Author: Kit

Categories
Blog Fiction

The Love Songs of W.E.B DuBois

written by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers, book 46 of 2021

Even in a place of sorrow time passes. Even in a place of joy. Do not assume that either keeps life from continuing. For there are children everywhere. And children are life for they keep their mother’s beauty.

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois – Honoree Fanonne Jeffers

This book is a true undertaking. When I received the advanced listening copy from the publisher I was shocked to see that the listening time was over one whole day of audio. It was worth it. The narrative covers the perspective and history of many of the ancestors of the main character, Ailey Pearl Garfield. The story unfolds in a back and forth pull between the past and present in a way kept the story from losing steam. Oddly, even though I didn’t love any of the characters on their own, I grew quite attached to their combination as an entire family. I would highly recommend this book for its skilled, nuanced, and loving depiction of the bonds of family over time and all manners of adversity.

The narration was also extremely well done and maintained my attention. I loved the Black and Southern dialogue and felt engrossed in the particular people and places.

Recommended for: those interested in the long arc of history, family dramas, historical fiction, or black stories.

Categories: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Social Commentary, Multiple Narrators, Coming of Age


Content Warnings: Violence, Rape, Slavery, Drug Use, Addiction, Death of a Parent, Violence, Displacement

Categories
Blog Fiction

The World Gives Way

Written by Marissa Levien, Book 45 of 2021

“One thing that is true about humanity there will always be those who push the limits of stability and survival just to say they can. They scale the unscalable mountains. They dive to the impenetrable depths. They love the unlovable person. They will live in the unlivable desert.”

Marissa Levien,
“The World Gives Way“

Without giving anything away, “The World Gives Way” describes the intersection of the lives of two strangers at the end of the world. Overall I really enjoyed this book. The characters’ plight forced me to think about what truly matters and consider the implications of the destruction of the vulnerable environment that we all live in. One thing I really enjoyed about this book was the cinematic descriptions. I could clearly visualize this as a film or tv series. I know it’s a trope that “The book was better” when talking about adaptations but in this case, I would likely disagree. As a person who primarily reads for character depth, I was disappointed in the predictability and lack of nuance the characters displayed but was compelled to the end by the engaging plot.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ALC. 

Recommended for: Folks who favor stories of world building, science fiction fans. 

Content Warnings: Apocalypse, Slavery, Fatalism, Drugs, Addiction, Death of a Parent, Violence, Displacement

Categories
Blog Fiction

The Chosen and the Beautiful

written by Nghi Vo, book 43 of 2021

For him, the world was always ending. For him it was always a wreck and a ruin and he had no idea why the rest of us weren’t screaming.

Nghi Vo- The Chosen and the Beautiful

I wanted to love this story but instead I think I “fell in like” with it. There are some really great parts to it: Jordan Baker as an immigrant “oddity” among the glamour of 1920’s New York, the social commentary around immigration and sexual politics, the fact that the main character’s magical talent is presented as the least interesting thing about her. But I felt like it teased a lot of potentials that weren’t fulfilled and dragged a bit in the middle. Nghi Vo is incredibly talented and I almost wish this wasn’t a retelling of The Great Gatsby at all and instead an entirely original story so that she could have dove more into the Jordan Baker’s past and future. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for future works from Vo and I’m looking forward to something fully original.

I felt like this was a solid 3 star listen up until the ending (which I really loved and won’t spoil!) so I’d say it’s at least a 3.5.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC.

Recommended for: anyone who looking for more queer love stories, 1920’s enthusiasts, or fun twists on classic works.

Content Warnings: Racism, Infidelity, Xenophobia, Deportation, Sexism, Homophobia, Abortion, Death, Self Harm.

Categories
Blog Nonfiction

Somebody’s Daughter

written by Ashley C. Ford, narrated by the author – book 42 of 2021

I was nothing and nobody cared what happened to nothing and everything happened to girls who were nothing.

Ashley C. Ford

This raw and vulnerable memoir by Ashley C. Ford challenges the traditional expectations of what families owe each other. Ford was raised primarily by her mother and grandmother after her father’s incarceration as a young child. Her tenuous relationship with her mother is highlighted in contrast to her conflicted feelings about her devoted but isolated father. Ford does not shy away from discussing the difficult parts of her childhood and adolescence and left me in awe of her resilience. She unwaveringly explores the feelings of shame and uncertainty inherent in childhood and their long lasting effects. As an adult that works in health and human services, I found this to be a moving example of the tangible consequences trauma can have. I would highly recommend the audiobook as it is read by the author and includes an excellent conversation between Ashley C. Ford and fellow author Clint Smith that adds another layer of complexity and a new lens through which to view Ford’s story. Smith’s book, “How the Word is Passed” is also expected out on June 1, 2021.

Recommended for: lovers of memoirs, adults working in social or human services work, anyone who wants to experience a glimmer of the human experience from Ford’s perspective.

Content Warnings: Physical and sexual violence, abuse, rape, parent/child conflict

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for early access to this very moving audiobook!

Categories
Blog Fiction

Love and Fury

written by Samantha Silva, Book 37 of 2021

“You say that I am hard on all women. But no harder than I am on myself. I want a serious and thoughtful examination of authentic human emotion and experience, not false sensibility that imprisons us, but a genuine one that empowers us. Not only for me, but you for you too“.

Mary Wollstonecraft
Samantha Silva, “Love and Fury”

This book is not for the faint of heart. The content warnings include child abuse, animal cruelty, drug overdose, suicide, rape and more. Despite all this, the story’s overall message is that of hope. I knew little of Mary Wollstonecraft before this book, but now I’ll certainly seek out more of her writing. Her story, told skillfully through Silva, is one that I’ll carry with me. Mary Wollstonecraft was a women well before her time and her story as told in “Love and Fury” is a compelling look at the strength humans have even when broken and flawed.

The narration is wonderful- besides the terrible American accent, which I will forgive since the rest was outstanding- and I was emotionally engaged throughout.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this early copy of audiobook. It was truly wonderful.

Recommended for: anyone who wants to rethink history.

Content warnings: child abuse, animal cruelty, drug overdose, suicide, rape (basically don’t read this if you’re in a vulnerable mindset).

Categories
Blog Fiction

Ariadne

written by Jennifer Saint, Book 33, 2021

Clever and passionate women who scrubbed floors and tended fires, and wove cloth, and pounded soiled linen on the banks of the rivers while men played dice in the squares and talked at length of philosophy drinking wine in the afternoon sun and arranging the world to suit themselves. These women took to the wide blue sea in their rickety vessels searching for something better which they had heard they would find with us.

Jennifer Saint, Ariadne

I could not put this book down. What little I knew of Ariadne, I learned from a middle school mythology unit and the novel Circe by Madeline Miller. I knew next to nothing of Circe’s sister Phaedra. From a quick google search, it seems like Jennifer Saint stayed fairly true to the understood paths. If you’re like me and you enjoy a retelling from a women’s perspective, you’ll love this. As much as I love when authors subvert the original story more, Saint’s version of the myths still felt complex and novel. The narration was also excellent and compelling.

Recommendations: Would highly recommend to any mythology fan, and especially those who enjoyed Circe and Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller.

Content Warnings: Death, animal cruelty, abandonment, substance abuse, infanticide, bestiality

Thank you the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy of the audiobook.

Categories
Blog Nonfiction

Rebel Ideas

written by Matthew Syed, Book 32 of 2021

Companies founded by immigrants grow faster and survive longer. Immigrants make disproportionate contributions to technology, patent production and to science.

Matthew Syed

I found this book to be successful in treading the line between academic and genuinely engaging. Syed makes compelling points about the inherit value of both diversity and structures that encourage all voices to be heard. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who has a leadership role within an organization or creates and manages teams.

I have seen a lot of people comparing this book to “Range” by David Epstein and I would agree that there are many commonalities that lead this book to feel a bit redundant at times. Nonetheless, I did find this book engaging and I appreciated that the focus of this book was more about how the outsider mindset was valuable to groups and not just valuable within the individual.

Recommended for: Anyone who works on teams, especially those tasked with forming them and those who make decisions.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this advanced copy of the audiobook.

Categories
Blog Nonfiction

When They Call You a Terrorist

written by Patrisse Khan-Cullors, Book 5 of 2021

“What is the impact of not being valued? How do you measure the loss of what a human being does not receive?”

Patrisse Khan-Cullors

Wow. I’ve been trying to prioritize reading more books written by people of color and this was one I will recommend over and over. Patrisse Khan-Cullors tells her story in a deeply moving and personal narrative that covers her life from childhood up to her present day activism in a way that will inspire you to join her. It’s hard not to be moved by the way she makes the day to day criminalization of being black of the US very personal. There’s no time like the present to show up for people of color in this country. 

Recommended for: Anyone who’s wondered, what’s the deal with the Black Lives Matter movement or seems confused about what the movement is fighting for. Anyone interested in learning more about how policing and the experience of prison impacts people of color. 

Actions I will take in response to this book 

  • Support organizations led by and for black folks in my community 
  • Support decriminalization of offenses that are mostly enforced in communities of color.
  • Find out how I can support local organizations not just next month (Black history month, but into the future).

Content Warnings: Incarceration, Racism, Violence, Neglect, Torture, Hate Crimes

Categories
Fiction

Milk Blood Heat

written by Dantiel W. Moniz, Book 10 of 2021

“She was of that special age where she knew both nothing and everything, and no matter where or at whom she looked, she saw her own reflection glimmering back like a skim of oil. She could be anyone, still.”

Dantiel W. Moniz, Milk Blood Heat

Don’t let the sunny cover fool you, this short story collection is not for the faint of heart. The only consistent factor in each of these stories was violence, and it’s enacted in all sorts of different ways. Most of the stories center on women and girls and their own particular horrors. There’s a lot to dissect here and I’m sure this collection will provide an extensive opportunity for examination for those who choose to dive deeper. Moniz is an undeniably talented writer and surely one to watch.

If anything, I think my only complaint about this is that I began to feel a little desensitized and apathetic after reading these stories in succession. Nonetheless, the stories were all compelling and engaging (in their own sad and anxiety inducing way). 

I’m rating this book 3 stars instead of 4 only because I listened to it as an audiobook and the narration fell a bit flat for me (potentially contributing to the apathy described above). 

Recommended for: Lovers of dark and twisty things 

Actions I will take in response to this book:

  • Try to be more empathetic to strangers. This book highlighted all the ways people are scarred and damaged. 

Content Warnings: There’s a little of everything in here so if you’re triggered by violence, death, drugs, cancer, or really anything.. this might not be the right pick for you. 

Categories
Blog Fiction

Land of Big Numbers

by Te-Ping Chen, Book 9, 2021

“He’d seen the village transform itself over a lifetime, just as he, too, was going to transform himself with an invention the likes of which his neighbors had never seen.”

Te-Ping Chen, Land of Big Numbers

This collection, Land of Big Numbers by Te-Ping Chen was fantastic. It tells several unrelated stories of several Chinese people, and/or in a few cases is set in China. The styles and themes as widely as one might expect from such an expansive topic and I’d imagine most people would find at least a few of these stories entertaining. My two favorites were “New Fruit” and “Gubeiko Spirit”. I’m a big fan of anything with magical realism and I was pleasantly surprised by the stories that integrated a dash of the unreal. As a bonus: I learned a lot about contemporary Chinese culture (I’m embarrassed to know so little).

Recommended for: Any adult or older teenager, this collection is very readable and thought provoking. Could make a great choice for a book club.

Actions I will take in response to this book 

  • Learn more about China in general, these stories really peaked my curiosity
  • Give more short stories a chance


Content Warnings: Incarceration, Death, Violence, Suicide