January/February Book Breakdowns
January's books
Title: To My Trans Sisters
Editor: Charlie Craggs
Summary/Themes:
This book includes letters written by trans women from all walks of life: astrophysicists, models, activists, religious leaders, actresses, and more.
Blurb on the back of the book: "Dedicated to trans women everywhere, this inspirational collection of letters written by successful trans women shares the lessons they learnt on their journeys to womanhood, celebrating their achievements and empowering the next generation to become who they truly are."
Notable Quotes/Moments:
"Sometimes we have to ask ourselves: 'Do I define my day by what happened to me or by what I did in response?' "
"You must always remember your self-worth; never sell yourself short."
"You may face a long road ahead; it may look winding and scary. It is, but it is so worth it. You are worth it."
"Do it well, and you will be well. Do it with authenticity, and you will be authentic."
"Being yourself is worth it."
Genre/sub-genre: Non-fiction
Available Formats: Physical book at the DFL
Personal Thoughts:
This book was really moving and impactful. It had resources that are specific to trans women, with lots of advice about transitioning and social acceptance. But I think that this book is inspiring to anyone, whether they are transgender or not. The messages of self-acceptance and helpful communication are useful to any reader.
Recommended Resources/Read-Alike Books:
Straight for Equality: Trans Ally Resources
Trans Lifeline: 877-565-8860
If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo
Title: Ring Shout
Author: P. Djèlí Clark
Summary from the back of the book:
In America, demons wear white hoods. In 1915, The Birth of a Nation cast a spell across America, swelling the Klan's ranks and drinking deep from the darkest thoughts of white folk. All across the nation they ride, spreading fear and violence among the vulnerable. They plan to bring Hell to Earth. But even Ku Kluxes can die.
Standing in their way is Maryse Boudreaux and her fellow resistance fighters, a foul-mouthed sharpshooter and a Harlem Hellfighter. Armed with blade, bullet, and bomb, they hunt their hunters and send the Klan's demons straight to Hell. But something awful's brewing in Macon, and the war on Hell is about to heat up.
Notable Quotes/Moments:
"Hate and justice aren't the same thing"
Genre/sub-genre: Fiction
Available Formats: Physical book at the DFL, Hoopla, Libby
Personal Thoughts:
This book was unlike any that I've read before. It was part magical realism, part historical fiction, part alternative history. I would also say that this was also a horror book, with monsters, elements of body horror and gore. But the horrors themselves are bound up in history; lynching, racism, and the film "The Birth of a Nation" are central to the narrative. The author asks, what if the Klu Klucks Klan wasn't just a hate group made up of white supremacist terrorists, but instead a group populated by actual monsters? If you've seen (or read) Lovecraft Country, you would be familiar with this genre of sci-fi/fantasy where horror is used as a mechanism to point out the dangers and atrocities of American racism.
All of that is to say that this book was fascinating and very engaging. There are also strong female characters in this book, which is yet another reason to go read it.
Recommended Resources/Read-Alike Books:
100 Years Later, What's the Legacy of 'Birth of a Nation?' from NPR
"The Ringshout and the Birth of African American Religion" on Youtube
The Black God's Drum by P. Djèlí Clark
A Master of Djinn by P. Djèlí Clark
February's books
Title: Picturing Resistance
Author: Melanie Light and Ken LIght
Summary/Themes:
This book shows photos of inspiring moments of resistance over the last 70 years. The authors also provide background information on these photos, and some of the historical and social background necessary to understand the stories behind them.
Notable Quotes/Moments:
Includes photos of:
-Mamie Till-Mobley, mother of Emmett Till
-Selma to Montgomery March
-Anti-Vietnam protests
-1968 Olympics with Tommie Smith and John Carlos
-Black Panthers
-Takeover of Alcatraz Island
-AIDS Memorial Quilt
-Occupy Wallstreet
-Anita Hill
-ACT UP at a "die in"
-Muhammad Ali and anti-apartheid marches
Genre/sub-genre: Non-fiction
Available Formats: Physical book at the DFL
Personal Thoughts:
You've probably seen at least one or two of the images in this book. But reading about the history behind these photographs provides some necessary context to photographs that we may have seen dozens of times over the years. These photographs are shocking, inspiring, and moving. They show the importance of resistance and protest movements.
Recommended Resources/Read-Alike Books:
We Are Everywhere by Matthew Riemer
Resistance: Reclaiming an American Resistance by Jeff Biggers (hoopla)
Kids on the March by Michael Long
Into the Streets: a Young Person's Visual History of Protest in the United States by Mark Bieschke
Songs of America: Patriotism, Protest, and the Music that Made a Nation by Jon Meacham
Title: How Long 'Til Black Future Month?
Author: N.K. Jemisin
Summary/Themes:
Afro-futurism, short stories, dystopian fiction
Summary:
In the first collection of her evocative short fiction, Jemisin equally challenges and delights readers with thought-provoking narratives of destruction, rebirth, and redemption. In these stories, Jemisin sharply examines modern society, infusing magic into the mundane, and drawing deft parallels in the fantasy realms of her imagination. Dragons and hateful spirits haunt the flooded streets of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In a parallel universe, a utopian society watches our world, trying to learn from our mistakes. A black mother in the Jim Crow South must save her daughter from a fey offering impossible promises. And in the Hugo award-nominated short story "The City Born Great," a young street kid fights to give birth to an old metropolis's soul.
Notable Quotes/Moments:
The City Born Great:
"I raise my arms and avenues leap. (It's real but it's not. The ground jolts and people think, Huh, subway's really shaky today.) I brace my feet and they are girders, anchors, bedrock. The beast of the deeps shrieks and I laugh, giddy with postpartum endorphins. Bring it."
"I live the city. It thrives and it is mine. I am its worthy avatar, and together? We will never be afraid again."
"I reach for my city, so far away, so inseverable frmo myself. Ready? I ask New York. Fuck yeah, it answers, filthy and fierce. We go forth to find this city's singer, and hopefully to hear the greatness of its birthing song."
Cloud Dragon Skies:
"There had been only two choices at the time of the great exodus: the Ring, where there could be cities and cars and all the conveniences of life as it once was, or Earth and nothing. Most chose the Ring, even though it meant traveling to the great belt of rocks beyond Mars, from which the Earth is merely a tiny pinoint lost in a black, starry sky. For those who chose Earth, the lama manipa and the rebbe and the storytellers came forth and taught the people anew all the ways they had once scorned. And the clans everywhere, no matter their chosen ways, swore the same oath: to live simply."
"'That is the one law we all obey, no matter what traditions we follow, and no matter that it means our lives are shorter and harder than yours. We can no longer change the world to suit ourselves. We the world changes, we change with it.'"
Genre/sub-genre: Fiction
Available Formats: Physical book at the DFL
Personal Thoughts:
I'm a huge fan of science fiction, and N.K. Jemisin is a star of the afrofuturism literary landscape. The short stories in this collection show the breadth of Jemisin's expansive talent. I would highly recommend listening to this book, as I did; there are multiple readers who take turns reading the stories, and it adds a uniqueness to the experience. The title of this short story collection brings to mind an important thing to remember during Black History Month: we need to empower Black cultures and futures as much as we remember Black history. You can read Jemisin's blog post about the title here.
Recommended Resources/Read-Alike Books:
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
Love After the End: An Anthology of Two-Spirit and Indigi-queer Speculative Fiction ed. by Joshua Whitehead
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
Comments
Post a Comment