Here is the penultimate quarter of my reading challenge for 2020.
July, August, September
And in a honesty it hasn’t been a very impressive one. I’ve found myself quite busy and unable to focus, as well as I would like, on my reading, which is a bit annoying.
But, none the less, here we are!
Lets have a look at what I have read during this quarter…
Books I’ve read:
Just Mercy: A story of justice and redemption By Bryan Stevenson
Cuckoos Calling By Robert Galbraith
Roald Dahl‘s Book of Ghost Stories
The Notebook by Nicholas Sparkes
Sorry Not Sorry By Naya Rivera
This quarter was quite a mixed bag.
Just Mercy was more of an ‘educate myself’ book choice and that it has been.
The injustice of the American ‘justice’ system is abhorrent and it’s definatly an eye opener in terms of how easy some people have it and how some people have so much power just because of the race/family/country they are born in.
I have been meaning to read the Robert Galbraith books for a very long time and I just haven’t got round to it.
I am glad that I finally did because I really enjoyed it and I loved the characters especially.
I have read The Notebook several times but it is a Nicholas Sparks fave of mine and I just fancied going back to it. I read it in just over a day and it was great.
I have quite a few books ready and waiting for the final quarter and I want to make it a goodun’.
I’ve got a Christmas book blog post idea too!
Also, you can check out my Insta ‘RoseannesBlog’ as I post regularly on there too.
Pets make a great addition to any family, they are someone to cuddle, someone to talk to, someone to look after, someone to love.
This probably seems like a really random blog post but I started this blog to document one of the most important days of my life (our wedding) and since then I have found it my place to write about the things I like, that make me, me as well as the things that are important to me in my life.
I’m so sad to say that our guinea pig Captain died yesterday, Sunday 20th September 2020 😭💛 He was such a lovely chap! An old boy at 6 years and 2 months old. Our first pet together (with Remus 💚) back in 2014, when we moved into our flat.
You were adorable when we saw you at Pets at Home, we both knew you were coming home with us! We’ll miss you squeaking to say hello (or FEED ME) as we come in the front/lounge door.
Thanks for being my little lockdown buddy.. you were great company!
We’ll miss you Captain (Gothmog) Byford💛 🐹 . RIP Buddy X
I love documenting what we get up to in the Summer holidays.
Though thanks to Covid we didnt actually have a Summer ‘holiday’, I also didn’t have to work this Summer, so I had all six weeks to enjoy, have fun and relax ready for Sept!
So, without further ado, let’s have a look at what we got up to…
Sorry guys, this is a bit late… but I thought I would still post it as I want to keep up with the quarterly posts.
I’ve been a lot busier since I started back at work.
April/May/June
So, that bloody pandemic is still happening… I am however back at work and have been for two and a half weeks. It is definatly nice to have a bit more normality. My work schedule isnt 100% back to what it usually is so I’m trying to make sure I still use this extra time to get through all my new books that I bought for the COVID-19 outbreak.
Lets have a look at what I have read during this next quarter… we’re halfway through the year already, madness.
Books I have read:
The Flat Share by Beth O’Leary
The Secret Seaside Escape by Heidi Swain
The Switch by Beth O’Leary
The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling (3/4, but I’ll leave it on the list as its a biggun’)
The Land of Stories: The Enchantress Returns by Chris Colfer
Heidi Swain is one of my favourite authors so I was so excited to have this book in my second quarter. I had pre ordered it so that was a very welcome arrival.
As you can see I have also been enjoying Beth O’Leary’s books this quarter. I started with ‘The Switch’ as I have seen lots of recommendations on Instagram and then my friend at work read it and suggested it too. I really enjoyed it and consequently bought her second book, which I enjoyed even more.
‘The Family Upstairs’ I found really gripping. I literally couldn’t put it down by the end, its funny how some books grip you like that! I had this book at the beginning of lockdown so I can’t believe its taken me this long to get around to it.
I have even more books planned for the third instalment, so check back to see what I’ve been reading.
Or, check out my Insta ‘RoseannesBlog’ as I post regularly on there too.
‘Well I’d never do that’ or I don’t see those things’ isn’t enough. The fact is you could, as a white person, and get away with it. Its disgusting.
White privilege is an unseen, unconscious advantage.
You are automatically one step ahead because of the pigment of your skin.. because that is the only difference, we are all part of the human race but our skin pigments vary.. everything else is the same, literally everything.
ℝ𝕒𝕔𝕚𝕤𝕞 & 𝕤𝕪𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕞𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕔 𝕣𝕒𝕔𝕚𝕤𝕞
Racism is usually carried out by individuals or groups.
Systematic racism is when groups use their power to instill biased values.
(These definitions are adapted from online research.)
This bias within the very systems and fabric of society create a culture of privilege and biased views. When this racial bias results in actions this is when racism becomes a active part of society.
If you are biased you may believe that a black person is more likely to be the culprit of a crime. When you use your position to emphasize this view you are actively being racist, eg: you call the police when a black person is doing nothing that is illegal, but you call anyway, because of the colour of their skin.
This systematic racism within institutions such as the police means that once you’ve made that call that person is unlikely to be treated fairly.
We all know the tragic stories of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and countless innocent people. It’s sickening.
Can you imagine being terrified everytime you see a police car? No, white privilege.
If you committed a crime and it was between you and a black person, would you be deemed more trustworthy, more innocent regardless of the evidence? Yes, white privilege
𝑫𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒊𝒕 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒖𝒏𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆?
𝗚𝗼𝗼𝗱.
That is nothing really is it! The least you can feel is uncomfortable. Because it’s nothing compared to actually being subjected to it.
ℙ𝕣𝕠𝕥𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘/𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕚𝕤𝕞
You don’t get it?
It’s because you dont have to shout to be heard.
It’s about fighting for a right/s that most people already have as basic human rights… why aren’t black people afforded the same rights?
The system twists these rights so that they aren’t applicable for everyone. Especially in the US. They seem like they apply to everybody, that everybody is free, but they aren’t, not if those in power don’t want you to be.
The Thirteenth Amendment (to the United States Constitution abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime) being a prime example… you are free unless we can pin a crime on you then you are at our mercy.
So stop and think about how you would feel if you knew you were always going to be on the back foot.
Wouldn’t you want to fight against that?
Yes riots can turn to property damage… I suppose it depends if you equate property damage to human lives? If a bit of rioting is all it takes for people to not care about the ‘Black Lives Matter’ then they were never really on board with it in the first place and thats part of the problem, it’s all too easy for people to walk away from it, black people don’t have that luxury, it’s literally their life.
𝔹𝕝𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝕃𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕤 𝕄𝕒𝕥𝕥𝕖𝕣
All lives cannot matter until black lives matter.
The voices that need to be heard at the moment are that of black people because they are increasingly being targeted. I’m talking about the ‘all lives matter’ debate here; If a house on your street was on fire, would you expect the fire service to arrive and point their hoses on all the houses? Of course not. While they would, rightly, argue that all homes matter, in that very moment they’ll focus their attention and expertise on the house that’s burning down.
All lives cannot matter until black lives matter.
So, what can you do?
Educate yourself. Speak up. Stand together.
👊🏿👊🏾👊🏽👊🏼
Here is a link to the petitions, sign, sign, sign. It’s so easy.
Netflix and Spotify have some brilliant resources that you can watch and listen to.
𝔹𝕖 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕘𝕖 𝕪𝕠𝕦 𝕨𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕥𝕠 𝕤𝕖𝕖 𝕚𝕟 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕠𝕣𝕝𝕕 🌍🤜🏿🤛🏻
It’s so important that we keep talking about these issues. It’s important that we not only use our platform to do this but to educate ourselves at home too.
Black Lives Matter Is A Movement Not A Moment.
I am by no means an expert, after all I’ve lived my life in a very privileged position (even if I haven’t always realised it) so I am doing my best to change this & educate myself.
Roseanne Byford 