Becoming by Michelle Obama - A Book Review (2)

I listened to Michelle Obama read her memoir, Becoming, for 19 hours over 14 days (from 27 June 2022 to 10 July 2022). I really loved the fact that she was reading her own story, in a very calmed and measured way, even though some of what she shared are deeply personal episodes in her life. 

Official portrait of First Lady Michelle Obama
Green Room of the White House, Feb. 12, 2013
Photo credit: Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy
https://www.flickr.com/photos/iip-photo-archive/35826356643

In her memoir, which is a deep reflection of her life, combined with some beautiful and mesmerising storytelling, Michelle brings readers into her world and the experiences that have shaped her. Starting with her childhood growing up in the South Side of Chicago with her parents, Fraser and Marian Robinson, and older brother Craig, living in the home of her Mother's aunt Robbie and her husband Terry, she goes onto share about her education from being a primary school pupil who skipped second grade on account of her Mother demanding that she not be taught by someone who she viewed as a poor teacher to being a woman of colour as a student at Princeton College and Harvard Law School, which was predominately white and male. 

Michelle looks back at her early years of her career, starting out at the firm Sidley Austin LLP, where she would meet the man who would become her husband, Barak Obama, when he was a summer associate that she was to mentor. She talks about balancing the demands of motherhood and work to being on the campaign trail for Barak as he first becomes a state senator in Illinois and then President of the United States of America and moving into the world’s most famous address with her husband and two young daughters. 

She shares her story with amazing honesty and terrific wit, detailing her triumphs and her disappointments, from those on the global stage and those in her home, be that in Chicago or her temporary address for 8 years in Washington D.C. Michelle tells her story as she has lived it - in her own way and with her own voice as the first African American woman to be First Lady of the United States of America!

A truly moving and poignant memoir, this book is receiving 5 stars from me. I borrowed this as an audiobook from BorrowBox at Somerset Libraries. 

I have found that there is a series of 30 reader discussion at https://www.readinggroupguides.com/reviews/becoming/guide which I look forward to answering in another post. 

Breakfast at Tiffany's - A Book Review (1)

For my first two Rebel Badges, I have decided to start with the Reader and Writer Badges. Yes, I am a visually impaired person, so I read with audiobooks mainly! Below is a review of the first book I have read for the Rebel Reader badge.    

Breakfast at Tiffany's is one of the most famous films to have been released in 1961, bagging 5 Oscar nominations and winning two along with winning 5 Grammy's, with 3 of them being for the song, Moon River. However, how many people have read the novel by Truman Capote? Probably nowhere near as many as has seen Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard in the movie! 

I listened to the audiobook version of this story, which was narrated by Michael C. (Carlyle) Hall, a wonderful American theatre and television actor, as well as being an amazing voice artist. His tone really made me feel like I was in 1940's New York City! It is nearly 3 hours long (2 hours 50 minutes to be precise!) and I listened to it over 3 sessions in 3 days. 

Holiday Golightly, known as Holly, is a perplexing and complex young woman. Her unnamed neighbour, whom she calls Fred after her brother, is unable to figure out if she was 16 or 30! She is actually two months shy of her 19th birthday in the novel. The relationship goes from the strange to the surreal! It is certainly one of the most perplexing books I have ever read and so very, very different to the film! Still, this novella is a modern classic and gets a 5* review from me. 

I borrowed this as an audiobook from BorrowBox at Somerset Libraries.