Tuesday, June 19, 2018

The Bookbabe Read-a-Thon has begun

In honor of my Grandmother, Alice Marie, I am participating in the Alzheimer Associations Longest Day Fundraiser. The Longest Day of the year is on June 21st, and on this day I pledged to read has many books as possible. And raise money while doing it. So far I’ve only raised 60$ but my friend and fellow Booklover Staci has raises over 200$. Of course, we were under our 550$ goal but any amount for the association is helpful. There will also be more time opportunties to raise money in the coming months.

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

First Impressions: A Lineage of Grace by Francine Rivers


A lineage of Grace is a collection of stories based on five famous women of the bible; Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, Bathsheba, and Mary. I’ve owned this anthology for a number of years. And I felt that it was finally time to read it. Honestly I was in the mood for something uplifting and God and female centered. However, the first story Unveiled, which is about Tamar - a 14 year old girl married off into a traumatic family situation. She is abused and used and continously hurt by her husband and his family. The entire time Tamar must rise above, by loyal and remember she is to be a child bearer. The story is violent and at times hard to read; while this was most likely the pilight of the women of the time It is still hard to read. I get what Rivers was trying to do here. However, the womanist in me....Really finds the narrative of this story a tad dangerous.
Tamar by no fault of her own is forced to play a harlot in order to have a wrong righted. She must take abuse and remain loyal. The story, from my point of view, could lead some women to believe that abuse is okay in a marriage. And that one most look beyond it and remain loyal. Its troublesome. I hope the other stories in the book are better. If I had to rate it today I would most likely give it a 3 out of 5 stars - just based on the narration.


Here is the synopsis (amazon) for the first story in the book:

Her name meant "date palm," and like her namesake, Tamar hoped to survive the harsh environment she was placed in: to bend but not to break. Rubbed with scented oil and arrayed in wedding finery, 14-year-old Tamar is thrust into a world of abuse, betrayal, and disillusionment when she is given in marriage to an evil, idol-worshiping man. In the face of her suffering, she must make choices: Will she let her new husband, Er, destroy her innocence and corrupt her? Will she leave the religion of the Canaanites and embrace the God of the Hebrews despite the life of misery she is cast into? Or will she fall into despair and become as wicked as her husband and his brothers?

Sunday, May 20, 2018

Guillermo Del Toro and his Creatures

I just wanted to do a quick article featuring Del Toro’s Creatures. His Imagination is astounding. As a lover of horror and gothic art I am drawn to his dark tales. He would be someone I’d love to have a conversation with.

The creature with the eyeballs in his hand gave me nightmares; and if you’ve ever seen the movie then you will know how creept he was. The actors body movements were just unsettling.

Here is the trailer:


The Shape of Water:




Here is the trailer:


I really can not wait to see the later so that I can compare it to the book. Also, I would love to see the costume for the creature upclose. It reminds me of the Creature from the Black Lagoon.

The Book Babe Reviews: The Shape of Water by Guillermo Del Toro and Daniel Kraus

So if any of you paid attention to the past Oscar season you’d know Director Guillermo Del Toro went on to win best picture for the movie based on this book. This is the fourth book by Del Toro I’ve had the priviledge to read. I was introduced to him by way of Pan’s Labrynith; his 2006 creature feature. That movie is seriously good and seriously creepy. Little did I know that a few years later I would discover The Strain Trilogy (which later became a short lived t.v. show). The Strain is all nasty vampires and their plot for world domination - that series is nothing to play with. And I can’t recommend it enough to those that love Sci-fi.

Going into The Shape of Water I had some basic knowledge on what it was based on. Mute woman meets Merman. What I didn’t know was that the this book was about people that live on the margins. People that are rejected by society as a whole. The book is set in 1960’s Baltimore (I loved knowing some of the streets and landmarks mentioned) and if you know anything about the climate in America at that time than you know certain people in our society weren’t treated very well. Think about African Americans and civil rights? And how the disabled would have been treated at that time? And what about Gay people? Well Del Toro gives us a small glimpse into what things may have been like for these folks. All while using a Merman/monster to demonstrate the need to misuse one of God’s greatests creations. And the abuse the creature is subjected to shows us just how quickly empathy can be a non-factor when the torturer is used to abusing people on the fringes; all because they don’t fit a certain mold. And in this on is: White and male. Eliza, is a mute woman. The cause of her muteness is never fully discovered; and however much I would love to know the details of that, it really was a non-factor. Eliza experiences abuses in small ways. Because she can not speak people believe that she is useless, unworthy of respect etc. Its easy for some to count her as dumb. Eliza also knows how easily it is to be victimized. Del Toro alludes us to believe that she may have been date raped. All these little indiginites leave her looking for happiness, she finds it in the little things. Specifically her dazzling shoe collection.

Then there is Giles, an elderly gentlemen. An artist. He seems to be eccentric and distracted. When we meet him he is working on an ad for his former employer. His work is rejected time and time again. We find that Giles is lonely, and if not for Eliza, he may not have had the strength to keep living. Giles is a closest gay man. And during this time in American History being gay is considered indecent; and in some states it is a crime. One of which Giles is arrested for and leads to his arrest and the lost of his job.

And then there is Zelda, she is African American. She works hard and keeps her nose down. She sympatizes with Eliza because she knows what its like to be dejected because of her minority status.

Last but not least we have the monster; a gentle creature, worthy of love and empathy. However, an American comes along and steals him from the Amazon in order to bring him to the states and experiment on him. Eliza and Zelda by happy accident get read in on what is going on with the creature. From the first glimpse of him Eliza is intrigued. She needs to know more - so she begins visiting him. She befriends him, falls in love with him and then later does all she can to ensure his freedom.

I think its important to say these next two words: Fish Sex!
You read that right. Eliza and the merman get down with the get down (🤷🏾‍♀️- sorry not sorry); thanks goodness that the scene was not made weird with really graphic detail but it was still really odd.

The book as a whole is amazingly vivid and well written. The prose is beautiful and haunting and you find the creature, and the story believable. The ending reminded me a lot of the way Pan’s Labyrinth ended. I thought that all was lost; however, Del Toro shocked me in the end with a very surprising twist. The Shape of Water was a great book about love, empathy and the human condition. If the book is any indictator on how special the movie might be I must say I can not wait to see it. Perhaps I’ll rent it this week and come back and tell you guys all about its cinematic beauty.

Thursday, April 26, 2018

Let's talk Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery game!

Warner Bros. and Pottermore has been teasing us for months about a Harry Potter moblie game....well on Wednesday it arrived. I quickly downloaded it and created my Character; Nicole Higglebottom.

What I immediately loved about the game was that you are able to customize your characters race, hair color, and facial features. Also, when being sorted you are allowed to have your choice considered. Like myself, Miss. Higglebottom is a Slythern.

Another thing I loved was Snape...Snape showed up in all of his Snapeyness (not a word). Professor McGonagle, Hagrid and Dumbledore also make brief appearances. And I am sure we will see more of them as time goes on.

The two things I don’t like about the game; the graphics seem a little werid. They could be better. And the fact that you run out of lives so quickly. But the game is fun...and if you are a Potterhead I would definitely consider downloading the game and checking it out. I hope that the developers will eventually create more Harry Potter games...someting similar to Pokémon Go.

Sunday, April 1, 2018

Happy Easter

I hope your day was blessed and carefree! And filled with lots of Chocolate!

Harry Potter Book Swap

Back in January a member of Litsy posted a Book Swap in honor of George/Fred Weasley’s birthday (April 1st). As most people know I am a huge Potter fan so of course I jumped at rhe chance to send off a box. My match was a Ravenclaw; and I can not tell you how difficult it is to find Ravenclaw stuff. (And I’m a Slytherin - apparently she ran into the same problem.) So I did what I do best....I knitted a gift ♥️. Using Shawl in a ball by Lion Brand. I am deeply proud of the shawl I knitted. So much so I am planning another Harry Potter inspired project over the summer.

^ This is what I sent her!

^ this is the swag she sent my way ♥️♥️♥️

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

My Thoughts on “Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People” by Reni Eddo - Lodge


It’s hard sometimes to talk about race. I am a 33 year old African American woman, who while privileged in some ways, also knows the limitations put on me because of my race. My race was no choice of my own but my race and my gender combined can be used against me in a way that sometimes no one other than an African American woman might be able to understand. So when I heard about Reni Eddo - Lodge’s “Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People about Race” I felt like at this moment in time I needed to read this book. I needed to read the experiences of another woman of color; and one who lives across the pond. Lodge uses this book to address everything from the history of migration and the slave trade to feminism and class. She even discusses entertainment; highlighting the casting of Norma Dumezweni as Hermonie in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
I came to this book expecting to learn that racism wasn’t as bad across the pond as it often seems in the States. However, I walked away believing that it may actually be worse. If you think people are tone deaf here at home you need to read this book. Some of what I read really shocked me. Of course, I understand that these are Lodge’s opinions, her perceptions. But in there is a nugget of the truth and that makes it all the worse. As I read the book I thought about how as a twenty something I internalized my race and I a kindred spirit in Lodge. I felt like I understood why she wanted to just stop talking about race; the logic for me made sense because some of my experiences had been the same. Particularly when it came to feminism.
Lodge addresses the topic of feminism in a very eyes wide open sort of way. She talks about how she feels feminism ignores and sidelines women of color. She talks about how even white feminist can fail to check their privilege and how that can lead to their refusal to understand problems that directly effect women of color. Or how this privilege leads to something even more troublesome; the white feminist belief that all women are on the same level. The latter is one that I feel like I have to explain over and over again in some of my conversations. Unlike Lodge, I do (and she actually still does) talk about race with white people; however, I have stopped talking about feminism with white women. After the 2016 election and the women’s march I decided to only speak about feminist topics in safe spaces. Lodge reminded me in her book that this attitude is not useful. And that my voice is needed the most because silence is desired and expected. Lodges book is a road map to understanding and an example on how and how not to have conversations on controversial topics.

I would recommend “Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People about Race” to anyone that feels ready to give up on the conversations that matter. As well as to anyone that needs some fresh perspective. I gave it 5/5 stars on goodreads.

Here are some of the quotes that resonated with me:

Sunday, March 18, 2018

Look What Finally Showed Up?

Tomi Adeyemi‘s best selling book finally made it to my front door. I ordered it over two weeks ago, but I am guessing that it just to longer than normal for Book Depostiory to process the order for the book. It is a hot little tome right now! I am super excited to dive into it next weekend ♥️.

Here is some info about the book:
Zélie Adebola remembers when the soil of Orïsha hummed with magic. Burners ignited flames, Tiders beckoned waves, and Zélie’s Reaper mother summoned forth souls.

But everything changed the night magic disappeared. Under the orders of a ruthless king, maji were killed, leaving Zélie without a mother and her people without hope.

Now Zélie has one chance to bring back magic and strike against the monarchy. With the help of a rogue princess, Zélie must outwit and outrun the crown prince, who is hell-bent on eradicating magic for good.

Danger lurks in Orïsha, where snow leoponaires prowl and vengeful spirits wait in the waters. Yet the greatest danger may be Zélie herself as she struggles to control her powers—and her growing feelings for an enemy.

You can find out more about the author at :
http://www.tomiadeyemi.com

Wednesday, March 14, 2018

New Book on the way

Book Despository sent me a 10% code for my wish list; so I went strolling and decided to pick up the one book that would be most important to my current reading lists. “At the end of the street” has been on my To Buy List for over a year. I’ve heard great things about this book and I am so eager to read it.
Especially, because Recy Taylor’s story is included in this book. Ms. Taylor was raped during the Jim Crow era and took on her attackers. The attackers never saw the inside of a court room and Ms. Taylor died earlier this year never having experienced justice. Her is a synopsis of the book:

Rosa Parks was often described as a sweet and reticent elderly woman whose tired feet caused her to defy segregation on Montgomery’s city buses, and whose supposedly solitary, spontaneous act sparked the 1955 bus boycott that gave birth to the civil rights movement. The truth of who Rosa Parks was and what really lay beneath the 1955 boycott is far different from anything previously written.

In this groundbreaking and important book, Danielle McGuire writes about the rape in 1944 of a twenty-four-year-old mother and sharecropper, Recy Taylor, who strolled toward home after an evening of singing and praying at the Rock Hill Holiness Church in Abbeville, Alabama. Seven white men, armed with knives and shotguns, ordered the young woman into their green Chevrolet, raped her, and left her for dead. The president of the local NAACP branch office sent his best investigator and organizer--Rosa Parks--to Abbeville. In taking on this case, Parks launched a movement that exposed a ritualized history of sexual assault against black women and added fire to the growing call for change (amazon.com).

Monday, March 12, 2018

Stand Back....Another Woke Title To Buy!


Synopsis: A poetic and powerful memoir about what it means to be a Black woman in America―and the co-founding of a movement that demands justice for all in the land of the free.


Raised by a single mother in an impoverished neighborhood in Los Angeles, Patrisse Khan-Cullors experienced firsthand the prejudice and persecution Black Americans endure at the hands of law enforcement. For Patrisse, the most vulnerable people in the country are Black people. Deliberately and ruthlessly targeted by a criminal justice system serving a white privilege agenda, Black people are subjected to unjustifiable racial profiling and police brutality. In 2013, when Trayvon Martin’s killer went free, Patrisse’s outrage led her to co-found Black Lives Matter with Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi.


Condemned as terrorists and as a threat to America, these loving women founded a hashtag that birthed the movement to demand accountability from the authorities who continually turn a blind eye to the injustices inflicted upon people of Black and Brown skin.


Championing human rights in the face of violent racism, Patrisse is a survivor. She transformed her personal pain into political power, giving voice to a people suffering in equality and a movement fueled by her strength and love to tell the country―and the world―that Black Lives Matter.


When They Call You a Terrorist is Patrisse Khan-Cullors and asha bandele’s reflection on humanity. It is an empowering account of survival, strength and resilience and a call to action to change the culture that declares innocent Black life expendable.


Why I can’t wait to read it:
So often Black narratives never see the light of day; especially books about people like Patrisse. Often their stories are told by others, and usually after they have transended this life. I really can’t wait to pick up this book.

Michelle Obama did what?

The former First Lady announced that her memoir, Becoming Michelle, will be released the coming fall.

Let me tell you I am ecstatic about this. Michelle Obama is a real inspiration for me. I really can not wait to read her reflections on being the first African American First Lady; there are so many things I hope this book will answer. Including but not limited to her feelings on what it felt to
be “the first”. And how race relations effected her and how she continued to stay above the fray.

Her memoir is already set for me to pre-order right after vacation. I can not wait to read it.

Thursday, February 22, 2018

To Be a Knitter: The Book Babe reviews The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacob


To be a knitter? According to Darwin; a character in a Kate Jacob’s The Friday Night Knitting club, knitting is as anti-feminist as you can get. It’s old fashioned and way...way...not cool. Which is probably I am such a fan of the practice. In Jacob’s novel we follow the lives of Georgia and Dakota Walker as well as all the characters that make up Georgia’s Tribe. Their yarn shop, Walker and Daughter is just one little place in the sprawling city of New York. The yarn shop has more than just pretty skeins of yarn, and lovely needles. It is also a place for women to come together to talk about their lives and relax and be themselves. Originally the shop was just a shop until Dakota came up with the idea of sharing her delicious home made baked goods with some of the women that always seemed to come into the shop on Friday nights.
With the help of Anita, Georgia’s close friend/benefactor and mother figure, Dakota convinces her mother to start the Friday Night Knitting Club. The club consists of a television producer (Lucie), doctoral student (Darwin), part-time employee and hand bag designer (Peri) and book editor (K.C.). Each of these women come to the group with their own set of issues. Lucie is single, and ready to start a new chapter in her life. So she decides to have a baby - without a father in the picture. Anita, is a woman in her seventies, who is trying to find herself after the death of her husband. Darwin, is the most perplexing character of all, she’s a women’s studies major working on her doctoral thesis. She is trying to understand what it means to be a woman in todays day and age. Peri, is a young woman who is trying to make it in New York. K.C., is the character I most related to, she is in her prime - and suddenly decides to change careers. Also, she is a really horrible knitter. Then we have the non-knitting characters just thrown in....Catherine, Georgia’s high school best friend , who betrayed her years earlier and seems to be looking something. Then there is James, Dakota’s father and Georgia’s ex, he abandoned them around the time Georgia found out she was pregnant. He is back in the city and wants to smooth things over with Georgia and wants to finally get to know his daughter.
This book is a real character study in the complexity of women’s lives. From Catherine’s need to deal with being the trophy wife to a man with to much money and who can’t keep his penis to himself. To Darwin, struggling with a miscarriage and cheating of her husband. And then there is Georgia, trying to balance running a business, being a single mom and deal with her feelings for James. Each woman within this book is someone that you can see in yourself and that is the beauty of the novel. Their complexity makes them extremely relatable. Jacob was also able to carry out a storyline faux pas that could make a reader scream; especially at the beginning of a series. However, this book was so good I am willing to come back for the second book, Knit Two.

Favorite Character : Darwin - she is so ME. She is brainy and awkward, but so endearing. Her friendship with Lucie was charming and made me long to go beg being bestie to have a baby.
Favorite Scene: The Scene between Dakota and her Great Grandmother; it made me cry. And It reminded me of the power of a grandmother’s presence and love.

Oh and another thing to love....all that knitting. Plus the print book has a pattern for a scarf and a recipe for muffins. So you get a sweet and a craft. It’s really a win win.

I gave the audiobook five out of five stars on Goodreads.

My favorite Quotes:


Sunday, February 18, 2018

Happy Belated Birthday, Toni Morrison.
Nobel Laureate and author of Beloved, The Bluest Eye and Tar Baby.

Quotes from the mind and works of Toni Morrison:

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

This should not happen here....

No Educator, volunteer, staff worker or student should ever have to experience what happened today in Parkland, Florida.

Monday, February 12, 2018

First Impressions are everything: Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People about Race by Reno Eddo-Lodge

This book is on fire. Now I see why its gotten such great reviews. In Why I’m no Longer talking to White People about Race is a powerful look at Race in the United Kingdom. It covers history of not only violence but how black and brown people came to be in the UK. The books touches on colonalism and the lies often told to those being colonalized to get them on the side of their oppressers. The best example of this is Lodge’s toughing on the history and treatment Indian soliders that came to fight for the British in the hopes on the promise that the British would vacate their country. These men can to Britian to fight in World War 1 only to be ill treated and segerated and then lied to. The Treatment of West Indies was no better.

The book also touches on slavery; what really caught me off guard in the examination of this subject is that I never thought of slavery as a British Institution. I’ve always thought of it as a distinctly American enterprise. However, Slavery was big business in Britian and there where several slave ports throughout the country. Lodge points out that slavery was treated as a bit of an after thought. Brits could profit from it without ever having to directly witness its bruality.

Right now I am reading my way through the second chapter; which exams the criminal justice system in Britain. I can say that the system in the UK is not all that different from the one in America. And God knows thats depressing as hell on so many levels.

I have a feeling that this is going to be a book I am just not going to be able to stop recommending.

Friday, February 9, 2018

Well....I was just not impressed!

Well....
I didn’t like it. There where. Lot of reasons why I didn’t like Fifty Shades Freed but the main one is that it just fell flat. And I mean it dead panned for me. There was the sex...and all that; which is great but a majority of the honeymoon and all the self discovery they have as a couple just didnt happen. And then Mia....I mean she was pretty much ignored; just a person in the background. It was down right annoying. The biggest no no for me. The hospital scene. It reminded me of why I disliked Ana in the end. And after reading Darker I can definitely say this movie just fell flat. It did nothing for me and I can definitely see why the movie got bad reviews. It lacked a good plot and it just seemed rushed and badly put together. I do plan to see it again with another group of women and we’ll see if my views change by then. But right now....I am just not a fan.

Best thing about the movie:


Jamie’s beard....♥️♥️♥️♥️♥️! Yummy.

Wednesday, February 7, 2018

Mr. Grey will see you now....Part 2! The Bookbabe reviews Darker by E.L. James

Well....well...well... I almost feel like we have been here before. Another E.L. James book, another book about the lovable and deeply flawed Christian Grey. Like so many other readers I’ve already read the first three original novels and then James first book from Christian’s perspective. So when Darker was released In December I could not resist taking Christian home with me again. And I must say out of all of the books I really enjoyed this one the most. Fifty Shades Darker (Ana’s perspective) while good was a bit annoying. All that “inner goddess’ stuff etc. Ana was one of the most annoying female characters I have read in the romance genre. Christian was the main attraction. So reading this book, written in his POV is definitely awesome. There was a lot more detail here. A lot of questions that were somewhat left out of Ana’s version are answered. We get to see Christian grow and overcome his fears. We also get more details about his childhood and his relationship with Elena. I think that romance novels written from the male perspective might be more interesting. I actually discovered this while reading J.R. Ward’s novels; such as The Bourbon King’s and The Blackdagger Brotherhood series.
In Darker, we might up with Christian Right after Ana has left him. Christian is feeling, for the first time, what its like to have a broken heart. He wants to do anything he can to get Ana back. And he does..slowly. Ana, in this book, comes off as strong and confident. She knows she is not going to put up with Christian’s secretive nonsense and she tells him so. In order for them to move forward he has to allow her in. The beauty of this book is that Christian sets aside so much of himself to allow her in. He allows her to inch closer to him personally. From what we know of Ana this slow crawl is frustrating but she is willing to go the distance. James really excelled at the self discovery journey that Christian went through in Darker.
Of course in the book we are introduced to all of the other characters but we get to see them again from Christian’s perspective. Finally get a better picture of the love those around him have for him. Sadly, for most of the book Christian is down right oblivious to it. Another thing I Loved about this book....was while there was sex, and some of it was graphic. The sex is not as over the top as some of the other stuff in James previous works. The book has some steamy scenes but It’s definitely more action, and more character development. I think Darker is the second best book I’ve read so far this year. I can not wait to see what she does with 50 Shades Freed. I gave Darker 4/5 stars on goodreads.

My favorite scene from the book:

The Scene where Christian allows Ana to touch him was powerful to me. Its a real turning point for him I believe; right now there is no going back. He is baring his soul to the only person able to really hurt him.


Below are some of the quotes I loved:

Saturday, February 3, 2018

Cassandra Clare, Manga and Shadowhunters....Pure Magic

I am not a fan of comics, manga or graphic novels all that much. However, I am not above reading one if it means I can revisit a story I once loved. Last year, I read two (March by John Lewis and Kindred by Octavia Butler)and I liked them. But venturing into the shadowhunter world this way was a little different then I expected. I have read all three of the Infernal Devices novels - and they’re some of my favorites; so I really knew I would love this adaptation. And I did. So here are my thoughts:

What it got right:
The adaption really kept the spirit of the characters; Will especially comes off just as reckless and funny as he does in the books. Jem (my Book boyfriend from way back) is still the silent, gentle warrior that you meant in the long form novel. And Tessa is still strong willed, opininated and lovely. I am happy that the characters were lively and easy to connect too. The story line was as you expected and all of the major themes of the book weren’t missed.

What could have been better:
I would have loved for the comic to be in color. Especially since the first few pages of the booo are in color. I think that would have added a litrle more depth to the entire book. Also, Magnus....ugh...I didn’t like him in this book. He didn’t seem like the “over the top” warlock we are so used to. Also, Church (the cat) is introduced but remains unnamed. For what ever reason this annoys and and I truly hope Church will get some much needed love in the next comic.

All and all I really loved this short, quick look into the Shadowhunter world. I can not wait to read the next two (both of which are just sitting on my shelf waiting). I am going to give this book 5/5 stars on Good reads.