Books are meant to inspire. They inform; they entertain; they awaken our emotions; they teach. Through books we become more – we experience our humanity from a new perspective. Books can consume us. We travel to new worlds, live and relive experience, and learn more about ourselves. Books are meant to be devoured and then shared. It is through the gift of sharing that our imaginations form bonds and our reading encounter becomes life experience. So grab a good book and be inspired.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

The Help - Kathryn Stockett


 Last night, my daughter was practicing some skills she’s been learning in kindergarten: same and different, sorting, patterns. She held up two dolls and said, “Mommy, what’s different about these two girls?” just like she was a little teacher. I glanced over from where I’d been sitting next to her, reading The Help and noticed she was holding up a Caucasian doll and an African-American doll. Here we go, I thought, our first discussion about race relations.
“Well, they have on different colored shirts,” I noted. “What do you see that’s different?”
“Very good, Mommy,” pronounced my little instructor. “What’s different is, one girl has ponies in her hair and the other has a barrette.”
I simply looked at her for a moment, stunned and proud. “But they’re both little girls, right?” I asked.
“Yes, that’s why they’re the same.”
Growing up in the south, race is something that has always been a sensitive subject for me. Fortunately, my mom felt very strongly that her children grow up color blind – we all have the same color heart. I know for her, this was not such a cut and dry concept, but I am thankful every day that she embedded in me a love for humanity and the rationality to make my own decisions.
For me, books like The Help are instrumental in making us think. I was moved by Kathryn Stockett’s multi-perspective take on 1960s Mississippi. Her bravery in giving voice to a silenced population was both effective and enlightening. There are simply no words to give justice to the heart-opening experience that this read was for me. I can only hope that we, as society, can take these lessons from our past and apply them to the present-day prejudices that we face. Stockett’s novel goes on a short list of important works that I will one day pass on to my daughter.

Book Chick Rating: ©©©©©

Monday, September 19, 2011

Hope in a Jar - Beth Harbison

While I am completely in favor of a good read-for-pleasure-not-for-thought-provocation novel, Beth Harbison’s book was more along the lines of a get-sucked-into-the-abyss-of-high-school-ridiculousness read. While I enjoyed the narrative trips back in time, the plot remained painfully predictable, while at once seeming to tackle issues a little too lofty for its capricious tone. The characters were so underdeveloped that they were unlikeable. I found myself not really caring if the heroine succeeded in her love quest since I knew little more about her than the flashbacks of a bossy and materialistic adolescent. Worse than a trip down memory lane, this book absorbed all of the absurdity of the teenage years (and the adults who are stuck there) and none of the joys.

Book Chick Rating: YY