The World According to Fannie Davis: my Mother's life in the Detroit Numbers by Bridgett M. Davis
Growing up Bridgett was the youngest of five siblings. She only knew her family as successful and she never wanted for anything. But her older siblings remember the harder times before their mother Fannie became a Numbers runner. Numbers was and is an illegal lottery that started in Harlem and while all walks of life played Numbers it was primarily known as a part of African-American life in Detroit and other major cities up North. Fannie Davis was an entrepreneurial woman who was determined to defeat the poverty that plagued most African-Americans even "up North." With her husband on the bottom rung of the Detroit auto industry constantly being laid off and rehired, she borrowed $100 from her brother and started running Numbers. She eventually became one of the only female Numbers bankers, meaning she had enough cash put back that she completely worked for herself and did not rely on a larger funder to back her business. Growing up Bridgett and her siblings knew to NEVER speak about what their mother did or how their family earned a living. This was so ingrained in her that she had trouble even starting to write this book, but she knew she wanted to share her mother's story and legacy. The World According to Fannie Davis is Bridgett's ode to her mother. Bridgett gives a history of the Numbers game and how it evolved over time, but the majority of the book is about her mother and the incredible legacy she was able to create all from an illegal business.
Some quotes I liked:
"But the most important reason for its beauty was this: unlike the policy [an earlier lottery game], Numbers was a black-owned and black-controlled business. The Numbers blossomed into a lucrative shadow economy in the early 1920's, and moved into black communities across America, thanks in large part to the Great Migration." (p. 61)
"A 1972 Detroit Free Press article quoted a Detroit Baptist minister who once famously said from the pulpit, 'I know some of you are taking the numbers of our hymns and betting on them. I'm not saying whether I approve or not, but if you play them...be sure to box 'em.' Certain preachers actually built their church followings on the claim that they had the ability to prophesy, and would give out numbers that had supposedly come to them in their dreams." (p. 133)
"For those who knew us, our family secret (as far as it was a secret at all) didn't possess the potency I gave it. People admired my mother not so much for what she did as for the kind of woman she was. And yet I don't want this point to get lost: My mother launched a Numbers operation out of necessity, but despite its constant challenges, she enjoyed running her own business. Self-employment allowed her a coveted life of rugged individualism, as they say. By contributing to this thriving underground economy, my mother was able to live out Booker T. Washington's dream of Negroes' self-reliance, and as such she moved through the world as a head-held-high, race-proud black woman." (p. 290)
Some quotes I liked:
"But the most important reason for its beauty was this: unlike the policy [an earlier lottery game], Numbers was a black-owned and black-controlled business. The Numbers blossomed into a lucrative shadow economy in the early 1920's, and moved into black communities across America, thanks in large part to the Great Migration." (p. 61)
"A 1972 Detroit Free Press article quoted a Detroit Baptist minister who once famously said from the pulpit, 'I know some of you are taking the numbers of our hymns and betting on them. I'm not saying whether I approve or not, but if you play them...be sure to box 'em.' Certain preachers actually built their church followings on the claim that they had the ability to prophesy, and would give out numbers that had supposedly come to them in their dreams." (p. 133)
"For those who knew us, our family secret (as far as it was a secret at all) didn't possess the potency I gave it. People admired my mother not so much for what she did as for the kind of woman she was. And yet I don't want this point to get lost: My mother launched a Numbers operation out of necessity, but despite its constant challenges, she enjoyed running her own business. Self-employment allowed her a coveted life of rugged individualism, as they say. By contributing to this thriving underground economy, my mother was able to live out Booker T. Washington's dream of Negroes' self-reliance, and as such she moved through the world as a head-held-high, race-proud black woman." (p. 290)
Rough Beauty: forty seasons of mountain living by Karen Auvinen
A few months before her 40th birthday Karen Auvinen's cabin in the Colorado Rockies burned to the ground. She lost everything except her truck, her dog Elvis, and a few articles salvaged from the fire. Never one to rely on others, Karen had a very hard time accepting help from people after the fire, but she had no choice because she literally had nothing. After the fire Karen reevaluates her life and slowly starts to realize that she does need connections and her small town really rallies to help her rebuild her life.
While some parts of the book were really interesting, a lot of it was very depressing and sad. Karen had a rough childhood and doesn't have a good relationship with anyone in her immediate family. This comes up again and again as her mother's health declines steadily throughout the book. She also loses her beloved dog Elvis and that was hard to read. I don't have dogs, but I had an elderly cat and we just lost her sister last year, so that was a hard few chapters to read. Based on the book description I thought it was going to be a more uplifting book, but it was pretty depressing overall. I am glad I finished it, but I wouldn't really recommend this one.
While some parts of the book were really interesting, a lot of it was very depressing and sad. Karen had a rough childhood and doesn't have a good relationship with anyone in her immediate family. This comes up again and again as her mother's health declines steadily throughout the book. She also loses her beloved dog Elvis and that was hard to read. I don't have dogs, but I had an elderly cat and we just lost her sister last year, so that was a hard few chapters to read. Based on the book description I thought it was going to be a more uplifting book, but it was pretty depressing overall. I am glad I finished it, but I wouldn't really recommend this one.
Save Me the Plums: my Gourmet memoir by Ruth Reichl
Ruth Reichl's love of food and cooking started when she stumbled upon some back issues of Gourmet magazine and convinced her father to buy them for her. When she asked her parents to buy her the ingredients needed to cook some of the recipes in the magazine they did and she began doing more and more of the family's cooking. She and her father also bonded over visiting ethnic food markets and new restaurants in New York City. Reichl worked as a food writer and then as a restaurant reviewer for the New York Times before being offered the job as editor-in-chief of Gourmet magazine. While not sure she was qualified, Reichl couldn't turn down the opportunity to work for the magazine that inspired her so much. It wasn't always easy, especially in the beginning, but Reichl grew to love working at Gourmet. So, it was that much more devastating when the magazine closed in 2009 during the recession. Save Me the Plums is Reichl's memoir of her time at Gourmet. She is honest about her mistakes and things she would do differently, but her love of food, cooking, and Gourmet magazine shines through. One of the most touching chapters was in response to 9/11 Reichl called everyone at Gourmet to invite them to use the Gourmet kitchens to cook for the first responders. She wasn't even sure anyone would show up, but tons of staff showed up and cooked for all the emergency crews working at ground zero. A lovely tribute to Gourmet and Reichl's time there.
On Being 40(ish) by Lindsey Mead, editor
I just recently turned 40, so I purposely chose to read this book the week of my 40th birthday. A collection of female authors write about what it was like to turn 40 or reflecting on life in your 40's. While some of the names I recognized, many of them I did not. There were several that I liked - Soul Mates, There's a Metaphor Here, and Youth Dew were my favorites. But, the rest were just OK. Not much other than the three I mentioned really jumped out or were all that interesting. Overall, it was OK, but not great.
Carving Out a Living on the Land by Emmet Van Driesche
Emmet Van Driesche and his wife Cecilia had worked together on farms before, but this book details their story of taking over a Christmas tree farm. In telling their story, Emmet shares both their mistakes and triumphs. Running a small farm is not easy and taking over an established farm over time can be even harder and more complicated. But each year they have made more money than the previous year by adding income streams and also by streamlining the processes on the farm. While some parts of the book do go into more detail about their operation, all of it could apply to other farms or small businesses. There are also lots of pictures and information - including two appendixes and a list of resources. This is a very unique book - part farm instruction manual and part farm/business philosophy. Even if you don’t want to have your own farm if you’re interested in small business or even homesteading you could learn something from this book.
Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner
Jo and Bethie Kaufman grow up in the 1950's in Detroit in the stereotypical ranch house and a neighborhood full of friends. Jo is a tomboy who loves to run and play sports while Bethie is the pretty "good girl" who loves to let her mother dress her up and fix her hair. After their father dies things change drastically for the Kaufmans. And while Jo was the one who protested with her African-American friends outside of local businesses in high school, she ends up married and a stay-at-home mom to three girls. Bethie loses her "good girl" identity in college and ends up getting into the whole free love and drugs scene in the 1970's. Both Jo and Bethie deal with trauma, changes in culture, and their fluctuating relationship as sisters. Weiner does an amazing job of highlighting all the changes and issues for women from the 1950's to the present through Jo and Bethie. Overall, another AMAZING book by Jennifer Weiner who's books are always on-target in addressing what it means to be a woman.
I will warn any potential readers that there is a LOT of sex in this book - it's not gratuitus, but it is a lot. It's still a great book with two characters you will absolutely love, but just that small warning for anyone super sensitive to that.
I will warn any potential readers that there is a LOT of sex in this book - it's not gratuitus, but it is a lot. It's still a great book with two characters you will absolutely love, but just that small warning for anyone super sensitive to that.
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