Supporting Small Presses

Last year, completely by accident, I discovered that small presses sometimes offer subscriptions. What better way to support books, publishing and literacy? You buy a subscription and they send books as soon as they come out! Amazing!

 

So, I did some googling around and here are three small presses who offer subscriptions.

 

Sibling Rivalry Press is a publisher of poetry. They are a publisher devoted to “[promoting] underground artistic talent – those who don’t quite fit into the mainstream.” I’ve not read anywhere near enough of this year’s subscription, but everything I’ve read I’ve really enjoyed.

 

Above/ground press seems to have their fingers in a lot of different publishing pies. (That’s exciting if you, like me, like to read around.) Their subscription includes a number of different types of things (chapbooks and broadsheets and who knows what else?) It seems pretty cool.

 

Burrow Press‘s subscription includes their physical books, ebooks and a membership pin. There are four titles listed at the link that are slated to come out in 2017 and who knows what else will be added?

 

The only one that I have subscribed to before was Sibling Rivalry and that was delightful. The other two look pretty good as well. Have you done a subscription to a small press before? Did you like it? Do you have any subscription suggestions for us? Take to the comments and let us know!

 

 

 

 

 

Diverse Stacks, Diverse Lives 2016

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Kate and I have given updates on our Challenges and well we are not doing as well as both of would like.  We want to know, dear readers, how many of you attempted our Diverse Stack, Diverse Lives Reading Challenge?  With only 31 days left how many books have you read and how many more do you need to complete yours?  We are thinking of doing this again next year but changing the focus to only on sub-challenge instead of three.  We are open to suggestions.  What should we add to next years challenge?  What should we leave off?  Let us know how we can make next year’s challenge more accessible while still helping us all reach our goals of diversifying our reading lists.

This Month in Reality: Book lists and Syllabi

A lot of terrible things have happened…well, all of human history might accurately categorized as action and reaction when terrible things happen. One of those actions that people can take is educating oneself and trying to be a better person and/or not be as much a part of the problem. I have been heartened to see what might be a new trend in book lists: the syllabus. (Can a tool for teaching in the classroom be thought of as a “new” trend out of the classroom?) I am always happy to see thematic lists and I’m always looking for new things to read, so I have been collecting them. Some of the following are actual syllabuses for college courses and some of them are just curated lists on a topic. I’ve got them and I’ve been looking back through them now that I’m aware of how far behind I am on my reading challenge. While I was looking at them, I thought I might share them with you.

This first link is an in-depth list but together following the mass shooting in Charleston in June of 2015. This list is amazing in its detail. It provides historical context starting with a general overview before readings on slavery in both the North and the South before going onto the civil war, reconstruction, and Jim Crow. There are readings on race and religion. There are readings on white identity construction and white supremacy in the US and abroad.

The next syllabus I have to offer is the Black Lives Matter 2016 Fall Syllabus. This syllabus was put together by Professor Frank Leon Roberts at NYU for a class. This is a nice syllabus because it includes not only papers and texts to read but it also includes videos and films to watch. The syllabus also includes writing prompts for reflection papers, so while you are reading and watching, you can also do some digesting.

The Standing Rock Syllabus, put together by the NYC stands with Standing Rock collective includes readings on topics like settler colonialism, the histories of indigenous peoples in North America, environmental racism, and readings on Indian sovereignty and treaty law.

The Lemonade syllabus grew out of a desire that many people had to understand and better get all of the references in Beyonce’s visual album Lemonade. It was put together by Candice Benbow and is beautiful. It is stunningly laid out, once you’ve followed the link from the site. It is 36 pages and includes space to make notes and to write down the date when you finished reading. The syllabus is divided into topics that include (but are not limited to) fiction, non-fiction, black feminism, womanist theology, photography, music, critical theory and poetry. It is so cool. People had questions, they took to twitter and using a hashtag gave each other answers.  I cannot understate how in awe of this syllabus I am.

The Luke Cage Syllabus is a look at the literature in the netflix show Luke Cage but together by Tara Betts at Black Nerd Problems. These are books that are seen or referenced in the show. This syllabus is my convenient excuse for re-watching the show.

These last two I haven’t had a lot of opportunity to look over yet. One of them is a google doc and I’m not sure who it is edited by but it is a reading list for white people who want to educate themselves so that they can be more informed. It is divided up thematically and includes readings on systemic racism and racist ideology, the history of black lives matter and readings on steps you can take to combat racism. The last one is from Haymarket books and is called the Stop Trump Reading List. This list contains books that talk may help you understand how Trump was elected and it includes a link to a list of books especially for young people.

So, there you have it. Syllabi and reading lists to help you find your next book(s) and  to learn a little about issues in the world and also about references in pop culture you may be missing!

If you have any suggestions or have seen any reading lists/syllabi out there that I missed, please take to the comments and let me know!

 

Discussion: The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater Part 7

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Tomorrow’s the day!  The Raven King is finally going to be out in the world and all of our questions will be answered.  It’s exciting but also little sad.  I really don’t want this series to end. I’m not sure I’m ready to say goodbye to Blue, Gansey, Ronan, Adam, Noah, Maura, Calla,  The Gray Man or even Orla.  All things must come to an end so how will it end?  How will Gansey die and how long will he be dead?  Will one of the favors they ask of Glendower be to bring him back? What about Noah, will he still be dead after this?  Will any of them get their happily ever after?  Will Ronan live out his life at the Barns with his brother and Mother?  Will Adam leave Virginia behind?  Will Blue go off to college and travel the world?  Will Glendower be everything they were hoping he would be?

Here’s what I think.  I don’t think that Gansey will stay dead for very long.  I think he will die and Noah will sacrifice his chance to live again for Gansey’s chance to live again.  Finally allowing him to cross over to where you go after you die.  I’m not sure how the third sleeper will play out but I think that they will have to wake Glendower to help fight it.  I do think Adam and Blue will go to college out of state but will always come back every summer to hang with Gansey and Ronan who will want to stay.  That’s what I think but who knows.  I’m probably completely off.  The Good news is that it’s only one more day until we’ll find out.

Part 1: The Role of New characters

Part 2: The Role of Characters who are not new but new to Henrietta..

Part 3: The Role of Persephone’s death.

Part 4: The Role of Ronan

Part 5: The Role of Gansey

Part 6:The Role of Love and Relationships

Discussion: The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater Part 6

the raven kingLet’s talk relationships.  Honestly I think the friendships are the most important relationships in the series but I think most people focus on the romantic relationships.  There is Bluesey aka Blue and Gansey and Adnan (or is Rodam? I’m not really sure what their ship is called) aka Ronan and Adam.  Obviously, Blue and Gansey are a go.  We started to see their relationship bloom in Blue Lily Lily Blue.  They tried to keep their attraction a secret as they didn’t want to upset Adam and honestly that was good call.  Though, I wonder how hurt Adam is really going to be knowing that they can never kiss.  I guess it will still hurt anyway that she would chose Gansey over him.  I think now he can handle it as he seems to be in a much better head space than where he was at the beginning of the book.  We also know that Blue and Gansey will kiss.  We knew that was going to happen since The Raven Boys. We got a glimpse of what it’s going to be like when Blue stepped in the tree and saw them kiss.  She saw how Gansey knew what kissing Blue would mean but wanting to anyway.  I think this goes back to what I said yesterday.  Gansey knows he’s going to die, he might as well go out doing what he wants.  But when will it happen?  Early on in the book? Right before they find Glendower?  Will they only get that one kiss?  Will it end in tears? I’m pretty sure it’s a yes to those last questions.

What about Ronan and Adam?  We know that Ronan is gay.  I do love his coming out or really his lack of one.  I like that Maggie wrote his sexual preference the way she wrote the others.  It didn’t need to be a big reveal because if you were following his arc, you would have seen his preference.  Adam on the other hand is not so clear cut.  He was fully infatuated with Blue in The Raven Boys.  I think in The Dream Thieves it was more just him wanting to be loved.  Wanting to be wanted and he thought Blue was the person who was going to be that for him.  By the end, they sort of realized that wasn’t going to happen.  Things were a little awkward in Blue Lily Lily Blue but I think by the end they found a balance between the two of them.  Adam also starts to suspect Ronan’s feelings for him and is flattered.  Ronan is a rich, attractive guy.  He could have anyone he wanted so for him to want Adam, made him special.  Made him feel wanted. Which is what Adam wants.  I think Ronan has hope that Adam will reciprocate his feelings.  He shows that in the hand cream he gives Adam and the trust he has in Adam when he tells him about Matthew.  He shows Adam his vulnerability, which is not easy for someone like Ronan.  Now, Maggie has said on twitter that she wrote the two kisses that fans have been waiting for.  I can only assume she means these two since the only other couple is Maura and the Gray Man and they have already kissed. So how will Ronan and Adam’s kiss go down?  Will it be a moment of shared grief over loss?  A moment of curiosity on one or both of their parts? Will it be the beginning of a relationship or the realization that they are just friends?  All we do know is that they are going to be a lot more kissing in this book then probably in all the other books combined.

Part 1: The Role of New characters

Part 2: The Role of Characters who are not new but new to Henrietta..

Part 3: The Role of Persephone’s death.

Part 4: The Role of Ronan

Part 5: The Role of Gansey

Discussion: The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater Part 5

the raven kingRichard Campbell Gansey III, the once and future King. We’ve talked about his friends and their journey but what about Gansey?  Is he the only one who doesn’t have any kind of power? He must feel left out.  He must feel how Blue felt her whole life.  Maybe not.  Gansey was being very mysterious in Blue Lily Lily Blue with his visit to the faculty lounge and staying late after school.  What was he doing?  Does it have anything to do with how he knows he’s going to die.  If anyone has read or listened to the first chapter, you know that Gansey has figured out what his voice on the tape of St. Marks Eve meant.  He knows that he is going to die.  Did this realization start when he was in the cave and heard the wasps?  Or was it when Persephone died?  Who knows but now that he does know, how is going to deal with the knowledge. I think he is going to throw everything into the search.  If he is going to die, finding Glendower is going to be his final thing he does. Let’s not forget the kiss.  Blue’s kiss of death. Haha, Just kidding. Kinda.  That’s tomorrow’s topic.

Part 1: The Role of New characters

Part 2: The Role of Characters who are not new but new to Henrietta..

Part 3: The Role of Persephone’s death.

Part 4: The Role of Ronan

Discussion: The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater Part 4

the raven king Ronan is a greywaren.  He can bring items from his dreams.  Adam made a bargain with Cabeswater and now has a mystical connection with the forest and Blue is a mirror.  She reflects other’s powers off of them and makes them more powerful.  Gansey has brought together a powerful crew to assist him in his search.  Ronan has fully embraced his powers and seems to have a pretty good understanding of how it works and how it affects Cabeswater.  Adam is still learning how to use his new powers and how to communicate with Cabeswater.  Even though the death of Persephone was a blow to his learning, I got the sense that by the end of Blue Lily Lily Blue he was in a much better place.  How he and Ronan took control of the expedition into the cave the last time showed a new kind confidence in him that he didn’t have before.  Blue is wild card because she is just discovering her powers.  So how will all of their powers combine help with the search for Glendower?  You know that they will have to work together if they are going to find him.

Also, will Ronan figure out to save Matthew from the same fate as their mom?  (BTW, Ronan’s mom is named Aurora.  Do you know who else is named Aurora? Sleeping Beauty.  Guess who just made that connection?  Me, that’s who.) Will this have any effect on the search and Cabeswater? Will we find out more about the mask of Niall and how it relates to Adam?  Is Ronan also a little psychic too or was it just a random dream?  So many questions that need to be answered.

Part 1: The Role of New characters

Part 2: The Role of Characters who are not new but new to Henrietta..

Part 3: The Role of Persephone’s death.

Discussion: The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater Part 3

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The death of Persephone was a big blow to everyone.  For one thing, she always seemed not immortal but not mortal either.  So for her to actually die was a surprise.  It also put some urgency back into the search for Maura and Glendower.  I think her death will have more impact in The Raven King.  1. The triumvirate of Maura, Calla, Persephone has irrevocably been broken up.   The power of the number 3 is brought up many times in Blue Lily Lily Blue.  The three of them often talk about how their powers are the strongest together.  How will they be now that she is gone?  Persephone also talked about possibly having Adam one day replacing one of them but never says who.  She dismisses this notion but did she know that her time was short?  Who will step up to take her place and be Maura and Calla’s third?  Adam?  Blue? Gwenllian? Artemus?

Part 1: The Role of New characters

Part 2: The Role of Characters who are not new but new to Henrietta..

 

Discussion: The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater Part 2

the raven king Yesterday we discussed a little bit about the new characters that were introduced in Blue Lily Lily Blue.  Today, I’m going to discuss Colin Greenmantle and Artemus.  They were both characters previously mentioned in earlier books but we didn’t actually see them until Blue Lily Lily Blue.

Colin Greenmantle: The last time we saw Colin, he was walking away from Piper, the Gray Man and a thug before they entered cave.  He had just witnessed Piper kill Jesse Dittley and was not having it.  He was already about to leave after Adam and Ronan paid him a visit with their fake but very convincing evidence of a terrible crime and the death of Jesse was enough for him to peace out.  Is he really gone though? The man who put in so much time, effort and money in to finding the Greywaren.  He moved to Henrietta and became the latin teacher in hopes of ruining the Gray man and he’s just going to walk away? Especially now that Piper has gone over the deep end and will soon be a missing person.  I know that the evidence that Ronan dreamt up was enough to scare him but is it enough to keep him away?

Artemus: Last time we saw Artemus he was being rescued by Blue with the help of the Gray Man and Maura.  He’s Blue’s father and Maura’s ex-lover.  Things are probably going to get a little awkward since the Gray Man is currently dating or at least seeing Maura now.  We really don’t know much about Artemus beyond his past history with Maura and according to Gwenllian, he is the one who tied her up.  That would suggest that he is as old as she is and somehow involved with  Glendower?  From the beginning, it has be a part of Maura’s story arc to find him.  It was the reason that she invited Neeve to come stay with them in The Raven Boys.  Now that she has found him, what’s next?  He obviously has some connection to Glendower and is a magician of some kind.  So how does he fit in the search for Glendower and how does he fit in Blue and Maura’s life?

Part 1: The Role of New characters

 

Discussion: The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater Part 1

the raven king We are officially a week from the release of The Raven King!  It’s so close!  It’s almost here!  AHHHH!!!  Okay, I’m done freaking out.  Throughout this month, I have posted my thoughts of the last three books as I re-read The Raven Boys, The Dream Thieves and Blue Lily Lily Blue to refresh my memory of what happened so far. Now we are going to look ahead to The Raven King, itself and hopefully get some discussion going on what we think is going to happen, what we are looking forward to finally reading (a few kisses come to mind) and how we think it’s going to end.  So let’s get this started.

In Blue Lily Lily Blue, we were introduced to three new characters.  Henry Cheng, Piper Greenmantle and Gwenllian. Henry is a fellow student at Aglionby.  Piper was Colin Greenmantle’s wife and the real antagonist of the book.  Gwenllian the daughter of Glendower who the gang finds in his robber’s grave. Let’s break it down one at a time.

Henry Cheng: The last time we saw him, he was protesting the faculty denying his petition for a student council when scaffolding fell down all around Adam. It should have killed Adam but he used his Cabeswater connection to save himself.  Maggie has said that Henry is going to have a bigger role in The Raven King but what?  He probably has some questions about Adam after witnessing his near death and I have some questions as to what he was doing out so late when Blue and Gansey found him and his car.  Is he connected to Cabeswater somehow? Is he also searching for Glendower?

Piper Greenmantle: The last time we saw her, she was stuck in the cave and waking up the third sleeper with the help of the reemerged Neeve.  Obviously this is not good because this was the sleeper that everyone kept warning not to wake. Even more bad news, it sounds like the third sleeper is a gigantic spider of some sort.  What role will Piper play, since she is obviously not dead and now has a favor thanks to creepy spider sleeper guy.  And what does the fact that it was only two of them to wake him up instead of the preferred three?

Gwenllian: The last time we saw her, she was helping the gang rescue Maura from the cave.  We know that she is like Blue and is a Mirror.  She sings and is annoying to all the women at 300 Fox Way.  As the daughter of Glendower, she probably can help them out in their quest to find him, if they can get a straight answer from her and her powers could be beneficial to the women in 300 Fox Way.  Not to mention give us more insight in to Artemus.  What role will she play in the final book?