August Reads 2019 -Monthly Book Round Up • Nadia Nelson

Hey lovelies, it’s the weekend! Cheers, right?! August has definitely been one for the books. My company is currently undergoing a merger and things are getting down to the wire. I have definitely been on edge lately. Since the month is coming to and end, I figure I’d share my august reads with you.

Emotionally, mentally, and physically exhausted. I am unsure of my future with our new management. Will I continue on or start anew? It’s all very exciting and scary at the same time. One way I have been trying to maintain my sanity and reduce my rather intense anxiety is by immersing myself in books.

August Reads

August has definitely been one of my better months in terms of reading than it has in the past. I made sure to carve out time to get through some books that have been trying to get through forEVER and those that pique my interest after my many trips to the bookstore, perusing each aisle until something catches my attention.

12 Rules for Life- An antidote to chaos by Jordan Peterson

Good Reads Summary – Humorous, surprising and informative, Dr. Peterson tells us why skateboarding boys and girls must be left alone, what terrible fate await those who criticize too easily, and why you should always pet a cat when you see one on the street. What does the nervous system of the lowly lobster tell us about standing up straight (with our shoulders back) and about success in life? Why did ancient Egyptians worship the capacity to pay careful attention to highest gods? What dreadful paths do people tread when they become resentful, arrogant, and vengeful? Dr. Peterson journeys broadly, discussing discipline, freedom, adventure, and responsibility, distilling the world’s wisdom into 12 practical and profound rules for life.

My thoughts

Have you ever started reading a book, only to put it down, over and over again. That was my situationship with 12 Rules for Life. It literally took me a year to read this book. I know, I know… you are probably wondering why I continued on. I have a problem, to where if I start a book, I have to finish it. No matter how dismal or complex it may be. Honestly, I felt as though this book was complex when it did not need to be.

The message could have been conveyed in half the words used in each chapter. But I digress, there were some really good nuggets of information in each chapter. Information that can be applied to real-life situations. So do not let my whining about the nature of this book deter you from reading. It may be a joy to read and you may have a totally different perspective of the information provided.

City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert

Good Reads Summary – Told from the perspective of an older woman as she looks back on her youth with both pleasure and regret (mostly pleasure), City of Girls explores themes of female sexuality and promiscuity as well as idiosyncrasies of true love. In 1940, nineteen-year-old Vivian Morris has been kicked out of Vassar College, owing to her lackluster freshman-year performance. Her affluent parents send her to Manhattan to live with her Aunt Peg, who owns a flamboyant, crumbling midtown theater called the Lily Playhouse. There Vivian is introduced to entire cosmos of unconventional and charismatic characters, from the fun-chasing showgirls to a sexy male actor, a grand dame actress, a lady-killer writer, and a no-nonsense stage manager.

But when Vivian makes a personal mistake that results in professional scandal, it turns her world upside down that it will take her years to fully understand. Ultimately, though, it leads to her new understanding of the kind of life she craves – and the kind of freedom it takes to pursue it. It will also lead to the love of her life, a love that stands out from all the rest. Now ninety-five years old and telling her story at last, Vivian recalls how those events altered the course of her life – the gusto and autonomy with which she approached it. At some point in a woman’s life, she gets tired of being ashamed all the time, she muses. After that, she is free to become whoever she truly is.

My Thoughts

Let me start by saying, I loved City of Girls. Basically, told from the perspective of the main character, she relives her good and not so good days of her life from the 1940’s onward. Though a different time frame from now, I felt as though I could relate to her and what she was experiencing, especially in a society that tells you how you should look, feel, and act.

From her naivety to her bold determination to live life on her terms, and her terms only, she lives the life that most young girls and women live on the daily. One of my favorite quotes – “The world ain’t straight. You grow up thinking that things are a certain way. You think there are rules. You think there’s a way that things have to be. You try to live straight. But the world doesn’t care about your rules, or what you believe. The world ain’t straight, Vivian. Never will be. Our rules, they don’t mean a thing. The world just happens to you sometimes, is what I think. And people just gotta keep moving through it, best they can. ” – Frank Grecco

Spot on…right?

Girl stop apologizing: A shame free plan for embracing and achieving your goals by Rachel Hollis

Good Reads Summary – Rachel Hollis has seen it too often: women not living into their full potential. They feel a tugging on their hearts for something more, but they’re afraid of embarrassment, of falling short of perfection, of not being enough […] She knows that many women have been taught to define themselves in light of other people—whether as wife, mother, daughter, or employee—instead of learning how to own who they are and what they want. With a challenge to women everywhere to stop talking themselves out of their dreams, Hollis identifies the excuses to let go of, the behaviors to adopt, and the skills to acquire on the path to growth, confidence, and believing in yourself.

My thoughts

This is my second book by Rachel Hollis that I have enjoyed reading. Her self-help books are simple and easy to read. She stays away from overly complicated words to get her point across, speaking in real-world lingo that we can all understand and relate to. In this book, her focus is all about the woMAN. Challenging us to be a version of ourselves, no matter what we are in life- wife, mother, daughter, friend, etc. This book definitely came into my life at the right time. Especially at a time where I was making excuses about achieving my goals, thinking that I was not enough, and forgetting to own who I was and what I wanted.

My sister, the serial killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite

Good Reads Summary – When Korede’s dinner is interrupted one night by a distress call from her sister, Ayoola, she knows what is expected of her: bleach, rubber gloves, nerves of steel and a strong stomach. This’ll be the third boyfriend Ayoola’s dispatched in, quote, self-defense and the third mess that her lethal little sibling has left Korede to clear away. She should probably go to the police for the good of the menfolk of Nigeria, but she loves her sister and, as they say, family always comes first. Until that is, Ayoola starts dating the doctor where Korede works as a nurse. Korede’s long been in love with him, and isn’t prepared to see him wind up with a knife in his back: but to save one would mean sacrificingthe other…

My thoughts

I came across this book based on the recommendation of my book club. Just the front cover of the book and title, would have been enough for me add to this to my TBR list. I guess I’ll start with the fact that this was an easy read, like done in two days easy! Well, more like a day and a half. While I enjoyed the book, I found myself becoming increasing frustrated with Korede and her need to constantly clean up her sister’s “messes”. Other than that, the book was interesting, dark, full of family loyalties and dark secrets. Not what a would call a suspenseful thriller, but enough to keep you turning pages until the end. It was a nice break from the non-fiction reads that seemed to consume my entire month.

The chaos of longing by K.Y. Robinson

Good Reads Summary – Organized in four sections – Inception, Longing, Chaos, and Epiphany – K.Y. Robinson’s debut poetry collection explores what it is to want in spite of trauma, shame, injustice, and mental illness. It is one survivor’s powerful testimony, and a love letter “to those who lie awake burning.”

My thoughts

If you love short, deep thought-provoking poems, then The Chaos for Longingdefinitely brings that to the table. Though only, 50-some odd pages, this book had me all in my feels. Feeling sad, hurt, angry, happy, and satisfied with every page. It amazes me how we can relate to someone’s “truth” like it was our own. Like they have the voice we never had. The ability to place words carefully, instilling so many emotions like we were right there along with them, experiencing what they may have felt. Never been into poem anthologies much growing up, but I do enjoy short, relatable collections.

Current Reads

The Laws of Human Nature by Robert Greene

Best Self – Be you, only better by Mike Bayer

The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

On the Come Up by Angie Thomas

Americanah by Chimanmanda Ngozi Adichie

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

Alone by Lisa Gardner

A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James

With love,

-Nawdeeya

I am always looking for recommendations for what I should read next. What books have you read recently? Let me know in the comments.

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August Reads

My thoughts

My Thoughts

My thoughts

My thoughts

My thoughts

Current Reads

I am always looking for recommendations for what I should read next. What books have you read recently? Let me know in the comments.

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