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bibliophage's reviews
626 reviews
Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches by Audre Lorde
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
“The quality of light by which we scrutinize our lives has direct bearing upon the product which we live, and upon the changes which we hope to bring about through those lives. It is within this light that we form those ideas by which we pursue our magic and make it realized. This is poetry as illumination, for it is through poetry that we give name to those ideas which are––until the poem––nameless and formless, about to be birthed, but already felt. The distillation of experience from which true poetry springs births thought as dream births concept, as feeling births idea, as knowledge births (precedes) understanding.”
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I don't have to say the obvious––Audre Lorde is an incredible writer and thinker. Plenty of content here is still relevant, and even timely, even 37 years after publication. The occasional insight may make more sense in the 1984 context (I'm thinking specifically about her essays on her visit to the Soviet Union in 1976). I especially love Lorde's discussion of poetry and how poetry and writing/words are directly tied to identity and activism––and she shows this in her soulful prose. I'm still wrestling with some of my own thoughts about particular threads of Feminist thought and theory, but that's precisely why I am investing so much time and energy in all the reading I've done lately, and also why I picked up Sister Outsider.
📚📖📚
I don't have to say the obvious––Audre Lorde is an incredible writer and thinker. Plenty of content here is still relevant, and even timely, even 37 years after publication. The occasional insight may make more sense in the 1984 context (I'm thinking specifically about her essays on her visit to the Soviet Union in 1976). I especially love Lorde's discussion of poetry and how poetry and writing/words are directly tied to identity and activism––and she shows this in her soulful prose. I'm still wrestling with some of my own thoughts about particular threads of Feminist thought and theory, but that's precisely why I am investing so much time and energy in all the reading I've done lately, and also why I picked up Sister Outsider.
Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
“It’s funny how three or four notes of anger can be struck at once, creating the perfect chord of fury.”
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The premise of this story is fascinating--a bigamist, two mother-daughter pairs, the "outside" mother and daughter are in the know, and the lives of all involved intersect. But the story moves slowly and left me with many questions. Jones' prose is, as usual, lyrical and lovely, but again this was a story that I didn't feel fully invested in.
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The premise of this story is fascinating--a bigamist, two mother-daughter pairs, the "outside" mother and daughter are in the know, and the lives of all involved intersect. But the story moves slowly and left me with many questions. Jones' prose is, as usual, lyrical and lovely, but again this was a story that I didn't feel fully invested in.
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
“Love is lak de sea. It’s uh movin’ thing, but still and all, it takes its shape from de shore it meets, and it’s different with every shore.”
“When God had made The Man, he made him out of stuff that sung all the time and glittered all over. Some angels got jealous and chopped him into millions of pieces, but still he glittered and hummed. So they beat him down to nothing but sparks but each little spark had a shine and a song. So they covered each one over with mud. And the lonesomeness in the sparks make them hunt for one another.”
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Janie's quest for independents is told here in beautiful, lyrical writing. Hurston has a gift for the descriptive––it's not overwhelming or overdone, it's just mesmerizing. I was really taken with Hurston's writing and the broader strokes of her story, but I found the movement of this particular plot line to be a bit slow and less compelling. Even so, I would pick up Hurston again in a heartbeat.
“When God had made The Man, he made him out of stuff that sung all the time and glittered all over. Some angels got jealous and chopped him into millions of pieces, but still he glittered and hummed. So they beat him down to nothing but sparks but each little spark had a shine and a song. So they covered each one over with mud. And the lonesomeness in the sparks make them hunt for one another.”
📚📖📚
Janie's quest for independents is told here in beautiful, lyrical writing. Hurston has a gift for the descriptive––it's not overwhelming or overdone, it's just mesmerizing. I was really taken with Hurston's writing and the broader strokes of her story, but I found the movement of this particular plot line to be a bit slow and less compelling. Even so, I would pick up Hurston again in a heartbeat.
I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
“'I don't know what to do with what I've learned,' she said. 'I can't fix your pain, and I can't take it away, but I can see it. And I can work for the rest of my life to make sure your children don't have to experience the pain of racism.'
And then she said nine words that I've never forgotten: 'Doing nothing is no longer an option for me.'”
“But reconciliation is not about white feelings. It’s about diverting power and attention to the oppressed, toward the powerless. It’s not enough to dabble at diversity and inclusion while leaving the existing authority structure in place. Reconciliation demands more.”
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Brown's memoir is not just a reflection on her experiences of racial injustices, but it's a memoir of action––what she's done, what those around her have done, and what we can and should be doing. I loved this piece and I think it's one of the stronger antiracism reads that I have come across so far. Just as the individual stated in Brown's experience, after this piece and all the antiracism reading and study of the past year and a half, "doing nothing is no longer an option for me" either. I'm still learning, learning, learning, and I have a long way to go, but just attending events and webinars, and just reading books, is not enough. I must be active in dismantling the racial injustices in the larger structures I live and work in. I must be a stone catcher--as Bryan Stevenson describes in Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption. Thank you Austin Channing Brown for this excellent piece. PS For some reason this book is tagged as a teen read, and while accessible and a great read for teens, I'd say this is absolutely for adults too.
And then she said nine words that I've never forgotten: 'Doing nothing is no longer an option for me.'”
“But reconciliation is not about white feelings. It’s about diverting power and attention to the oppressed, toward the powerless. It’s not enough to dabble at diversity and inclusion while leaving the existing authority structure in place. Reconciliation demands more.”
📚📖📚
Brown's memoir is not just a reflection on her experiences of racial injustices, but it's a memoir of action––what she's done, what those around her have done, and what we can and should be doing. I loved this piece and I think it's one of the stronger antiracism reads that I have come across so far. Just as the individual stated in Brown's experience, after this piece and all the antiracism reading and study of the past year and a half, "doing nothing is no longer an option for me" either. I'm still learning, learning, learning, and I have a long way to go, but just attending events and webinars, and just reading books, is not enough. I must be active in dismantling the racial injustices in the larger structures I live and work in. I must be a stone catcher--as Bryan Stevenson describes in Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption. Thank you Austin Channing Brown for this excellent piece. PS For some reason this book is tagged as a teen read, and while accessible and a great read for teens, I'd say this is absolutely for adults too.
Teaching Professional and Technical Communication: A Practicum in a Book by
informative
medium-paced
So pleased with this resource. I enjoyed reading each chapter and I’m also glad to have this on my shelf as a go-to resources for the next few years. Excellent chapters, discussions, and assignment suggestions.
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
“She tells me words give people permission to be their fullest self. And aren’t these the poems I’ve most needed to hear?”
In Acevedo's splendid verse, The Poet X tells the story of Xiomara, a young woman coming-of-age in Harlem. Xiomara comes from a Dominican immigrant family with devoutly religious parents. We read here of Xiomara's challenge to fully come in to her own and find her poet's voice as she challenges various familial and societal expectations. Xiomara is strong and independent and compelled to write.
The Poet X was Acevedo's debut but I ended up reading it after With Fire on High and Clap When You Land. With Fire on High remains my favorite, I definitely felt the power of this award-winning novel-in-verse. While I think Acevedo's creative command of language is well deserving of praise, I felt that the central question of religion merited more nuance. Xiomara's story of her wrestle with the high expectations of her mother is moving, but in the end I felt that there was still much left to be explored about her struggle with her mother's beliefs and viewpoints. Even so, I would recommend any of Acevedo's stories-in-verse.
Also, I'm thrilled that the novel-in-verse continues to gain traction among young readers, I hope this genre just continues to grow.
In Acevedo's splendid verse, The Poet X tells the story of Xiomara, a young woman coming-of-age in Harlem. Xiomara comes from a Dominican immigrant family with devoutly religious parents. We read here of Xiomara's challenge to fully come in to her own and find her poet's voice as she challenges various familial and societal expectations. Xiomara is strong and independent and compelled to write.
The Poet X was Acevedo's debut but I ended up reading it after With Fire on High and Clap When You Land. With Fire on High remains my favorite, I definitely felt the power of this award-winning novel-in-verse. While I think Acevedo's creative command of language is well deserving of praise, I felt that the central question of religion merited more nuance. Xiomara's story of her wrestle with the high expectations of her mother is moving, but in the end I felt that there was still much left to be explored about her struggle with her mother's beliefs and viewpoints. Even so, I would recommend any of Acevedo's stories-in-verse.
Also, I'm thrilled that the novel-in-verse continues to gain traction among young readers, I hope this genre just continues to grow.
The Only Grant-Writing Book You'll Ever Need by Ellen Karsh, Arlen Sue Fox
informative
medium-paced
Great information based on a diverse panel that gave great insight into the grant and proposal writing world. Good for students to know the information here but to also know this book as a resource for on the job guidance.
Handbook for Writing Proposals, Second Edition by L. Sue Baugh, Robert J. Hamper
informative
medium-paced
Possible resource or text for proposal writing classes or technical communications classes. Lots of pages with sample charts that may be useful in the classroom.
Black Reconstruction in America 1860-1880 by W.E.B. Du Bois
challenging
informative
slow-paced
"If the Reconstruction of the Southern states, from slavery to free labor, and from aristocracy to industrial democracy, had been conceived as a major national program of America, whose accomplishment at any price was well worth the effort, we should be living today in a different world."
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Reading Black Reconstruction in America was a massive undertaking. This was a challenging read of epic proportions—in length, content, and scope—but oh what an eloquent writer Du Bois is. His research, his syntax, his diction, and his insight meld together in this masterpiece—what a gifted thinker and writer. And aren't we too, asking the same question Du Bois was asking in 1935? How would our world be different today if in those Reconstruction years we had not failed our brothers and sisters of color, over and over again?
I'm not sure I would read this book cover-to-cover again, but I certainly will be returning to the text in shorter portions to dig deeper. I found the chapter on the Southern public school system particularly interesting.
📚📖📚
Reading Black Reconstruction in America was a massive undertaking. This was a challenging read of epic proportions—in length, content, and scope—but oh what an eloquent writer Du Bois is. His research, his syntax, his diction, and his insight meld together in this masterpiece—what a gifted thinker and writer. And aren't we too, asking the same question Du Bois was asking in 1935? How would our world be different today if in those Reconstruction years we had not failed our brothers and sisters of color, over and over again?
I'm not sure I would read this book cover-to-cover again, but I certainly will be returning to the text in shorter portions to dig deeper. I found the chapter on the Southern public school system particularly interesting.
Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
I was so looking forward to reading about Lila, her Filipino family, and their amazing food (I love a great story that revolves around family and food!) but I barely made it through the fluff and the repetitive scenes and descriptions. The cover is beautiful and I love the recipes in the back but the writing was disappointing. More later.
Also, learning that “cozies” and “cozy mysteries” are a think and perhaps even an emerging genre—where this book would land—meant to be cozy and somewhat light, or something like that. Still learning what exactly this means, but even so I still didn’t like this one and I wasn’t impressed with the writing.
Also, learning that “cozies” and “cozy mysteries” are a think and perhaps even an emerging genre—where this book would land—meant to be cozy and somewhat light, or something like that. Still learning what exactly this means, but even so I still didn’t like this one and I wasn’t impressed with the writing.