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Tenelle Ottley-Matthew

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It was my birthday yesterday 🥳 The week leadin

It was my birthday yesterday 🥳
The week leading up to it felt strange because I went outside and spent time with other people after what felt like a year. I’ve gotten used to lockdown life and after three months of shielding, the thought of returning to a normal(?) life is honestly overwhelming.
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Anyway, I treated myself to two books I’ve had my eye on for a while. Improving my money management skills and looking after my mental health are two things I’m prioritising in 2020, but corona has seriously tested me!
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I can’t resist a good self-help book so I picked up:
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- You’re Not Broke, You’re Pre-Rich by Emilie Bellet
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I bought this purely because of the title. Bellet is the founder of @vestpod, a digital platform and community dedicated to finically empowering women. This book seems very practical and in-depth so I’m confident it’ll help me make the most of my coins and generally understand money better.
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- Overcoming Everyday Racism by Susan Cousins
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Lately I’ve been researching the effects of racism on mental health, and reflecting on how my personal experiences of racism have impacted my emotional and mental wellbeing. This book explores the psychological impact of racism on BAME people and offers practical steps to improve wellbeing. I can’t wait to read and review this one. It would’ve come in handy when I was at uni and in certain work environments.
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What was the last self-help book you bought/read? Let me know if you’ve read the books above!
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#books #bookstagram #selfhelp #nonfiction

#WindrushDay Book Rec | Inside Babylon: The Caribb

#WindrushDay Book Rec | Inside Babylon: The Caribbean Diaspora in Britain
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Inside Babylon is a series of essays discussing the varied experiences of Caribbean people in Britain. It spans the whole post-war period and explores a number of challenges faced by Caribbean people. It’s one of the most comprehensive books I’ve read concerning the struggles of black communities in Britain.
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The book offers an extensive overview of Britain’s economy and labour market following the Second World War, and paints a broad picture of Britain’s social and political landscape before and around 1948, the year hundreds of West Indians first arrived in Essex, London.
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The book has a substantial focus on the positioning of women in black communities. It features essays discussing intimate partner violence, black women’s interactions with the police, community organising against racism and sexism and patterns of employment.
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Other sections delve into psychiatric racism, the role of Churchill’s conservative government in relation to West Indian immigration, the Indo-Caribbean experience and the early years of Notting Hill Carnival. Contributors include activists/scholars/historians such as Gail Lewis, Amina Mama, Errol Francis and Cecil Gutzmore.
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While the book isn’t exclusively focused on the Windrush generation that arrived in the late 1940s, Inside Babylon is an honest and in-depth exploration of the struggles of Afro-Caribbean people in Britain. This book was published in 1993 but the struggles it discusses are ongoing and continue to significantly impact black communities today.
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As a person of Caribbean heritage 🇹🇹🇬🇩, I’ll forever be grateful to the Windrush generation for all they fought for and everything they’ve contributed to this country.
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#books #bookreview #bookrecommendation #caribbeandiaspora #blackbritain #blackbritish #blackhistory #blackbritishhistory #windrush #windrushgeneration

The lovely @theslowbookclub tagged me in the #last

The lovely @theslowbookclub tagged me in the #lastnownextreads challenge, so here are the books I last read, am reading and will read.
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LAST: The Bone Readers by Jacob Ross. A crime thriller set in the fictional Caribbean island of Camaho. Wonderfully written and immerses you in the everyday culture and socio-political climate of the island. The women characters made this a stand out novel for me.
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NOW: Inside Babylon: The Caribbean Diaspora in Britain edited by Winston James and Clive Harris. Spanning the whole post-war period, this explores a number of themes reflecting the varied experiences of Caribbean people in Britain. Only a few chapters in but I like how thorough and intersectional it is. Full review coming soon.
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NEXT: Frying Plantain by Zalika Reid-Benta. A series of interconnected short stories about a young Canadian-Jamaican woman living in Toronto. I won a proof of this a while back and have heard really good things!
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Hope you’ve all had a good week. What is everyone reading this weekend?
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#bookstagram #bookrecommendations #books #zalikareidbenta #fryingplantain #jacobross #insidebabylon #winstonjames #cliveharris #thebonereaders #readcaribbean

BOOK REVIEW | Sensuous Knowledge: A Black Feminist

BOOK REVIEW | Sensuous Knowledge: A Black Feminist Approach for Everyone by Minna Salami [gifted]
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Minna Salami is a writer, lecturer and founder of award-winning blog MsAfropolitan. Sensuous Knowledge is her debut essay collection.
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The book contains nine chapters that each explore specific topics, including knowledge, decolonisation, blackness and beauty. Salami challenges the dominant Eurocentric, patriarchal perspectives surrounding these topics and encourages readers to adopt an Africa-first, Black feminist framework with which to engage with them.
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Many chapters in the book are underpinned by African history and mythology. Salami’s sharp social commentary is interlaced with her own experiences. She has an enchanting way with words that makes you want to soak up every sentence.
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Salami’s main argument is that there needs to be a shift in the way we engage with knowledge itself. Sensuous Knowledge then, is a more humane and feminine way of thinking about knowledge, in contrast to Europatriarchal ideas about being knowledgeable. The book also contains interesting discussions about the politicisation of marginalised identities, how we conceive of power and much more.
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Sensuous Knowledge is a short, enriching and transformative read. Salami shows us how different the world might look if we decenter and dismantle the patriarchal, Eurocentric systems that have harmed us for centuries. It challenged and broadened my perspectives. I think I’m very ‘woke’ but this book made me question myself and the problematic ideas I’ve internalised throughout my life.
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I wholeheartedly recommend Sensuous Knowledge as it’s a vital addition to black feminist literature. Let’s continue to read more black women!
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Thank you @blackbritishbloggers & @zedbooks for my copy ❤️
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Link to full review in my bio (click ‘Latest blog post’ in Linktree).
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#bookstagram #bookreview #books #bookblogger #minnasalami #sensuousknowledge #blackfeminism #nonfiction #essays

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