![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
What I've been reading: Books No. 39-40
Oct. 1st, 2021 01:10 pmBook No. 39 was "The Ultimate Guide to Raising a Puppy: How to Train and Care for Your New Dog" by Victoria Stilwell. My husband and I just adopted a puppy and were a little under-prepared. This book made me feel a lot better. Our author covers a lot of ground in this book, but she repeats some information more than necessary and leaves out some details I was interested in. Overall, though, a really great overview of how to raise a puppy that is well-mannered but not so over-managed that it loses autonomy.
Book No. 40 was "The Prophets" by Robert Jones Jr. I only picked this novel up because folks in one of my GoodReads groups picked it as a monthly read. I was feeling sort of burned out about novels set during slavery times, but I am SO GLAD I read this! It tells the story of Samuel and Isaiah, two slaves on a plantation their fellow slaves call Empty. Most of the other slaves don't pay too much attention to the fact that Samuel and Isaiah only have eyes for each other until one of the older slaves, Amos, decides to curry favor with their master, Paul, by learning and preaching the gospel. Amos systematically turns most of the other slaves against Samuel and Isaiah, leading them to contemplate fleeing the plantation.
This is so beautifully written. Most of the chapters are titled with the name of a character in the book, almost all of them corresponding with a book in the bible that (according to an interview with the author) either reflects the theme of the chapter or somehow counterpoints it. I've read several novels set in slavery times in the last few years ("The Underground Railroad" and "The Water Dancer" most recently), but this is the one that really stands out, because each character is so rounded and nuanced, even if they only get a few paragraphs devoted to them. Gorgeous, and highly recommended.
( The other books I've read so far this year: )
Book No. 40 was "The Prophets" by Robert Jones Jr. I only picked this novel up because folks in one of my GoodReads groups picked it as a monthly read. I was feeling sort of burned out about novels set during slavery times, but I am SO GLAD I read this! It tells the story of Samuel and Isaiah, two slaves on a plantation their fellow slaves call Empty. Most of the other slaves don't pay too much attention to the fact that Samuel and Isaiah only have eyes for each other until one of the older slaves, Amos, decides to curry favor with their master, Paul, by learning and preaching the gospel. Amos systematically turns most of the other slaves against Samuel and Isaiah, leading them to contemplate fleeing the plantation.
This is so beautifully written. Most of the chapters are titled with the name of a character in the book, almost all of them corresponding with a book in the bible that (according to an interview with the author) either reflects the theme of the chapter or somehow counterpoints it. I've read several novels set in slavery times in the last few years ("The Underground Railroad" and "The Water Dancer" most recently), but this is the one that really stands out, because each character is so rounded and nuanced, even if they only get a few paragraphs devoted to them. Gorgeous, and highly recommended.
( The other books I've read so far this year: )
