Part One: Why I Choose to be an Ally For those who don't know, I identify as a cisgender woman, third generation immigrant background (my grandparents came over from Jamaica and Ireland), bisexual, biracial (white and black Caribbean), atypical brain (I feel I am neurodiverse but I am not diagnosed with a difference; I take… Continue reading On Allyship + Book Recommendations for Empathy: Personal Curriculum series
Category: Reviews
Black History Month: Book Recommendations from Black Authors
Books I’ve read by black authors that I enjoyed: Ring Shout (current read, very interesting so far) - horror, fantasy, historical We Need New Names - set in Zimbabwe The Secret Lives of Church Girls - short stories, spicy, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry - literary, historical fiction Hello Mum - contemporary Dear Martin… Continue reading Black History Month: Book Recommendations from Black Authors
What I’ve Learned About My Reading Tastes This Summer
I've suspected for a while that my reading tastes are not what I once thought they were. I used to read fantasy, as I write fantasy. But when I really thought about it, I realised I don't often finish fantasy books and rate them highly. This summer, I decided to experiment with my writing style,… Continue reading What I’ve Learned About My Reading Tastes This Summer
The problem with reviewing art (films, tv, books)
Lately I’ve been trying to review the things I watch and read more than I used to. Why? Because it encourages me to engage more critically and closely with these things. To consume with a keen eye. This in turn helps me develop my own writing and my own tastes. However, I’ve noticed how difficult… Continue reading The problem with reviewing art (films, tv, books)
Film Review of Till: “A Needed Emotive Film”
Till is a film about Emmett Till, the 14-year-old black boy who was brutally murdered by white men for whistling at a white woman in Mississippi in 1955. The real story is skewed, perhaps, but from my own reading, I didn't think he whistled to intentionally flirt, as the film depicted. If that's not the… Continue reading Film Review of Till: “A Needed Emotive Film”
My Book Stats of the Year
Completed a total of 45 books! Non-fiction: 15 Fiction: 30 Fantasy: 20 (including sci-fic and dystopian) Contemporary: 10 Adult: 5 Middle-grade: 6 Young Adult: 14 Poetry: 2 Non-white authors: 13 Self-help/developmental: 10 Educational: 4 Favourite read: (Fic) Knife of Never Letting Go (Non-Fic) Sacred Powers Kindle reads: 17 Physical copies: 23 Audiobooks: 5, 42.61 hours… Continue reading My Book Stats of the Year
Book Recommendation/Review: “Everything I Never Told You” by Celeste Ng
I didn't know if I would like this book. I actually bought it a while ago, but it was only after watching the AMAZING TV show Little Fire Everywhere, that I was drawn back to the author again and her way of writing about people's lives and race and the psychology of how our past… Continue reading Book Recommendation/Review: “Everything I Never Told You” by Celeste Ng
Book Recommendation/Review: “Ghost Boys” by Jewell Parker Rhodes
I loved this book. I adored it! It was everything: emotional, sweet, funny, socially relevant, politically important, real and raw, hopeful and positive, beautiful, sad, mysterious, scary, informative, horrific... everything! It is a Middle-Grade/Young Adult fiction book. It's only 203 pages, I think. I read it on the night and finished it the next morning.… Continue reading Book Recommendation/Review: “Ghost Boys” by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Book Review of Sacred Powers: This Book Has Changed Me!
I loved this book! Simple, review done! Joking aside, this book was unexpectedly great. I bought it because my favourite YouTuber (Kalyn Nicholson) always mentions it. To be honest, I feared it would be some wishy-washy nonsense. Oh, how I was wrong! It was wonderfully written and easy to read, firstly, which is unexpected from… Continue reading Book Review of Sacred Powers: This Book Has Changed Me!
Thoughts on “The Hate U Give” Book & Film (Black History Inspired)
Yesterday, I finally got to watch The Hate U Give, the new Black Lives Matter film. Earlier this year, I read the book by Angie Thomas and loved it and was moved by it as well. Let's just say that the film had my heart aching in every way. And I truly hope that as… Continue reading Thoughts on “The Hate U Give” Book & Film (Black History Inspired)
S. R. Crawford 