Books, books, books!

Side anecdote: When I was younger, I had a lot of questions about what God looked like. I had seen many depictions of Jesus, but never God. Obviously I had an issue with God looking completely white and had a hard time understanding why the messiah wasn't a little more brown, but that's besides the point. But because of constantly trying to figure out what God looked like, I tried to come up with my own image of him based on my image. After all, God created us in his image, right? But with my background, I realized I had many different Ethnicities and Races which came together since the beginning of mankind to bring me about today. And I also realized that I didn't want anyone to be leaved out of God's image. So little me decided that God has a more mosaic thing going on. His face must have 7 billion different shades in it, to portray the 7 billion people he brought to life during my lifetime, but also the shades of all the people who have lived throughout time. I remembered this vividly a few minutes ago after seeing a post on tumblr.

However, books, books, books! I haven't read in a very long time. An exceedingly long time. I used to read religiously and then it seemed one day I put a book down and didn't pick one up. Mind you I had a lot of things going on mentally and psychologically, and some medicines I were taking and my illness itself did not allow me to concentrate for long periods of time (hence my failing many classes in high school.) But because I was out of the habit of reading, when I did have to read, I found it tedious and boring to say the least. In 2012, I began to be homeschooled, and my teachers decided I had to read. Awful. We started out slowly when I explained my mentality about books, which was fantastic. We read some Langston Hughes, some short stories, The Crucible, Inherit the Wind, etc. But basically this led to me getting incredibly into reading once more, so I must have read about ten different books my senior year in high school for class and for leisure. Of course I had a setback sometime down the road, so once more, books have become foreign to me. However, I've found a few books and I'll make it my point to attempt to read them again.

Here's my list:

1. Just As I Am - E. Lynn Harris

I read this during a very confusing time in my life and it was very helpful. This book with the theme of all things sexuality and romance helped me come to grips with being Bisexual and not being afraid of attractions to certain people. I identified strongly with one of the main characters, a Black woman whose heart was previously broken by a Black man who turned out to have an extremely strong attraction to men. I can't quite remember if he identified as gay, but it greatly showed how someone can hurt you without any prior intentions. (Also she was dating a Jewish man who turned out to be a closeted racist I was so upset I was rooting for you this was supposed to work out for all the Black girls attracted to men outside of their race and you betrayed me.) Anyway, I want to get caught up in the characters again so this should be fun.

2. Like Water for Chocolate - Laura Esquirel 

I read this so long ago and it was a huge blur and all I can remember was how angry it made me and how beautiful the characters were. If I remember correctly (and from skimming the blurb), the narrator is telling the story of their great aunt who had a gift for cooking. A supernatural gift of sorts. She touched people with her food in ways impossible because she was born in a kitchen surrounded by the best food of her home in Mexico. She's born the youngest daughter to a very mean woman who stops her from being with the man she loves, and instead has her older sister marry the man. By Mexican tradition as the youngest daughter, she would have to be the one to take care of her aging mother, and of course when your mom has your sister married off to your boo, there's going to be a bit of tension. This book explores her life journey with a recipe for a beautiful and delicious traditional Mexican dish before each chapter.

3. The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Since this whole Gatsby hype has calmed down, i think it's finally safe to re-read this. Why am I doing that? I think changed perspective. You can grow a lot in two years, and I wanted to just see how my perception of the characters may have changed. Here's to hoping I don't imagine Leonardo DiCaprio's beautiful face when I think of Jay Gatsby.

Side note: I really want to look more closely at Daisy's character because apparently I missed a ton about her the first time around.

4. A Streetcar Named Desire - Tennessee Williams

It definitely just took me three tries to spell Tennessee because I was too proud to look at the cover. I barely remember much about this book, but I remember it being scandalous and I love scandalous plays. The characters are awful people, the dialogue is witty, and I remember enjoying it the first time around. So let's give it another go.

(Things are coming back to me now and wow this play is certainly something I might put this to the top of my list.)

5. Inherit the Wind - Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee

"He that troubleth his own house

Shall inherit the wind."

Proverbs 11:29

Man oh man. I remember learning about the Scopes Monkey Trial in high school so I was incredibly glad to read this. Coming from a background with people who weren't incredibly accepting of certain ideals, this play was basically a slap in the face. It kept me on the edge of my seat and I couldn't wait to continue reading the next night. It showed opposing forces, good and evil, religion and the lack thereof, justice and injustice, but not exactly respectively. I enjoyed this play's ability to make me think, and to help me understand that not everyone's ideas of what is right and what is wrong are the same. There are even people on the borderline of two sides of an argument, and it's up to a single person to do what they believe in.

Gosh why are the plays always the best and most exciting to read.

Well this has been way too long. I'm excited to start reading. Maybe I'll take an hour to start soon.

Gabriella