What a year! I have been engaged for 11 months by the time I am posting this. I am in the middle of a career transition and I have ultimately found the path I want to go with my career. That being said, between studying for the PTCB (I finish my pharmacy technician class this week!) and job hunting, I have had a lot of extra time to dive into one of my hobbies: Reading!
What this is not
- There will be no spoilers in any of my book reviews. I will describe my personal thoughts, feelings, and general summary of each title within less than four sentences. I want the books to speak for themselves.
- The authors I read from do not personally reflect my views 100% of the time. I read from a diverse array of fiction, nonfiction, genres, people of all nationalities, political leanings, and life experiences. I purposefully read from liberal and conservative sources to get a full spectrum of nuance on an issue.
- None of these reviews are sponsored.
- I will provide links to author websites when applicable to these books!
Now let’s get onto the top 5 I have read this year!
1) Black On Black: On Our Resilience and Brilliance in America – Daniel Black
An essay collection written from the heart of a Black scholar from an HBCU. I picked it up on a whim trying to learn more about Black History in America in the middle of July since my degree didn’t have a lot of classes on this subject. It discusses issues from the AIDS crisis to Education Rights for African Americans but from a voice of empowerment and dignity. Black is one of my new favorite authors and I gave my copy to my best friend when I was done.
2) Animal Farm – George Orwell
My fiancé and I own a shelf dedicated to classic literature and banned books. This classic novel is a political satire of authoritarian regimes during WWII told in the form of farm animals overthrowing Mr. Jones at Manor farm. A deeply unsettling read for today’s political climate.
3) Bunny – Mona Awad
I can’t tell you a single thing about this plot because the author purposefully takes you down a down-the-rabbit-hole tale of a scholarship student who prefers the company of her dark imagination to those of her clique of unbearable rich girls in her writing cohort who call each other “Bunny” who are so often entangled in a group hug they are essentially one character in the form of three bodies. An 18+ rated book that I would describe as Mean Girls meets Frankenstein.
4) The Power of Now – Eckhart Tolle
Simply put, this book changed my life forever. It’s a secular philosophy self-help guide on how to find inner peace and fulfillment. This book has given me the wisdom to stay calm and remind me of the tools in hand to trust the universe. It might come across as the same message being discussed in a few different ways.
5) Recitatif – Toni Morrison
If you haven’t read Toni Morrison, you’re missing out. Every sentence she writes is layered with plot, character, and narrative development. Recitatif is an experimental short story she wrote about a White girl and a Black girl who have a friendship falling-out, but neither character is explicitly stated which one is Black and which one is White. She had to carefully use dialogue, physical description, and cultural subtext to blur which girl was which, making readers second-guess who is who in their dynamics; blurring our audience perceptions on race.
Syd Weldon 
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