V > Recent Status Updates

Gone head and fuck up his life, girl; he don’t deserve you!

“…it was them who were corrupt and would rob the poor and suppress the powerless to gain control. The wealth of the state was contingent on suffering and imprisonment.”

Sometimes the “grump” moments are actually just Diego being mean and the only reason this pairing really works is because Mickey is “always cheerful and smiling” and is very forgiving. I want to see a heartfelt apology from Diego to Mickey and his employees, once he acknowledges and accepts that he needs to work on his grief.

You can see Diego’s depression and grief has led him to a place where he struggles even more to express himself and communicate positively and effectively with others.

I guess this answers my question about how the characters respond to policy that affects them and I like it. It seems like the author keeps it light, or maybe reality in the US right now is too bleak.

Damn, perk up!

This was kind of odd, but a nice relief from *gestures to everything*. Cleo works in politics for a university town mayor—who’s a white Democrat—in Georgia and her biggest concern is drafting a statement on National Ice Cream Day and hunting permits.

This could have gone in a depressing, but more realistic direction, but I appreciate the reprieve.

Loving all of the introductions! Her mama randomly asking if they remember somebody just to immediately follow up with “well they died” lol why do they do that 😂

I’m predicting 5 stars on this and I already love how they’re both looking for change and progress in their work AND transformation of self 🧑🏽‍🍳🤌🏽💋

So I’m looking up the myths/inspirations AFTER reading the short story and the 2nd story masterfully incorporates elements of the original. I thought it was odd how she kept mentioning that specific number, thought tangentially about where I heard it before, then immediately dismissed it as coincidence 😄

I loved how well Babalola pens intensity into her character’s POVs. It’s palpable through the page. I will say story 2’s ending left me needing more; it’s felt like things were maybe kept vague to focus on the love story, but I still wanted to know the details.

I’m concerned abut why she stopped counting and is talking in the past tense 🫣🫣🫣

So before there were mass layoffs, there were mass wage cuts. Working-class people have dealt with so much BS throughout out the short life of this country. In the grand scheme, who are you as one human being to tell me I must survive on less resources than humanly possible when you thrive on more resources that are not possible for one person to consume in a lifetime? How do live while others die at your behest?

“Success came in early 1867 as the Illinois legislature enacted the first 8-hour law in the country.”

Yay Illinois! But this just supports what people are saying about labor & wage laws & protections today—all companies in the US cannot be trusted to do right by their employees, communities, or even planet without fair regulation and real consequences that leave room for nothing but real accountability.

Edward Ely - Benefactor

Erring’s Women’s Refuge - 1863, white, middle-class, Protestant women opened the refuge…Challenging legal and social inequity which punished women—but not men—for extramarital sexual relations…provided prostitutes support and resources to leave the sex industry: education, job training, obstetric care, and influence of Xtian motherhood. By 1890 became a home for delinquent girls.

The audiobook was INCREDIBLY dry, so I’m going to try just reading the words instead of listening. The audiobook is convenient, but I can recall the names, dates, and places easier when I can see them written, and I’ll be giving it my own voice, so that should help too.

Based on all the chapter and section titles, I’ll end up rating this above a 3⭐️ for sure.

Maybe I’m just not vibing with first person.

I love that Oșun is not perfect nor does she strive to be; she simply just is—discerning, grace filled, sharp-minded power itself.

As for the story, I love that the ending captures allowing yourself to sit in romantic reverence of another without diminishing who they are or the depth of how you feel; it seems instinctual to fawn, freeze, run away, or fight, but they just sit in it. I wish this was an entire book!

The intro really resonates with me and how I view finding and being with someone who sees me, loves me, respects me, and exists in the same plane that I do.

Prediction: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️_

I want to let this serve as my intro to west African mythology, move to original tellings of these myths in a broad way, then narrow down to specific countries along side non-fiction history of those countries. I recognize the name Oșun, but I don’t know much else. Thisbe is a cut baby name; let me read her/his story first.

so I read a few pages of American Gods, searched “Neil Gaiman racism”, found THOSE allegations, and now he holds the record for the shortest time on my Want to Read list 🤦🏽


I need people to start being punished for violating others 🤢

Elizabeth is long winded but I’m interested to hear what she sees in Robert romantically if she feels so bad about Amy’s life and death and recognizes how cruel he was to her.

“Rich Black folks choose their own interests over the community’s all the time.” 🫰🏽 🫰🏽🫰🏽

I’ve always wanted to do this to a man; they just seem so repressed.

I appreciate that Kennedy Ryan is using her platform to talk about how many protections and ventures were dismantled to stop their mission of lessening the economic disparity between Black people and white people, but honestly I would’ve been fine if this was left out. It’s just a sharp reminder of reality.

“His words water my dry places” 💞💞💞💞

Bi-curious George is hilarious

I hate that I’m such a completionist. I haven’t touched that book in weeks but I still keep it in my Currently Reading and for what?

Okay here come the waterworks 😭