Book Review Catch Up Part 3: The Second Half of July 2018

Last of the review catch up posts, I promise. Here are all the things I read in the second half of July.

The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding Book 1 by Alexandra Bracken
Category: Middle-Grade
Published: September 2017
Genre: Paranormal/Urban Fantasy
Enjoyable read, as usual, from Alexandra Bracken. Turns out this is going to be made into a movie, so I read it just in time.
Rating: Four out of Five snarky demons

Another Country by James Baldwin
Category: Adult
Published: 1962
Genre: Contemporary
Read mostly because it was on the Great American Read list. I'm kind of slowly going through the ones I haven't read. Not all of them, because there are some I'm just not interested in, at all (Atlas Shrugged, for instance). But most of them I will be reading....at some point.

Robots VS Fairies anthology by various authors
Category: Adult
Genre: Fantasy/Sci-fi
Published: January 9th, 2018
Fun short story anthology that had stories featuring either robots or fairies.
Rating: Three and a half out of Five short stories that I wanted to be whole books

Brotopia: Breaking Up the Boys' Club of Silicon Valley by Emily Chang
Category: Non-Fiction
Genre: Social Commentary/Feminism
Published: February 6th, 2018
A deep look into the sexism of the tech industry. How bad it is, how we got there, why it persists, and how we can change the culture. The book is good and interesting...it's just draining, hearing about all these incidents and seeing all the indifference from some of the people in the industry.
Rating: Three and a half out of Five informative, but sad books

Kat Holloway Book 1: Death Below Stairs by Jennifer Ashley
Category: Adult
Genre: Historical Fiction/Mystery
Published: January 2nd, 2018
Okay historical mystery. Didn't really impress me, but didn't really fail me either. It's good for if you just want some Downton Abbey-esque feelings with a dash of mystery.
Rating: Three and a half out of Five nosy maids getting shit done

Veronica Speedwell Book 3: A Treacherous Curse by Deanna Raybourn
Category: Adult
Genre: Historical Fiction/Mystery
Published: January 16th, 2018
This series continues to be delightful. If you like slow burn romances, heroines who don't give a fuck about society's expectations, and snark, seriously pick this series up.
Rating: Four out of Five awesome snarky heroines

The Crucible by Arthur Miller
Category: Play
Genre: Historical Fiction
Published: 1953
I started to read this one, and it turns out I actually already have read it...way back in school. I just apparently forgot that. Oh well. If nothing else, it was a good refresher.

Comics read:
Captain America original 1940s series on Marvel Unlimited
Heavy Vinyl vol. 1

Book Review: This Will Be My Undoing

TITLE: This Will Be My Undoing: Living at the Intersection of Black, Female, and Feminist in (White) America
AUTHOR: Morgan Jerkins
PUBLISHED: January 30th, 2018
CATEGORY: Non-Fiction
GENRE: Essays
PREMISE: A series of essays by Morgan Jerkins diving into things like feminism, racism, pop culture and so much more.
MY REVIEW: Lately I've found that I really enjoy essays. Particularly I like listening to them via audiobook. Which is what I did with this one and I highly recommend it. The author does the narration herself and she's pretty good at it.
I personally really liked this one. As with most essay collections, some are better then others. One or two go a little too long for my taste, but she still makes her point. The subjects raised are interesting ones that not many people talk about. For instance, she talks about a trip to Japan and the differences between how she was treated there, versus the United States.
I think it was a pretty solid collection. I hope we see more from this author in the future.
WHO SHOULD READ: those that like essay collections, Roxane Gay fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five interesting essays

Book Review: So You Want to Talk About Race

TITLE: So You Want to Talk About Race
AUTHOR: Ijeoma Oluo
CATEGORY: Non-Fiction
PUBLISHED: January 16th, 2018
GENRE: Social Commentary, Race
PREMISE: A writer goes into the various issues surrounding race and gives advice on how to talk about it.
MY REVIEW: This book is pretty much what it sounds like: a guide for talking about race. I'm sure someone out there will try and scoff at this book, but personally, I do think it's a necessary read. Especially for us white people who want to try and have these conversations. I can't begin to tell you how many times I see white people try and start conversations about race, but then just pull out of it or give up because they feel uncomfortable, or they just are trying to use the conversation to say there is no racism anymore (if you're going to do that...just maybe, stop). If you have done this...maybe try to read this book.
It is not what I'd call enjoyment reading. I mean, I personally found the author's writing enjoyable, but I know not everyone will, because of the subject matter. But the advice given in it is really good. I'm actually personally going to try out some of the advice myself, particularly the advice about calling out casual racism when you see it. Unfortunately in the area where I live, there are a LOT of casual racists out here. I also love the bit where the author points out that you better be ready to be uncomfortable when having these conversations. I see so many people whine about how talking about race just like, makes them uncomfortable, so they don't want to do it. It makes me want to bang my head against the wall. I'm sorry, but we white people really need to get over how these conversations make US feel.
If you are going to attempt to have conversations about race, please read this book first. I also suggest reading Tears We Cannot Stop by Michael Eric Dyson. I have not read it yet, but I read the blog post it's based on, so I also recommend Why I Am No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge, to remind yourself that PoC are not required to have conversations about race with you if they do not want too.
One piece of advice I have to offer is this: instead of trying to assert your opinion on race in a conversation, stop and listen instead. Fight down that part that tries to say "well I haven't seen this, so you must be lying!" and just listen to people when they try and tell you about instances of racism (or sexism/homophobia/transphobia etc.). If you stop and listen, you tend to learn stuff more. Learning helps you grow. Growth tends to make these conversations go much better.
WHO SHOULD READ: White people, anyone interested in having conversations about race
MY RATING: Four and a half out of Five necessary books

Book Review: The Meaning of Michelle

TITLE: The Meaning of Michelle-16 Writers on the Iconic First Lady and How Her Journey Inspires Our Own
AUTHOR: various, edited by Veronica Chambers
CATEGORY: Non-Fiction
PUBLISHED: January 10th, 2017
GENRE: Essays, Social Commentary
PREMISE: A variety of authors write about Michelle Obama and her impact on them and society.
MY REVIEW:I don't really have much to say about this one to be honest. I thought I would, but I don't. It's basically what it sounds like: a Michelle Obama lovefest. Luckily I adore Michelle Obama, so I don't mind this. If you aren't a Michelle Obama fan...you'll likely hate it.
As much as I enjoyed it, I'm not entirely sure why this needed to be a book. A series of articles on a website would have just done the trick. But hey, if the Reagans and Clintons and all of them get a bunch of books about them, why not the Obaamas?
This is a very niche sort of book. Only certain people will seek it out. If you are a Michelle Obama fan, this will be your jam. If you aren't...move along.
WHO SHOULD READ: Die-hard Michelle Obama fans
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five shrugs.

Book Review: Insane Clown President

TITLE: Insane Clown President-Dispatches From the 2016 Circus
AUTHOR: Matt Taibbi
PUBLISHED: January 17th, 2017
CATEGORY: Non-Fiction
GENRE: Articles/Essays
PREMISE: A collection of articles that the author wrote during his time covering the 2016 Presidential campaign.
MY REVIEW: There's not really much to say about this one. If you kept track of the 2016 election, you likely read at least one of these articles, especially if you're a Rolling Stone magazine reader. It turned out I had read one or two of them when they had been released.
If there is one takeaway from all of these articles it is this: the 2016 election was like no other election I've seen. I mean, I've seen some nutty ones. The last election was pretty bad. I also can tell you stories about the Bush vs. Gore election (the first election I actually paid attention too, but sadly was not old enough to vote in at the time). But even those don't compare to this last one. If there's one thing I appreciate about Taibbi, it is that he calls out the BS on all sides of the aisle. Much as I voted for Clinton, there were several missteps in that campaign (as well as with Sanders, who I also voted for. Sorry Bernie Bros, he was not the perfect candidate you all make him out to be). It's sad to me that an entertainment magazine has some better reporters writing articles on politics then papers like the New York Times do.
I wouldn't really call this entertainment reading. The things that happened during that time and after are just frankly too depressing for me to enjoy remembering it. But there are some important insights here that I think are well worth reading. And worth remembering come next election cycle.
WHO SHOULD READ: Rolling Stone magazine fans, those who want a recap of the election
MY RATING: Three and a half out of Five insightful articles

Book Review: Tears We Cannot Stop

TITLE: Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America
AUTHOR: Michael Eric Dyson
PUBLISHED: January 17th, 2017
CATEGORY: Non-Fiction
GENRE: Essay, I guess.../Social Commentary
PREMISE: Michael Eric Dyson talks to white Americans about things like the racial divide, how racism has persisted all these years, and what we can do to try and change things.
MY REVIEW: In a perfect world, every white person would read this, actually listen to what Dyson is telling them, and change things. Unfortunately, we do not live in a perfect world. I have a sad feeling the people who need hear this stuff, will never read it. Or if they do read it, will go on about how this is racist towards white people (see, reactions on Goodreads to The Hate U Give and pretty much any book calling white people out our crap) and will ignore all the important advice Dyson gives at the end.
So why am I, a white woman, reading this you ask? To educate myself. There's also a great passage in the book from Dyson that kind of sums up why I read books like this, despite how much it criticizes my race:
"What I ask of my white students and what I ask of you, my dear friends, is to try, the best you can, to surrender your ignorance, to reject the willful denial of history, and to live fully in our complicated present with all of the discomfort it brings."
I really don't think that's too much to ask. Can it get uncomfortable at times, when you realize friends/family/even yourself sometimes do the things this book (and other books talking about race) points out? Yes. But sometimes life is uncomfortable. Especially when you go about trying to improve yourself. If you want a book that holds your hand while talking about racial issues, I'm sorry this book will not be it. It's very blunt and delivers several hard truths that need to be heard. I can pretty much guarantee it'll make you uncomfortable at some point. But if you are willing, it can definitely be worth it.
One thing I really appreciate is that he includes a whole chapter at the end that goes "okay, you've realized now that things are bad. Here's what to do to improve". It not only gave advice about how to deal with racism when you hear it, but also gave a whole list of books to educate yourself on. I loved this, because there are lots of times when I learn about issues and go "well okay, that's definitely a thing. How can I deal with it when it comes up?" and no one tells me. Sorry, but sometimes we privileged folks do need a bit of a guide to help us know where to go after we learn about issues we didn't know about.
WHO SHOULD READ: Anyone willing to read it with open minds, fans of essays
MY RATING: Four and a half out of Five important books

Book Review: Letters to a Young Muslim

TITLE: Letters to a Young Muslim
AUTHOR: Omar Saif Ghobash
PUBLISHED: January 3rd, 2017
CATEGORY: Non-Fiction
GENRE: Essays?
PREMISE: An ambassador talks to his son via letters about what it is to be Muslim in this day and age.
MY REVIEW: I first heard about this book through The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Which lately, has been on fire with its interviews and non-fiction book recommendations. My non-fiction TBR list has exploded these past few months thanks to them.
This was a very interesting read. I do not really know much about the Muslim religion beyond the very basics (there's praying five times a day, the head scarves are for religious reasons; do not bother people about them etc.) so this gave a lot of insight into the religion itself. As the author was also an ambassador, he wrote a lot about how things in the Middle East came to be and that was very illuminating. Because honestly...we aren't taught enough about the situation in the Middle East, despite the fact that we constantly hear about it in the news.
This is a very heavy, thinkers type of read. It's a small and fast read but it packs quite a punch and gives you a lot of food for thought. I say that overall, it was a job well done.
WHO SHOULD READ: Anyone interested
MY RATING: Four out of Five thought provoking letters

Book Review: The Geek Feminist Revolution

TITLE: The Geek Feminist Revolution
AUTHOR: Kameron Hurley
CATEGORY: Non-Fiction
PUBLISHED: May 2016
GENRE: Essays/commentary
PREMISE: Sci-fi writer Kameron Hurley shares her insights and thoughts on being a geek and a feminist and various other subjects.
MY REVIEW: For the most part, I enjoyed this collection. I just....don't think it was completely what it advertised. From the title, I expected a collection more along the lines of Roxane Gay's Bad Feminist. Or something that frequently linked feminism and the geek world together. Now there were some essays here that did that and they were fabulous. But a lot of the essays...didn't particularly have anything to do with being a geek feminist.
After doing some research I realized why: a lot of this book is actually mostly just old blog posts from her popular online blog. That explains the one about the ACA (that feels bittersweet now thanks to the fact that it looks like there's a good chance it's getting repealed). A lot of the posts talk about her creative process and time in marketing and so on. It's very interesting...just not why I picked up the book.
As with most of these types of collections, some essays/blog posts are better then others. This did however make me very interested in picking up Hurley's books. I was interested in them beforehand, but now they're higher on the TBR list.
WHO SHOULD READ: fans of Bad Feminist. Kameron Hurley fans, geek feminists
MY RATING: Four out of Five social commentary essays

Reading Through the Classics: A Vindication of the Rights of Woman

TITLE: A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
AUTHOR: Mary Wollenstonecraft
PUBLISHED: 1790
CATEGORY: Non-Fiction, Classics
GENRE: Essays
PREMISE: Mary Wollenstonecraft writes a series of essays calling for education of women.
MY REVIEW: For those that do not know: Mary Wollenstonecraft was the mother of Mary Shelley (who got the name Shelley when she married). She was a writer, philosopher, and many other things. Some consider her one of the very early feminists in history.
So this is basically Wollenstonecraft saying "hey, women aren't as fragile as you make us out to be. Educate us and stop treating us like infants and we'll probably accomplish just as much as men do." To me, this seems pretty obvious and I think history has basically proven her correct. What really gets me is honestly...she wasn't even calling for anything huge. She wasn't saying women should run for office or defy gender roles or anything. She literally was just saying, hey we're people too. We deserve to get an education too. I doubt she was including PoC women in this, because racism in that time was normal. But still...it didn't seem all that radical to me. Yet...simply asking for education was enough for people to lose their shit. I can't help but think of all the trolls/MRAs who whine about little things like Star Wars having female main characters. The more things change, the more they stay the damn same.
Enjoyment of this work is...probably going to depend on how much you love your scholarly discourse. It's old-fashioned language so deciphering it sometimes takes a bit. So reading it can be sometimes tedious (I started this back during Christmas and just finished it last week to give you an idea of how long it can take). I highly recommend this for those looking into early feminist ideas.
WHO SHOULD READ: Feminists, those interested in scholarly discourse

Book Review: The Fire This Time

TITLE: The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks About Race
AUTHOR: edited by Jesmyn Ward,
CATEGORY: Non-Fiction
PUBLISHED: August 2016
GENRE: essays, social commentary
PREMISE: A collection of essays that talk about race issues in the present day.
MY REVIEW: Confession: I've never read James Baldwin. I know, I know. Again, that midwest white people focus education rears its ugly head. I have no clue how this compares to Baldwin's The Fire Next Time, which I've been told is one of the most important essay collections ever. But I'm sure Baldwin certainly won't be insulted by this collection at all.
As with all essay collections, this one covers a wide range of topics, but all talk about race. If you've been paying attention to the news you'll recognize several of the stories talked about here. Like all essay collections, some were better then others. But they were all interesting and gave me lots to think about.
I'm still trying to figure out what makes great essays and what not, but personally, I really loved this collection. This is a powerful book, and I think very timely considering the things going on.
WHO SHOULD READ: Anyone inclined
MY RATING: Four and a half out of Five things we need to talk about

Book Review: Modern Romance

TITLE: Modern Romance
AUTHOR: Aziz Ansari
PUBLISHED: June 2015
CATEGORY: Non-Fiction
GENRE: Social Commentary, Humor
PREMISE: Comedian Aziz Ansari conducts some research into what romance is like in the days of technology.
MY REVIEW: This book is really interesting. You're probably going to see me say that a lot in this review. Because that's mostly what it boils down too. It's just a plain interesting subject. How has modern technology effected the way we romance? The answer is...a lot.
I love the way Ansari went about his research. He talked to a wide variety of people and cultures. He did not just go into what romance is like in the US. He looked into dating in Japan and various other countries as well. He asked older couples how they went about romance and found some interesting comparisons between that and how we date today. He also remembered not everyone is straight and looked into romance in the LGBT communities.
It's just all very interesting. Being a comedian, he finds lots of humor in the situations so it is a funny book as well as a social commentary book. I appreciate that for once, a book on this sort of subject didn't despair of how technology is ruining the youths. It never tried to lead you to any sort of feeling about the subject either. It basically just presented you with the information and let you come to your own conclusions about the subject. It's a very fascinating book. If you're interested in subjects like this, I definitely recommend giving it a look.
WHO SHOULD READ: people interested in the subject matter, Aziz Ansari fans
MY RATING: Four out of Five interesting subjects