A few weeks ago, I wrote about why I read, and in that post, I talked some about trying to read a book or two each week. As of this post, I have finished fifty two books this year, so one for every week. Today, I want to talk about some of my favorite books that I have read so far this year. When I … Read More Some of My Favorite Books I’ve Read So Far in 2023
A few posts ago I started exploring the role of names in Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye. Specifically, I looked at Soaphead Church’s letter to God and his questions, “What makes one name more a person than another? Is the name the real thing, then? And the person only what his name says?” By looking at Claudia and Frieda’s nickname for Maureen Peals and the ways … Read More The Role of Names in Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye”: Part II
Earlier this week, Edwidge Danticat published “It Can Happen Here” in Harper’s Bazaar. Danticat details how legislation in Florida reminds her of oppressive regimes in her Haiti and the repression of knowledge. She reminds us that no matter what we think, oppression and fascism can happen here, even if we think it can’t. The title of the article harkens back to Sinclair Lewis’ 1935 … Read More Fascism Can’t Happen Here
In Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, Pecola goes to see Soaphead Church, a self-proclaimed “Spiritualist and Psychic Reader” who could help individuals overcome things that impacted them. Pecola comes to Soaphead Church asking him to give her blue eyes so she can feel pretty and be like the white movie stars that she idealizes. After Pecola leaves, he sits down at the table and write … Read More The Role of Names in Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye”: Part I
As a kid, my mom would always encourage me to read. I read, yes, but it was never really anything that I did regularly. In fact, I really don’t remember much of what except that I read books like Judy Blume’s Super Fudge during elementary school or parts of Dante’s Inferno during high school. Nothing really stuck with me or had a huge impact … Read More Why Do I Read?
Interminable Rambling 