Rabbit Hole #47: In/Out Aug. 14-20

Much better this week!

Recently Purchased

Starting a little vacation dreaming/planning with this one. I was actually born in the Azores, but since I was so young when we moved back to the States, I don't really remember anything about it. I figured it was finally time to do something about that, so sometime in the next two years, we'll be heading across the Atlantic!

Recently Finished

The Round House by Louise Erdrich (4.5 stars)

This follows an Ojibwe woman in North Dakota who has been attacked and her 13 year old son who tries to unravel what happened. This is a very compelling read, diving into PTSD and how trauma affects not only the victim, but everyone around them. It also take a look at the difficulties Native peoples have in prosecuting such crimes, especially if they are committed by a white person. 

I thought this was an incredible read. The characters and the emotional upheaval they go through is well-drawn, and the impact is raw and heart-
breaking. I would recommend this as a good starting point into Erdrich's writing. It followed a more linear narrative than a lot of her work, and while it was centered around the same reservation life as her other novels, it isn't necessary to have read anything else by her to fall into this world. 


The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (4.5 stars)

What I appreciate most about this graphic novel is that Strapi presents herself honestly: the good, the bad, and the ugly. As I've said, it's a insightful look into Iran before, during, and after the Islamic Revolution of the 1970s, how it affected people, and how they coped with their rights being stripped away. In a time when people have seem to have a narrow view of people from the Middle East and of Islam, it's always good to read something from those people's perspective. I also highly recommend the film version. 

Currently Reading

The Chaos by Nalo Hopkinson

A YA dystopian novel following 16 year old Scotch, a mixed race teen whose skin is being covered by an unremovable sticky black substance. Then her brother disappears in a bubble of light, and everyone in town starts changing. I'm not very far in, but I'm already loving Scotch's voice. Maybe it's because school has started again, but she seems a lot like my students. I'm looking forward to where this is going. 

The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander

I keep saying I'm going to finish this, and I will. It's just so full of crucial information that it's not something I want to rush through. 

Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward

Esch and her family are preparing for an upcoming possible hurricane. Her brother Skeetah is focused on his pit bull and her puppies, her father is single-minded about the storm, her two other brothers are just trying to be kids, and Esch realizes she's pregnant. This culminates in Hurricane Katrina, which makes me a little hesitant to read this right now, especially with the devastation in Baton Rouge and other areas here in Louisiana, but the characters already have me hooked three chapters in. 

Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter

Book club meets in 10 days, so I'd better start this one about an aging Hollywood actress, an almost love affair, and Italy. Doesn't really sound like me, but we'll see. 

Rabbit Hole #46: In/Out Aug. 7-13

I have a confession to make. School started this week, and I have been preoccupied with getting my classroom ready and trying to readjust to waking up early. (I am, as anyone who knows me will attest, NOT a morning person. Life would be better if it started at 9 a.m.) As a result, this week was horrible for reading, so most of these books are going to look like last week's. I promise to be better!

Recently Purchased

I've been a good girl, I have, to paraphrase Eliza Doolittle. No new books added to the shelves this week. 

Recently Finished

Um...yeah. 

Currently Reading

The Round House by Louise Erdrich

This follows an Ojibwe woman in North Dakota who has been attacked and her 13 year old son who tries to unravel what happened. This is a very compelling read, diving into PTSD and how trauma affects not only the victim, but everyone around them. 







The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

I've read the first volume of this graphic memoir before, but never the second. Satrapi chronicles her life in Iran before, during, and after the Revolution (as well as her high school years in Vienna). Honestly, if you truly want to understand a culture, read about it. I've learned more about Iran from Satrapi and Nazar Afisi (Reading Lolita in Tehran) than I could ever learn from watching the evening news. 

The Chaos by Nalo Hopkinson

A YA dystopian novel following 16 year old Scotch, a mixed race teen whose skin is being covered by an unremovable sticky black substance. Then her brother disappears in a bubble of light, and everyone in town starts changing. I'm not very far in, but I'm already loving Scotch's voice. Maybe it's because school has started again, but she seems a lot like some of my students. I'm looking forward to where this is going. 

The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander

Ferguson. New York. Baltimore. Baton Rouge. Dallas. Milwaukee. If you want to know why #blacklivesmatter, and why this is the continuation of the Civil Rights Movement, read this book. 









Hopefully all of these will be finished this week, and I'll have something new to report!

Rabbit Hole #45: In/Out July 31-Aug. 6

I've decided to do just a quick reading snapshot each week so I can talk a little more about the books I've read, rather than just listing all of them at the end of the month. (I'm still going to do that, though, to keep track of my reading challenge progress.)  I've taken the idea from a Book Riot feature called Inbox/Outbox, which I highly recommend checking out. Be careful, though: you may find your to-be-read list growing very quickly!

Recently Purchased 

 Trail of Crumbs: Hunger, Love, and the Search for Home by Kim Sunee

Sunee was a Korean orphan adopted by a couple from New Orleans. After college she moves to Sweden, falls in love, and moves to France. Interspersed in the memoir are Cajun and French recipes. New Orleans, Europe, and food? Yes, please.

The Chaos by Nalo Hopkinson

A YA dystopian novel following 16 year old Scotch, a mixed race teen whose skin is being covered by an unremovable sticky black substance. Then her brother disappears in a bubble of light, and everyone in town starts changing. This sounds like a refreshing take on the popular dystopian genre.

Recently Finished

Villa America by Liza Klaussmann (3 stars)

I had really high hopes for this. I absolutely love the 1920s and the mischief and mayhem of the Lost Generation writers and their set. And while this did give me some of what I was looking for (the Murphys, Fitzgeralds, Picasso, Hemingway, Dos Passos, etc.), I felt let down. Other than the Murphys, the others were just caricatures, lacking the depth that made these individuals so intriguing. The connections between some individuals are also never explained (Dorothy Parker doesn't show up until the last 100 pages, and then she's shown as a beloved, indispensable member of the circle, even though she's never mentioned prior to that.) The use of letters in random spots also makes for some awkward reading, especially since Klausmann sometimes uses real letters, and then uses real letters but switches who they are to/from, or then uses fictional letters. It gets a bit messy. I do like the discussion of LGBT themes and how those relationships were addressed in the 1920s; although, I think she could have gone a bit further with that. All in all, a fun summer read, but not exactly what I wanted.

Currently Reading

The Round House by Louise Erdrich--This follows an Ojibwe woman in North Dakota who has been attacked and her 13 year old son who tries to unravel what happened.

The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi--I've read the first volume of this graphic memoir before, but never the second. Satrapi chronicles her life in Iran before, during, and after the Revolution (as well as her high school years in Vienna).

The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander--I know I've been reading this for a while, even though it's not a difficult read nor a particularly long one. Because the information it contains is so important and so vital to understand our society today, I'm taking this one slowly. Hopefully I'll finish this upcoming week.

Tom Buchanan and the Modern GOP

Something struck me these past few weeks watching the political circus we have somehow found ourselves in: I've read this before.

In the 1920s when F. Scott Fitzgerald was writing The Great Gatsby, the United States was being turned upside down. On one hand we had unprecedented wealth and opportunity for a large number of people; on the other, a horrific rise in racism and xenophobia in response to increased immigration and small advancements for African-Americans during the Harlem Renaissance and the Great Migration.

This darker side of America is encapsulated in Fitzgerald's character of Tom Buchanan. Tom, the rich polo player who has never had to work for anything in his life, nevertheless laments the way he sees America heading:

      "Civilization's going to pieces," broke out Tom violently. "I've gotten to be a terrible pessimist about things. Have you read 'The Rise of the Colored Empires' by this man Goddard?"

      "Why, no," I [Nick] answered, rather surprised by his tone. 

     "Well, it's a fine book, and everybody ought to read it. The idea is if we don't look out the white race will be--will be utterly submerged. It's all scientific stuff; it's been proved." [. . .] "--And we've produced all the things that go to make civilization--oh, science and art, and all that. Do you see?" (12-13).

Tom sees the "other" as threatening his way of life, his rich white male privilege. For him, that hatred doesn't just extend to immigrants and people of color, it also extends to anyone whom he sees as being "beneath" him. Tom ultimately destroys lives, mirroring the very real violence that happened to people who dared strive for a dream that others deemed exclusively for the white elites.

Flash forward to the 2016 Republican Convention:

"I ask you to go back through history and figure out, where have these contributions been made by these other categories of people that you're talking about. Where did any other subgroup of people contribute more to civilization?"

This time, we're not listening to a fictional character, but Congressman Steve King (R-IA) speaking to Chris Hayes on live television. Tom Buchanan has been reincarnated, but hasn't learned anything. Not long before this, David Duke, the former KKK Grand Dragon, announced that he was going to be running for senator because Donald Trump agreed with many of his ideals and made those ideals "acceptable."  If these two were the lone voices bemoaning the state of America, no one would think anything of it. But they're not. As a matter of fact, they're indicative of a much larger racist and xenophobic faction in the GOP (and the United States at large) being spurred on by the Republican Presidential nominee. If you don't believe me, just watch this (warning: graphic language and violence). And that's just a small portion on the vitriol being spewed toward anyone who doesn't agree with Trump's vision of "making America great again". 

The GOP has turned Tom Buchanan into their poster child, willingly or not. We're not supposed to root for Tom, though: he destroys all the lives he comes in contact with and walks away unscathed. He's the dark side of America, the side we are supposed to be continually striving against, not give in to. 

There is another option, though. Even if Gatsby is far from perfect, even if he has lied to get to where he is, everything his does, albeit imperfectly, is for a better life, that vision of the American Dream that dances in front of all of our faces. He pushes back against Tom Buchanan and his elitism because he knows Tom for what he is. 

We all want more for ourselves and those we love, regardless of where we come from. And we have a very clear choice to make as voters. We can give in to hatred and bigotry and allow Tom Buchanan to win once again. Or, we can refuse to let his hatred define who we are and reach out for something better, even if it isn't completely perfect. In the end, isn't that green light ultimately worth fighting for? 

Photo Credit: me

*Quote taken from the 2004 Scribner Paperback Edition of The Great Gatsby.

Rabbit Hole #44: July Reading Update

July was a whirlwind of a month. Between going back to the Good Life for ten days and then having guests in and out of New Orleans the rest of the month, I'm just now starting to catch my breath--just in time for school to start up in a week and a half.

August is drenched in the tears of teachers. 

All of the company was partially responsible for a slow reading month for me, both in terms of actual time spent reading and books completed--I mean, who wouldn't rather be out and about spending time with those you love?  The books I read were also rather lackluster; other than The Vegetarian, there really weren't any grabbed me which made it hard to sit down and actually read for any length of time. (I would really recommend that one, though; it's well worth the read.)

All of that said, here are the month's accomplishments:

Popsugar 2016 Reading Challenge

A YA bestseller: The Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard (3 stars)
A book that takes place in summer: The Vacationers by Emma Straub (2 stars)
A book recommended by a family member: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children--Library of Souls by Ransom Riggs (3 stars)


Bustle Women/POC Challenge

A feminist science fiction novel: The Female Man by Joanna Russ (3 stars)


Read Harder Challenge 2016

A book by a Southeast Asian author: The Vegetarian by Han Kang--South Korea (4 stars)



Non-challenge books completed: Refuge/es by Michael Broek (3 stars)

I'm currently reading The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander, which I highly recommend to anyone, and Villa America by Liza Klausmann, about the 1920s, the French Riviera, and the wonderful messed-up Lost Generation gang.

Rabbit Hole #43: June Reading Update

Six months in, and I'm 50/85 in my reading challenges. Overall, I've been pretty happy with the books I've chosen, and looking forward to finishing the challenges in the next few months.

Pop Sugar Reading Challenge (Current Completion: 28/41)

A book that's becoming a movie this year: The Girl With All the Gifts by M. R. Carey (4.5  stars)

An autobiography: An African in Greenland by Tété-Michel Kpomassie (3 stars)

A book set in Europe: Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin (4 stars)

A book written by a comedian: Self-Inflicted Wounds by Aisha Tyler (3 stars)


Bustle Women/POC Reading Challenge (Current Completion: 8/20)

A book by a modernist woman writer: Passing by Nella Larsen (4 stars)


Read Harder Challenge 2016 (Current Completion: 14/24)

A horror novel: The Gilda Stories by Jewelle Gomez (4 stars)

A book published in 2016: Midnight Taxi Tango by Daniel José Older (4 stars)

A book by or about someone who identifies as transgender: For Today I Am a Boy by Kim Fu (4 stars)


Non-challenge books finished: Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff (3 stars)

Rabbit Hole #42: Favorite Quotations

Two weeks ago, the wonderful Jo at Retired Book Nerd posted a video challenging people to list their two favorite book quotes of all time and why those spoke to the readers. As Jo mentions, one of the reasons we love books is because we love language and the way it can challenge us to view the world in new ways. (I'll link her original video here: A Word About Words.) One of the biggest challenges, however, is narrowing it down to only two!

So here are two (plus one) of my favorite quotations:

“I think us here to wonder, myself. To wonder. To ask. And that in wondering bout the big things and asking bout the big things, you learn about the little ones, almost by accident. But you never know nothing more about the big things than you start out with. The more I wonder, the more I love.”--The Color Purple by Alice Walker

         Wonder. Ask. Read. Listen. Love. The world would be a better place if we were all truly open to the world around us and willing to find out about things we don't know. It's hard to hate and discriminate when you know a person and can empathize with them. 

        

“... Why, it would really be being unselfish to go away and be happy for a little, because we would come back so much nicer.” --Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnin


Travel as much as you can: by yourself, with friends, with loved ones. See the world. Wonder, as Celie says. It can make all the difference.

       

Bonus: "Differences of habit and language are nothing at all if our aims are identical and our hearts are open." --Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling

Some times children's books hold the most profound truths. If only we could remember them as we age.