April Favorites

This month, I have decided to start doing a monthly favorites post. In this post, I will be paying homage to some of my favorite things, movies, books, etc. that I came across in the stated month.That being said....

My Favorite Book: 
     This month, I got a chance to read Sam Greenlee's book, The Spook Who Sat By The Door in preparation for completing my final paper for my African-American Literature class. For me, this book was a present surprise. I didn't expect to like it nearly as much as I did.
     The novel is about Freeman, an African-American revolutionist who is the "token black" within the CIA during the Civil Rights time period. Angered by the oppression of blacks in America, Freeman takes it upon himself to regain power for this racial group by training African-American gang members in Chicago to become a guerrilla army to fight against Whites. Readers get to see just how far, Freeman is willing to go to gain freedom from those he feel have wrongly governed over
blacks for far too long.
     This book was really powerful for me in terms of its message about how different minority cultures wear mask in an attempt to hide their true feelings about certain situations (i.e., questions of class, social treatment, etc.) or to keep themselves from shaking up other people's perception of certain racial groups. While, I read this book as a part of my course curriculum, I would recommend it for anybody who enjoys a good historical novel or who wants to read a book that is akin to Native Son by Richard Wright or Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. I didn't write a review on this because I had so many emotions after reading it and was unsure how to put them all into a coherent review that was tasteful and informative opposed to sporadic ranting and philosophical musings...after all I do enough of that in school and this is my "happy place." If anyone is interested in this book, I would definitely go on ebay and get a copy. The novel itself is sort of hard to get a hold of due to it being banned for a period of time by the American government (LOL it literally brings a whole new meaning to the term "banned" books).

My Favorite Movie:
      I simply LOVE the movie, Silver Linings Playbook. This movie had everything in it, romance, comedy, drama, mental illness topics...In short, it was phenomenal! The main plot follows Pat Solitano who has recently been released from a mental health facility. Pat's main goal is to reconnect with his estranged wife, Nicki who he feels will fall back in love with him if only she can see just how well he is doing. Unfortunately, his family and friends aren't giving up any information about Nicki to him and he's left to fend for himself in winning his ex-wife back. When Pat meets Tiffany, a fellow unstable individual, he hatches a plan to get Nicki back and pick up the pieces of his life.
      What I loved about this movie is that it felt original. It didn't feel like the characters were transplants from other movies who were just taking on new roles for the sake of drama, everything had a point. I also loved Bradley Cooper (Pat) and Jennifer Lawrence (Tiffany) in this movie. They along with Chris Tucker played their roles flawlessly. Chris Tucker, who played Pat's best friend from rehab, Danny added the perfect touch of comedy throughout the movie. I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone who loves a good romantic-comedy. I also want to read the book, which was written by Mathew Quick.

My Favorite Music:
       This month, I committed a rarity for me, I bought a FULL CD from iTunes instead of just individual songs off an album. The CD I bought was Save Rock and Roll by Fall Out Boy. This CD is phenomenal! In total, there are eleven songs on the album with sounds that range from R&B like tracks all the way to rock. I definitely didn't feel as if the album was one note thanks to the versatility that I saw in the album track list. If I was forced to choose specific songs to play on repeat, I would have to say my absolute favorite songs are "The Phoenix," "Where Did the Party Go," The Mighty Fall," and "Just One Yesterday (feat. Foxes)." Even though the other songs are pure gold too, these four songs are my go-to walking soundtrack for getting to and from school on my early morning commutes.

My Favorite Television Show:
      This one was a bit of a no brainer since, I can't get enough of watching reality television regardless of how scripted it maybe. Since it's debut over four seasons ago, I have been in love with Style Networks' Jerseylicious. This show follows a group of New Jersey hairstylists and make-up artist along with their families. Each season the show centers for the most part around two or more individuals who are at odds with each other and the audience gets to watch the juicy drama that ensues. The show also follows the characters as they go about their daily work lives.
      For the most part, Jerseylicious is tame compared to other reality shows that focus on a set cast. The hairstylists and make-up artist aren't usually overly violent with the exception of maybe once/twice a season when an actual fist fight breaks out at random. The brunt of the drama takes place in gossip form that mirrors that of petty high schoolers so it is safe for people of all ages however, I would advise some parental control for individuals who are at an impressionable age. Yet, it should be noted that the cast do do good deeds such as, raising money and getting donations for Hurricane Sandy victims throughout New Jersey or putting together a coffee table book of different style icons from New Jersey's history. If you ever get a chance, I would highly recommend this show especially, for people who were once avid Jersey Shore fans.

Cheers!