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text 2020-07-18 19:38
John Lewis, R.I.P.
March: Book Three - John Lewis,Nate Powell,Andrew Aydin
I had planned last night to start reading Hannah Arendt's The Origins of Totalitarianism for my buddy read with T-A and BT, but news of John Lewis's death pushed me instead to finish reading his great March trilogy. I was broadly familiar with its outlines, but reading and re-reading the volumes gave me an opportunity to reflect on what his life meant.
 

John Robert Lewis was born in Alabama in 1940. His parents owned a farm, yet still struggled to make ends meet. Young Lewis grew up in a South still fully governed by Jim Crow laws; the Supreme Court’s decision in Brown v. Board of Education did nothing to change the impoverished and segregated school he attended. Much, much more needed to be done.

 

And this is what Lewis did. While attending the American Baptist Theological Seminary he participated in the Nashville Student Movement, taking part in their sit-ins at local businesses to pressure them to desegregate their facilities. In 1961, Lewis was one of the original Freedom Riders, and he and the others were attacked repeatedly for engaging in perfectly lawful activity. He was also arrested numerous times, and was even imprisoned at Parchman Farm for a month. Yet his sacrifice and the sacrifice of his fellow protestors had an effect. People everywhere were paying attention.

 

In 1963, as chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Lewis was one of the “Big Six” who organized the famous March on Washington. He spoke that day, though he toned down his speech under pressure from the others. The following year, he organized as well the Mississippi Freedom Summer, and in 1965 participated in the march at Selma, where he and hundreds of other protestors were attacked by state troopers. He carried the scars he received on his head from their beatings for the rest of his life.

 

When I consider everything he went through, I cannot helped but be moved by the enormous moral strength and personal courage that he demonstrated. It was a fight that he never gave up on waging personally, even after he won a seat in Congress. Just this year he shared his lessons with the BLM protestors, who have experienced much the same treatment he did six decades ago. Instead of despairing about the slow pace of change, he expressed his optimism for how others were exercising their moral power, saying to one interviewer, “It was so moving and so gratifying to see people from all over America and all over the world saying through their action, ‘I can do something. I can say something’. And they said something by marching and by speaking up and speaking out.” His words reminded me of the lesson contained in Dr. King’s famous quote about the the long arc of the moral universe bending towards justice. Fighting for change is a lifelong struggle and we may not enjoy its fruits, but we will leave our world a better place than it was when we were born into it. That is certainly what John Lewis showed us.

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review 2020-04-30 14:51
Tucker - Emily March

It was a cute story, a bit slow at times, but overall a cute romantic story.  I had a hard time sticking with it. There was some passion, the story line was alright- nothing over dramatic- Gillian was engaged to a guy that really didn’t respect her dreams and he breaks things off shortly before the wedding, and Tucker is a rough-around-the-edges guy that just retired from the military who sets his eyes on her as his forever and works towards that end.  It was sweet, just a bit slower than I like. I made it to chapter 12, which is 57%, before I had to start skimming through it to get it done, which I never do. If you like sweet home-town romances without a lot of drama or emotional turmoil to get through, this is a Romance for you! It is on the tamer side for those who don’t like too much sex scenes. If you prefer stories that have more steamy scenes from start-to-finish (not necessarily sex just chemistry) than you will find this more on the tame sweet side, nothing wrong with that, just go in expecting it. I did like Jackson more than I did Tucker.

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video 2020-04-08 22:00

Hey!! Thanks so much for watching and I hope you enjoyed, if you could take the time to like this video on YouTube I would be forever grateful. Like Instagram YouTube has it's share of problems, and hitting that like button would be an amazing help. So thank you for showing your support.

 

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text 2020-04-07 18:07
Top Reads for March

 

A wee bit late with this but my Top Four Reads for March. The Shape of Family just barely edged out the other three as my top read.

 

What were your standout reads of March?

 

Links to review

 

4 stars The Shape of Family by Shilpi Somaya Gowda 

 

3.5 stars Highland Sword by May McGoldrick

 

3.5 stars Beast by Judith Ivory

 

3.5 stars Claimed by a Scottish Lord by Melody Thomas

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photo 2020-04-02 22:45

I had one of my best reading months in March. I think it had a lot to do with not selecting heavy historical fiction books and choosing lighter reads. I always request my favorite genre and then get bogged down with 5-6 heavy WWII and Slavery books that take a toll on me mentally. I'm not complaining because I like what I like. I'm just saying that I need to learn balance. 

 

A wonderful St. Martin's publicist reached out to me to read Butterfly 2 (that will be released in June) by the beast writer Ashley Antoinette. I had requested the first book Butterfly, but hadn't read it. Knowing myself I decided to stop everything and start Butterfly. Well, that was the beginning of a reading frenzy. Butterfly is the spinoff of the Ethic Series which consist of 6 books. Not only that, but it really all begins with the book Moth to a Flame. I feverishly read Butterfly 1 and 2 and then continued on to MTAF. I'm starting Ethic 1 today. Ashley has proven over the years that writing is her calling and we readers are happy she answered it. These are Street Fiction and are about that life. Most have heavy explicit sex scenes. I must admit that sometimes I'm bothered by that if not noted. However, I find that it comes with these types of books and Ashley delivers even in this. It's steamy!

 

One of my new favorite regency romance authors is Darcy Burke. I can't get enough of her books. I was introduced to her through Erica Ridley. They co-wrote the Wicked Dukes Club. If you enjoy regency romance I would enthusiastically recommend both authors works. I enjoyed A Duke is Never Enough and can't wait to read another one of her backlist while I wait for her next release. It won't be long because both authors crank out stories like no other.

 

Eric Jerome Dickey's books, that I've read, have been hit or miss. His new release The Business of Lovers didn't disappoint. It was a solid story. What I didn't enjoy was his graphic sex scenes. They were written with a male perspective, in my opinion. I can now see a glimpse of why he is so beloved by many. I'm all about the story. You can be a good writer and have a bad story. I get that. Also, you can rush a story and not develop it to its potential. I'm enthused to say that's not the case here.

 

I requested and was approved on Edelweiss for a digital copy of Glass Town by Isabel Greenberg. I tried to view it on my kindle fire 8, but the words were so small and could not be enlarged that I decide to just purchase a copy from Book depository. I knew that I would want a copy for my shelves. The book is absolutely stunning. It is well crafted and the pages are very thick. The story was good. Was I wowed by it? No, I wasn't, but that doesn't mean I didn't appreciate what Isabel has done. It is a story I will read over and over and share with the littles in my life.

 

The Fifth Avenue Story Society by Rachel Hauk was an unforgettable read. You get so immersed in the characters. The character development was everything. When the story ended I was kind of left hanging. I wanted more. I haven't read many books by this author, but have seen others sing her high praises. I own more than a couple of her backlist books and will be picking them up before years end. Books about books are most book lovers favorites to read and I wouldn't miss this one if you enjoy them.

 

*I'm losing steam friends. I will continue with the last 2 books.

 

Saving Savannah by Tonya Bolden was a quick read. I did enjoy it. It is historical fiction set in the 1900's at the time of the Red Summer and the fight for the right to vote for women. The book itself is stunning. I will be picking up a copy for my shelves. I listened to the audio of the book on Hoopla. Hoopla is awesome! The narrator did a great job.

 

The final book to discuss is The Other Mrs. by Mary Kubica. Wowzers! This book had all the twist and turns. I thought I knew what was happening, but found out about 2/3 in that I had no clue and was way off. I commend Kubica for her page-turner suspense abilities. She is another author that has been on my radar, but haven't read. I've been missing out. Friends pick this one up. I'm telling you it is one not to be missed!

 

I'm excited for April and hope I have another awesome month of great reads...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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