My thoughts on this wonderful book can be found here
https://youtu.be/V17Mv5cj_r0

at first, i really didn’t know where this book was going to go. but i really enjoyed it. it was heartwarming and heartbreaking. i really loved ava and joyce and eddie. there were some grammatical and spelling errors that took me out of the book, but once i looked past those, i really loved it. the situation with imani was horrible, but because of the happier and believable ending, it made it more tolerable.

favorite quotes:

“His laugh lit up his face and crinkled his eyes at the corners…If you’re living an interesting life, your face should get more interesting, too.” pg. 116

“Sometimes you meet yourself on the road before you have a chance to learn the appropriate greeting. Faced with your own possibilities, the hard part is knowing a speech is not required. All you have to say is yes.” pg. 149; not entirely sure what this means, but i like it.

“That’s the problem with democracy…The damn people get to make all the decisions.” pg. 155

“And the truth of the matter is, if we can’t love each other, none of it makes any sense anyway.” pg. 181

“All the strength and all the courage and all the peace we’re ever going to need starts right here with me loving you, just like this. And you loving me, just like this.” pg. 220



**kind of a spoiler below**

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*spoiler quote*


“And we danced too wild, and we sang too long, and we hugged too hard, and kissed too sweet, and threw back our heads and howled just as loud as we wanted to howl, because by now we were all old enough to know that what looks like crazy on an ordinary day looks a lot like love if you catch it in the moonlight.” pg. 244

Absolutely loved rading this book! The author writes very, very well and this story was so relatable for me. I look forward to reading more of her books.

Given my feelings towards Oprah's book club books (great writing or agenda?), I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It tackles some pretty hard issues in our culture: racism, AIDS, how people can manipulate religion to serve their own purposes, and the nature of love.

You could pigeon-hole this as chick lit or as an "issues" book, but transcends both those descriptions. One reason it can tackle heavy issues like AIDS and crime and drug addiction without feeling didactic or preachy is that the main character, Ava, is so sarcastic and fun.

Originally from Michigan but making a living in Atlanta, things go seriously wrong for Ava, and she decides to move back home to Idlewild in Michigan to spend the summer with her sister while she figures out her next move. She never expects to get pulled into her sister Joyce's schemes to run a youth program for young women or to start falling in love with an old family friend. I loved that it was set in Michigan and name-checked a lot of cities and landmarks that I'm familiar with. It also gives a little mini-history of Idlewild, an all-black resort community, that is fascinating. I had a few criticims of the book, primarily with the lack of character development for some of the minor characters, but overall I really loved it.

Interesting, sad, but uplifting in that there was always hope. A little dated.

I found it pretty crazy that I discovered the book was about Idlewild, MI while driving through Idlewild.

Um, where the hell did this book come from and why didn't anyone tell me to read it sooner?
What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day tells the story of Ava Johnson, a hair stylist who shuts down her salon after her HIV diagnosis gets to her clients. Considering this book was written and set in the 90s, the stigmatization of HIV/AIDS at that time made some people think that the virus could be spread through close contact (e.g., getting your hair cut) which is what ends up happening to Ava. She decides to move to a more inclusive place = San Francisco.. and on the way stops in her home town which is just north of Detroit.
So all of ^^ happens within a few pages and it is the remaining story takes place over the 3 months that Ava is staying in Idlewild. This book was gritty, real, and super freaking endearing. I fell in love with the characterization of Ava almost immediately: she was guarded, yet was able to eventually break down her walls. She was headstrong, passionate, and sure of herself. The other characters were also well created, from her sister, her love interest, and even the preacher/wife. The subject matter is still extremely relevant to today (which is honestly really sad... shouldn't we be further as a society?)
5 stars, fully deserved.

I read this book as part of my Book Club picks for this month. It was an easy read. The book is about the vicious circle of poverty, drugs and ignorance that traps the younger generation that has gone adrift and the persistence of a few determined souls who never give up on them. It reminded me of a movie/book I watched/read with a similar theme - Winters Bone.

The main takeaway for me was the moral - Educate the young men and women in your community to catapult the next generation out of poverty.

I really liked this book. I bought it not knowing she came recommended from Oprah (I usually like Oprah's picks a lot) and just ended up loving it. Not a slow read by any means and I liked that it kept going without getting me bored at all.

Pearl Cleage knew what she was doing when she wrote this book. Amazing. I was totally engrossed each day I picked up this book to read. Ava and Joyce were just my favorites. I could see them as the best girlfriends I always wanted. And may the Lord bring me a baby like Imani. Such a great book and a great message of strength and love. The story was told beautifully. I can read this book over and over again. Now where is the movie? Lol.

Certainly not a book for everybody - poverty, drugs, AIDS - strange how much the world has changed but also how things never change.

I don't know how this book was not on my radar. Maybe because in 1997, when it was published, I was working full time and my kids were young....

Anyways, it's been on my "want to read" list for a long time, and I came across it in the public library. I really enjoyed this story. While the plot follows a general, common plot line (details change, but I've ready many stories similar to this), what I loved is the writing. Ava Johnson, the main character and narrator is funny, smart, and has a terrific way of expressing herself. We see her evolution through her words, through how she tells her story, more than through the actual events. She is a very cool person.

There's a love story, there's crime and drama, there are lots of characters who are fun to read. Joyce, Ava's sister resembles some people I know and admire. Eddie seems a bit too good to be true, but he's likable and serves his purpose well as the love interest.

I also like the short chapters. I'm someone who reads right before falling asleep. So, "just one more chapter" is okay if it's a few paragraphs or two pages. Additionally, the spareness of the book works perfectly for me. It's short, there's enough description (much of it concise and to the point, thanks to Ava's sharp wit and vocabulary), and the plot moves at a quick pace. My kind of book.

The book is over 20 years old, so some of it is dated. For one thing, we know much more about HIV today, and we know that it's not a death sentence any more. Another thing is that the slang and cultural references might not make as much sense to younger people. It was clearly a very contemporary story in 1997, and reading it brought me back.

I'm glad I had the chance to read it. Finally, the title makes sense at the very end of the book. I loved that line.