Reading Lately #1

Reading Lately: Memories of Edmund Klepps, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Influencer — Cotton Cashmere Cat Hair

In a shocking turn of events, I started reading again! And I’ve been sticking with it! I used to read a lot as a kid but basically stopped reading for fun once I got too busy with school (sometime in high school or college). It would take me months to finish a book if I started one. I found that reading is one of the best ways for me to continue my anti-racism work, and I think reading the same topics over and over again in multiple books will help me unlearn and relearn. Reinforcement is good for me.

That said, here are the three books I finished reading most recently! Below those are the books I’m currently reading, and at the end of the post, I decided to list all of the books that I own and are up next. I’m not sure how long it’ll take to read them all (and I can’t say that I won’t purchase more in the meantime), but I want to start checking them off! I hope “Reading Lately” will be a regular series. 🤗

Browse all of my Reading Lately posts!

For ease, especially for my fellow Kindle readers, all of the links below go to Amazon. If you can, please support your local bookstores right now and always (if you’re local to me, check out Rediscovered Books)! There are also a number of Black-owned bookstores that need support. Find one near you in this list of over 50 Black-owned bookstores arranged by state (a couple are online only).

RECENTLY READ

  • Memories of Edmund Klepps by Edmund Klepps, Kenneth Finger, and Michael Michaud: One of my friends from grad school co-authored this book about the life of one of his grandfathers, Edmund Klepps. Edmund grew up during the Great Depression, joined the Navy, and was aboard the USS Helena in Pearl Harbor when the Japanese attacked on December 7, 1941. And that wasn’t his only near-death experience! If you’re into war stories, learning about life during World War II from a soldier’s perspective, and family, you’ll enjoy this book.

  • The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo: Marie is everyone’s favorite tidying guru! I was many years late to the club (and it took me forever to read it, ha). Even though I likely will not follow the exact KonMari method (I may be one of the worst decision-makers and it would take me forever to go in the order she suggests), I keep her words in the back of my mind when I tidy on my own. I like being told what to do with certain things (i.e. PAPER!!!) and so appreciate her wisdom. The Netflix show was great, too!

  • Influencer by Brittany Hennessy (Kindle): If you’re looking for a fabulous read by a Black author, look no further. Influencer was selected as the Thrive blogging community book of the month for June, and I ended up reading it over five days! I cannot tell you the last time that happened. This was a super easy and very fascinating read about the world of influencers, specifically the big name influencers (though honestly, I had never heard of most of the people mentioned in the book), from the perspective of someone that works with influencers on the brand side. Even though it is structured like a “how-to” book for aspiring influencers, I found that it was more informative about the lives of top influencers with some general suggestions and inspiration.

CURRENTLY READING

  • Spark Joy by Marie Kondo: This is a companion to The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. I’m a little over halfway through, and it’s just as enjoyable and full of wisdom as the first book!

  • Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad (Kindle): I’m also halfway through this book. And wow, this is an important book if you’re working on anti-racism yourself. I’m unpacking a LOT in the few weeks I’ve been reading. This will likely be a re-read for me in the future.

TO BE READ

This is a list of all of the books I currently own or borrowed and have not yet read. Some of these I’ve owned for half a decade or longer! Marie Kondo says to get rid of the books you haven’t read, but I’d like to read all of these before letting any of them go.

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