I recently have gotten back into reading quite a bit. I absolutely loved to read in high school - often times I would read a book a day! When I went to college my reading fell off because I would feel guilty for reading for pleasure rather than reading a text book.
One of the books I read recently was Orange is the New Black by Piper Kerman.
Orange is the New Black is also a series on Netflix, though I have not watched it yet. I decided I wanted to read the book first. I almost always prefer to read the book first and watch the movie/tv version afterwards.
This book was very insightful. I particularly enjoyed how she focused on events that happened to her rather than getting philosophical at every turn. She did obviously offer her thoughts and feelings on the major events that happened to her, but as far as her overall thoughts on prison I really liked that she waited until the end to share her opinion. She let the reader "experience" prison first, and then detailed her over all feelings once the reader had a chance to understand where she was coming from.
The fact that Piper Kerman was of a similar demographic as I am was a unique perspective that I enjoyed. I have read other "prison novels" but typically I struggled to identify with the main character's background. And while I love to get perspective from people who are dissimilar to me, experiencing prison from someone who I felt akin to was an altogether new, and rather scary, experience.
All in all, this is a good read. It was interesting and very informative. I recommend it!
Malena
