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justchels91.bsky.social
Chelsea
@justchels91.bsky.social
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justchels91.bsky.social
The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick was a treat to read. Set in the 60s, it follows a group of housewives as they struggle with everyday life. They quickly form a strong bond over books and more. This book felt familiar as many women share the same pressures today #booksky
June 1, 2025 at 9:01 PM
justchels91.bsky.social
Whether you're a fan of Sarah Penner or new to her work, her, The Amalfi Curse, does not disappoint. Its another dual timeline story following a modern day ocean archeologist and a group of 1800s sea witches. It was soo good. I finished it in two days. Definitely consider checking it out.

#booksky
May 29, 2025 at 4:15 PM
justchels91.bsky.social
Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Current reads are:

Four Ruined Realms by Mai Corland
The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert

#booksky
April 20, 2025 at 12:48 AM
justchels91.bsky.social
Readers, beware! This news broke in October, but he finally had sentencing. Over 5,600 images. Along with search terms like, "How to tell if Google reported me to police"

#booksky
March 14, 2025 at 10:29 PM
justchels91.bsky.social
There will be more to come. That meeting was a defining moment in history.
March 2, 2025 at 3:44 AM
justchels91.bsky.social
(2/2) Zelenskyy put aside pride to seek help. He suggested recently that he'd step down as president if it meant his country would gain more assistance. That's a leader. Not some tiny man with a large ego and his latest McDonald's order foaming at the mouth for the next opportunity to be cruel.
Dark blue background with white letters. Its says, "we're really out here living the most difficult section of someone's 2060 history exam."
March 2, 2025 at 3:43 AM
justchels91.bsky.social
(1/2) That was performative cruelty for the sake of "making good tv." JD was a child attempting to join an adult conversation. Probably trying to regain some spotlight that Musk took. Trump was a school yard bully attempting to humiliate his latest victim in front of the whole school.
Image credit: Sarah Neff. It is a sketch of the meeting between President Zelenskyy and Trump. The sketch of Zelenskyy is to his likeness. Trump and his people are all depicted as cockroaches
March 2, 2025 at 3:40 AM
justchels91.bsky.social
Immediately following the halftime show, I posted some thoughts on my personal social media and woke up to exactly what I expected... which led to writing out more thoughts.

That halftime show was a history lesson, and I hope y'all paid attention because there will be a test.
Image of my post on another social media platform. "This is a continuation of my post from last night. Immediately following the halftime show, I jot my thoughts down and released them into the world. Since then, I've seen white people in the comment sections doing exactly what I said they were gonna do, be racist. This is a good look at why we are where we are today. White people are not ready for the discussion Kendrick Lemar continues to direct back to. And listen, when I say "racists are gonna be racist" I'm not limiting it to your old ass grandpa who spews openly racist remarks within the confines of his home. I'm also talking about people who have this knee-jerk reaction to dislike any part of black American culture that they don't immediately find beneficial to them. Going back to slave times, white people have placed this obligation unto black people to be entertaining to white folks. Whether it be through violence (fighting, sometimes to the death), sex (r-pe and/or s-x workers), humor (comedian or humiliation), or skill (musician, cooks, artists, etc). This is what I meant last night when pointing out why Eminem, Dr. Dre, and Snoop Dogg's performance was conventionally more acceptable. White people hold value to their music because they've been bumping it a long time. They are entertained by it." My thoughts continued: "Another thing I wanted to point out (again) is how powerful Samuel L Jackson's skit was. There are certain words and phrases in our everyday language that are problematic. They are phrases that are largely accepted but deeply rooted in sexism and/or racism. They are meant to suppress minority groups and make the speaker (often white men) feel superior. This is why we see this long-standing tradition of men referring to grown ass women as "girls." This is also why we often see white men refer to black men of any age as "boy." It's another way for white folks (again, typically men) to control the narrative. Its another attempt to keep minorities in the box that has been presented to them. With the expectation that they follow the the rules of, "know your place." Him saying: "Too loud" "Too reckless" "Too ghetto" These are key phrases that identify how black American culture is often referred to by white folks. That is part of the deep seeded inherent racism of this country. "Nice and calm" is what's expected and what's accepted. Uncle Sam keeps reminding Kendrick that he's there to entertain and it must be done in an approved manner. Thoughts continued (final): Can I also mention the statement of having an all black performance crew as the American flag? And, him calling out the plague of p-dophilia that runs so deeply in the industry (and the country as a whole). Whew! I can see y'all weren't ready. As I stated last night, this was a multi-layered intellectual masterpiece that is sure to go over so many peoples heads. It wasn't meant to be mind numbing entertainment, it was meant to be a statement. It was meant to be thought provoking. I'll say it again, this man has won a Pulitzer Prize for Music. This was a master lyricist putting the ART in Artist. So, before you're so quick to settle into that knee-jerk reaction, maybe acknowledge that you're not fully grasping the depth of it all. And ask yourself, "Am I ready to sit down and listen.. to have that conversation.. to learn.. to do better?!"
February 10, 2025 at 6:15 PM
justchels91.bsky.social
A very good read!

#booksky
February 9, 2025 at 9:34 PM
justchels91.bsky.social
This book 👏🏽

What an incredible read. I got through it in one day. I literally could not put it down until I was done.

Isaac's Song by Daniel Black

#booksky
Book cover for Isaac's Song by Daniel Black. An impression of a faceless black man against the Chicago skyline I'm on quite the 5 star reading streak and this book just extended that journey. Isaac's Song is sort of a coming-of-age/reflection fiction novel. We learn about a young man named Isaac as he reflects upon his childhood through therapy sessions. He faces the truth of his relationship with each parent and shares what it was like to finally be ready to live his authentic life as a gay black man, just as the AIDS crisis was gaining more attention, followed by Rodney King's unlawful and violent arrest took place. This book highlights some truly incredible writing skills. For one, you can flip to any page and pick out a worthy quote. For two, throughout the book, the main character discusses his own storytelling abilities. So, the author has buried several extremely thought-provoking tales within the main storyline. It all comes together seamlessly. This book was written in such a captivating way. I devoured it in one day. My thanks to the author, Daniel Black, for giving me a much needed break from my statistics classwork and for sharing a story that will stick with me for a long time. "You become an agent of your own existence the minute you stop blaming others for what they did to you. Those who hurt us cannot heal us. That's our job."
February 3, 2025 at 11:11 PM
justchels91.bsky.social
Day 3 of Black History Month

Marian Anderson - American contralto and civil rights activist

I couldn't settle on one book, so I'm sharing all three.

#blackhistorymonth
#booksky
Day 3 of Black History Month Marian Anderson (February 27, 1897 – April 8, 1993) Arguably one of the best American contralto (lowest female singing voices for classical music) in history. In 1939, The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) refused to let her perform inside the Constitution Hall at D.C.. When Eleanor Roosevelt heard, she informed her husband, President Franklin D Roosevelt. He extended the offer for her to perform at Lincoln Memorial. 75,000 people made up the integrated audience. After her performance, she was at a loss for words when trying to address the crowd. Before that performance, the largest crowd she had singed in front of was about 4,000 people. Martin Luther King Jr. was just 10 years old at the time and would later write about the experience. She was a pioneer of the Civil Rights Movement. She was a Goodwill ambassador and a delegate for the United Nations Human Rights committee. She won many awards, including the Medal of Freedom, Medal of Arts, and Grammy Lifetime Achievement. She Married An Architect and they bought a 100 acre farm in Connecticut where he built her a recording studio. That recording studio has been preserved as a historical building and turned into a museum that honors her work. I couldn't settle on one book, so I'm sharing all three. The Sound of Freedom by Raymond Arsenault The Voice That Challenged a Nation by Russell Freeman A Singer's Journey by Allan Keiler The Sound of Freedom by Raymond Arsenault A Singer's Journey by Allan Keiler The Voice That Challenged a Nation by Russell Freeman
February 3, 2025 at 5:09 PM
justchels91.bsky.social
Day 2 of Black History Month

This book talks about the history of systematic racism and oppression.

Title: Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents
Author: Isabel Wilkerson

#blackhistorymonth
#booksky
February 2, 2025 at 4:18 PM
justchels91.bsky.social
One book all month or one book every day, I hope everyone was able to take time to dive into some good stories.

I read/listened to some truly awesome books this month.

#booksky
February 1, 2025 at 9:07 PM
justchels91.bsky.social
Just finished Tyler Merritt's second book, This Changes Everything. Another masterpiece. The way he tackles topics of religion, politics, race, health, love, life.. It's incredible. He was made for storytelling.

#booksky
The book cover for Tyler Merritt's This Changes Everything. Blue background with Tyler Merritt standing in a charcoal grey suit. He's smiling and looking down with his hand on his forehead.
January 26, 2025 at 5:36 PM
justchels91.bsky.social
This👏🏽 book👏🏽

Parable of the Sower
By Octavia E Butler

Read it !

#booksky
Cover of The book Parable of the Sower By Octavia E Butler. A cream tone background with an image of a black woman in a red/orange dress, wearing a matching head wrap. I had to take a picture of what I wrote about this book because there were too many characters for this platform. It says: Parable of the Sower By Octavia E. Butler This is a powerful read. I stayed up until 3a to get through the last half of it. It had been on my TBR for a while. Recently, I joined a book club, and this was their first pick of the year. I'm so glad I got the push I needed to get to it finally. Written in 1993, it's s a dystopian novel set in 2025-2027. It covers the life of a girl named Lauren Olamina during the downfall of the US. She walks the readers through the stress of survival. The president is controlling access to food, jobs, medicine, and clean water. Human driven rapid climate change is causing wildfires to the west and below zero blizzards to the east. Homelessness is more common than having a roof over your head. Schools have been privatized, and education for the poor only comes in the form of adults running classes at church or in their homes, with older kids helping to educate younger kids. Police help has been monetized. Only the rich can afford the police fees, so the poor are left to sort out their own issues. This author had some serious political and social awareness and the ability to tell a captivating story. Highly recommend.
January 25, 2025 at 1:35 AM
justchels91.bsky.social
Yes, most of this has to pass through other entities. But listen, this man is a tyrant trying to create and claim unchecked power. He's proving why we should NEVER allow someone this power hungry to make it this far up the chain.
January 22, 2025 at 5:01 PM
justchels91.bsky.social
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter"

-Martin Luther King Jr
January 20, 2025 at 4:17 PM
justchels91.bsky.social
Obsessed with these two current reads. Tyler Merritt was born for storytelling. And A.K. Hauser's attention to detail is impressive and captivating.

#booksky
Book cover of This Changes Everything by Tyler Merritt. Picture of him in a grey plaid jacket, looking down and smiling. Book cover of The Cradle of Oshae by A.K. Hauser. A grayscale sketch of an elderly ethereal looking man, holding a mountain of water in his hands.
January 15, 2025 at 6:51 PM
justchels91.bsky.social
This book was deeper than I expected. She discusses overcoming her alcohol addiction that was causing her to get blackout drunk, family issues, career changes, failed relationships, questionable friendships, and how she fell into this challenge of becoming a more mindful consumer. #booksky
January 15, 2025 at 3:18 AM
justchels91.bsky.social
Today is release day for Tyler Merritt's This Changes Everything. I'm so excited and happy for him. If you haven't read, I Take My Coffee Black. I highly recommend it.

#booksky
January 14, 2025 at 3:39 PM
justchels91.bsky.social
I didn't want to have to shorten what I said about this book, so I screenshot it. I'll come up with a better method.

Read this book!

Title: Barracoon
Author: Zora Neale Hurston

#BookSky
January 13, 2025 at 3:16 AM
justchels91.bsky.social
This book has a little bit of everything. He talks politics, racism, religion, music, theater, etc. He touched on so many things that people are afraid to acknowledge. I really appreciate anyone can take heavy topics and discuss them in a way that compells others to lean in and listen. #booksky
January 12, 2025 at 3:51 AM
justchels91.bsky.social
All taken today in Northwest Ohio 🥰
December 7, 2024 at 10:19 PM
justchels91.bsky.social
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
#BookSky💙📚

#Books
#BookChallenge
17/20
Book cover for The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna. It has a very whimsical feel to it. Swirling blue clouds, a blue/purple hill with a white house at the top. A yellow taxi heading up to the house. A witch in a yellow dress, riding a broomstick. And a man in a yellow shirt and blue jeans standing on the hill, looking up at the witch.
December 5, 2024 at 3:33 AM
justchels91.bsky.social
Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers.
#BookSky💙📚

#Books
#BookChallenge
16/20
December 3, 2024 at 7:38 PM