Heavy hitters in Bookish

Whew! I’m crushing my 2021 reading goals! I’m 10 books ahead of schedule lol. I told myself that after I finished my library books, I’d return them and just get through some books I have at home. Welllll..... I finished two books in the last 24 hours and I just couldn’t stop myself from grabbing two more books from the library. I could have worse hobbies, right?

The last few books I’ve read have been really good, all for different reasons. So I’m happy to share them!

My latest finishes:

1) Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe
(3 out of 5 stars)
~Lowe’s memoir is witty and quick to read. Going behind the scenes of how some iconic movies were made is very enlightening! It was just that I didn’t realize how few of his movie’s I’ve seen. I recall watching him on “The West Wing” and of course in “Tommy Boy” and “Parks and Rec”. But the older stuff, the stuff he did when he was just starting out, was a little before my time. There was a lot of name dropping and like casual encounters that just seemed a bit too lucky to me. Like he just so happened to walk through the “Star Wars” set. He just so happened to hear Janet Jackson say she was gonna go solo like her brothers. Meh. I have nothing against his writing style or his stories, it just wasn’t as thrilling as I’d hoped it would be. I love being nosey and seeing how the rich and famous live, but this didn’t quell my appetite. Though Lowe’s journey to and through sobriety was quite commendable, especially given the temptations that surround him in his line of work. A decent book, probably not something I’d recommend to others.

2) A Very Punchable Face by Colin Jost
(4 out of 5 stars)
~Colin Jost takes us behind the scenes in his journey to make a name for himself in comedy. He talks about his standup career and (most exciting for me) his career on SNL. It was really fascinating to see their writing process and how skits get chosen. Like that is not easy work. How can these writers come up with so many sketches every single week? How do they not run out of ideas? Anyway… This book literally made me laugh out loud several times. Jost’s writing style is quick witted and punchy. There is an entire chapter dedicated to all the times he’s shit his pants as an adult. That alone is worth picking up this book to read it. Absolutely would recommend this book to anyone looking for a good laugh. Honestly, I don’t even know Jost or any of his skits or that he’s married to Scarlett Johansson. This book made me want to see more of him, though. Even knowing he shits himself sometimes (I sympathize, brother). YES, you should read this book, please and thank you.

3) On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
(4 out of 5 stars)
~I picked this one up randomly at the library, it’s by the same author who wrote The Hate U Give. I’ve been trying to read some more books by Black/POC authors. This one did not disappoint. It’s about a high school girl named Bri whose dream is to make it as a rapper and she has got. what. it. takes. But she’s faced with hardships at home and racial profiling and violence at school. Bri writes her own lyrics straight from the heart, but her lyrics get misconstrued and she’s suddenly painted as a hoodlum to those who don’t know her. Will she end up playing that role in order to succeed and help her family financially, or will Bri stand up for herself and say and be exactly who she wants?

This was a timely book, the racial discrimination and profiling depicted in this book are very much in play today. This is a YA book, it was a quick read with a powerful message. I would recommend this book to others.

4) The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
(4.5 out of 5 stars)
~Oof. I finished this one today and it left me with both a heavy heart and feeling somehow uplifted. This is a book about one family’s struggles through the Dust Bowl era and Great Depression. It’s a survival story, mostly. While fictitious, you can tell the author did her research on the history and I’m sure her depiction of these times isn’t that farfetched. I’ve read several of Hannah’s books and they are all wonderful, they will touch your soul; rip your heart out and give it right back to you (patched up and weary as it may be).

I felt like this book was a little repetitive in some aspects. And I found it hard to believe how people could survive on such meager meals and horrible living conditions. But the human spirit is a hard thing to break, and humans (women in particular) are tenacious and hard to break, so perhaps it’s just that I’m truly not well versed in this time period.

That said, I would 1000% recommend this book. I was hooked from the first chapter and it was a fast read. But bring the tissues with you, you’ll need them. Phew.

Here are a few quotes I loved from The Four Winds:

~“Believe me, Elsa, this little girl will love you as no one ever has… and make you crazy and try your soul. Often all at the same time.” <– (seems to be true of all children, lol)

~It wasn’t the fear that mattered in life. It was the choices made when you were afraid. You were brave because of your fear, not in spite of it.

~Love. In the best of times, it is a dream. In the worst of times, a salvation.

~I know this: A warrior believes in an end she can’t see and fights for it. A warrior never gives up. A warrior fights for those weaker than herself.
It sounds like motherhood to me.

Next two books to be read:

Where The Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon