Sponsored by Red Press and Humanitarian Photographer Babita Patel.
“My grandfather went to Sing Sing. My father, my brother went to Sing Sing. I went to Sing Sing.” Poor schools. Violent neighborhoods. Easy drugs. No jobs. No support. No options. In disadvantaged communities of urban America, the cradle-to-prison pipeline locks young men out of opportunity long before it locks them up. Meet 15 men doing something about it; men who got an education inside Sing Sing Prison, and used it to break out of the cycle. Today, they’re role models in their communities, and put a human face on how to end the epidemic of mass incarceration in America.
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!!
Today is Presidents’ Day, originally established in 1885 in recognition of George Washington’s birthday. The holiday eventually grew to also be associated with Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. Now, it’s recognized as a celebration of all of America’s presidents, both past and present. For Presidents’ Day 2021, I’m celebrating my favorite president, the 44th President, Barack Obama.
Barack Obama: The Comic Book Biography by Jeff Mariotte, Illustrated by Tom Morgan, Len O’Grady, and John Hunt
Follow Barack Obama in comic book form from his childhood through the first 100 days of his administration after becoming the 44th President of the United States of America. This best-selling comic book documents how Barack Obama became a media sensation through his election on November 4th, 2008, inauguration, and first 100 days in office with bias.
It’s pretty cool to read about a monumental moment in history when you actually lived through the events. That is often how I felt while reading the parts about Barack Obama’s historical 2008 presidential run. The entire book wasn’t a trip down memory lane since I haven’t read any of Obama’s memoirs, so the beginning about Obama’s childhood was enlightening and showed how young Barry was an outsider looking for where he belonged. Learning about all the bumps Obama experienced as a teen and young adult makes his accomplishment of becoming not only president, but America’s first president who wasn’t an old white man all the more astonishing.
The best part of this comic book was getting to experience some of Barack Obama’s best speeches, like the one from the 2004 Democratic Convention that put Barack Obama on the map, as well as his inauguration speech that made everyone feel hope in the air and that anything was possible. The worst part of this book for me were the illustrations. Barack Obama was hit and miss, but those Michelle Obama renditions were no bueno. The ones of Joe Biden were not much better. Despite those gripes, this book is still worth reading for anyone who wants to take a stroll down memory lane or a comic book fan looking for an engaging historical read.
Until next time bookish friends,
Katisha
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