Becoming by Michelle Obama
Holy crap, that was the longest book of all time. I love doing these types of book on audio and it does help that Michelle reads it herself, but wow. Not only, was it way too long, but boy do you have to speed her up! I had her at almost x2 speed! I've never listened to someone that fast before.
Now I know, there are going to be constant glowing reviews of this book. And that is deserved, it was really good. But seriously, it was way too long! I remember when I tried to listen to Condoleezza Rice's book and then I decided to check it out from the library, I saw how big the book was and immediately decided not to read it. I wasn't that interested in her life. Now, Michelle's life I was very interested in. I honestly am not sure what I would have had her edit out. (Although I can think of one scene that features a dream.... not cool, Michelle, I thought that was real!). But all I can tell you is that it was too long! I will also tell you, that it was really interesting. It was interesting to hear what she thought of the Bidens, her impressions of Hilary, and her impressions of Trump. It was especially interesting to hear about her impressions of the Bush's because I liked their interactions. I would also call out her time with the queen as somewhat memorable and fun to learn about- although that could be because I'm just getting excited for the next season of The Crown.
There were parts about the whitehouse life that I found to be very interesting. Like, did you know that the Obama's paid to furnish the house with their own money? They weren't required to do that at all, they just chose to! Did you know that each month they are provided with a bill for a breakdown of all of the food they consumed and they do have to pay for that? I know! So interesting! What... you didn't find that interesting? Well, I did.
I liked how much emphasis she put into showing that constant love and high expectations drove her to succeed and made her feel secure enough to change paths when necessary. This is a small thing, but when Michelle would travel, she would meet with kids at school who weren't at the top of their class, who wouldn't necessarily get a scholarship to college- but it was those kids she wanted to inspire to keep going, and to graduate and try to get a degree. It was those kids that she would take to Oxford to look around at what they could still accomplish and impress upon them that it wasn't too late for the students to expect something great of themselves. I just loved that! I think that story capture's the heart of Michelle Obama that you'll find in her book. Did I like her husband's two books better than this one? Yes. Am I happy I took the time to finish this one even when I thought I would give up because I listened to it for like a year and half (literally)? Yes.
