What I’m Listening to Now: Whipping Girl by Julia Serano
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Book Riot Live Day 2
Day two of Book Riot Live started off with a bang. Rebecca Joines Schinsky and Liberty Hardy did a live recording of their podcast All the Books. Discussing all the best books released this week. Including Born a Crime by Trevor Noah and Anna Kendricks new book whose title escapes me. The two are friends and their chemistry is undeniable.
I decided that after this week I needed some levity and light so I went to the Bookish Broadway Sing-along. All songs were loosely based on books one way of another. Classics like Phantom of the Opera to Annie to Les Mis and of course Hamilton. They did a request and we all sang the Circle of Life from The Lion King. I really wish I took better photos and a video.
Next was Live Pictionary with Sarah Anderson and Valentine De Landro. Sarah writes Sarah’s scribbles and Valentine draws for Marvel, DC and cocreator of Bitch Planet. I’m amazed both at the drawing and people able to guess.
After a little donut break. I checked out Slash Live with a Alyssa Cole, Michael Strother and Zoraida Córdova. Slash is sort of like apples to apples and cards against humanity in which everyone had a set of cards with a name and description of a pop culture character. Each person takes turns picking a character and making a situation and everyone else must pick a character from their own stack and create story based on the situation. Like Xander from Buffy falling for Big foot. It’s very fun to play.
The final panel of the night was Nerd Jeopardy with Mara Wilson, Mark Osborn and Sara Farizan. It was like real jeopardy but without Alex Trebeck and all clues were about shoes. Book nerds are the best. If the panelist didn’t know the answer someone in the audience did. It was very amusing and for those who are curious, Mara won.
So that’s it for this year. I’m looking forward to what Book Riot will do next year.
Review: We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
This was a book I read for my book club. It is about Merricat, Constance and Uncle Julian Blackwood. They are the last the illustrious Blackwood clan. They live in the family manor. Constance has not left the house in six years and Uncle Julian is in a wheelchair because of a terrible incident that has befallen the family.
Merricat goes to the store and the library once a week. But, everything is about to be turned on its head.
The incident that befell the family is that the rest of the family was poisoned and Constance was put on trial for their murders. Uncle Julian is in his wheel chair because of the poisoning incident. They are visited by Cousin Charles, who befriends Constance. They start to talk about Constance trying to reintegrate into society. From here a chain reaction of sorts leads to the revelation of who really killed the rest of the Blackwood Clan and why. This all leads up to a second incident that changes their lives forever.
At first, I wasn’t into this novel. But, the more I read it, the creepier and more interesting it got. It was a fun little read.
So, if you’re interested in families with secrets, sympathetic magic, and creepy narratives, I recommend you pick this one up.
Book Riot Live Day 1
Famed book website Book Riot is hosting their second Book Riot this weekend in New York. Like the website the panels are diverse and talk about books, authors and genres that are often overlooked in the mainstream media. 
The first panel I attended was Nobody Asked Us with Amanda Nelson, Jeff O’Neal and Rebecca Joines Schinsky. Basically it was them talking about everything about how the website is run. The stories they write and the how they go about bringing different voices to their site.
The second panel was a live recording of their podcast Get Booked wth Nelson, Jenn Worthington and author Jade Chang. If you are not familiar with the podcast is personalized book recommendations. Readers write in to ask for ideas for their next books. It’s was super fun and very informative. For one I didn’t realize Meg Abbott had a new book about gymnasts. Yes please! The podcast goes live next week.
The last panel was with Schinsky interviewed author Walter Mosley. I confess I haven’t read any of his book and the only I could name was A Devil in a Blue Dress and mostly because Denzel is in the movie. Mr. Mosley is one funny funny man. He made many good points about the relationship between literary and genre authors. We praise literary authors as great novelist and score genre but let’s be honest. We all read more genre then anything else. I’ll be adding his books to my to-read list.
More tomorrow.
Charlotte Bronte: An Independent Will
Today my friend Melissa and I viewed the Charlotte Bronte exhibit at the Morgan Library. It featured many on Charlotte and her sisters works including letters and early drafts of their books. Here are few pictures I took. I hope you enjoy.
Quick Review: The Midnight Star by Marie Lu
This series was different in that it billed itself as having the villain as the protagonist. I argued in my review of the last book, The Rose Society that Adelina wasn’t really the true villain of the story. While she does commit several villainous acts on her way to power she is just as much a victim as anyone else. I also argued that Teren, in his religious fervor was the character to be most feared then any of them. After finishing The Midnight Star, I feel a little justified and also not. It starts out with Adelina and her Roses conquering another country by fear. She is merciless in her rule. She has taken all the power away from the un-marked and given it to the marked. She kills anyone who speaks out against her and punishes her family. She is by no means a heroine to be worshiped. She is also a young girl who has been bullied, abused and marginalized her whole life. In her mind she is righting the wrongs. Taken power and given it back to the powerless. I’m not saying it’s justified or what she did was right but I can also understand her too. A crisis bigger then her own fears aligns her once again with the daggers and gives her a path of redemption. Raffalle has figured out the origin of the blood fever that lead to the Young Elites powers. They was a rift in the mortal and the immortal world that allowed the powers of the Gods to effect the mortal world. It’s now poisoning them. Their powers are turning against them. Lucent, who could fly, bones are hallowing out. Violetta’s power to block others including her own is not overcoming her. Adelina’s voices in her head are her own illusions overtaking her. The only way to save them and the world is to go to where the rift occurred and offer to give their powers back. Now these enemies will have to work together but how can there when there has been so much blood already spilled and the body count in this book is pretty high as well. I wouldn’t say it had a happy ending but really the only ending that it could have. It was bittersweet. I will miss the lush atmosphere of this book. Stylized after a medieval society, Marie Lu gave her settings life and beauty. It was a good series and enjoyable read but year not going to lift you up.
What I’m Reading Now: The Bronze Key by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare
Because sometimes you have to read about magic because dystopian novels just got too real.
What I’m Listening to: Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell
I like Sarah Vowell but this was an impulse purchase during one of audible‘s sales. I’m learning a lot about Hawaii. It is pretty interesting.
Review: Emperor of Sound by Timbaland
Timbaland has worked with some of my favorite artists and had a hand in some of my favorite songs. Aaliyah’s Try Again is often stuck in my head. So, I figured that I don’t often read memoirs, so I could use it as a Diverse stacks, Diverse Lives Challenge entry.
I like Timbaland’s music but until I read this I didn’t know hardly anything about the man. This book starts with a Fischer Price record player and goes all the way to his involvement with the television show Empire. I learned a lot about the ’90s and early 2000’s music scene. I got to hear a little bit about the process of making a hit song. This book was inspiring and uplifting. Timbaland talks about his process. He talks about focus. He tells you about all of his successes and some of his failures. He points out that you have to pay your dues but that you don’t have to let yourself be used (important to remember when people offer you something and want to pay you in “exposure”).
I really liked this book. I listened to the audiobook (which I got from audible). Timbaland didn’t read the book himself but William Harper who does narrate it did a great job.
So, if you’re interested in music, music production, the ’90s and early ’00s or Timbaland, I recommend that you check it out.
This counts as my Book from a genre you’ve never read (or that I can’t remember the last time I read).
Oh, and because I think everyone should have it suck in their head, here is the video for Try Again:
Review: The Hammer of Thor by Rick Riordan
Rick Riordan has written another winner here. I think I liked this more then the first book, The Sword of Summer. It was flowed a little bit better and Magnus’ sassiness really went up a notch in this one and I loved it! He wouldn’t let the fact that he was dead and will be spending eternity preparing for Ragnarok get him down. Nope. But really what I loved about this book more then anything else is the positive representation of diverse characters. I have praised Riordan in the past for his diversity and willingness to tackle difficult situations in his books. True, his main characters have been mainly white boys but his willingness to include characters of color and other sexuality is admirable for a kids author. So far his books have featured a Latino and Latina, Chinese Canadian, Gay teenagers, Biracial siblings, Native American girl, Black boy and girl, and Muslim girl and made them all well rounded full characters without ever falling into old stereotypes. In The Hammer of Thor he introduces us to Alex a gender fluid teen. As queer rights is becoming more and more a discussion point in our society, characters like Alex are even more important. She (I’m going to refer to her as She as Alex says that she mostly identifies as a She and spends most of a book as a female but at times Alex also identifies as Male too) is a person has been marginalized and misunderstood her whole life but has a strong conviction of who she is. Gender fluid people are not often depicted in pop-culture and not with the sensitivity and strength that Riordan writes her. But not only that, Riordan draws on the fact that Gender fluid people or argr as they were referred to by the vikings had a place in ancient Norse society. I think there are many people today who sort of think that LGBTQ community are the result of recent sins of the last hundred years or so. Not true. Just like how he wrote about Nico coming out and relating it to Cupid story he does it here. So props to you Mr. Riordan.
So let’s get back to the book. In the last book, we know that Thor has lost his famed hammer and now we know that some Earth Giants have it. They must get the Hammer back and thwart Loki’s plan to marry off Sam to the Giant, which is problematic since 1. Sam is still a teenager and 2. Sam has already been promised to marry Amir. They must traverse the seven realms to find another famed weapon and look for clues as to what Loki’s real objective is. Let’s just say, it’s not just to make sure his daughter is taken care of in a good marriage. Along the way, they meet democratic zombies, abusive father elves and giants who love to bowl. It all makes sense when you read the book. Riordan has always been good balancing the humor with the action. The book never waves or drags It was just keeps going and going and I can’t wait for the next one where they finally get act like vikings and hit the seas and PERCY!
2 Women, So Many Books 