Sponsored by The Black Friend: On Being a Better White Person by Frederick Joseph.
Writing from the perspective of a friend, Frederick Joseph offers candid reflections on his own experiences with racism and conversations with prominent artists and activists about theirs—creating an essential read for white people who are committed anti-racists and those newly come to the cause of racial justice.
Welcome to Read This Book, the newsletter where I recommend a book you should add to your TBR, STAT! I stan variety in all things, and my book recommendations will be no exception. These must-read books will span genres and age groups. There will be new releases, oldie but goldies from the backlist, and the classics you may have missed in high school. Oh my! If you’re ready to diversify your books, then LEGGO!!
How’s your wallet holding up after Black Friday (and Small Business Saturday) and Cyber Monday (and Giving Tuesday)? Mine was on fire over the weekend, but has since simmered. Thanks to some really great deals at all of my favorite stores, I put quite the dent in my credit card. With all my wild spending (and no end in sight), I started to feel like Rebecca Bloomwood, as portrayed by Isla Fisher, because the pretty sparkly things were calling me, and I happily answered the calls.
Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella
Rebecca “Becky” Bloomwood lives in a fabulous flat in London’s trendiest neighborhood, hangs with a group of glamorous socialites, and has a closet brimming with designer clothes. The only problem is she can’t actually afford any of it. Not only does her job writing at Successful Savings magazine bore her to tears, it also doesn’t pay well, and lately Becky has been bombarded with letters from her bank she can’t bear to read. Rebecca tries cutting back (and making more money), but none of her efforts succeeds. Then a story arises that Becky actually cares about and her front-page article starts a chain of events that will transform her life and the lives of those around her.
There were so many times I experienced secondhand embarrassment while reading Confessions of a Shopaholic. Rebecca would be on the verge of doing the most cringeworthy thing, and I would just have to put the book down for a minute with a deep sigh. After remembering Rebecca is a fictional character, and it’s above me now, I would eventually return to the story and cringe while watching Bex fork up her finances one more forking time.
While I was often frustrated with Becky and her lack of impulse control when it came to shopping, I also found her predicament quite relatable. I too spent many years in my 20s overspending and paid for it greatly in my 30s. Like Bex, I justified a lot of purchases because of a sale, or it seemed like a one of a kind find. However, the truth of the matter was we both just didn’t have the best handle on our finances.
The other aspect of the book I appreciated was it mostly focused on Rebecca and her shopaholic ways. No punches were held because for the majority of Confessions of a Shopaholic, Becky was a mess. I liked the author not sugar coating the situation or trying to lighten the story with a love story. The “Boy Meets Girl” love story was secondary, and I loved that … even as a rom-com fan.
Until next time bookish friends,
Katisha
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