We are now halfway through June so I can accurately say we are halfway through the year. It’s time to check in and see how we are doing with our reading challenges. This year we decided to split up our Diverse Stacks, Diverse Lives Reading challenge into two different. One for authors and one for narrators. I’m doing the Narrators and I have to say, I’m doing pretty well. Now, I think there may be a few arguments over some of my books but who doesn’t love a good debate? Going off my list of the books I’ve read, I discovered that there were a few things we should have discussed before setting the challenge out. For instance, can you use the same book for different categories if they have more then one Narrator? I’m going to go with yes because you are getting different perspectives from different characters. So here we go.
- Book with a Queer Narrator: The Dark Prophecy by Rick Riordan. Narrator: Apollo. Ok, so this maybe a stretch because as Kate asked me Can we apply modern categories of sexuality to ancient Gods? Well I don’t know, but in The Dark Prophecy, Apollo is currently exiled to Earth as a mortal and while being on Earth has shown equal interest in both Men and Women. So, in the context of the book, I’m counting it.
- Book with a African American Narrator: March Vols. 1-3 by Congressman John Lewis. Narrator: John Lewis
- Book with characters from various socio-economic backgrounds Silver Stars by Michael Grant. Narrators: Frangie, Rainey and Rio
- Books with Asian American Narrator: Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han and The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon. Narrators: Lara Jean and Daniel. I decided to count both since they are both Asian Americans but they have very different perspectives on growing up in America. Lara Jean is definitely your more typical middle class teenage girl who grew up in the suburbs. She’s also mixed because of her Dad is white so she straddles both sides. Daniel grew up in New York City and is the son of two immigrant parents. (I thought about using Natasha from The Sun is also a Star as my African American Narrator but technically speaking she’s not American as her family was living in the US illegally)
- Book with a Narrator who has survived abuse: A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas. Narrator : Feyre. I really could have picked any character in this book but since it’s all from Feyre’s point of view she gets the top billing.
- A Book with a Mexican Narrator: Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare. Narrator: Cristina. I admit I maybe stretching it a little thin with this one. Cristina is one of six narrators in Lord of Shadows and not one of the two main characters but she is an important to the story as a whole so for now I’m counting it but it might change before the year is out.
- A Book with a Muslim Narrator: Ms. Marvel Vols. 2-4 by G. Willow Wilson. Narrator: Kamala
- A Book with a Jewish Narrator: Silver Stars by Michael Grant. Narrator: Rainey I know that I have already used Silver Stars before but Rainey is a fascinating character. I love reading her.
- A Book with an atheist Narrator: Believe Me by Eddie Izzard. Narrator: Eddie Izzard. He doesn’t go too much into his atheism but he does make it very clear he doesn’t believe in any god.
9 out of 15 is pretty good. Even if you take out the few iffy ones, I’m still over halfway done with my challenge. How are you doing?
Today is the last day of February and as such the last day of our group read of John Lewis’ March. Were you able to finish all three volumes of March? What are your final observations? What will you take away from John Lewis’ story? I was really moved by his story but it also illustrated my own privilege. There are many small things that I have taken for granted. Obviously, I was raised in a different time and place but I’ve never had to worry about where I had to sit on a bus or be concerned about what truck stops to stops at when traveling with my family. My life would never be threatened because I wanted to register vote. Even now,. as more and more states tighten of voting laws, I don’t feel that my constitutional rights will be threatened but I do worry for minorities and marginalized groups having their rights stripped away. We have not come as far as we think we have. Old prejudice are hard die and I worry about how much farther we will fall back. It’s also makes me think about what I’m willing to go to jail for or willing to be beaten for. I’m not really sure. This year, I’ve already participated in my first protest march and have called my Congress representatives more then I have ever in the past. I’m not sure I have the bravery of John Lewis and Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks and so many others. I seriously hope that it won’t come to that. That we will be able to keep our protest peaceful and those we opposed will to as well. The importance of this book is so we don’t forget the mistakes of our past. To remind all of us about our history so we are not doomed to repeat it. Knowledge is truly power.
If you are like Kate and I then you are horrified about the actions of the current administration. All throughout the campaign, through his transition period, we were told not to take what Trump says seriously. He isn’t going to build a wall. He wasn’t going to ban an entire religion. He has seriously begun one and made steps to do the other. I’m almost afraid to turn on the news or go online. Even if you try to avoid social media, you can’t escape the outside world entirely. Really, for the first time, I truly feel afraid. I have now lived in New York City for almost nine years. I work on the World Trade Center. Everyday I am reminded of the terrible effects of what terrorism does to people, to cities, to nations and to the world. I see the hatred, but I also see what comes after. The love and caring for perfect strangers, the kindness that brings us all together after such horrific events. Since moving to New York, there have been two possible attacks and yet I have never been afraid. I have never been scared of being injured in a terrorist attack until the last couple of days. In one day, he has made us more of a target than we were before. He turned his back on our American ideals. I understand wanting to keep our country safe. I want to keep our country safe and the current Immigration Order will in no way keep us safe.
Ms. Marvel is every fan girl or boy who has ever wrote or read fan-fiction or squeed over their favorite celebrity. She is everyone who has every suffered from self doubt but still fought through it. She is everyone who still sees the good even though she has seen some pretty awful things. Ms. Marvel is a hero. I love her. She is beyond funny. She is smart. She is brave. She is relatable. She is everything you want in in a hero. Why isn’t she in the Marvel Cinematic Universe yet?
You don’t need to be a girl, Muslim or a superhero to identify with Kamala Khan. She’s your typical teenage girl living in the world of social media and SAT’s. She wants to fit in with the kids at school but also please her family. She wants to be her own person and not be defined by her gender, race or religion. She wants to make a difference and help people and when she is given that chance she jumps right in. Kamala lives in Jersey City, NJ and loves the Avengers. She even writes fan-fiction about them, which I would really love to read. Are those anywhere online? Like all parents, her parents want the best of her and to them that means that she follows her Islamic teachings and listen to her parents. Kamala is a girl fof both worlds, she is a Muslim but also an American teenager. She wants to go to parties and do normal teenage things. One night she sneaks out of her house to go to a party when a mysterious fog rolls in. Soon Kamala is having a vision of Captain Marvel and she finds out that she has morphed into Carol Danvers old identity of Ms. Marvel. A not so nice girl from the party is in trouble she saves here. When the brother of his best friend, Bruno, gets into some big trouble Kamala uses her new powers to help. Bruno is also a genius and just so happened to developed a new compound that makes her clothes stretch when she does. To say that Kamala is likable would be an understatement. When she gains her powers she doesn’t shy away from them but embraces them. Just like her heroes, she doesn’t hesitate to help those in need. Even when of those is the girl that just made fun of her earlier in the evening. I’ve already bought the other volumes in this series. I can’t wait to read them.
I have to remind myself that the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) is not the same as Marvel Comic Universe. The Captain America and Iron Man that we have grown to love in the movies are not exactly the same in the comics. They may share some story lines, traits and beliefs but really they are different characters. As is the story is going to be a different story then the movie. For one thing thing, in the comic the story relies kinda heavily on the involvement of both the Fantastic Four and the X-Men, both teams that do not exist in the MCU. So the reasons why the registrations of Superhero’s is necessary had to be changed but the central argument seems to be the same. To have a governing body to oversee superhero activities or continue to have autonomy on their work. I can understand both sides. On one hand, just because you have super human abilities does not mean you are or should be above the law and do what ever you like and then force other people to pay to clean up your mess. On the other hand, you can’t force someone to work for someone without a choice of employers.Not everyone has the same prioritize and they shouldn’t be forced to submit to others. I’m not sure how it’s going to play out in the movie since it doesn’t come out until Friday but I feel like the in the comic they were definitely more Team Captain. Team Iron Man was doing all sorts of shady things. Cloning older superheroes and creating new ones who will follow their directions. Release super villains to track down the rebelling superheroes. Who is supervising them? The more I read the more I felt that people’s anger was misplaced. What started it all was a few Mutants (were they actually X-men?) are filming a reality TV show. They track down other mutants in Stanford, Connecticut. Even though they know they are out matched and they confront them anyway for the sake of better ratings. They end up dying and taking with them a whole bunch of kids from a near by school. Now this is truly a tragedy but why blame all superheroes and not the producers and the network of the show that pushed them to get bigger rantings. I haven’t read all the Civil War collections, as I see their are many, so maybe there are more to this then just that but it seems to me this is blaming all for the actions of few. Say, like blaming the all Muslims for the actions of terrorist even though majority of Muslims live peaceful lives are are just as angry and appalled by the actions of Isis as everyone else. Captain America, The Falcon, Iron Man, The Fantastic Four Spider-Man and so on are not going out looking for trouble they are only responding when there is. That’s a big difference. Maybe regulations should be made but this all of nothing solution that is presented in this is probably not the way. I found this book to be enjoyable. Gave me a lot to think about. Not sure if if really prepared me for what’s to come in the movie since as I said in the beginning these are different beasts but I’m glad I did.
2 Women, So Many Books 