The Round House is so far one of the best examples of sweet, emotionally strong young male characters I have come across. This is just one example of many.
Just started this and I‘m hooked from page one. Adeyemi‘s world building is phenomenal and the pace is rapid fire. I. Am. So. Excited.
so-soThe story itself was really enjoyable, but there were too many characters and events inserted to move the plot in a way that felt forced. Did have really interesting things to say about adoption and who should be able to adopt who.
pickCarmen Maria Machado gives us a collection that mixes gothic horror, fairytale, and sci fi, with a healthy dose of feminism a la Angela Carter. Two stand out stories: “The Husband Stitch,” whose narrator has a mysterious green ribbon around her neck and tells the story of her life (and the great love she and her husband share) by moving through many well known urban tales of horror. More in comments...
pickHeart-wrenching read; required a stiff drink. A sometimes violent, sometimes beautiful coming of age story about the youngest of three sons born to a white mother and Puerto Rican father, living in poverty in upstate New York.
pickVery much worth the read, even if you think you know how to talk about race. Especially if you think you know how to talk about race.
pickA fantastic novel, making a statement about the seemingly inevitable presence of violence in religious communities where one religion aims to dominate. Here, the repercussions of sectarian violence from the 90s still felt in today‘s Northern Ireland is viewed alongside the “world‘s newest religion” on an island off the coast of Papua New Guinea where missionaries have attempted to convert inhabitants for 40 years. Continued in comments...
pickEnjoyed this debut short story collection. Reminded me of Roxane Gay‘s DIFFICULT WOMEN, in that it encompasses a whole range of female voices and experiences. The first story, “Hide and Seek,” was so compelling I was jolted when it ended and I remembered it was a short story collection. A few stories at the end really stood out, too.
Excited by these two books which came in yesterday. The first is a book I chose from Irish Arts Center‘s 8th annual Book Day (an event in New York I run...we hand out thousands of free books across all 5 boroughs to celebrate Irish literature on St. Patrick‘s Day). The other I bought after a friend posted on FB & I felt compelled to do so.
If you‘re in NYC next Saturday, check out locations for a free book at irishartscenter.org. #bookhaul #getlit
I‘ve been engrossed in this glimpse into what the great Oscar Wilde‘s tragic last few years may have been like. We know the man through his witticisms and the art he left, but society was not kind to him in the end. I get to moderate a conversation with the author next Tuesday in New York City.
pickMy dad always knows what‘s what in the world of graphic novels and this rec turned out to be one of the best things I read in 2017. Emil Ferris‘ first book is gorgeously inked and engagingly told; set in Detroit in 1960s, a murder mystery from the perspective of a young girl/wannabe werewolf, whose beautiful upstairs neighbor, a holocaust survivor, is killed by an unknown assailant. Can‘t wait for Volume 2.
pickI think this is between a pick and so-so. It‘s definitely worth reading and if your cis-hetero I guarantee you‘ve never had access to this kind of insight into being a trans woman. The second half of the book switched narrative voices and that‘s where it lags a bit, but Maria Griffiths‘ messed up punk leaning aesthetic is so engaging in the first, its worth it. Also important as a more inclusive feminism continues to evolve. #feminism #punk #trans
Just started this story of a mid-20s, punk rock aesthetic, book store working trans woman in NYC. The narrative voice is fresh and exciting, and the insight into the challenges or struggles this particular narrator faces as a transperson is a perspective I‘ve not come across before.
pickAs I noted in my previous blurb on this book, she goes in deeper with a social critique of Ireland and how it treated women in the 1950s and 1960s in the second of The Country Girls Trilogy, while also capturing a certain amount of whimsy and heartache through great language and tone.
Here‘s the beautiful rule breaker O‘Brien. #ReadWomen
Edna O‘Brien‘s 2nd book is much more chilling in its depiction of the treatment of young Irish women. The quote here, where 4 men callously discuss how they can lock up an adult woman in an asylum w/o her say, is the most blatant. But it‘s the rest, the subtle undercutting by her older lover, the anonymous letter sent by a stranger about her “behavior,” her drunk father, that really chill. No wonder the white male writing room wanted her banned.
Just got this TODAY. Looking forward to starting it.
pickI can‘t believe I waited this long to read Edna O‘Brien‘s brilliant first book. Caithleen, our narrator, is a fascinating, complex young woman, & her on again/off again friendship w/ the more middle class Baba is at times both frustrating & charming, a real portrait of young female companionship. Published in 1960, it was censored in Ireland (how dare a woman write about young women and desire, with humor). #readwomen Now on to #2 in the trilogy!
