May 2020 Reading Wrap Up

Hello everyone! May was a decent reading month for me, I was able to read four out of the five books on my TBR for May, so I am pretty happy!

Title: Roll Of Thunder, Hear My Cry||Author: Mildred D. Taylor||Page Count: 276

"Everybody born on this earth is something and nobody, no matter what color, is better than anybody else." - Mildred D. Taylor, Roll Of Thunder Hear My Cry

This book moved me greatly, it hits on very heavy subjects, and brings them through artfully.

In this book we follow the Logans, a black family living in the 1930s during Depression. They take a lot of pride in their land and fight to keep it, especially when racism begins to hit with harder and harder blows. Stacey, Cassie, Little Man, and Christopher-John are just kids, and as they grow up they begin to see the hatred directed towards them and how it affects them, their family, and friends.

I believe this book should see the light of day more and more people should read it. It lets you in on life in a black family and community and how they dealt with outright violent prejudice while still trying to keep a sense of normalcy in their everyday lives. The Logans are a strong and proud family, and keeping their land is as important to them as keeping their family together. Cassie is headstrong and outspoken and seeing her, as our main character, work through these devastating times as a child is so sad and powerful. This book hit me hard. It was a re-read for me, it was a favorite when I read it as a kid and it is a favorite now.

Rating: 5/5 stars

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Title: Let the Circle Be Unbroken||Author: Mildred D. Taylor||Page Count: 394

An amazing sequel to Roll Of Thunder, Hear My Cry.

For the Logan family, this time is trying and frightening. We hear about T.J. as he goes on trial for murder against an all-white jury, the Logan's cousin comes to visit and tries to pass as a white girl, and Miss Lee Annie fights for a right to vote. Read as the family meets these issues head on, dealing with prejudice and persecution with love, faith, understanding, and strength.

This sequel is so good! Oh my gosh, its so good. There is so much crammed into this book but the author pulls it off flawlessly. We follow so many different issues and chilling situations that had me heartbroken. I found this a book I couldn't put down, it was compelling, dramatic, and real. The ending wrapped everything up perfectly and made me feel the love of this family. Highly recommend.

Rating: 5/5 stars

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Title: The Road to Memphis|| Author: Mildred D. Taylor|| Page Count: 290

Another strong read in the Logan saga, but not as moving and powerful as the others I read this month.

In this book we follow Cassie, now 17 years old, approaching adulthood and dreaming of entering law-school. When The Logan's friend Moe attacks a white man Stacy, Cassie, and a few other friends take him and travel to Memphis in the hopes of finding a safe place for Moe.

I did enjoy this book although I feel like it was not as strong as the others and doesn't hold up as well. Even though there was action and excitement I felt like it was more subdued than the other two I read this month. Compared to the hardships and problems the Logan's had to face in Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry and especially Let The Circle Be unbroken, I felt myself becoming bored with the story. This isn't to stay that the content wasn't extremely heavy, being that we do deal with racism, violence, and injustice towards the black community, I just didn't feel as emotionally attached to the characters as I did in the other two. I also felt that the story moved too fast and that there would have been value in spending more time with the feelings and the story-lines in the book.

Rating: 3/5 stars

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Title: 1984|| Author: George Orwell|| Hours Listened: 11hrs. 22min.

"History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right." - George Orwell, 1984

Extremely thought provoking, this story will stick with me for a long time.

Big Brother is watching. Telescreens are everywhere. Show any change in faithfulness to the party and the thought police will get rid of you. There is no individualism, creativeness, or free thought, there is only the Party and the present. In the gripping book we follow Winston Smith as he breaks free of the tyrannical reign of the Party and Big Brother and becomes a thought criminal, waiting out his time before the inevitable happens.

It's hard for me to give a concise book review since I have no notes and I can't look at a physical copy since this was an audio-book so I will do my best. The thing I like most about this book is how deeply it made me think, I thought about this book 24/7 while getting through it and I was obsessed with it. I didn't realize that much of the story would be about sex and how the Party corrupted the idea and action of sex and that really made me take a step back and think about that in itself. In taking the pleasure out of sex it dehumanized love and broke marriages apart. The Party did not allow sex outside of marriage, which is the only right and good thing about this, for they ripped the intimacy and passion out of it as well. The Party tried to make it mechanical and treated it as dirty and a "duty to the party," this disturbed me. A man and a woman strengthen their bond though the marital act and are brought closer and are built up because of it. Of course I know this was all fiction but I just got so involved with the story and felt so deeply for the characters and what they were going through. I think one of the saddest parts of the book was when Winston was explaining the look on his wife's face when they were doing "their duty to the party" one night and how broken and lost he felt when he saw his wife's disgust. OKAY! Rant about this non-existent Party over! Overall, this book gave me a strong desire to read other books that make me think deeply as well.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

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