Hello, and Happy Monday!
This next week “Distance Learning” begins to roll out in our district and so I am relishing in the last few weekend hours (I’m writing this on Sunday and posting Monday) before it is back to work and its weirdness tomorrow. If you have been following my posts at all, it should come as no surprise that my first lessons in this new format will be about haikus and how to write them! 🙂
While I did manage to read my challenge book for March in March, obviously I’m behind as usual.
The challenge for March was to “Read a book about a current social or political issue.”
While there are so many books (and social/political issues), I chose feminism, a cause near and dear to me. As far as books go, I chose Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. This is a shorter text: a short book or a long essay. I found it very similar to her work We Should All Be Feminists, which I also loved.
This book came out of a letter she wrote to her friend, who had asked her for some advice on how to raise her daughter as a feminist. It has many sweet and funny moments, but Adichie is also straight and to the point. She does not shy away from the tough topics. She phrases her advice as “Suggestions” which I enjoy because she remains firm, stays true to her stance, but does not attempt to shove it in your face…even though I think some people might need it thrust into their faces…haha. One of the lines that really stuck out to me is this:
“I matter. I matter equally. Not ‘if only.’ Not ‘as long as.’ I matter equally. Full stop.”
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
I read this digitally, but I definitely want a physical copy to peruse and refer back to often. If you like Adichie’s other books, you will also enjoy this, I’m sure of it. If you have never read anything that she has written, I urge you to do so…and perhaps start with this one. 🙂 If you have ever wondered about feminism and what is really is, I recommend this. If you know someone who really needs a deeper understanding about feminism, send this book their way.
Here’s to all of you and another week! Keep reading!
The Bookish Bird 