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More Bedtime Stories for Cynics Presented by Nick Offerman (Audio)

September 13, 2022 by

Source: Purchased
Audible, 3+ hrs.
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More Bedtime Stories for Cynics Presented by Nick Offerman is a collection of bed time stories based on fairy tales and twists them toward tragic endings. These stories are innovative. One story looks at what it would be like to be a princess turned into a frog who is unsure if she would even know how to be human if she found her prince. Another story looks at the veterinary tasks from a dog’s point of view and the story that results is creepy. Not all of these stories are creepy, but many of them look at the darker side of fairy tales.

I enjoyed the multitude of narrators for the stories – Patrick Stewart, Alia Shawkat, Elliot Page, Jane Lynch, John Waters, Anjelica Huston, Wendell Pierce, Mike Birbiglia, Rachel Dratch, Matt Walsh, Nicole Byer, Harry Goaz, Aisling Bea, and Gary Anthony Williams.Yes, you read that correctly, the lead of NAILED IT!, Patrick Stewart aka Captain Picard, and John Waters! Nick Offerman is a delight with his asides and conversational style when introducing these stories.

Would you want to listen to these at bedtime? You might; nothing is overly horrifying. What these cemented for me is that I have a dark sense of humor sometimes. Yes, I chuckled at some of these stories.

More Bedtime Stories for Cynics Presented by Nick Offerman is a fun collection of stories that will leave you guessing. I really enjoyed these and will probably pick up the next collection of these stories.

RATING: Quatrain

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The Power of Architecture by Annette Roeder, illustrated by Pamela Baron

September 7, 2022 by

Source: Media Masters Publicity
Hardcover, 64 pgs.
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The Power of Architecture: 25 Modern Buildings from Around the World by Annette Roeder, illustrated by Pamela Baron, offers a taste of what modern architecture looks like and can do. From a small city contained in a beehive-shaped apartment building to airport terminals shaped like birds, Roeder wants to explore the oddities and beauty of modern architecture.

The book opens with a map and key depicting where here 25 selected buildings are located, and she says right in the introduction that it was hard to choose just 25, but reminds readers that they are in no particular order of importance or favoritism. Surprisingly, my dad picked up this book first and leafed through it, which means it will likely appeal to more than one level of reader.

One thing I wish had been included in the book is a pronunciation key for some of the terms and building names because they are from different parts of the world and I would like to know how to pronounce them correctly.

I do love that Roeder provides information on what the architect was inspired by or thinking about when they created their structures, and each of them is beautifully rendered in water color. It would have have interesting to see a side-by-side of the water color depiction and an actual photo of each building or even just photos in the back of the book to provide readers with a sense of them being in a real place.

The Power of Architecture: 25 Modern Buildings from Around the World by Annette Roeder, illustrated by Pamela Baron, definitely showcases the infinite possibilities of architecture and the ability of the human mind to create something with a purpose in mind — whether that is reducing carbon emissions or incorporating the land or paying homage to a culture.

RATING: Quatrain

About the Author:

Annette Roeder, born in Munich in 1968, is an author, illustrator and architect. She has been writing picture books and children’s books, as well as novels for adults for over 20 years. Her 10-book series Die Krumpflinge (‘The Crumplings’) is much loved by children aged 6+, and she won the Kalbacher Klapperschlange prize for her book Vacations in the Closet.

About the Illustrator:

Pamela Baron is a watercolor illustrator who has a special love of architecture. She lives in a breezy town outside of San Francisco with her husband and twenty-one miniature fruit trees.

Filed Under: challenges, children's fiction, New Authors Challenge, nonfiction, Read in 2022, review copy, reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

HAIR: From Moptops to Mohicans, Afros to Cornrows by Katja Spitzer

September 1, 2022 by

Source: Media Masters Publicity
Hardcover, 40 pgs.
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HAIR: From Moptops to Mohicans, Afros to Cornrows by Katja Spitzer is a look at hairstyle from as long ago as 300 years or more. In the opening pages, there are images that look like noodles, but they also could be clipped pieces of hair before you get to the title page. What’s clear from the start of the book is that humanity has been obsessed with self-expression through hair since the dawn of time.

I loved that the book started with information about why hair grows and what cells make up the color of our hair and why our hair grows gray as we age. From the tall hairstyles of the Rococo period to the Ancient Egyptians, readers will learn about hair and why certain styles became fashionable. The background about the Afro, however, focuses too much on why Blacks straightened their hair, which is important, but doesn’t really explain the hairstyle itself. Some sections are more detailed about how the style is created than this one.  One of the best parts of the book is that there’s a final page that kids can use to draw their own favorite hairstyle.

For a quick history lesson on hair styles, HAIR: From Moptops to Mohicans, Afros to Cornrows by Katja Spitzer can help young kids learn about the past, present, and future of hair, including beards and man-buns.

RATING: Tercet

Filed Under: challenges, children's fiction, New Authors Challenge, nonfiction, Read in 2022, review copy, reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Admit This to No One by Leslie Pietrzyk

August 9, 2022 by

Source: Purchased
Paperback, 255 pgs.
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Admit This to No One by Leslie Pietrzyk is a stunning collection of short stories that are interconnected in ways that will surprise you. All of these stories are in and around Washington, D.C. One of the stories also appeared in the anthology, This Is What America Looks Like (my poem is in there, too, and is how I discovered this collection was being published!)

Pietrzyk’s prose will lull you into a false sense of security before she strikes with lines that upend her stories or characters. Readers go into each story believing they know who these powerful and not-so-powerful characters are, but eventually, the story reveals what we all refuse to admit — we need and crave love and acceptance, even if we do things to make it so hard for people to love and accept us.

From “Till Death Do Us Part”: “What that money adds up to is a satisfying figure, almost a super-tremendously huge figure. That’s me knowing how much he loves me, which might be pathetic if the figure weren’t so satisfyingly huge.” (pg. 15)

From “Wealth Management”: “Winning seems like enough, or all there is anyway, and it’s these thoughts that are in his head during the drive home as Chloe stares straight ahead, eyes glittery with tears she won’t dare let him see.” (pg. 42)

The Speaker of the House looms large in the collection, with his influence reaching far outside the capital, whether his impact on his illegitimate daughter or his first-born daughter or his trusty right-hand woman. Fatherly relationships play a central role in this collection, as do the influences of men on how women perceive themselves, want to be seen, and struggle to be while maintaining their independence.

Like the churn and turbulence of the Potomac River, Pietrzyk provides a glimpse into what political life in D.C. looks like, but she also demonstrates the emptiness and tense tightrope walking that it requires. Admit This to No One is a short story collection for the modern age and definitely one you won’t put down before turning the final page.

RATING: Quatrain

About the Author:

Leslie Pietrzyk is the author of the novel Silver Girl, released in 2018 by Unnamed Press, and called “profound, mesmerizing, and disturbing” in a Publishers Weekly starred review. In November 2021, Unnamed Press published Admit This to No One, a collection of stories set in Washington, DC, which The Washington Post called “a tour de force from a gifted writer.” Pietrzyk’s collection of unconventionally linked short stories, This Angel on My Chest, won the 2015 Drue Heinz Literature Prize and was published by the University of Pittsburgh Press. Kirkus Reviews named it one of the 16 best story collections of the year, Her previous novels are Pears on a Willow Tree and A Year and a Day. Short fiction and essays have appeared in Southern Review, Ploughshares, Gettysburg Review, Hudson Review, The Sun, Shenandoah, Arts & Letters, River Styx, Iowa Review, Cincinnati Review, TriQuarterly, New England Review, Salon, Washingtonian, Southern Indiana Review, Washington Post Magazine, and many others. She has received fellowships from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference and the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, and in 2020, her story “Stay There” was awarded a Pushcart Prize. Pietrzyk is a member of the core fiction faculty at the Converse low-residency MFA program and often teaches in the MA Program in Writing at Johns Hopkins University. Raised in Iowa, she now lives in North Carolina.

Filed Under: challenges, fiction, New Authors Challenge, purchased, Read in 2022, reviews Tagged With: , , ,

Just Haven’t Met You Yet by Sophie Cousens (audio)

July 27, 2022 by

Source: Purchased
Audible, 10+ hrs.
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Just Haven’t Met You Yet by Sophie Cousens, narrated by Charlotte Beaumont, is a delightful weekend getaway with Laura, a writer for a lifestyle platform (read sponsored content). She heads to Jersey, England, from London to seek out her parents’ love story. on the plane she ends up meeting an attractive man who stoops to pick up her tampons. But she thinks nothing of this meet cute as she strives to find all the places her parents took pictures during their summer of romance. As a writer of happily ever after (HEA) stories, she has a cinematic notion of love.

While Laura is clearly to focused on HEA stories and finding love, her story demonstrates that she needs to learn to accept reality and learn how to find her own direction. When she falls into Ted’s cab and commissions him on her quest, she has no idea how things will change for her.

I cannot tell you how many times I laughed during this book. There are so many hilarious moments. Laura does have her cringy moments where I wondered what on earth she was thinking and whether she is really that clueless. Her boss, Suki, is a maniac and hard-nosed editor. Laura gets herself in hot water when her priorities shift away from that of Suki’s.

Is Laura’s meet cute with the man, Jasper, whose suitcase she ends up with after her flight to Jersey or is it something less cinematic? Jasper is a well-mannered perfect fit in terms of likes and dislikes, but there’s just no zing. Along the way, Laura meets plenty of colorful relatives and Ted’s family and friends. She finds herself immersed in Jersey’s culture and falling in love with the horizon again — much like that summer of love her parents had.

Just Haven’t Met You Yet by Sophie Cousens, narrated by Charlotte Beaumont, is a delightful romantic comedy that I couldn’t help smiling as the narration continued. Laura does grow throughout, and some of that is painful. Ted is a scruffy man at the start who improves upon acquaintance. Cousens is an author I’ll definitely read again.

RATING: Cinquain

About the Author:

Sophie Cousens started her career in television, where she produced, among other things, The Graham Norton Show, Big Brother, Ant and Dec and Russell Howard’s Good News. Sophie currently lives in Jersey where she now writes full time. She lives with her husband Tim and has two small children who keep her occupied with important questions such as ‘but did Cinderella have a toothbrush?’ and ‘do giraffe’s know they have really long necks?’ She yearns for a time when she will be able to add a miniature dachshund to the party.

Filed Under: audiobooks, challenges, fiction, New Authors Challenge, purchased, Read in 2022, reviews Tagged With: , ,

Crazy Brave by Joy Harjo

July 20, 2022 by

Source: Purchased
Paperback, 171 pgs.
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Crazy Brave by Joy Harjo, which does include some poems, is what I would imagine a dream walk to be. Harjo shifts from moment to moment in a surreal walk through her memories. She explores her Native American heritage through the eyes of a young child and a woman who is looking for her place in a family and culture where women’s decisions/desires are secondary.

“In the end, we must each tend to our own gulfs of sadness, though others can assist us with kindness, food, good words, and music.” (pg. 23)

“I imagine this place in the story as a long silence. It is an eternity of gray skies. It runs the length of late elementary school through adolescence.” (pg. 63)

Throughout the memoir, there is a cleaving. A family broken apart by a step-father who seeks control over all in his dominion, even children who are not biologically his own and forces them to make adult decisions at too young an age. But there is also the breaking apart of a woman in that she needs to separate herself from that past and her current life to find a voice buried inside and trying to break free.

“For the true warriors of the world, fighting is the last resort to solving a conflict. Every effort is made to avoid bloodshed.” (pg. 150)

Harjo teaches that through pain and suffering there is still beauty and love. Loving oneself can provide the peace we seek, and it also enables us to find our own voices and trails. While she suffered from her mother’s decisions and her father’s abandonment, there is still love there for a family who gave her life. This is not a complete life story, but it is a journey — it is Harjo’s path to poetry. Crazy Brave by Joy Harjo is a homage to those that came before, a nod to her present, and a dream for a future.

RATING: Quatrain

About the Poet:

Joy Harjo is an American poet, musician, playwright, and author. She served as the 23rd United States Poet Laureate, the first Native American to hold that honor. She was also only the second Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to have served three terms.

Filed Under: challenges, memoir, New Authors Challenge, poetry, Poetry Reading Challenge, purchased, Read in 2022, reviews Tagged With: ,

Sarah Rising by Ty Chapman, illustrated by DeAnn Wiley

July 19, 2022 by

Source:
Hardcover, 40 pgs.
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Sarah Rising by Ty Chapman, illustrated by DeAnn Wiley, is a book in which Sarah goes with her dad to a protest for justice. Her father tells her that they need to stand up for people when the police don’t protect them. The simplified message is a strong one for young kids ages 5-8, and the illustrations are very realistic, particularly from the point of view of a young child.

Sarah learns what it means to protect others when a Monarch butterfly is swatted down and she saves it from a police officer who yells at her to get back. And although she loses her way for a bit, the crowd is welcoming and safe, protecting her until she can be reunited with her family. This part will be scary for young kids like it is for Sarah, but it is a reality kids will likely face in a protest.

Chapman’s overarching message is to stand up for justice and what is right, which is important. As a parent, I was concerned about Sarah being lost in a crowd of strangers. It is a little too simplistic to assume the crowd would protect her until she finds her family, but this also could be a discussion for parents to have with their children about the dangers of strangers and getting lost in a crowd.

Sarah Rising by Ty Chapman, illustrated by DeAnn Wiley, is a story about what it means to stand up for others, but kids will likely view Sarah’s being lost as the main point. This happened with my daughter, but their perspectives are often different than an adult perspective. She thought the point was to care for kids who are lost and return them to their loved ones, rather than about standing up for justice. Our conversation took a different turn than the author might have intended.

RATING: Tercet

About the Author:

Ty Chapman is a Twin Cities-based author, poet, puppeteer, and playwright of Nigerian and European descent. He is passionate about art that speaks to the Black experience in America. His recent accomplishments include being named a Loft Literary Center Mirrors and Windows fellow and publishing poetry through multiple journals. Follow Chapman at these locations:

Web: tychapman.org

Twitter: @TyChapmn

Instagram: @ty_chapmn

Facebook: /TyChapmn

About the Illustrator:

DeAnn Wiley is a Detroit-based artist who has been painting traditionally for over five years. She recently broke into the digital art world and shares her artwork with a large online audience. She is an advocate for social justice and is dedicated to making art that is authentic and intentional in empowering Black, queer, fat, and disabled people.

Follow Wiley at the locations below:

Web: DeeLaSheeArtistry.com

Twitter: @DeelasheeArt

Instagram: @DeelasheeArt

Facebook: /DeeLasheeArtistry

Filed Under: challenges, children's fiction, New Authors Challenge, Read in 2022, Reference, reviews Tagged With: , , ,

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

July 13, 2022 by

Source: Purchased
Paperback, 364 pgs.
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People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry has a title that I found misleading because it is not about people that Alex and Poppy meet on vacation but the versions of themselves that they meet on vacation. Alex and Poppy’s friendship blossomed after an awkward rideshare home one summer — yes, they are from the same little Ohio town, but have very different perspectives on that kind of life.

What makes this book work is the banter between Alex and Poppy, even if it seems they are so different that it is impossible to think how this relationship would work in real life. Poppy is a travel writer for R+R Magazine and he’s a high school English teacher. She’s battling “millennial ennui” and much of the book is told from her erratic point of view.

After we meet these protagonists, we spend a lot of time with Poppy. She’s tough to take sometimes, which is probably because she doesn’t know who she is. She knows she loves travel and writing, but she’s still hiding from her family (not because she doesn’t love them) and she’s keeping others at arms length. Even her fun relationship with Rachel seems a bit too close to the surface. Poppy is clearly struggling with self, and this all comes to a head on her last vacation with Alex.

“For the first time in my life, the airport strikes me as the loneliest place in the world.” (pg. 318)

Henry creates a narrative that alternates from the present to the past (Poppy and Alex have gone on previous summer vacations together). In many ways there is a countdown to the reveal of why they don’t speak when we see Poppy during her “career” crisis. It is a predictable reason, but the interactions between Poppy and Alex on this final vacation are worth the wait. You can see why their differences are complementary. You can see why they love each other and take vacations together. You see how each has grown but still has more growing to do as individuals.

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry did not make me want to go on vacation with Alex and Poppy. In fact, their messy friendship kind of made me want to stay home. However, I did enjoy the journey and reading this one with a buddy. I will be picking up other Emily Henry novels, like Beach Read and Book Lovers, because I find quirky characters engaging, even if I don’t envy their lives.

RATING: Tercet

About the Author:

Emily Henry writes stories about love and family for both teens and adults. She studied creative writing at Hope College and the now-defunct New York Center for Art & Media Studies. Find her on Instagram @EmilyHenryWrites.

Filed Under: challenges, fiction, New Authors Challenge, purchased, Read in 2022, reviews Tagged With: , , ,

Kill It With Fire by Marianne Bellotti (audio)

June 16, 2022 by

Source: Purchased
Audible, 7+ hrs.
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Kill It With Fire: Manage Aging Computer Systems (and Future Proof Modern Ones) by Marianne Bellotti, narrated by Katie Koster, is an audiobook I read to prepare for an interview with the author for work. So this review will be a bit unusual. Bellotti’s book is about modernizing technology, but not for the sake of getting the latest and greatest. Her book is about enterprises taking a careful look at their current operational systems, which are the backbones of many businesses today, and determining how best to maintain, upgrade, or modernize them for current business needs and the future of the business.

I found this audio to be at times engaging and circular. There are arguments made early on that are reiterated later in the book, which makes sense when you consider this is a business focused book making an argument for interdisciplinary teamwork in the world of technology that focuses on ensuring technology is not only maintained but evolved over time to meet future business needs.

Bellotti offers a lot of wonderful advice on how to work to modernize systems without burning down the entire place and starting over from scratch. Like she says, technology that is doing the job most effectively is the best option for the business, but for that technology to be at its best, it also needs to be updated and maintained.

Kill It With Fire: Manage Aging Computer Systems (and Future Proof Modern Ones) by Marianne Bellotti, narrated by Katie Koster, is a good resource for businesses trying to get a handle on the latest systems and options out there while still ensuring their business hums along as effectively as it can.

RATING: Quatrain

About the Author:

Marianne Bellotti is a software engineer and relapsed anthropologist. Her work focuses on how culture influences the implementation and development of software. She runs engineering teams and teaches other people how to tackle complex systems. Most of her work has focused on restoring old systems to operational excellence, but she also works on the safety of cutting edge systems and artificial intelligence. 

Filed Under: audiobooks, challenges, New Authors Challenge, nonfiction, purchased, Read in 2022, reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Inventory of Doubts by Landon Godfrey

June 2, 2022 by

Source: Publisher
Paperback, 84 pgs.
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Doubts follow us in our daily lives, much like the little devils on the shoulders of cartoon characters. Listing our doubts in a journal or simply writing a list when we tackle something new or challenge ourselves can help reduce our anxiety and fear. Landon Godfrey explores these ideas in the collection, Inventory of Doubts, but rather than rely on a human voice, Godfrey has anthropomorphized objects like a feather boa, a dishrag, a box, and many others.

In her prose-like stories, these objects come alive, they become more than the discarded thing. An antique inkwell is not as sophisticated or as academic as it is perceived, and the attic stuffed with discarded items that we no longer care for wishes to be eaten away by termites so it could see the sky and be in awe. Godfrey has collected the uncollectable — silence. We know these objects and their purposes because we have assigned them, but in the silence, is that all that they are? Only what we’ve determined them to be? “Unable to fit in anyone’s pocket, a jealous boulder considers cures for loneliness while it pauses on a cliff.” (“Boulder,” pg. 7)

These objects are stand-ins. They are placeholders for greater questions about our own purposes and our own determinations of what is good and useful and what is to be praised and what is to be frowned upon. Like the dishrag that “experiments with justice, releasing some moisture back into the freedom of air, while retaining a few drops of water indefinitely in a grease-guarded cell.” (pg. 17) Our own experiments, like that of the dishrag, often do not have the best results, but there is always time for change, for reparations. Just like the rag, we too can be reshaped and given new purpose.

Godfrey’s Inventory of Doubts are as fantastical as they are rooted in our own realities. Our conversations with ourselves and our constant “little voices” often have us running in circles or falling into circular patterns of logic, leaving us little room to expand. This collection is an exploration of the human condition: “The seep and clot of it. The furtive fingers of it. The blob and spread of it. The orgy of it. The impossible to remove of it.” (“Stain,” pg. 64) Gloriously imaginative, surprising, and haunting.

RATING: Cinquain

About the Poet:

Landon Godfrey is the recipient of a 2013 Regional Artist Project Grant and a 2011-2012 North Carolina Arts Council Artist Fellowship. In selecting her first book, “Second-Skin Rhinestone-Spangled Nude Soufflé Chiffon Gown,” for the Cider Press Review Book Award, David St. John writes, “Never has the sumptuous materiality of language felt more seductive than in Landon Godfrey’s remarkable debut collection, ‘Second-Skin Rhinestone-Spangled Nude Soufflé Chiffon Gown.’ These exquisite poems are both sensually compelling and intellectually rigorous—a rare feat indeed. The iridescence of this marvelous volume continues to glow long after one has turned out the lights.” Printed at Asheville BookWorks, a limited edition letterpress chapbook, “In the Stone: Three Prose Poems,” will be published in Spring 2013. Landon’s poems have appeared in journals and anthologies—including The Southeast Review, Lyric, Chelsea, POOL, Studium in Polish translation, and Best New Poets 2008—featured at Verse Daily and Broadsided, and nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Her prose on poetry has been published by Q Avenue Press and Gulf Coast, and is forthcoming from Voltage Poetry. Born and raised in Washington, DC, she now lives in Black Mountain, NC, with her husband, poet Gary Hawkins.

Filed Under: ARC, challenges, New Authors Challenge, poetry, Poetry Reading Challenge, Read in 2022, review copy, reviews Tagged With: , ,

Time Is a Mother by Ocean Vuong

June 1, 2022 by

Source: Purchased
Hardcover, 128 pgs.
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Time Is a Mother by Ocean Vuong is a tumultuous collection of poetry in which the poetry is narrated by someone searching for love, acceptance, and a home. The collection opens with a surreal image of “The Bull,” in which the narrator calls himself a murderer of his own childhood. There is this sense that the narrator does not wish to grow up but has no choice but to become more mature. This signals to the reader that something has shifted in his world.

When the reader gets to “Snow Theory,” we see that a mother has vanished from the narrator’s life and he pleads: “What we’ll always have is something we lost/In the snow, the dry outline of my mother/Promise me you won’t vanish again, I said/She lay there awhile, thinking it over/One by one the houses turned off their lights/I lay down over her outline, to keep her true/Together we made an angel/” This is the moment where the journey begins and the poetic narrator is no longer anchored.

Throughout the collection, Vuong explores what it means to be loved and where love cannot be found. How a sense of belonging is integral to mental health and how the journey can nearly destroy you.

The image of snow appears throughout the collection, and it gives readers a sense of stillness, perhaps paralysis. It may be that the narrator is unable to fully move forward until they deal with the deep emotional loss of their mother, but it seems like the narrator is more adrift because they are unable to navigate the hatred he faces because of whom he loves.

There are a number of intriguing images throughout the collection, including the morgue as a community center, but some of these ideas are not fully fleshed out and leave the reader wandering in a surreal world without any breadcrumbs to follow. Perhaps this was intentional because like the narrator, the reader will feel adrift. Time Is a Mother by Ocean Vuong is a journey into the unknown.

Enter the GoodReads giveaway by Jun. 15, 2022.

RATING: Tercet

About the Poet:

Ocean Vuong is the author of the debut novel, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, out from Penguin Press (2019). He is also the author of the critically acclaimed poetry collection, Night Sky with Exit Wounds, a New York Times Top 10 Book of 2016, winner of the T.S. Eliot Prize, the Whiting Award, the Thom Gunn Award, and the Forward Prize for Best First Collection. A Ruth Lilly fellow from the Poetry Foundation, his honors include fellowships from the Lannan Foundation, the Civitella Ranieri Foundation, The Elizabeth George Foundation, The Academy of American Poets, and the Pushcart Prize.

Filed Under: challenges, New Authors Challenge, Penguin, poetry, Poetry Reading Challenge, Publishers/Publicists, purchased, Read in 2022, reviews Tagged With: ,

Finding Me by Viola Davis (audio)

May 25, 2022 by

Source: Purchased
Audible, 9+ hrs.
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***trigger warnings for those who have suffered sexual abuse or child abuse***

Finding Me: A Memoir by Viola Davis, narrated by the author, is what I want in a memoir every time – not simply name dropping or a recounting of events, but an in-depth look at one’s life and all its dark corners and bright lights. I want it to be reflective, and I want it to ring true. I want to hear everything that a person believes makes them who they are today. Davis brings that and much more.

I have loved Davis as an actor for so many years. When I see her name on the list, I’m watching that movie. She is that powerful and phenomenal, and now I can see why. She’s one of those actors who has the innate ability to channel the past and mold it into her roles and provide her characters with motivation, but she’s also a keen observer of people around her and their emotional and physical struggles.

I did not know that Davis grew up in Rhode Island! I lived in Massachusetts, but like 20 min. from the border of Rhode Island as a girl. When she talked about places, I knew where she was. That made this a not-so-great treat because I was completely unaware of the horrors there, but I was a kid…most of us don’t notice those things.

What I loved is that she stays true to the woman I believe her to be, pulling no punches about discrimination or racism or even sexism in the Hollywood business. Her story is a story for all Black women who struggle with perceptions of others and who they are. I want all women to feel loved for who they are, not who we perceive them to be.

She is very candid about the abuse, molestation, and more that occurred in her childhood and the effects that it had on her as an adult. Finding Me: A Memoir by Viola Davis is one of the best memoirs I’ve listened to in a while, and I highly recommend this one. I cannot tell you how riveting this was, you need to experience this for yourself.

About the Author:

Viola Davis is an American actress. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Tony Awards.

Filed Under: audiobooks, challenges, memoir, New Authors Challenge, nonfiction, purchased, Read in 2022, reviews Tagged With: , ,