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lmwanak's reviews
208 reviews
Every Tongue Got to Confess by Zora Neale Hurston
Did not finish book.
Did not finish book.
I initially got this for the stories, but then bought a copy of Mules and Men from Half Price books. I'll be reading that one first.
Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I did like the folklore (I learned a lot about Yoruba folklore that was neat) and the slight callbacks on the Little Mermaid story, but overall found this one to be tropey and hard to read through because the main characters weren't all that engaging. The side characters were much more interesting, but I was turned off because my favorite character, the young fairy, had so many death flags on him and true to form, he was killed off. . Other than that, it was an okay read. Might pick up the next book because it ended with the protagonist making a decision that had me actually interested in what she would do.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Slavery, Trafficking, Colonisation, Confinement, and Kidnapping
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Been spending most of my staycation this week reading this. Normally I would be like "Why didn't I read this when I was younger?!" Instead, I invited my younger self to sit and read with me. And the both of us was deeply encouraged.
Also, it was the perfect book to read for this deconstructing soul who is unlearning and relearning who God is.
Also, it was the perfect book to read for this deconstructing soul who is unlearning and relearning who God is.
The Black God's Drums by P. Djèlí Clark
adventurous
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
A nice quick read about alt-history New Orleans that makes me want to know more about the world.
Reflections: On the Magic of Writing by Diana Wynne Jones, Neil Gaiman, Charles Butler
Did not finish book. Stopped at 18%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 18%.
It was nice. I could have extended the return deadline, but seeing I was barely reading it, I thought it best to take back to the library. The essays I read were nice, but a lot were specficially geared toward writing for children and I'm not interested in that right now.
Lambs of God by Marele Day
dark
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This was an interesting book. The first book SG recommended to me, and it did not disappoint. I wanted something that involved faith but also myths, slow and reflective and maybe funny. Lambs of God fell into many of these categories.
Three forgotten nuns on a remote island receive a visit from a priest, who is assessing the land for a high-class resort that would put money back into the church. For the nuns, this will not do. The crumbling monastery is their home, and the priest is anathema to everything they know. So, well, they prevent him from finishing the assessment.
The book wants to be funny. The nuns are uncivilized in the eyes of the priest and isolated from outside human contact, they are portrayed as almost as animalistic as the sheep they care for. Carla is the youngest (roughly around her upper 40s, I think) and the most eccentric and child-like, having spent all her life at the monastery. Margurite is the most suspicious, and rightly so, given what we learn from her past. Ipaphengia is the oldest and has the curious talent of having the keenest nose, able to smell anything from anywhere on the island. Their faith has evolved to a mixture of Catholicism and paganism, with a smattering of retold fairy tales thrown in (they love to tell stories -- my favorite scene is when Margurite retells Beauty and the Beast and the priest gets upset). And there's knitting. So much knitting, that it feels like a religion itself.
Among this idyllic life, however when the nuns learn of the priest's plan, they drug him and hold him captive by plastering his legs together so he can't run off. I think this is supposed to be humorous, but I found it horrifying. Pompous and arrogant as the priest is, it was very uncomfortable seeing him held captive and at the mercy of the sisters. There's also an action done by Carla that is very non-consensual (it isn't made clear, but the implications are enough). It's all very weird and uncomfortable and definitely took some enjoyment out of the book for me.
Writing-wise, I enjoyed the slow, rambling nature of the book. There's a lot of 3rd person POV mixing and muddling, but I think it works in this in that it gives a clear picture of what everyone is thinking (and it's been a long, long time since I've read an Omni-pov book. I kind of miss it.) Some of the revelations in the book did leave me wanting a bit more. I wanted to know why Ipaphengia chose the monastic life when we're given reasons about the other two. What was life like when there were more sisters in the monastery? What will happen to the sisters now? The ending seems happy, but it still gave me a sense of bleakness.
Three forgotten nuns on a remote island receive a visit from a priest, who is assessing the land for a high-class resort that would put money back into the church. For the nuns, this will not do. The crumbling monastery is their home, and the priest is anathema to everything they know. So, well, they prevent him from finishing the assessment.
The book wants to be funny. The nuns are uncivilized in the eyes of the priest and isolated from outside human contact, they are portrayed as almost as animalistic as the sheep they care for. Carla is the youngest (roughly around her upper 40s, I think) and the most eccentric and child-like, having spent all her life at the monastery. Margurite is the most suspicious, and rightly so, given what we learn from her past. Ipaphengia is the oldest and has the curious talent of having the keenest nose, able to smell anything from anywhere on the island. Their faith has evolved to a mixture of Catholicism and paganism, with a smattering of retold fairy tales thrown in (they love to tell stories -- my favorite scene is when Margurite retells Beauty and the Beast and the priest gets upset). And there's knitting. So much knitting, that it feels like a religion itself.
Among this idyllic life, however
Writing-wise, I enjoyed the slow, rambling nature of the book. There's a lot of 3rd person POV mixing and muddling, but I think it works in this in that it gives a clear picture of what everyone is thinking (and it's been a long, long time since I've read an Omni-pov book. I kind of miss it.) Some of the revelations in the book did leave me wanting a bit more. I wanted to know why Ipaphengia chose the monastic life when we're given reasons about the other two. What was life like when there were more sisters in the monastery? What will happen to the sisters now? The ending seems happy, but it still gave me a sense of bleakness.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Kidnapping, and Misogyny
In My Grandmother's House: Black Women, Faith, and the Stories We Inherit by Yolanda Pierce
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
5.0
A gorgeous read. Pierce reflects on what it means to walk in the tension of being a Black womanist Christian by giving honor to the women who helped raise her in the church and the reasons for their strictness. My takeaway is that it is all right to both love and critique the church and that God's holiness appears in that tension.
Another Country by James Baldwin
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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
3.75
When my husband and I were engaged, our pastor assigned us a book to read about Black/white interracial relationships. I wish he chose this book instead, as it displayed Black/white dynamics far better than the other book. It also was talking about white privilege way before we started talking about it in this current time (which is both encouraging and discouraging).
I'm floored by the relationships and the tensions and the friendships and the jealousy. The moments of rage, the moments of tenderness, in some cases directed towards the same person. And although Rufus only appears in the first quarter of the book, his presence lingers after his death. and while there was times I felt the story wandered, Baldwin's writing kept me fully engaged.
This was the first James Baldwin book I've ever read, and it definitely won't be the last.
I'm floored by the relationships and the tensions and the friendships and the jealousy. The moments of rage, the moments of tenderness, in some cases directed towards the same person. And although Rufus only appears in the first quarter of the book, his presence lingers after his death. and while there was times I felt the story wandered, Baldwin's writing kept me fully engaged.
This was the first James Baldwin book I've ever read, and it definitely won't be the last.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Suicide, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Hate crime, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, and Physical abuse
Minor: Sexual harassment
Womanist Midrash: A Reintroduction to the Women of the Torah and the Throne by Wilda C. Gafney
challenging
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
5.0
This blew my mind in so many ways! I plan to use this as a womanist commentary for the first five books of the Bible. It took a long time for me to read it, partly because it is academic, but mostly because I had to sit with many of the women Gafney honors by calling out, named or not. Some of the stories were very hard to read, and Gafney does not try to spin their hardship into a noble, redemption thing. Instead, she stands with them and question why.
This book helped me pick up the Bible again and approach it with a womanist lens. I will definitely get Gafney's other works.
This book helped me pick up the Bible again and approach it with a womanist lens. I will definitely get Gafney's other works.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Cultural appropriation, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Murder, Pregnancy, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Grief, Misogyny, Trafficking, and War
Moderate: Colonisation, Incest, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Genocide, Hate crime, Infidelity, Kidnapping, and Homophobia
Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope by Esau McCaulley
Did not finish book.
Did not finish book.
Reading too many religion texts right now. Want to move to something lighter. I'll pick it up again after I read the others.