-Up

JANUARY WRAP-UP

TOTAL: 4 BOOKS

AVERAGE MONTHLY RATING: 4 stars

APPROXIMATE PAGE COUNT: 1300 pages

FAVORITE OF THE MONTH: Ordinary People by Judith Guest

RATINGS: 

ORDINARY PEOPLE BY JUDITH GUEST - 5 STARS

HOMEGOING BY YAA GYASI - 4 STARS

I AM MALALA BY MALALA YOUSAFZAI AND PATRICIA McCORMICK - 3.5 STARS

LET ME IN BY JOHN AJVIDE LINDQVIST - 3.5 STARS

ADAPTATIONS TO WATCH/RE-WATCH:

Ordinary People by Judith Guest Review

Ordinary People

by Judith Guest

An ilovemys(h)elf Review

Publisher: Penguin Books

Edition: Paperback

# of Pages: 263

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Recommend?: Yes

I was walking in the library, glancing and running my fingers across all the different spines of all the different novels, my ride was waiting for me, and I had no idea which book I wanted to pick up.

And there it was, sitting on of the shorter shelves, with its bland cover and bland title.

Ordinary People.

I didn’t know that it was a novel. I’ve never watched the movie but I knew that it was an Oscar win for best picture a couple of years back.

Ordinary People.

I know nothing about this story, and never intended to read this book; however, something urged me to check it out, take it home, and read it.

My first attempt to read this book was unsuccessful. I had only gotten to about 30 pages through and I decided that I just wasn’t in the right mood to devour this particular story. I wasn’t feeling… well. I felt emotionally shut off from everything. And the fact that there was such an overwhelming, intoxicating atmosphere to this story didn’t help my situation.

I put it down for a few weeks.  

2017 came around and I picked up the book that someone had recommended me at school, Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, it was just right as I wasn’t feeling like I was at the bottom of a well anymore. I listened to Malala Yousafzai’s memoir and considered it a good, nice read. (Not as good as her actual story, but good enough).

After those two reads, I decided to pick up Ordinary People, hoping that it wouldn’t make me feel as downtrodden as it had initially.

I realized then that books don’t change for people. They stay the same, and are always the same.

It was almost as if I could feel my soul crush under the emotional weight of this book, as if I could feel my entire body being submerged into the sorrows of each and every character; their sorrows became my sorrows, their happiness, my happiness. I was an ordinary person living an ordinary life reading about ordinary people living their ordinary lives, and the experience was absolutely, enchantingly, extraordinary.

Ordinary People's Judith Guest

It’s rare when I get to say that a certain book was an experience, that I looked forward to the time that I could cuddle up in my bed and read 30 pages a day.

Ordinary People is a book that is not afraid of being ‘mediocre’, that decided to look at the lives of one grieving, mourning family, and turn the outcome of their sadness into something completely indescribable. Ordinary People is devoid of clichés and over-worn axioms. This is a novel of complex simplicity and extreme beauty; the story grows on itself, never forgetting the emotions of everyday people in our everyday world, and successfully implementing that concept of unique banality into the all the characters present in the novel.

Many people read fantasy and magical-abstract fiction to completely escape the reality, the truth of today. While there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, I always find myself slipping into a reverie of reality, I always find myself craving a fiction of truth.

As you can obviously see, I am not that good at writing actual reviews of the books I so deeply love. Instead, I write out my stories, I write out my un-edited, plain, (and just for the heck of it) ordinary thoughts.

Ordinary People directed by Robert Redford

I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World by Malala Yousafzai and Patricia McCormick Review

I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World

by Malala Yousafzai and Patricia McCormick

An ilovemys(h)elf Review

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Edition: Audiobook, Young Readers Edition

# of Pages: 240

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Recommend?: Yes

We tend to remember the happiest, saddest, surprising, often the most tragic aspects of our pasts. In other words, we find the rather extreme moments in our lives to be the most memorable.

With that being said, I remember the first time I had learned about Malala Yousafzai and the tragedy that had struck her, and the unmatched unique bravery that led her to challenge the radical, discriminatory, and questionable theology of the Taliban.

If anything Malala's life is a testimony, a token to all the men, women, boys, and girls who have stood up for what is right and who have spoken out against injustice, but were unfortunately silenced permanently by the forces of terrorism. 

"We realize the importance of our voices only when we are silenced."

Yousafzai's situations weren't perfect, but they were favorable:

1) Her wonderful father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, was an activist for female education, and as a result continued to encourage Malala's efforts in school.

2) Malala also had a deep love and enjoyed receiving an education (a right that is often taken for granted in many areas of the world).

3) Her family did not use the Quran against Malala, but rather, for her. 

4) Above all, The Yousafzai’s were hardly coaxed with fear; these people pushed through the hateful attacks and threats. 

Malala’s family is a great example of the fearlessness we need more of in this world. 

I Am Malala's Malala Yousafzai

Before reading this book, I did not understand why first learning about Malala seemed like such a monumental time in my life. Her story not only sent shivers down my spine, but it reminded me what ‘being good’ really means in such a horrid world. I now know why her story means something to me. Malala is a humble, fearless, and inspiring political figure who not only survived a bullet to the head (!!) but also exceeded the worldly expectations that the Taliban and the rest of Pakistan had of her. 

As I said, Malala is a testimony. She is a testimony to not only the courageous men and women that have passed but to the all of us. Her story is a testimony of what can happen when you defy injustice and remain rounded in the rights that you were born with. 

The book was an experience for me because, before reading her memoir, the only things I knew about Malala were things you could get off unreliable Wikipedia pages. 

You learn that Yousafzai, although extraordinary at her age, had dreams and hopes that aren’t so different to ours.

Although the book is not as inspiring as Yousafzai’s story, there is a looming sense of greatness, struggle, and courage between the lines of every page.

"The Pen is Mightier than the Sword"

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi Review

Homegoing

by Yaa Gyasi

An ilovemys(h)elf Review

Publisher: Knopf

Edition: Kindle

# of Pages: 320

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Recommend?: Yes

I came to America from Nigeria 2.5 years ago. I've integrated well. However, I believe the correct term is conformed.

Nigeria is a wonderful country. And I'm not going to bother saying I am biased because I am, and you are too. Nigeria is wondrous despite what you've probably heard. We don't stand up for the pledge everyday, with a right hand to our chest and with our eyes on the flag; we don't have flags in every classroom, home, or institution; we don't have a lot of opportunities.

But if there is one thing that a majority of Nigerians have, it is a deep-seated love for its country, its people, and most importantly, its future.

You'd think that with all the wars, conflicts, torture, and death that dwells in the land of Nigeria and in the hands of the British, that Nigeria would be demoralized by now.

But that is far from true.
We keep on fighting.
We keep moving on.

I was almost in tears while writing this review because when people hear my mother's accent and her trouble to pronounce certain words, they've already preconceived her entire personality, background, and intelligence.

But they're wrong.
They're always wrong.

When my friends, teachers, and even strangers hear my fairly groomed American accent they start to question my African-ness.
But my sister remains exotic; cultured; evidence of some kind of inferiority.
It's all nonsense.
No body can come to conclusions on another person's background, life, or struggles.
Why?
Because it's all complicated, complex, and intrinsic. Because everyone is unique; everyone is different, and everyone has the choice, the basic right to be whoever the heck they want to be despite their background.

We forget this all the time.

Your background can predict where you're going to be, the colour of your skin, and maybe even the highlight of the eyes.
However, your ancestry doesn't predict who you are or who you are going to be.

When we look at people, we should stop trying to unravel them, or understand them.
People are complicated, complex, and  intricate.

In the novel, Homegoing, Gyasi carefully takes us down the family lines of two half sisters. The reader gets to see what they're decisions, circumstances, and situations bear for their generations in the future.
The care and simple complexity that goes into the construction of this book, each character, and each world-building, and each story absolutely  exceeds my initial expectations of this novel.
Gyasi indicates her expertise at family relations, Ghanaian and African history, the cultural issues faced by African Americans, and the impact that our ancestry has on every single following generation.

We are where we are because of the past.
We are who we are because of our present, our future.

Homegoing's Yaa Gyasi

Homegoing have either been a hit or a miss. It would have been easy to get lost in certain characters and their stories (and there a lot!) and as a result, not delve into the lives of other characters. She could have rarely touched on any character and rush through the ending leaving no story or characterization to fully enjoy. Fortunately and rather skillfully, Gyasi delves into the lives of each character and the characters that surround them, making everyone a main character in their own story and widening the history of each character while expanding on the past.

This book is so complex and beautiful that explaining it's magnificence will take pages and pages of my time.
I cannot recommend this book enough.
The mastery that is reached in this novel illustrates the literary achievement that I believe Gyasi really worked hard for.

Gyasi writes Homegoing with beauty and seamless simplicity. Homegoing is a novel that honors the complexity of Ghanaian history, ancestry, and family.

Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay Review

Bad Feminist

by Roxane Gay

An ilovemys(h)elf Review

Publisher: Harper Perennial

Edition: Paperback

# of Pages: 320

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Recommend?: Yes

There is no doubt in the power nor the timeliness of Bad Feminist; her essays span from a number of years and a multitude of experiences. Throughout the novel, we not only become intrigued with her sincerity, but by her witticism, keen eye for observation, and critical analyses of past and current prevailing social phenomenons and norms (this spans from her take on competitive scrabble to her fault-findings in Tyler Perry movies). Every word is written with an almost delicate carelessness as if to reassure the reader at each turn of the page that they aren't necessarily reading a book (a nonfiction book centered on social commentary at that), but engaging in a conversation. The rhythm, style, and manner in which Gay handles Bad Feminist is in my earnest opinion, impeccable, and at the same time highly flawed. This; however, does not take away any ‘feminist’ credibility away from the novel, but rather adds to it. After all, she is a bad feminist.

Bad Feminist's, Roxane Gay

★★★★

“I believe feminism is grounded in supporting the choices of women even if we wouldn’t make certain choices for ourselves.”

I understand where Gay comes from on many topics. I understand her resentment for the lack of race diversity in TV shows such as Girls that claim to be “new, socially risky, and different”. I agree that a lot of our favorite childhood stories are completely void of racial diversity, fall into the bell curve of social norms, and do not provide an accurate depiction of our flawed world. Her stance on movies vary in range. She does not appreciate movie makers such as Tyler Perry, whose movies tend to be racially diverse, but whose humor is based on faulty and old stereotypical views on blacks, whites, women, men, and the American middle class. I agree with her notion that there a lot of bad feminists in our midst, some who are obviously worse than others. I agree that there is no such thing as the perfect feminist and that feminism, just like any other social movement in recent and distant history, is flawed.

I understand where Gay is coming from in a great portion of the book.

That actually happened to be a problem for me, and ultimately is the reason why I did not give this book 5 stars. There was nothing to combat. The book is too much in line with the status quo. No matter how 'good' the status quo may be, I have a problem with writers always lining up with the thoughts of the majority. I’m not anxious to read a book I’m bound to wholeheartedly agree with or disagree with because that tends to leave no leeway for the reader’s thoughts to get in. Like I said, this book is conversational, but I felt like I was having a conversation with the everyday educated feminist. I like books that give me a middle-ground. Give me controversy!

Besides that, this book still manages to hit very high points.

Gay has strong stances on feminism but then uses the word 'silly' in relation to 'girly'. I cringed at what I hope was an innocent mistake; but, it just goes to emphasize her self-proclaimed label as a 'bad feminist'. The book is genius when it comes to her blatant honesty. She's not afraid to admit her flaws and faults as a feminist, and also as an overall social justice warrior type human being. She is honest with her past which is filled with an all familiar story of being the daughter of immigrants; she tells us about her past with her weight, her past with sex, with relationships, boys, school, and whatnot. She inundates the novel with truth.  

Gay manages to be honest.

And that is one of the most important traits a memoir should acquire.

I wish however, that Gay invested more of her time actually talking about feminism. For a book that is supposed to be grounded in the fact that Gay is a feminist, she does very little talking about it. I appreciate her talks on scrabble, race, and sexuality, but I just wish that there was a little more ‘feminist discussions’ throughout the novel. I wish she connected more things to the movement of feminism. Gay offers a new stance to the feminist movement; she is a colored second generation immigrant who isn't afraid to concede to the fact that the feminist movement has its faults. Gay offers a fresh voice to feminism, but I wish I had heard more if that voice.

Overall, the novel was a great read. Gay has a precise, and often funny perspective on society and the movements that has been broken down and built up by and because of it.