In light of recent protests and surfacing deep-rooted discussions about race relations that should be had even without the loss of black lives, I have wanted to take time to understand the issue at a deeper level. I know that I can never fully understand the daily struggles black people face, but recently, I have used reading as a mechanism to begin to educate myself on these issues and many more. For so long, I have put reading off as a luxury and claimed that I was "too busy to read". However, I have found so much value in my newfound habit of reading and hope to share some of my recent takeaways. So, here is a list of some of my recent reads this month that span a variety of topics.
The Handmaid's Tale (Margaret Atwood)- Dystopian fiction has been one of my favorite genres of books (when I actually use to read lol). One of my first favorite books were the Giver series, and in middle school, contrary to popular opinion, I absolutely LOVED 1984. I know these dark, twisted books don't necessarily seem like the most exciting reads, but I have found that the themes they share regarding language as a tool for oppression and the larger connections between society, technology, and government to be fascinating. These books make me question a lot of my own thinking and biases which is why I have been drawn to dystopian novels for so long. Anyway, The Handmaid's Tale details the story of Offred, a Handmaid, in the oppressive Republic of Gilead. Handmaids are simply valuable for their reproductive systems and serve the purpose of providing a child for the more affluent Commanders. They are denied the privileges of reading, falling in love, and simply living freely. The regime twists some goals of modern feminism while simultaneously dissolving everything the current movement stands for. As a resolute feminist and someone fascinated by our perceptions of gender/sex, I found this book to be remarkably fascinating and probably one of my all-time favorites, so I highly recommend anyone who is interested in deepening their understanding of the world.
The Namesake (Jhumpa Lahiri) - This book I randomly stumbled upon. We have these bookshelves of some of my mom's and grandpa's favorite books in our largely unused guest bedroom. My books from the library were not ready yet, so I randomly selected a book from this bookshelf. And, I ended up loving it! This book follows the story of a young boy, Gogol, whose parents immigrated from India. As an Indian-American, I found myself captivated by the author's fantastic storytelling abilities and the numerous connections between Gogol and myself. I really enjoyed the beautiful and descriptive writing that painted the family dynamic and Indian/South-Asian cultural so authentically. The book doesn't focus on a central theme or conflict, but it mainly captures Gogol's general disillusionment and relationship with his name and his relationship with his family/culture as he gets older. The lack of a central conflict, in my opinion, made the book even more relatable and refreshing, and this is another book I highly recommend!
Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches of Audre Lorde - In the interest of learning more about race relations from a black person, I decided to pick up this book. This book is a piece of nonfiction that is, as the title suggests, a collection of essays and speeches by Audre Lorde, a black lesbian poet. Since these are her collected works, she tackles a variety of topics from racism to sexism to homophobia to social classes. As a member of many traditionally marginalized voices, Audre Lorde provides an extremely authentic perspective on many of the most pressing issues of our time. For example, one of my favorite pieces is the "Use of Erotic: The Erotic as Power" which focuses on transforming the sexual connotation of erotic and instead of defining the erotic as the innermost passion(especially among women) that we should channel to achieve complete equity. Her writing style is extremely powerful, and this book helped me begin to understand the complexity of many societal issues that I will continue to dive into in future reading.
So, that concludes the list for this month. I hope that I can continue to hold myself accountable and continue to share my reading adventures with you all. Also, I am currently in the middle of reading Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë for my AP Literature class. I will provide a more extensive of this book in next month's reading, but so far, I am finding it a bit slow due to very thorough (and sometimes a bit unnecessary) descriptions and the notes I need to take as it is reading for class. However, I am only around 200 out of 500 pages in, and the main love interest has just been introduced. So, things might get more exciting soon! I highly recommend incorporating reading into your routine, if it isn't already, because it has really helped me broaden my own understanding and helped me apply good rhetorical/literary techniques in my own writing. Anyway, thank you for listening to me geek out about some books - hope you enjoyed!
The Handmaid's Tale (Margaret Atwood)- Dystopian fiction has been one of my favorite genres of books (when I actually use to read lol). One of my first favorite books were the Giver series, and in middle school, contrary to popular opinion, I absolutely LOVED 1984. I know these dark, twisted books don't necessarily seem like the most exciting reads, but I have found that the themes they share regarding language as a tool for oppression and the larger connections between society, technology, and government to be fascinating. These books make me question a lot of my own thinking and biases which is why I have been drawn to dystopian novels for so long. Anyway, The Handmaid's Tale details the story of Offred, a Handmaid, in the oppressive Republic of Gilead. Handmaids are simply valuable for their reproductive systems and serve the purpose of providing a child for the more affluent Commanders. They are denied the privileges of reading, falling in love, and simply living freely. The regime twists some goals of modern feminism while simultaneously dissolving everything the current movement stands for. As a resolute feminist and someone fascinated by our perceptions of gender/sex, I found this book to be remarkably fascinating and probably one of my all-time favorites, so I highly recommend anyone who is interested in deepening their understanding of the world.
The Namesake (Jhumpa Lahiri) - This book I randomly stumbled upon. We have these bookshelves of some of my mom's and grandpa's favorite books in our largely unused guest bedroom. My books from the library were not ready yet, so I randomly selected a book from this bookshelf. And, I ended up loving it! This book follows the story of a young boy, Gogol, whose parents immigrated from India. As an Indian-American, I found myself captivated by the author's fantastic storytelling abilities and the numerous connections between Gogol and myself. I really enjoyed the beautiful and descriptive writing that painted the family dynamic and Indian/South-Asian cultural so authentically. The book doesn't focus on a central theme or conflict, but it mainly captures Gogol's general disillusionment and relationship with his name and his relationship with his family/culture as he gets older. The lack of a central conflict, in my opinion, made the book even more relatable and refreshing, and this is another book I highly recommend!
Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches of Audre Lorde - In the interest of learning more about race relations from a black person, I decided to pick up this book. This book is a piece of nonfiction that is, as the title suggests, a collection of essays and speeches by Audre Lorde, a black lesbian poet. Since these are her collected works, she tackles a variety of topics from racism to sexism to homophobia to social classes. As a member of many traditionally marginalized voices, Audre Lorde provides an extremely authentic perspective on many of the most pressing issues of our time. For example, one of my favorite pieces is the "Use of Erotic: The Erotic as Power" which focuses on transforming the sexual connotation of erotic and instead of defining the erotic as the innermost passion(especially among women) that we should channel to achieve complete equity. Her writing style is extremely powerful, and this book helped me begin to understand the complexity of many societal issues that I will continue to dive into in future reading.
So, that concludes the list for this month. I hope that I can continue to hold myself accountable and continue to share my reading adventures with you all. Also, I am currently in the middle of reading Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë for my AP Literature class. I will provide a more extensive of this book in next month's reading, but so far, I am finding it a bit slow due to very thorough (and sometimes a bit unnecessary) descriptions and the notes I need to take as it is reading for class. However, I am only around 200 out of 500 pages in, and the main love interest has just been introduced. So, things might get more exciting soon! I highly recommend incorporating reading into your routine, if it isn't already, because it has really helped me broaden my own understanding and helped me apply good rhetorical/literary techniques in my own writing. Anyway, thank you for listening to me geek out about some books - hope you enjoyed!
Janvi :)
Janvi, you have always been a great one for reading, including all through your childhood. What I didn't know was the depth and variety of your topics' selection; I am sure you are blessed with plenty of patience, needed for such vastness. You have very concisely summed up the books read and given us insights. Just to share a bit of personal self, even I used to be a voracious reader of books, perhaps a shade less than you, but now I have shifted more to listening the books, which of course is not the same but surely more convenient. Also, I found that my subjects have been changing with the passage of time; may be a gradual process of evolving. With that analogy in mind, I was just wondering as to what all great ones would you be reading and learning in future since you are already in to such "heavy" subjects. My experience tells me that more we read, more we learn, more we realize our own limitations and that we actually know nothing; that's the paradox of life! Also, it's so easy to gain from the knowledge of others, the authors. Certainly, reading and listening paves the way to greatness; bright future beckons you!
ReplyDeleteYes! I agree. We only have one experience and one life to determine our views, so I think it is incredibly important to hear experiences and stories that challenge your conventional way of thinking. For me, that is exactly what reading offers. I am glad that you are enjoying listening to books, and this is something I hope to incorporate into my own routine. I think this will make it easier to fit reading into my schedule since now I will be able to read during traditional downtimes(driving in the car, going on a walk, etc..). Thanks for your comment!
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