Read, Shake, Appreciate #15

Welcome to Read, Shake, Appreciate! This is your fortnightly round-up of words that made me feel inspired, songs that made me shake my ass, and people who I think deserve some spotlight.

This week I’m reading:

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

I came to Maya Angelou’s work pretty late in the game (imho, she should be a curriculum requirement for anyone studying literature) and fell in love. This is my second read of her autobiography, and I’m even more astounded by it this time around – the lyricism, vibrance and originality in every line captures the emotions of growing up like nothing else I’ve seen. If you’ve never read it, I would absolutely recommend getting a copy, but for my official recommendation this week: I’d like to encourage you to re-read something you love. Just for the joy of it. See what else you notice the second, third, fourth time round. You always have permission to read just for the joy, the comfort, the familiarity. 💜

This week I’m shaking to:

 Don’t Lose Sight by Lawrence

This one caught me by surprise when the chorus hit and left me feeling flouncy af – a big ol’ energy booster!

This week I’m appreciating:

 Jameela Jamil

I probably don’t need to explain who Jameela is, or the work she does with iWeigh – she’s facilitated some real, tangible progress in taking down diet culture (like when she worked with Instagram to ban detox teas being promoted to younger users!). Aaaaaand I haven’t always had the best feelings towards her. Actually, I used to be incredibly sceptical of her. But over the years I’ve watched her shout, stumble, get up, learn, break, rebuild and keep going no matter what the internet throws at her. And especially in our current online climate, I think that’s admirable af.

I went on her podcast this week and we dove deep into online social justice culture, our own relationships with the internet, what we’ve learned over the years and what we secretly used to think about each other. It’s one of my favourite interviews I’ve ever done. You can find it here!

Go easy this weekend my loves. There’s only one of you – take care!! 🌱