Another Diverse Stacks, Diverse Lives Challenge Update

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Beth already did a challenge update this month and with a little over a month left in 2016, I thought I should see where I stand.

 

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In June, with about half the year under our belts, I had read six books off of the challenge list. Six books. Off my own challenge list. Ugh. I am the worst.

 

So, let’s see how well I’ve done since then. To The Raven King, The life-changing Magic of Tidying Up, The Year of Yes, Sad Girl Poems, the Feminist Mystique, and A bunch of Captain America, I have added: Americanah, Kindred, Bitch Planet, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian, Whipping Girl (in progress), Call Me by My Other Name (to be reviewed), and Emperor of Sound.

So far I’ve read 13 out of 30. As I don’t like failing at things I set out for myself, I have thought about rearranging the things that I’ve read this year on the list so that I can use things that aren’t currently on the list so that I can satisfy categories I haven’t gotten yet. Like, if I moved Shonda Rhimes to “read a book by a woman of color” then I could put Caitlin Moran in at “read a book by a woman”. But, I read Shonda Rhimes book first, so it is staying where it is. The good news for me is that I have another six categories already picked out. The even better news is that I’m part way through two of those books. However, there’s still a lot of work that has to be done in 2016 and, I have to tell you, folks. I’m not feeling sanguine about meeting the challenge this year.

 

We Stand with Standing Rock

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We here at Stacks Exceed Life Expectancy are very grateful for all that we have. We’re grateful for each other. We’re grateful for the roofs over our heads. We’re grateful for all of our stacks of books and for having lives that allow us the time to read from time to time and tell people about it. While it is easy to be grateful and we could choose to focus on this gratitude and our own lives today, we find it hard to do that with everything going on in the world. Specifically, everything going on at the Standing Rock reservation in North Dakota. So, we would like to take today and say that we stand with Standing Rock. The Water Protectors deserve to have their rights to clean water acknowledged and upheld and the police presence that has been doing things like shooting water canons at Water Protectors in below freezing temperatures are wrong for what they are doing. It needs to stop.

So, today, we are also very grateful for everyone who is working to protect the land and its resources. We are also grateful for everyone who has stood with them,  either by physically going or by donating resources. Please consider donating to help support the Water Protectors of the Standing Rock Sioux on this day of thanks. That is a link to the fund supporting the medical and healer tent. You can also donate items off of Medic and Healer Tent or the Sacred Stone Camp‘s amazon wishlists.

 

They are doing good work to ensure that people are taken care of.

Review: Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell

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I have become one of those people who decides to read a book, checks the library for it, and then if A. the library doesn’t have it or B. the waitlist is longer than my patience, then I buy it. This isn’t something I do to be virtuous. This is something I do to curb the rate at which I acquire books. Because I own an obscene number of books. And, I pick them up at library sales and bookshops like they’re going out of style. I can’t seem to help it. As an audible subscriber, this means I often have more than one credit in my bank. If the library has it, I check it out. I listen to a lot of audio books, so this is a good system for me. But, having a surplus of credits is often a problem (is it, though?) I have. Audible has a solution for that. They have 3-for-2 sales pretty frequently and I end up picking three things that seem interesting but I don’t always pay really close attention to what they are about. This is how I ended up with Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell. I had read other Sarah Vowell books before and enjoyed them and I needed a third book.

 

 

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I had no idea what it was about (or, at least, I didn’t remember what it was about) when I started listening. It is the story of how Hawaii came to be a state. It is an interesting look starting with traditional Hawaiian culture, looking at the influence of colonial powers, business interests, and religion, and ending with the coup staged by the “Committee of Safety” in 1893 and the subsequent dancing around that eventually ended up with the US taking over Hawaii.

 

It was a really interesting story and one I probably wouldn’t have listened to otherwise. When I think about the American history that I was taught growing up, they really didn’t cover the colonial expansion that netted us Guam, American Samoa, and the Philippines for awhile. Thinking about this expansion and who has rights to what territory seems particularly important now as we currently live in a world where the Standing Rock Sioux are peacefully agitating for their water rights and getting nothing but hell for it. Vowell’s book is thoughtul, well laid out and tells a believable tale about how a people can change based on the influence of those they come in contact with and how other people can use those changes as an excuse to be more involved (and then eventually take over). I’m pretty happy I listened to it. Additionally, the audio format allowed for a really fun presentation. Vowell reads the main body of the text and has other readers in to play historical figures. Why read a quote from Teddy Roosevelt when you can John Hodgman do it? In addition to hearing Vowell, you also get to hear Maya Rudolf, Catherine Keene, John Hodgman, Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, Keanu Reeves, Paul Rudd, and John Slattery.  At one point while I was listening, I actually said out loud, “Oh, no! Paul Rudd, you sound like a racist d-bag!”

 

This book is for you if you are interested in American history and you are ready to hear about America’s colonial expansion through Sarah Vowell’s dry humor. If you’re not American history, dry humor, or feeling a little uncomfortable (if you’re an American) then this book is maybe not for you.

Quick Review: The Bronze Key by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

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bronze-keyI’m a fan of both Holly Black and Cassandra Clare’s work so I was pretty stoked about their collaboration.  I just wish it was better.  It’s fine but not great.  Someone pointed out to me that it’s a book meant for middle schoolers so I’m not the targeted audience but Rick Riordan writes for the middle schoolers and those are fantastic.  Holly Black’s Spindlewick Series are also great.  So I don’t think it’s the genre, I think maybe it’s the story itself.  We are now in the third book and Call, Aaron and Tamara are now being honored for killing the Enemy of Death, even though they know the Enemy of Death’s soul is in Call’s body.  Things get complicated when someone tries to kill Call and successfully kill a fellow student.  There’s all the typical kid lit traits.  The adults are clueless.  True, they don’t know Call’s secret but pretty much every time they tell Call he’s going to be safe, he’s attacked.  They allready have had one student and one teacher end up in cahoots with the big bad and they didn’t know it.  Is it any surprise that there would be someone else also in cahoots living right under their noses? No, of course not.  Typically, the kids feel they have do things on their own and typically it gets them in more trouble and typically when the real culprit is revealed the adults aren’t there so they get blamed for everything.  At moments I really enjoy this book but at most times I think “is something going to happen soon?”  I felt like there was a lot going on of nothing really happening until you get to the ending and then there’s yet another big cliffhanger.  I will say this about this series in general, the cliffhangers have been first class.  Too bad the rest of the book don’t live up to them.

The Elements of Style by William Strunk and E.B. White

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Do you know where to put commas? Semi-colons? Do you know how to use a hyphen? Well, Strunk and White are here to help. In my life away from this blog, I am a linguist. Linguists, in general, are more about describing language as it is than telling you how to language right. And, I’m into that. I think that is a good thing. But, it definitely has its place. We do all still have to communicate with each other, sometimes in sentences with multiple clauses. When we talk to each other, we can use intonation to indicate clause breaks. We make little pauses. The pitch of our voice rises and falls. But, in writing, we can’t rely on that. We need a way to indicate where the pauses to be. Strunk and White lay out the details by giving you a guideline and then showing you a couple of examples. It is a basic guide that covers a lot of the trickier uses of punctuation. It is a nice little guide for getting your commas straight.

 

 

 

Review: How to be a Woman by Caitlin Moran

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I wanted to like this book. I really, really did. And, to start off with, I did. She was very funny when she talked about growing up. She said some true things about how young girls and women are treated. She was very funny talking about interacting with men, her jobs, and her marriage and children.

 

And, then she went completely off the rails by defending women’s bodies and then turning around in the next paragraph and shamed certain bodies. In the span of one paragraph, I went from totally being into this book to deciding I was pretty done with it.

Here’s why fat-shaming in the middle of a feminist book is a problem: Feminism should be about fighting for the dignity of all humans. We deserve our dignity regardless of our gender, race, religion and sexuality or whether we are cis or trans. We deserve our dignity regardless of whether or not we are healthy or perceived to be healthy. Human dignity and human rights are not up for negotiation. I may have read a few chapters beyond the fat-shaming, but I’m not sure I finished this book. I wanted so badly to like this book because it was on Emma Watson’s feminist book list. But, I also wanted this book written by a woman not that much older than me to be a little bit more aware of feminism is for all women and not just for women who are like the author.

So, 2 out of 10, do not recommend. Unless you are a lot more forgiving than problematic feminism than I am.

The Monuments Men by Robert M. Edsel

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I picked up this book in a sale at the library. It seemed like it might be pretty fun. Well, as much fun as you can have in a war. Nazis steal treasure (from pretty much everywhere) and Allied soldiers get a wiggle on and go after it. The narrative starts prior to World War II with members of the art community saying that war is bad for art and that we should remember that if fighting ever happens again. It followed the stories of a couple of museum people and some art conservators. One of them actually writes out a plan on how to preserve monuments and art during wartime. Then, World War II breaks out, the Allied forces have some pretty disastrous PR following the destruction of some monuments and so decide that maybe they should do something to preserve the cultural heritage of Europe. This turns out to be a great idea because Hitler is obsessed with art and has his surrogates all over Europe cataloging and seizing all kinds of property.

So, this book follows six of the folks assigned to Monuments duty during World War II. The bulk of the narrative focused on the recovery of the Ghent altarpiece, the art at Neuschwanstein Castle and all of the art that was stored at the salt mine at Altausee. It was really interesting hearing about all of these pieces of art. It was also interesting hearing about the storage, transportation and care of the art. (Spoiler Alert: pieces often didn’t get the treat they deserved.)

I’m not going to lie to you, some of this book was a little boring. But, overall I’m glad that I read it.

So, if you’re interested in war, treasure hunting and the Allied forces defeating the Nazis, you may want to pick this up.

Quick Review: Adulthood is a Myth by Sarah Andersen

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adulthoodIt’s the universal truth that being an adult sucks.  Even though today is my day off, I should be working.  I have staff reviews to write, sales data to analyze and what am I doing?  Flipping through Sarah Scribbles tumblr because as I said, being an adult sucks. You have probably seen Sarah’s work on Facebook because I’m sure one of your friends has shared it.  It seems like Sarah has taped into all the stress, anxiety, and fears of what it’s like to be an adult right now and probably ever.  How we all rather sleep or read then go to work or go outside.  That it would be so much easier if we just didn’t have deal with things but we do. At Book Riot Live this past weekend, Sarah was there to play a little game of Pictionary and since her publisher was a sponser they gave out her book for free.  It was a wonderful surprise.  Before the game started I sat in my seat giggling at all the comics and thinking this is all too real.  Some of the comics I have read before but there was a couple of new ones.  They were all great and wonderful and another reminder that I’m not alone.  There are so many others out there that feel the same way as I do.  It just makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.  Adulting is hard but at lease with Sarah Scribbles we can all laugh at it.

#bklynbookmatch

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One of the vendors at the Book Riot Live was the Brooklyn Library. They had librarians on had to do what librarians do best.  Suggest books.  They invited con goers to fill out sheets about books, genres and authors they are looking for and then they play book match.  In the spirit of our Diverse Lives, Diverse Stacks Reading Challenge that I’m failing about horribly, I decided to try them out. I asked for.

YA books with diverse voices, especially POC, LGBTQ or disabled folks. I’m looking for authors like Maggie Stiefvater, genres like fantasy and Historical Fiction.

Here are the books I was matched up with.

1.Girls Mans Up by M-E Girard

All Pen wants is to be the kind of girl she’s always been. So why does everyone have a problem with it? They think the way she looks and acts means she’s trying to be a boy—that she should quit trying to be something she’s not. If she dresses like a girl, and does what her folks want, it will show respect. If she takes orders and does what her friend Colby wants, it will show her loyalty. But respect and loyalty, Pen discovers, are empty words. Old-world parents, disintegrating friendships, and strong feelings for other girls drive Pen to see the truth–that in order to be who she truly wants to be, she’ll have to man up.

2. Otherbound by Corinne Duyvis

Amara is never alone. Not when she’s protecting the cursed princess she unwillingly serves. Not when they’re fleeing across dunes and islands and seas to stay alive. Not when she’s punished, ordered around, or neglected.

She can’t be alone, because a boy from another world experiences all that alongside her, looking through her eyes.

Nolan longs for a life uninterrupted. Every time he blinks, he’s yanked from his Arizona town into Amara’s mind, a world away, which makes even simple things like hobbies and homework impossible. He’s spent years as a powerless observer of Amara’s life. Amara has no idea . . . until he learns to control her, and they communicate for the first time. Amara is terrified. Then, she’s furious.

All Amara and Nolan want is to be free of each other. But Nolan’s breakthrough has dangerous consequences. Now, they’ll have to work together to survive–and discover the truth about their connection

3. Pinned by Sharon Flake

Autumn and Adonis have nothing in common and everything in common. Autumn is outgoing and has lots of friends. Adonis is shy and not so eager to connect with people. But even with their differences, the two have one thing in common–they’re each dealing with a handicap. For Autumn, who has a learning disability, reading is a painful struggle that makes it hard to focus in class. But as her school’s most aggressive team wrestler, Autumn can take down any problem. Adonis is confined to a wheelchair. He has no legs. He can’t walk or dance. But he’s a strong reader who loves books. Even so, Adonis has a secret he knows someone like Autumn can heal.

In time, Autumn and Adonis are forced to see that our greatest weaknesses can turn into the assets that forever change us and those we love.

Told in alternating voices, Pinned explores issues of self-discovery, friendship, and what it means to be different

4. The Passion of Dolssa by Julie Berry

Dolssa is a young gentlewoman with uncanny gifts, on the run from an obsessed friar determined to burn her as a heretic for the passion she refuses to tame.

Botille is a wily and charismatic peasant, a matchmaker running a tavern with her two sisters in a tiny seaside town.

The year is 1241; the place, Provensa, what we now call Provence, France—a land still reeling from the bloody crusades waged there by the Catholic Church and its northern French armies.

When the matchmaker finds the mystic near death by a riverside, Botille takes Dolssa in and discovers the girl’s extraordinary healing power. But as the vengeful Friar Lucien hunts down his heretic, the two girls find themselves putting an entire village at the mercy of murderers.

So I am going to add these to the my to-read list and for anyone else who are looking for books to complete their own reading challenge, check them out for yourselves.  Any great books you’ve read for the Diverse Stacks, Diverse Lives Challenge?