What are you reading?

[Kätzchen]

[Wrang1er]

Further Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin.

I finished Tales of the City and More Tales of the City.

Fun reading!

[easygoingfemme]

Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward.

[dark_crystal]

With ears:
A World on Fire: Britain's Crucial Role in the American Civil War, by Amanda Foreman

Acclaimed historian Amanda Foreman follows the phenomenal success of her New York Times bestseller Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire with her long-awaited second work of nonfiction: the fascinating story of the American Civil War and the major role played by Britain and its citizens in that epic struggle.
Even before the first rumblings of secession shook the halls of Congress, British involvement in the coming schism was inevitable. Britain was dependent on the South for cotton, and in turn the Confederacy relied almost exclusively on Britain for guns, bullets, and ships. The Union sought to block any diplomacy between the two and consistently teetered on the brink of war with Britain. For four years the complex web of relationships between the countries led to defeats and victories both minute and history-making. In A World on Fire, Amanda Foreman examines the fraught relations from multiple angles while she introduces characters both humble and grand, bringing them to vivid life over the course of her sweeping and brilliant narrative.

With eyes:
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, By Becky Chambers

Life aboard the Wayfarer is chaotic and crazy—exactly what Rosemary wants. It’s also about to get extremely dangerous when the crew is offered the job of a lifetime. Tunneling wormholes through space to a distant planet is definitely lucrative and will keep them comfortable for years. But risking her life wasn’t part of the plan. In the far reaches of deep space, the tiny Wayfarer crew will confront a host of unexpected mishaps and thrilling adventures that force them to depend on each other. To survive, Rosemary’s got to learn how to rely on this assortment of oddballs—an experience that teaches her about love and trust, and that having a family isn’t necessarily the worst thing in the universe.

[Kätzchen]

I went to Barnes & Noble, this afternoon, and bought two more books, which I hope are really, really good. One is from Obama's summer read list: The Nickel Boys (author: Colson Whitehead).

The other is a book called Evvie Drake Starts Over, by new author - Linda Holmes, who also is the host of an NPR pod cast -- Pop Culture Happy Hour. She also appears regularly on other NPR shows, including Weekend Edition, Before NPR, and All Things Considered.

I'm looking forward to reading both books.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

This is for a podcast from "Levar Burton Reads". This may not be quite the place for it, but it was the best I could find.

This past week he read a short story, "The Simplest Equation" by Nicky Drayden. It turns out to be an endearing little love story between two women, that involves math. It's perfect for geeky nerdish girls like myself. And it left my little heart going "waaah!" when it was over.

If you get a chance to listen, it's worth sticking around for Levar's brief epilogue at the end. The whole story is only 40 minutes long, and it's definitely worth your time if you're a math nerd, or a romantic, or both. I've mentioned before that Levar really knows how to read a story, and it's as true in this tale as ever. Search for "Levar Burton Reads" wherever you find your podcasts.

[Kätzchen]

Originally Posted by Kätzchen

I went to Barnes & Noble, this afternoon, and bought two more books, which I hope are really, really good. One is from Obama's summer read list: The Nickel Boys (author: Colson Whitehead).

The other is a book called Evvie Drake Starts Over, by new author - Linda Holmes, who also is the host of an NPR pod cast -- Pop Culture Happy Hour. She also appears regularly on other NPR shows, including Weekend Edition, Before NPR, and All Things Considered.

I'm looking forward to reading both books.

I've not even opened up The Nickel Boys yet, but oh my gosh, the book by Linda Holmes is really good. I hope to finish reading it, by tomorrow. I don't want to spoil this book for any other reader, but the novel broaches subjects, for example, like performative roles people perform for their own sake or for the sakes of others.

I had no idea that Holmes would write about such things in her first work of fiction, but performative roles people play is not really any type of fiction.

It's an interesting field of study, for me, due to my communication studies background in Higher Ed. Role play, whether it's intentional or not, is one way human's communicate to others in performative type ways.

I like Linda Holmes first novel for the way she uses her novel's character narrative's as a way for others to explore the obscurity behind performative role play (why people mask their behaviors, etc).

I'm only half way through the Holmes novel, but I'm giving it the best rating possible because it's an very enjoyable and interesting story to read.

[Sparkle]

I’m reading ‘The Travelers’ by Regina Porter, it’s a fantastic multi-generational, multi-threaded family story that spans multiple decades in Modern American history. It reads like a screenplay, has as many interwoven characters as Marquez novel, and delves into deep waters addressing racism and multiracial family dynamics with a deftness that is pretty damn remarkable. I’d say this novel was overlooked by all the big awards committees.

I’ve also had the pleasure of reading some of the widely lauded new novels
Ocean Vuong’s genre breaking “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous” should be a part of the queer canon. It is truly remarkable.

I devoured Margaret Atwood’s “The Testaments” within a couple of days and was not at all disappointed, but completely enthralled. I also saw her National Theatre simulcast reading the day it was published.

I just sped-read Ann Patchett’s “The Dutch House” in 2.5 days - she’s a brilliant weaver of stories.

And I throughly enjoyed Elizabeth Gilbert’s newest “City of Girls” - a wonderful story of courageous women breaking the rules, and a fabulous romp through New York theatre world in the mid century.

And now... I’m impatiently awaiting the publication of “The Secret Commonwealth” Philip Pullman’s second in the prequel/sequel series that sandwiches the ‘His Dark Materials’ trilogy.

Edited to add: typos are due to (a) my iPhone which is not terribly smart (b) my suddenly and rapidly deteriorating 45yr old eyesight.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Originally Posted by Kätzchen

The other is a book called Evvie Drake Starts Over, by new author - Linda Holmes, who also is the host of an NPR pod cast -- Pop Culture Happy Hour. She also appears regularly on other NPR shows, including Weekend Edition, Before NPR, and All Things Considered.

I'm starting Evvie Drake Starts Over next, as soon as I finish up this post-apocalyptic police procedural The Wild Dead by Carrie Vaughn. It has been a pretty good beach read, if you like female detectives mixed with post-apocalyptic speculative fiction. The world Carrie Vaughn has created with this, the second novel in a new series, is pretty interesting. The first book in the series is Bannerless. She raises some interesting questions about morality and society's responsibilities in a world with limited resources.

[RebelDyke]

my textbook on gifted and talented learners


very fascinating

[dark_crystal]

Originally Posted by GeorgiaMa'am

I'm starting Evvie Drake Starts Over next, as soon as I finish up this post-apocalyptic police procedural The Wild Dead by Carrie Vaughn. It has been a pretty good beach read, if you like female detectives mixed with post-apocalyptic speculative fiction. The world Carrie Vaughn has created with this, the second novel in a new series, is pretty interesting. The first book in the series is Bannerless. She raises some interesting questions about morality and society's responsibilities in a world with limited resources.

I just put a hold on both of these titles. File under: extremely my shit

[dark_crystal]

Originally Posted by GeorgiaMa'am

I'm starting Evvie Drake Starts Over next, as soon as I finish up this post-apocalyptic police procedural The Wild Dead by Carrie Vaughn. It has been a pretty good beach read, if you like female detectives mixed with post-apocalyptic speculative fiction. The world Carrie Vaughn has created with this, the second novel in a new series, is pretty interesting. The first book in the series is Bannerless. She raises some interesting questions about morality and society's responsibilities in a world with limited resources.

I am reading BANNERLESS now, and listening to UNCLOBBER, by Colby Martin:

UnClobber: Rethinking Our Misuse of the Bible on Homosexuality: Churches in America are experiencing an unprecedented fracturing due to their belief and attitude toward the LGBTQ community. Armed with only six passages in the Bible often known as the "clobber passages" the traditional Christian position has been one that stands against the full inclusion of our LGBTQ brothers and sisters. Unclobber reexamines each of those frequently quoted passages of Scripture, alternating with author Colby Martin's own story of being fired from an evangelical megachurch when they discovered his stance on sexuality.

UnClobber reexamines what the Bible says (and does not say) about homosexuality in such a way that breathes fresh life into outdated and inaccurate assumptions and interpretations.

It is interesting but i am kind of over the whole idea of trying to find a way to fit ourselves into the Bible. Let the clobber passages stand as they are, and understand that the real project lies in getting people to accept that God's creation is also a Bible, and that areas where the written word contradicts the created word should be resolved in favor of the created, as the written word bears the taint of human corruption and should be questioned.