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:

This should not happen here....

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

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.

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.

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:

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.

New Way to Track Your Reading....

Hey Bookies...
I just started using a new book app called Book Out. I was turned on to it via a user post on Litsy. My intial reaction to the app was that it was a bit unfriendly; until I upgraded to the Pro version. It was 5.99$ - which is a bit steep in my opinion. But it allows you to up load unlimited books to your list. They will only allow you 10 at a time other wise.

The app allows you access to a countdown, which can be used to track your hours/minutes/seconds spent reading. I love this because it lets you see how many pages your reading per minute etc. Also, Litsy is known to host reading marathons and what a better way to keep track then with an app like this.

The app also allows you to add quotes and thoughts on the book as you read. And you cna even do it on the countdown screen. The App also allows you to set your yearly and monthly reading goals. Which rocks. This app is a must have for all readers; so...maybe the pro price tag is worth it.

Here are some screen shots from the app:
(Once you’ve used it...share your thoughts in the comments)..

⬆️ I just started this book today by the way!

⬆️ Shows you your reading stats and reading streaks