This was a quick read for the non fiction quarter of Reading Envy Russia - the artist was present for many 21st century protests in Russia, and also dThis was a quick read for the non fiction quarter of Reading Envy Russia - the artist was present for many 21st century protests in Russia, and also did some reportage with groups of people like "working women" and a group of people who had been basically slaves imported from bordering countries but the local government turned a blind eye.
Some of the graphic art is in the moment, like during a court proceeding or a protest march, while some is more refined. Both styles are powerful, and Victoria Lomasko's art and activism are deeply intwined.
This was longlisted (but not shortlisted) for the Booker Prize in 2021 but is just now coming out in the United States later this month. I had early aThis was longlisted (but not shortlisted) for the Booker Prize in 2021 but is just now coming out in the United States later this month. I had early access from Random House in audio.
Karen Jennings is a white South African writer, and I only say this because the narrative voice and audiobook narrator (Ben Onwukwe) are definitely Black. The narrator in the story is African but the country of origin is unnamed. This made me a little squirmy for sure - Africa is a varied and complex place and I don't think it hurts anyone to just go ahead and place the story relating to a specific time and place. Perhaps the author was angling for universal themes.
The story is about Samuel, who has been tending a lighthouse on an island off the coast of "somewhere in Africa" for two decades. He has regular deliveries of supplies but lives mostly on his own. Some kind of conflict has sent the occasional dead body to his shore, and he always buries them. One day, one of the bodies is still alive and it puts his small life and his personal history in a spin. ...more
This book came out May 3 and some book sites (*cough* Goodreads *cough*) have been screaming at me about it with bright pink banners so I decided to rThis book came out May 3 and some book sites (*cough* Goodreads *cough*) have been screaming at me about it with bright pink banners so I decided to read it - actually I listened to the audio read by Rebecca Lowland. It's about a woman who is stagnated in her relationships with women and gets involved with a couple who pushes her thinking and experience. I think it's supposed to be shocking and maybe I'm just unshockable but I didn't feel there was a lot to it. (People want things society tells them they shouldn't, sometimes they'll meet others willing to go there, sometimes this can damage other relationships but it doesn't need to, etc.)...more
I get a lot of eARCs for books but try not to post about them until they are out, however I messed up and read this four months early and I'll never rI get a lot of eARCs for books but try not to post about them until they are out, however I messed up and read this four months early and I'll never remember that long. One of my Goodreads groups was reading it as a group read, I guess because it was out in the UK already, so I just assumed! The rest of you, watch out in July!
Leah and Miri were married when Leah went on a deep sea expedition that went missing. The novel starts with her back at home but definitely not the same. In some ways the change could symbolize any partner becoming somewhat of a stranger over time, but in other ways it's a literary horror novel watching her wife's body become unfamiliar. The chapters alternate between points of view which always works for me, and I couldn't put it down.
Thanks to the publisher for providing access through NetGalley - it comes out in the USA July 12, 2022....more
"...No marriage makes sense. Especially not to the outside world. A marriage is its own world." This is said to the narrator by her mother fairly deep"...No marriage makes sense. Especially not to the outside world. A marriage is its own world." This is said to the narrator by her mother fairly deep into the book, but if you replace "marriage" with "person" it might better encapsulate the novel.
Martha is in her 30s and isn't quite sure what she wants, so the reader sees her in a few relationships and also dealing with her family, who play a prominent role in her life, largely because they live in proximity in the UK. At some point it also becomes about mental illness.
This took me a while to read (two Libby checkouts) and often felt tedious - the author is able to capture the somewhat obsessive way some people think about relationships and each encounter long past it serving them well, but whew! It makes it take a while to get through.
I stuck with it because it's on the shortlist of the Women's Prize for Fiction....more
I always try to read before watching, so I had to wait for this one on hold at the public library. A very sweet graphic novel about crushes, first lovI always try to read before watching, so I had to wait for this one on hold at the public library. A very sweet graphic novel about crushes, first love, rugby, and whether or not to be out in high school....more
My last read of April, the latest book of short stories included in the Indigenous Reading Circle - I really enjoyed the voice in the stories, and quiMy last read of April, the latest book of short stories included in the Indigenous Reading Circle - I really enjoyed the voice in the stories, and quite a bit of internal dialogue, something I've learned I like when done well....more
I really loved the last book by this author - A Girl Returned - and this one is good too, focused more on a sister relationship, with one sister tryinI really loved the last book by this author - A Girl Returned - and this one is good too, focused more on a sister relationship, with one sister trying to support/rescue her sister without ever knowing the full story. Set largely in a fishing community in an Italian coastal town, and a quick read. ...more
These stories link back to Dirty Computer the album and Dirty Computer [Emotion Picture] that you can watch in YouTube. Written in collaboration with These stories link back to Dirty Computer the album and Dirty Computer [Emotion Picture] that you can watch in YouTube. Written in collaboration with Yohanca Delgado, Eve L. Ewing, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Danny Lore, and Sheree Renée Thomas, all stories are set in this dystopian tech-totalitarian society where people who are outside the norms (aka Dirty Computers) are hunted down and imprisoned, memories wiped, and more.
All stories are full of queerness, feminism, quirky creative elements, and positive spins on how humans could interact with one another.
Thanks to the publisher for providing access to this title via NetGalley. This book came out April 19th, 2022....more
Before I review this book, I want to say I think the blurbs and cover are misleading - "laugh out loud funny" was definitely not my experience and it Before I review this book, I want to say I think the blurbs and cover are misleading - "laugh out loud funny" was definitely not my experience and it is not campy the way it looks. First of all the first few chapters should come with content warnings for violent rape, suicide, and death of a partner/grief, well and the entire novel is drenched in sexism because of the subject matter and times.
Other than some strange decisions in marketing, the story is interesting enough, about a lady chemist who also becomes a rower and a single mother, then goes on to surprising tangential career. So many books about scientists in recent years!
I had a copy through NetGalley but ended up listening to the audio in the Volumes app. It was well narrated by Miranda Raison....more
I once gave away my copy of Staying Alive: Real Poems for Unreal Times before I knew it was out of print, and I think I've been on the hunt for similaI once gave away my copy of Staying Alive: Real Poems for Unreal Times before I knew it was out of print, and I think I've been on the hunt for similar anthologies, poems that are thoughtful but ultimately uplifting, that can be picked up and read during harder times. This anthology does this but from a different angle, focusing on connection and small details of life. It's particularly useful if you have ever tried reading poetry as part of a practice (of meditation, or prayer, or whatever your flavor might be) or are interested in trying - the editor has pulled the poems together in logical and pleasing groups by theme but also the way they are organized with small connections between poems is going to delight people who read more than one at a time. He pauses from time to time and poses a question for meditation, reflection, journaling, again, whatever your particular flavor leads you to. There are several pages of discussion questions in the back for people who might discuss the poems in a group setting as well.
Many of these poems and poets are known to me but many were not. The favorites I marked come from poets I already know, but some of what appeals in this anthology is that sense of familiarity and comfort, so I'm not surprised.
Bertie and Kate are the kind of friends who reconnect in an instant, have inside jokes and their own universe when they are together. The world aroundBertie and Kate are the kind of friends who reconnect in an instant, have inside jokes and their own universe when they are together. The world around them is falling apart with bombings and refugees, and Kate decides to move to Los Angeles instead of buying a house in northern California like they'd planned.
They end up in Paris on a last hurrah, where they meet a mysterious man who can get them into the Louvre even though it is closed for safety. And that's where the strangeness begins, or at least, when they start to notice it. Is it part of the apocalypse? Is someone experimenting with them? Is it the museum or the world? Regardless, days seem very familiar, and then Kate disappears.
This was a fun read..I'm not sure I'm satisfied by the ending entirely but I did enjoy the journey. I feel like this is a mix of Piranesi and the film Seeking a Friend for the End of World, but I liked it more than Piranesi. Another reading friend also found the tone to be similar to Leave the World Behind, and I thought that was a good comparison, the doom of the surrounding events that aren't entirely understood, and knowing that what is happening simultaneously has something to do with what is happening and that it wouldn't be happening without those events.
Thanks to the publisher for providing access through NetGalley. The book came out April 19, 2022....more
Black scholars are gathered together to discuss solutions for several areas where Black people are specifically marginalized and underserved. From heaBlack scholars are gathered together to discuss solutions for several areas where Black people are specifically marginalized and underserved. From health care to technology to the environment to the justice system, these are important ideas that should be not just included but centered. Chapters are short, by different scholars in each field, and use a variety of sources - academic and recent news rhetoric, etc. This is the antidote to all the freakouts about CRT.
Thanks for the publisher for providing access through NetGalley....more
This has been lingering on my eARC list for a while and I finally read it! It's about motherhood in your 30s and how relationships change with the addThis has been lingering on my eARC list for a while and I finally read it! It's about motherhood in your 30s and how relationships change with the added dimension of LA's classist culture and a pretty strong anti-vax storyline, pre-covid.
There's a bit of a revenge plot that made me not 100% on the protagonist's side but I guess at least she's not just letting life happen to her. There are also some funny and/or absurd moments.
Thanks to the publisher for providing access to the title via NetGalley. It came out 22 February, 2022....more
I'd always meant to read this and the years went by, and finally it came up in Hoopla and I downloaded the audio version, narrated by multiple voices.I'd always meant to read this and the years went by, and finally it came up in Hoopla and I downloaded the audio version, narrated by multiple voices. This comes in handy since several of these stories have multiple points of view, often the male and female in a relationship with both of their perspectives. (I specify male and female since the stories only have heterosexual relationships.)
Kathleen Collins is a strong voice and we are lucky her daughter went through her papers to pull together this collection of stories. (Since I'm reading this 6 years after publication, I also note that there is a book with her diaries and more stories that has come out since - Notes from a Black Woman's Diary: Selected Works of Kathleen Collins.) According to her daughter, who writes the forward to the collection, the stories are highly autobiographical, to the extent that she the daughter recognized the people in the stories.
I liked how these stories are very much about black women and the people in their immediate periphery, with their own lives and cultural queues and internal dialogues between expectations they feel placed on them and what they actually desire. Most are set in the 1960s in fairly urban/city type settings, with characters who are intelligent and not overly religious. I would read more of these stories, I would watch the film adaptation, and I also want to go watch the only film she ever made - Losing Ground....more
I bought this because it won the 2021 New Southern Voices Poetry Prize from Hub City - as local of a local press as I can get!
The poems are about the I bought this because it won the 2021 New Southern Voices Poetry Prize from Hub City - as local of a local press as I can get!
The poems are about the poet's multi-generational background and rural childhood, full of Gullah-Geechee culture as a living vibrant element the poet also participates in while also queering that experience, all serving to look at these details with fresh eyes. The poems about parents and grandparents are particularly memorable, as is "Hurricane Family."
So then I'm reading the acknowledgments like I always do and the poet thanks several people I know - a music major who is now an opera singer in France, a former academic dean, and a former chaplain. I did a little research to discover they were a student at the university where I work, with just a few years overlap. Perhaps we met....more
So you know how romance and cozy mystery share the truth that you can always find your flavor? I think one of mine is people who work in publishing. NSo you know how romance and cozy mystery share the truth that you can always find your flavor? I think one of mine is people who work in publishing. Not authors themselves (that is almost too common) but editors and interns and publishers. Thanks, Younger.
Lanie is moved up to the editor role of a publishing company's number one romance author, the reason she got into publishing in the first place. But the author is a mystery and has not been delivering like she usually does. Something must be up! And Lanie's personal life isn't going great either - her fiance uses every opportunity to try to get her to quit her job and move to D.C. to support his political ambitions.
This is an instance where I was happy to get to the obvious HEA (happily ever after) but wanted to read the rest of the story too. It's ironic considering one plot point of the story!...more
If you're like me and struggle to read history, make it a cultural history like this one, where the history is told sideways through the life and workIf you're like me and struggle to read history, make it a cultural history like this one, where the history is told sideways through the life and work of an artist, in this case the composer Dmitri Shostakovich and his hometown of Leningrad, up until and during the Siege itself. The publisher is also YA and while this book is considered YA, I didn't find it overly simplified in its discussion of the music or the history. The author does a fantastic job narrating his own work, bringing a vibrance to the political and musical worlds of Shostakovich.
One of my goals this year was to better understand how Russia moved from WWI into the 1950s and still remain a powerhouse despite - or as I'm learning on top of - the devastation to the country and its people. The background of this story displays many of the missteps made by the Soviet government - really mostly Stalin - on the German front in particular, but also in dealing with their own citizens. One somewhat sordid argument this author uncovers is that it was Stalin's history of food deprivation that may have trained the citizens of Leningrad to survive what should have been an impossible solution. I don't want to give him that much credit, but it was an interesting tangent.
And who will now go on a Shostakovich listening spree? It's me!...more
This is a feat of research and writing about Ukraine in the 1930s, and how Stalin's policies intentionally targeted Ukrainians, resulting in widespreaThis is a feat of research and writing about Ukraine in the 1930s, and how Stalin's policies intentionally targeted Ukrainians, resulting in widespread famine and what many consider genocide. From collectivization to dekulakization, the author shows how Ukraine was stripped of its resources and culture and then punished further for not being able to provide more. I was shocked this time period is still highly debated/contested - largely by the Russian government - well shocked might be too strong of a word, after all Putin borrows from Stalin in categorizing Ukrainians as Nazis in order to justify his decisions.
For my tastes, there are so many names and so many details that the reading was sometimes a slog. However I don't know how the author could have written it without those details since she has done so well pulling them all together. I just don't read a lot of history.
This is one of the books I selected for the non-fiction quarter of Reading Envy Russia (#readingenvyrussia) - April was month 1 so you can still join in with 2 more months of non-fiction reading to go....more
Presented solely as words on the page, I would give these poems overall three stars. There are themes of the female body - in pain, in pleasure - the Presented solely as words on the page, I would give these poems overall three stars. There are themes of the female body - in pain, in pleasure - the black body, moving between worlds. Quite a few of the poems repeat in thematic material although I did appreciate the varieties of structure and length.
But Ama Asantewa Diaka sees herself as a storyteller, not just a poet, and reading the words on the page is only part of the experience. The experience of her work is much more enticing, and I'd encourage you to watch a video or two.
Jenny (Reading Envy)
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