I'm not great about writing book reviews. And if I listen to a great podcast or read an interesting article, I tweet it or put it in an instagram story, but that gets lost in the mix.
So I thought this might be a better home to share some recommendations and it requires me to pause and reflect!
- Totally a guilty pleasure read
- I'm not a Little Women fangirl, but I've read it more than once!
- After watching the Greta remake with my bestie (who adores LW and Louisa May Alcott), it's really been bugging me how Jo & Laurie don't end up together...
- So when I watched authors Margaret & Melissa's keynote for YALLWest (which turned into YallStayHome) in April, and they talked about their upcoming release, which is essentially fanfic for those of us who were rooting for Jo & Laurie, I knew I needed to read it -- that was an awkward & long sentence.
- I give them credit for grounding their writing in love, appreciation, and research for both Alcott's canon & details from her life
- Casual fans will likely enjoy this take, but die-hards may not care for this 'alternate' timeline!
On Being with Krista Triplett - Jason Reynolds:
- I'll listen to Jason Reynolds at any opportunity
- He's brilliant and a gift to this world
- In this episode, he addressed why Stamped is a remix of Kendi's Stamped from the Beginning, rather than an adaption: "when it comes to books around race, or when it comes to history books, usually they are presented to students, not humans. And I think we wanted to make something the first of its kind, something that was literally made, thinking about a 12-year-old or a 14-year-old or a 16-year-old, what they would want to read and how to engage them so that they actually can store new language, new lexicon, new vocabulary, new histories, in their personal libraries." -- YES!
- But this isn't just a podcast episode on his latest release, Stamped. He digs into his advocacy for youth as a whole (he is an Ambassador after all)
- If you listen to the unedited version, you get gems like this: "We really believe that we deserve their [young people] respect simply because we have years on them. And the truth is that respect must be earned. And I think what they're saying is, 'please make a seat for me at the table. You can't talk about my life and not include me, right? You have to make a seat for me at the table.' If you ask me, every school should have a child representative at the meetings. Right, like.. on the school board, at the staff meetings. The way I see it, why wouldn't you have a student at your staff meetings? Just one. A representative. Is it because you might be afraid of what you might say? Good! That's why you need them there... Someone to hold you accountable. And to represent the body politic."
The Babysitters Club on Netflix:
- I'm late to this party, but glad I finally arrived
- Because it totally lives up to the hype, and I'm only 1 episode in
- Holy nostalgia, Batman!
- But also, brava for modernizing this while keeping it authentic
- It didn't take long to remember I'm totally a Kristy
- Can we talk about how she attacks the patriarchy right in the opening scene?
- And what about those brilliant lines in there for adults watching (Did you catch the Clueless reference?)
- Because this 34-year old, childless woman isn't ashamed to admit I watched on a Saturday night
- And will be queuing up episode 2 later today!
- Life lesson learned from BCS, #1: “You are not perfect, neither are the people that love you. All you can do is keep showing up and try to do better next time.”