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Theme Selection: November

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Well, once again it's the end of the month and I"m posting next month's theme selection BEFORE any book summary of what I've read this month... I'm not sure if it truly is the fact that non-fiction is more challenging for me to read, quarantine, or some personal dilemma, but...reading ANYTHING this month has just been hard. That said, I'm almost done with The New Jim Crow  AND still really enjoying it, so I look forward to reporting back soon....albeit late. Now, for November... Selecting this month's theme was fairly easy because when I think, "November," I think, "Thanksgiving!" Fortunately, many Americans are finally reconsidering how they approach or think about the holiday, and after reading, Killers of the Flower Moon a couple of years ago, I would like to continue expanding and refining my own understanding of Native American history . Given my record of success (or lack thereof) the past two months, this month I'm keeping ex...
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Theme Selection: October

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As I alluded to in my Theme Selection for September, I will be reading about the American prison system this month. At the time this post goes live, I should be over 100 pages into The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander. Other books at tap for this month include: Blood in the Water by Heather Ann Thompson  Reading with Patrick by Michelle Kuo A Knock at Midnight by Brittany K. Barnett I've heard GREAT reviews of Blood in the Water , but it is over 500 pages and after last month, I'm not confident I'll be able to finish it on top of The New Jim Crow. I'm trying to keep an open mind, but more likely, I will tackle Reading with Patrick  as I already have it in my possession. I also have the following fiction titles at the ready in case I have extra time at the end of the month: Punching the Air by Ibi Zoboi and Yusef Salaam (Young Adult) Monster by Walter Dean Myeas (Young Adult) Happy Reading! 💛J
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Lessons Learned from September

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 Well...my reading for September did not go as planned. I began the month with The Color of Law by Richard Rothstein, which I was extremely excited for.  Immediately, I could tell the book would be informative. However, about twenty to thirty pages in, it began to feel super repetitive and, thus, drag. (My sister, Rachel, who reads much more non-fiction than I do said this is often true of academic texts.) By the time I got to page fifty, I was having a really hard time staying engaged and decided to step away for a few days, hoping a small break would re-energize me. After about a week, I continued to find myself dreading it, so I began  Golden Gates . Since then, I haven't gone back to The Color of Law , but I feel it would be a disservice to end my account there. While the book may be a difficult read, I have come to believe the repetitive nature of the text is, in part, a direct result of evidence demonstrating the great extent to which racist housing policies existe...
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Theme Selection: September

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The theme for the first month of Non-Fiction First will be: Home / Housing I had initially thought I would read about the prison system as that has been one of the most popular topics in contemporary media and politics, but reading Stamped From the Beginning over the course of August (more on that soon) has required a great deal of mental and emotional processing. Given that I've already read Just Mercy , I know reading about the prison system can also get heavy, and since I want to be able to give it its due (spoiler alert!), I'm probably going to wait until October.  Home / Housing seems like a good choice for September for a number of other reasons though.   I live in the Bay Area, which is a SUPER expensive place to live with a SUPER large homeless population.  As a parent whose children will go to public school in a few years, I want to know more about how where you live impacts your cultural competency and educational opportunities, and...  There's ab...
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