Happy middle of June! I can’t believe it has been over two weeks since I posted and that this is my first post of the month. With everything going on in the country, it just didn’t feel right to me to post. I try to have an overall happy and positive attitude on here, and I didn’t want to act like I’m happy and everything is fine when in reality my heart has been hurting. With that being said, I thought now was the perfect time to share and create another reading list. If you didn’t know, back in January I stated that one of my goals for this year was to read 17 books. I decided that the best way to stay on track with this goal was to break up the amount of books to read throughout the year in four sections. In my first reading list I chose to read 5 books in 3 months. The next reading list was right when quarantine started, and I chose to read 4 books, which ended up taking me 2 months instead of 3! So we’re almost halfway through the year and I’m officially 8 books away from my 17 book goal! Here are the 4 books I’ll be reading in the next couple of months 🙂
Just Show Up: And Other Enduring Values from Baseball’s Iron Man by Cal Ripken Jr.
So last year, I ended up getting this book for my Dad because he is an Orioles fan and he was also a big Cal Ripken Jr. fan when he played. He ended up reading it and really liking it, and it has always been on my list of books to read. Spoiler alert: I already finished it and it was really good. It was a super easy read and it’s basically about Cal’s lessons in life and his philosophy for success. If you didn’t know, Cal was one of the biggest stars for the Orioles, and he exceeded Lou Gehrig’s record for most consecutive games played, which was 2,130. He went on to play for a total of 2,632 games, and that record has held up to this day. I’ve always liked him, but I liked him even more after reading his book. It felt like he had the exact same values that my family and I had growing up. If you love baseball, I highly recommend giving this book a read because there are so many principles that he took from baseball and applied it to his business and everyday life.
Beloved by Toni Morrison
This was a book that I had mentioned in my book haul, and I’ve been eager to read it ever since. I mentioned in that book haul how I went to every used book store looking for it, and then because I had a really weird morning, I ended up just going to Barnes and Noble and just buying a brand new copy! Was it expensive? Yes. Was it totally worth it? Absolutely.
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
This is another book that has been on my list to read, and I still need to go and buy a copy. I ended up doing a Google search where there were multiple articles listing different black owned bookstores to buy from, and I plan on purchasing this book and the next book on my list from one of those stores instead of on Amazon. I’ll link the list that I ended up using below if you are interested in supporting those small businesses! This is a book that I’ve always intended on buying and getting, and now more than ever seems like the time to read it.
Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
My last and final book is one that my brother and I are going to be reading together to continue our book club. I’ve never read Murakami before and I think this is one of his most popular books, and he’s got a lot it seems! I’m excited to give this one a go and if all goes well I might have to steal/borrow some of my brother’s Murakami books 🙂 Sound good bro?
And those are all the books I’m going to read in the summer months! It feels good to sit here and make blog posts again. My heart just hadn’t been in it these past couple of weeks, and writing this post has made me feel better and it also reminded me of how much I enjoy doing it. I’m excited to read all these books and I hope it inspires you to get out and read too! Hope you guys have a great one <3
Link to the Article:
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ariannarebolini/black-bookstores-black-authors-books