My Thoughts: The Water Dancer

I’ve had an overdose of slavery writing lately, by virtue of having been enrolled last semester in an English class literally called “The Slave Narrative and the Novel.” So, goodness knows why, at the dawn of the decade, I thought it would be a good idea to go read yet another slavery novel. For quite…

My Thoughts: The Nickel Boys

I owned The Nickel Boys for months before I dared read it, because I was afraid that it would be too heavy to engage with in the middle of an already challenging semester. I thought it would rip me apart and break my heart with all its potential horror. After reading it finally over break,…

My Thoughts: A Court of Wings and Ruin (or, the ACOTAR series so far, I guess)

A Court of Wings and Ruin is the third book in Sarah J. Maas’s fantasy ACOTAR series. The first book, for which the series is named, is called A Court of Thorns and Roses. The Second, A Court of Mist and Fury. All the ACOTAR books, while written principally from the same character's perspective and…

My Thoughts: Black Leopard Red Wolf

It’s possible that this book has had the greatest impact on me than any book I’ve read this year, so far. It didn’t always feel that way in the midst of reading it, but since I’ve finished, I’ve been thinking about it almost too often for my own health. Marlon James has done something extraordinary…

My Thoughts: The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears

The Beautiful Things That Heaven Bears by Dinaw Mengestu is melancholic, slow, ordinary, and thus, beautiful. It was the most perfect book I could have read while trying to come off my excitement high from a fantasy narrative. When I say it is ordinary, I do not mean at all that it is boring. It captured…

My Thoughts: Behold the Dreamers

I didn’t particularly want to read this book. I wouldn’t have gone looking for it myself, but my auntie gave it to me for free, and rarely will I refuse a free book. Before she’d given it to me, though, she’d warned me that it wasn’t as good as Americanah. I became apprehensive at that…

My Thoughts: Reckless

Author: Cornelia Funke Sometimes, I get very inconsequential thoughts like, “Ah, I’m too old to be reading this stuff.” I know how to rationalize it, of course: I read children’s fantasy because I hope to one day become an author of children’s fantasy. This, while true, is only a corollary of the truer reason I…

My Thoughts: Homegoing

At this point I’ve seen people bash this book so much that I’m not even sure anyone wants to read any more “reviews” on it. That being said, here’s a review on it! I did not hate the book. Several people said it was trash. Several others said that while the book wasn’t horrible, it…

Onyesonwu made me very happy!

Even though it doesn’t feel like it for me, I can see quantitatively that I’ve read a lot in 2016. There have been years of more intense reading, I’ve felt. But despite all the books I’ve read, there have only been a few that really energized me, made me think “Yes, this is what I’ve…

Reflections on Lecrae’s Unashamed Book

Rapper Lecrae Moore’s autobiographical book, Unashamed, is one of the most important books I have read and will read all year. I made so many notes when I was reading, which is usually a sign that I’m reading something fabulous. The title of the book, of course, comes from the Romans 1:16 verse that begins…