Since Oklahoma State had moved to online classes for the rest of the semester due to COVID-19, it made things both harder and easier for me. I had to learn how to use Zoom and remember deadlines for assignments much more but I was also back with my family in Tulsa.
Of course, I’m not going outside unless I have to (because I follow the rules) but this isolation reminds me of my past summers. This situation does give me time to go through my bookshelf and see the books I haven’t read, which was a lot. I haven’t had time to read for leisure these past months so I gathered up the books that interest me and came up with four that I plan on reading and finishing.
- “Six of Crows” by Leigh Bardugo
-
This fantasy novel follows 17-year-old Kaz Brekker and his gang of teenaged misfits attempting to rescue a scientist from a highly protected facility named the Ice Court. I’ve had this since sophomore year of high school but never finished it since other books caught my eye. I remember the details that Bardugo gave when she describes the environment in the story and it stayed in the back of my head all this time. Hopefully, it is enough for me to finish it and see what the hullabaloo is about.
- Black Enough: Stories of Being Young & Black in America”
-
This star-studded anthology was edited by Ibi Zoboi and features many famous authors such as Nic Stone and Justina Ireland. It features different characters in different stories that shows what it’s like to be young and black in America, from urban and rural to wealthy and poor to immigrants and more. I was first intrigued by this because of Nic Stone and Justina Ireland, whose works I’ve read before and recommend a lot. This is honestly my most anticipated read.
- “Dorothy Must Die” by Danielle Paige
-
I’ve heard of this novel since 8th grade and have only recently purchased a copy to see if it lives up to the praise it got back in middle school and high school. This story follows a girl named Amy Gumm who got swept up by a tornado and landed in Oz, which was now a dictatorship ruled by Dorothy (yes, THE Dorothy). Amy’s mission, as given by The Revolutionary Order of the Wicked, is to kill Dorothy and save everyone from her ruthlessness. I liked the idea of classic “goody-goody” characters becoming evil in this novel and I liked how Paige made the evil characters from the original story into rebels fighting the ruthless Dorothy.
- “Becoming” by Michelle Obama
-
I was actually half way through this memoir before I was distracted by college. This talks of the former First Lady’s life and how she came to meet her husband and her life behind the scenes during the Obama presidency. I was seven when Barack Obama became the President so I did not remember much but I’ve always wanted to know what it was like to be in Mrs. Obama’s shoes.
Overall, these four books are going to take some of my attention for the next few months. I have more, but those are for a later time. Hopefully, I actually am able to finish all of them and put them on my “Read” list in Goodreads.