What I’m Reading
Book Reviews
How to be an Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi: Click here to read my review
Grant by Ron Chernow: Click here to read my review
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë: Click here to read my review
Other
“Designing to Survive” by Philip Kennicott | Washington Post Magazine | July 13, 2020
“From potato fields to Pinehurst: How a boy from America’s poorest reservation became a hero to his people through golf” by Joel Beall | Golf World | July 30, 2020
“2020 is Our Last, Best Chance to Save the Planet” by Justin Worland | TIME Magazine | July 9, 2020
“America Drank Away Its Children’s Future” by Paul Krugman | The New York Times | July 13, 2020
“I think about Ed Sheeran’s Game of Thrones Cameo a Lot” by Sangeeta Singh-Kurtz | The Cut | July 13, 2020
What I’m Listening To
The Book
As you may have read in the About section of my site, I am currently writing my first book, a biography of my great-great-grandmother, Bessie Anthony. Those of you who know me know that the book is largely inspired by my incredible grandmother (Bessie’s granddaughter), who passed away nearly four years ago in 2016. Her death was deeply painful, but transformative. Like an open wound, it forced me me to reassess the person I was and the person I wanted to become, reviving my long-dormant dream of being a writer.
In losing Granny, I rediscovered Bessie. Those first few days felt like walking through an enchanted wardrobe, with rays of hope and renewal leaping off the pages of each letter, scrapbook, and photo album that we uncovered in my grandmother’s home. It wasn’t long after we found these letters, scrapbooks, and albums that my then-boyfriend/now-husband, Tim, looked at me and said, “Corn, you need to write a book. You need to write a book about Bessie.”
A couple of weeks later, on October 22, 2016, I came home to a gift - two books that Tim had found online from a bookshop specializing in rare and antiquarian books. After that, there was no turning back.
I thought I’d share the picture of the two books I took that evening. Every so often, I take a look at this picture to reflect on how far I’ve come and to remember why I started.
