Open Thread: What are We Reading?
by Latoya Peterson
I already know the Racialicious community likes to read. But exactly what kinds of books are we reading?
Here’s what I’ve been paging through over the past few weeks.
Books:
You’re So Money: Live Rich, Even When You’re Not, Farnoosh Torabi
Home Girls Make Some Noise: A Hip-Hop Feminist Anthology, edited by Gwendolyn D. Pough (and others)
Total Chaos: The Art and Aesthetics of Hip-Hop, edited by Jeff Chang
The Outlaw Demon Wails, Kim Harrison
In the Miso Soup, Ryu Murakami
Hardcore Zen: Punk Rock, Monster Movies, and the Truth About Reality, Brad Warner
Hungry Planet: What the World Eats, Peter Menzel
Eyeing for next month: Shock Doctrine (Naomi Klein), Pleasure (Eric Jerome Dickey), Kushiel’s Mercy (Jacqueline Carey), Identity and Violence: The Illusion of Destiny (Amartya Sen)
Manga:
Death Note, Vol. 3
xxxHOLiC, Vol. 11
Godchild Vol. 3
Magazines:
Shojo Beat, Fast Company, Elle, Colorlines, Women’s Health, Glamour, Shape, Self, Black Enterprise, Marie Claire, Lucky, Kiplingers
Your turn. Don’t be afraid to list the fluffy stuff.
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of 
Ali wrote:
Lately I’ve been playing catch up. I never took Af Am Lit in undergrad and am paying dearly for it now. Finally getting around to I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (laughed out loud in the middle of a crowded train at the Ms. Monroe church scene). Various pieces by Baldwin, Baraka and Coates are still on deck. Also looking forward to Colonize This, picked it up yesterday!
Let me know how you like Shock Doctrine. I was a huge fan of Naomi Klein for a long time (we’re kind of on a break right now). I started No Logo and had to put it down. The European gaze and complete glazing over glaring racism in the ad industry really turned me off.
Posted 19 May 2008 at 9:10 am ¶
Matt wrote:
Just finished: Yours in Struggle: Three feminist essays on anti-semitism and racism by Elly Bulkin. Currently: Coming Out Jewish by Jon Stratton, Ten Gates: The kong-an teaching of Zen Master Seung Sahn , Don’t-know Mind: The spirit of Korean Zen by Richard Shrobe. Upcoming: The Jewish Enemy: Nazi Propaganda during World War II and the Holocaust by Jeffrey Herf, and perhaps The Plot Against America by Philip Roth.
Posted 19 May 2008 at 9:10 am ¶
Treacle wrote:
I’ve been reading a lot of pre-feminist pieces lately, stuff like Mary Wollstonecraft and John Stuart Mill and Emma Goldman and so forth.
I also read Foreign Policy Magazine and Harvard International Review.
For fun, I read comic books. X-Men, Death Note, Claymore, Buffy…all that.
Posted 19 May 2008 at 9:19 am ¶
f wrote:
Going Native - Stephen Wright (finished)
The Tremor of Forgery - Patricia Highsmith (just started) - she’s one of my favourite writers ever
The Beauty Myth - Naomi Wolf (reading it in between things)
And for my PhD:
Is Democracy Possible Here? - Ronald Dworkin (my hero)
Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity - Richard Rorty
The End of Human Rights - Costas Douzinas
and a million depressing and upsetting testimonies by Palestinian torture victims.
I’ve really enjoyed it all, particularly the PhD work.
Posted 19 May 2008 at 9:20 am ¶
Philly Phil wrote:
THE 2008 LIST (thus far)
highly HIGHLY recommended
Random Family by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc
highly recommended:
Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy (finished)
Lush Life by Richard Price (finished)
currently reading:
Ashes by Kenzo Kitakata
comics/graphic novels (IS IT STRICTLY MANGA FOR YOU??):
Ex-Machina
100 Bullets
any recommendations out there?
Posted 19 May 2008 at 9:40 am ¶
Latoya Peterson wrote:
@ Ali - I started flirting with Shock Doctrine after reading an article in Fast Company that completely pissed me off about globalization. I’m eyeing it, but I am not sure - academic texts take me longer to read and I tend to purchase them, so I am leaning toward Amartya Sen’s book. Never read “No Logo” - maybe I should give it a skim.
@Matt - interesting, particularly the first one.
@Treacle - How is Claymore. I keep hearing that title pop up but haven’t seen a copy.
@F - What’s your PhD program concentration?
@PhillyPhil - Yes, I read comics, graphic novels and manga, though it’s been mostly manga recently. I haven’t been by my favorite comic shop in ages, so I am a bit out of touch with the indie presses.
Posted 19 May 2008 at 9:45 am ¶
Lyonside wrote:
After 18 months, I am finally demanding that I give myself TIME to read.
Quality optional, all I want is entertainment, something I can read in one evening, preferably, so I can finish it while my kid is with her grandparents. Or, something that I can put down easily and take up quickly. I used to be the queen of reading 5 novels at once and knowing exactly where I left off each one. *sigh* no more…
Recently I’ve read:
2 Don Strachey novels (#1 and #3, I think - forget the titles and can’t Amazon at work)
No Dominion (the 4th of the Already Dead series)
Lies My Teacher Told Me and the sequel about the National Parks System…
Posted 19 May 2008 at 9:50 am ¶
hey wrote:
Right now I’m simulatenously reading Peter Hopkirk’s The Great Game (about Victorian era British and Russian espionage in Afghanistan) and Trespassers on the Roof of the World (British in Tibet). And besides the New Yorker, all the magazines I read are shitty fashion fluff: InStyle, Vogue, Lucky, Allure.
And “f”, how can you read the Beauty Myth “in between things”??!!?? I was so entranced I read the whole thing in one sitting, very very smart, and yes you can be down with Naomi Wolf and still read the fashion rags, ok?
Posted 19 May 2008 at 9:52 am ¶
G.D. wrote:
I’m reading Ta-Nehisi Coates wonderfully written memoir, “The Beautiful Struggle,” which focuses mostly on his relationships with his older brother and his father, who were both boyhood heroes and later pretty maddening figures.
Also, “Dream Boogie,” a biography of Sam Cooke.
Posted 19 May 2008 at 10:00 am ¶
Latoya Peterson wrote:
@ G.D. -
My boyfriend just bought a copy on Saturday. I will probably read it once he finishes.
Posted 19 May 2008 at 10:08 am ¶
Ms. Four wrote:
Latoya, great topic! I’ve been focusing my reading lately on sub-Saharan Africa–books by African writers, or books about Africa. I’ve been doing this for a few years now, but especially since I started the African Reading Challenge. Here’s the blog (not mine) about this: http://tukopamoja.wordpress.com/africa-reading-challenge/
High on my list right now is Chimamanda Adichie, who wrote Half of a Yellow Sun, about the Nigerian/Biafran War. She has another book, Purple Hibiscus, that I hope to read soon. Also from Nigeria, I just read Helon Habila’s Waiting for an Angel (lyrical and compelling) and Chris Abadi’s Graceland.
On the lighter side, I’ve also recently discovered African American feminist sci-fi writer Octavia Butler. Right now I’m reading the Seed to Harvest series, which starts with Wild Seed. Her writing is great and really interesting.
Posted 19 May 2008 at 10:22 am ¶
lowercase tasha wrote:
Books read or currently reading this year:
Saviors or Sellouts: The Promise and Peril of Black Conservatism, from Booker T. Washington to Condolezza Rice - Chris Bracey
The Return of History and the End of Dreams - by Robert Kagan
Chalked Up - Jennifer Sey (proverbial, pre-Olympic, tragic, gymnast memoir)
Vindicated - Jose Conseco (borrowed it from the library, will not put money in Jose’s pocket) and then had to dust off the companion piece about Barry Bonds . . .
Game of Shadows - Fainaru-Wada and Williams
On Beauty- by Zadie Smith
Magazines:
Gourmet, W, Essence, NYT magazine. I’ll thumb through American Vogue and Teen Vogue but don’t subscribe and rarely buy, same goes for Vanity Fair, The New Yorker, Sports Illustrated (but visit website routinely, especially for John Wertheim’s tennis mailbag and columns/ same goes for Style.com, to see the collections) VIBE, and Rolling Stone.
Comics:
Usually JLA and Batman, when I do buy, that is. Growing up, I used to read comic novels, not graphic novels, because there were no pictures. They were like regular books like “Batman: Knightfall” by Dennis O’neil and “Batman: No Man’s Land” by Greg Rucka. Been reading more online fan fiction, since I recently discovered “jla unlimited” (I know. Where have I been?)
Posted 19 May 2008 at 10:25 am ¶
emfole wrote:
this is great!! this is a huge list of books to check out!! I just finished Alice Walker’s “Temple of my Familiar”, a graphic novel about Emma Goldman’s life, a vintage collection of James Baldwin’s works and now im in “Passing” by Nella Larsen. Yay books!!
Posted 19 May 2008 at 10:48 am ¶
Winn wrote:
The only thing I love more than talking about music is talking about books. I’m usually juggling several books at a time, but now that grad school is done, I can read for pleasure again. Currently I’m reading:
Black Pain: It Just Looks Like We’re Not Hurting by Terrie Williams - This is a long overdue look at the prevalence and ramifications of depression through the prism of black identity and the unique constraints we have as a community in obtaining mental health support. As a therapist, I have found it essential, but I think it’s a must-read for POC in general.
Love’s Executioner and Other Tales of Psychotherapy by Irving Yalom - a classic in the field, which I revisit periodically when my energy flags.
The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic Book Scare and How It Changed America by David Hadju - a very nuanced and endlessly interesting assessment of the 1960’s moral panic over comic books, especially horror comics, and how it impacted American cultural history.
Slip of the Knife by Denise Mina/Careless in Red by Elizabeth George - I love British mysteries and police procedurals, especially Scottish authors like Mina. I would say these are my guilty pleasures, but they are so well-written I feel no guilt at all!
Posted 19 May 2008 at 10:59 am ¶
Phrone wrote:
Cool topic! With school ending for the summer, I’ve been on somewhat of a reading binge. (At least compared to my zero free time for reading in college.) Currently I’m reading “Wild Swans” — which is about three generations of Chinese women, primarily during the communist revolution — and “Microtrends” — which is just about smaller movements within America. I’ve also read On the Down Low and Ugly Americans.
I’m curious what other people think about The Beauty Myth, because I ended up not being able to finish it. One major complaint was that I felt it completely ignored women who weren’t white and upper middle class (or heterosexual) and how the idea of beauty affected them.
I will definitely check out what other people are reading too! (And, if this has gone through more than once, mods, I’m sorry, but I’m having problems with WordPress. ><)
Posted 19 May 2008 at 11:18 am ¶
eric daniels wrote:
Noting deep,bought Anime software now read the booklet so I can desing my comics.
Manga Studio
Anime magazine
Juxtapoz
Airbrush - Artwork
Walter Mosley - Futureland
And I am presently writing a book about “Nu Wave ” R&B… The NAKED FUNK ERA 1977-1988 “about the singers, bands and acts that made black music’s last great era when acts actually played instruments and the 100 top albums with essays about sexuality, the Minneapolis Sound, the roots of the music (which was glam, disco, r&b and Nu Wave and hard Funk and rock/pop) I say this era of music partically explains the backlash and the sexism of homophobia that modern black music is stuck with today .
Posted 19 May 2008 at 11:37 am ¶
The Cruel Secretary wrote:
What I’m reading now:
–I’m finishing Naomi Klein’s The Shock Doctrine.
–I plan to go back and finish Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov and
Other books on the list:
–Tim Gunn: A Guide to Quality, Taste and Style
–The Soul of Black Folks, by WEB Dubois
–Boobs, Boys, and High Heels, by Dianne Brill
–Bulletproof Diva, by Lisa Jones (a book I can re-read and re-read)
–The Thurber Carnival (I’ve been a big fan of James Thurber since high school)
–The Good Vibrations Guide to Sex by Ann Semans and Cathy Winks
–Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
–Shifting to Neutral by Brigette Davis
–The Terror Dream by Susan Faludi
Magazines? Right now, it’s The Economist, Essence, O, Entertainment Weekly, and More. I’m seriously thinking about renewing my subscriptions to Bitch and The Week and subscribing to $pread, about and by sex workers.
Posted 19 May 2008 at 11:38 am ¶
dcase wrote:
I spend most of time reading academic articles related to my dissertation( tentatively titled “Three Essays in Dynamic Applied Microeconomics: Housing Segregation, Education, and Policy ” ) typically from such sources:
American Economic Review
Quarterly Journal of Economics
Journal of Political Economy
Econometrica
Journal of Urban Economics
Books I’m currently reading or finished within the last week or so:
non-fiction
Two Faced Racism by L. Houts Picca and J. Feagin
Sellout: The Politics of Racial Betrayal by R. Kennedy
Voodoo in Haiti by A. Metraux
Obama by D. Mendell
Discover Your Inner Economist by T. Cowen
Fiction
House of Sand and Fog by A. Dubus
The Association by B. Little
Forever Odd by D. Koontz
The Religion by N. Conde
Posted 19 May 2008 at 11:43 am ¶
Persia wrote:
Phrone, I picked up The Beauty Myth years ago and also couldn’t finish it, despite my being the age group and race I think it was aimed at. Can’t remember the exact reason but I know I didn’t feel it was ’speaking to me.’
LaToya, you must like xxxHolic because you’re still reading it, but I’m curious to know how your opinion is/isn’t changing as the book twists and turns. I have so many mixed feelings about CLAMP. And you’re right in the thick of the ‘good bits’ of Death Note.
Right now I am reading Anasi Boys by Neil Gaiman, which is set in the same world but has a very different mood from American Gods. So far it’s great reading. Before that I finished up Walter Mosley’s The Man in My Basement. I picked it up thinking it was a neo-noir because he’s the creator of the Easy Rawlins series, but it’s a bit different from that. A quick read, and a haunting one. I’ve got some Terry Prachett I keep meaning to get too, too, and I very much want to read The Ten-Cent Plague.
For manga I’m at vol. 8 or so of Fullmetal Alchemist, reading Saiyuki and Saiyuki Gaiden raw on the web (with translations, oh thank God for the web), Wild Adapter and D. Gray-Man at a pace with the official translations. (I will be happy to sing the praises of those if anyone wants to hear!)
I really want to re-read Green Arrow: Year One too. It’s a great story, and I want to be able to really digest it. (There’s also some weird colonilization issues in it too, that I want to deal with.)
Posted 19 May 2008 at 11:47 am ¶
matt wrote:
The last two books I finished were: A Lion’s Tale: Around the World in Spandex by Chris Jericho, and World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks. Both were great reads, with Jericho’s being very funny throughout. Even if you’re not a wrestling fan, Jericho does explain the terminology and the ins and outs of the business. The next book I plan to read is Huxley’s Brave New World.
As far as comic books: Batman, The Twelve, Black Summer, The Walking Dead, Robin, and Essential Iron Man volume 1. Manga titles I’m reading are: Monster, Eyeshield 21, Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service, and I just finished Genshiken.
Posted 19 May 2008 at 12:03 pm ¶
Jus Plain Ol Me wrote:
I just finished “Family and Other Accidents” by Shari Goldhagen. I am the middle of reading “The Cigarette Century” by Allan M. Brandt and “Check The Technique” by Brian Coleman.
Posted 19 May 2008 at 12:10 pm ¶
macon d wrote:
Killers of the Dream by Lillian Smith
Erasure by Percival Everett
White Like Me by Tim Wise
Revealing Whiteness: The Unconscious Habit of Racial Privilege by Shannon Sullivan
Makes Me Wanna Holla by Nathan McCall
(And recently, those that I’ve reviewed)
Posted 19 May 2008 at 12:16 pm ¶
f wrote:
Latoya,
This is going to be a long answer because my PhD is all I can talk about at the moment, so please forgive me!
I’m doing my PhD on torture and terrorism. Basically investigating why there is such a huge gap between the international law on torture (torture is arguably completely outlawed) and the alleged reality of it in terms of States trying to deal with what they perceive to be terrorism (focusing on Israel & the Palestinians, the US since 9/11, and the UK & Northern Ireland). So, whether it is structural flaws in the law, like its definition of torture is too vague, or whether it is philosophical flaws, so that maybe torture is actually justified as a response to terrorism (I don’t think so), or both.. and whether that means the law should be changed somewhat, and what its purpose should be. It’s really interesting because it’s not really law as such, more moral philosophy, and in the course of it, I get to ask questions like why it is so easy to assign collective guilt to certain racial/ethnic/religious groups; what it is about the act of torture that is so specially wrong; how Israel, the US and UK have justified certain things despite being liberal democracies who apparently subscribe to human rights; in what ways a torture victim is dehumanised by the interrogator/authorities to make the task of torturing more possible; how far human rights can be protected against security concerns, etcetc.
Ok. That was far more than you wanted to know. But PhDs make people into lonely, obsessive nerds who live in their pajamas for years, so there you go.
Oh.. and Hey, I’m reading it in between things because I want to read it so badly, but don’t have enough time in between everything else I *have* to read. I’ve managed about a chapter a day, in whatever moments I can. And I never said I didn’t read the fashion rags
Usually online though, like Style.com and fashion blogs. I read most magazines etc online - Economist, New Yorker, NYRB.. and celebrity blogs like Oh No They Didn’t.
Phrone - I like it a lot though I don’t agree with some parts, I guess because it has relevance to my own life I feel (particularly the part on fat), I’m not sure if it only applies to the upper middle class, but yeah, the affect on non-white women is not explored (and would probably require a whole other book)!.
The Cruel Secretary - I want to read Tim Gunn’s book too! I love him.
Posted 19 May 2008 at 12:22 pm ¶
LizzyGetBusy wrote:
What a wonderful idea for a post! Sharing knowledge is sharing power, so I’m def down with that.
Currently reading:
The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, Junot Diaz (PHENOMENAL! Poignant, touching, and hilarious!)
The Plague of Doves, Louise Erdrich (Erdrich beautifully deals with the intersectionality of race, heritage, gender, class, and conflict. Her writing style compliments the fractured nature of these topics)
A Personal Matter, Kenzaburo Oe (I’ve been on an Oe kick as of late)
Ralph Ellison, A Biography, Arnold Rampersad (check it out if you want to learn more about cultural icons from the Harlem Renaissance)
Recently Read:
El pais bajo mi piel, Giocanda Belli (A memoir on resistance set during the Nicaraguan revolution- a conflict that is known for participation of women)
Midnight’s Children, Salman Rushdie (beyond words)
Woman, Native, Other: Writing Postcoloniality and Feminism, Trinh Minh-ha (I have read excerpts of her books before, but reading this books was illuminating in so many ways. On point.)
Brother, I’m Dying, Edwidge Danticat (I am a fan of her fiction but reading a memoir touches me on another level.)
Favorites:
Wizard of the Crow, Ngugi Wa Thiongo (One of the most insightful novels I have ever read, deals with humanity on all levels. Skillfully pokes holes in many of the cultural myths that empire has woven.)
History of Love, Nicole Krauss (I am a sucker for love stories but this one transcends time and place. In my mind Krauss outshines her husband.)
Emplumada, Lorna Dee Cervantes (One of the most visceral collections of poetry I have ever read. Lovely.)
Purple Hibiscus, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Eloquently historical, Adichie reveals the fractures between community, academia, authority and freedom.)
I’m big on fiction so my books lean towards that.
Posted 19 May 2008 at 12:28 pm ¶
Persia wrote:
Ooh, Matt, I’ve been hearing a lot about Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service. Dark Horse has an awesome reputation for translation, too.
Posted 19 May 2008 at 12:30 pm ¶
Thomas wrote:
My reading has fallen by the wayside in the last few weeks. Getting a Shakespearean production off the ground will do that.
But recently, the stack has included:
Epic Rivalry: The Inside Story of the Soviet and American Space Race by Von Hardesty (About halfway through.)
April 4, 1968: Martin Luther King Jr.’s Death and How It Changed America by Michael Eric Dyson (Almost finished with this one.)
Long Time Leaving: Dispatches from Up South by Roy Blount, Jr (A collection of essays, so I’ve been picking and choosing through.)
The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America by David Hadju (Haven’t started yet.)
Posted 19 May 2008 at 12:43 pm ¶
Joseph wrote:
@ Ms. Four
I love Seed to Harvest! I read most of the individual books back in the day but reading them all together in this form is great. Octavia Butler is a titan. Her brain must have weighed ten pounds. If you like reading her you should check out Lillith’s Brood and Kindred is a classic.
@ f
I am in the same boat with my Ph.D so I laughed when you wrote “a million depressing and upsetting testimonies by Palestinian torture victims” (at our similar situation–not at the torture). It takes a toll, doesn’t it? I don’t know about you, but after spending all day reading and writing about torture and death I need a break. Before my Ph.D I used to read non fiction for fun but–literally– thousands and thousands of pages of theory later I really need stories to relax. So, now that I am almost at the finish line (I defend in the fall) I am reading novels again like a fiend.
On Beauty by Zadie Smith is the best novel I’ve read in years. I can’t recommend it highly enough. Also:
Eat the Document by Dana Spiotta
Restless by William Boyd
Layer Cake by JJ Connolly
Fangland by John Marks
The Dark Fields by Allan Glynn
Caucasia by Danzy Senna
Innocence by Jane Mendelsohn
…are pretty great too, although all very different from one another. After spending almost five years reading and writing in a narrow focus I get restless unless I jump around. Anyone else get that way?
As far as the gloomy stuff is concerned if you really want to read about torture and the politics of representation …
American Torture by Michael Otterman
Scenes of Subjection: Terror, Slavery, and Self-Making in Nineteenth Century America by Saidya V. Hartman
Epic Encounters:Culture, Media, & US Interests in the Middle East since 1945 by Melani McAlister
Disappearing Acts: Spectacles of Gender and Nationalism in Argentina’s “Dirty War” by Diana Taylor
Guantanamo and the Abuse of Presidential Power by Joseph Margulies
…are good places to start.
Posted 19 May 2008 at 12:44 pm ¶
Kai wrote:
Recent and current reading…
“Imperial Eyes: Travel Writing and Transculturation” by Mary Louise Pratt, 1992
“The Ways of My Grandmothers” by Beverly Hungry Wolf, 1980
” Black Women Abolitionists: A Study in Activitism, 1828-1860″ by Shirley J. Yee, 1992
“The Hemp Manifesto” by Rowan Robinson, 1997
“Trying to be Human: Zen Talks from Cheri Huber” edited by Sara Jenkins, 1995
“Sex and Race: A History of White, Negro, and Indian Miscegenation in the Two Americas ” by J. A. Rogers, 1942
” The Book of Boxing” edited by W.C. Heinz and Nathan Ward, 2003
Posted 19 May 2008 at 12:53 pm ¶
cosmicsistren wrote:
I finished reading “Terry” by George McGovern. It is about his daughter that was an alcholic and gto drunk and froze to death. I started reading “The Dream Giver” but left the book at my friend’s house. Very simplistic in the writing approach. A stranger recommended it to me. I think it is good reading for a child. Not for an adult.
Posted 19 May 2008 at 1:10 pm ¶
The Cruel Secretary wrote:
@ f–having had friends who went through the PhD process, I deeply sympathize. All hugs and love…btw, how far along are you in your program?
Yeah, Tim Gunn…that man is soooo sexy in his eruditeness and his silver-fox hair and suits.
::runs ice over wrists and throat::
Posted 19 May 2008 at 1:23 pm ¶
Tiffany wrote:
Currently reading ” a new earth”
Posted 19 May 2008 at 1:25 pm ¶
atlasien wrote:
Just Finished:
Drama City - George Pelecanos
Jesus Land - Julia Scheeres
In the Middle:
River of Fire, River of Water - Taitetsu Unno
Coming up Next:
Medical Apartheid - Harriet Washington
Recent Comfort Re-read:
Swords of Lankhmar - Fritz Leiber
Magazines/Other:
Americans United for Separation of Church and State newsletter, Harpers, Fast Company, Creative Loafing, Georgia Gardening
Posted 19 May 2008 at 1:32 pm ¶
SR wrote:
I’m a bit of a slow reader. I’m juggling Collapse by Jared Diamond and Imperial Life in the Emerald City by Rajiv Chandrasekaran. I hope to get to Little Brother by Cory Doctorow, Gang Leader for a Day by Sudhir Venkatesh, Matter by Ian M. Banks and Shock Doctrine before August.
Comics: I need to get the last of The Exterminators and get caught up on Eden, DMZ and Death Note.
Magazines: Wired, New Yorker, Mother Jones and The Economist with a grain of salt.
Posted 19 May 2008 at 1:51 pm ¶
June wrote:
It’s interesting to note that there’s not a lot of books by Aboriginal writers on this list. I’m Metis, (http://www.metismuseum.ca/main.php) a Canadian term referring to the mixing of Native (Cree and Ojibway) women and French / Scots / English during the fur trade-talk about intersections of race!. My dissertation looks at Gregory Scofield (http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0009998), an extraordinarily talented Metis poet.
It’s funny how the 49th parallel (or as Sitting Bull called it The Medicine Line) separates knowledge about Aboriginal writing. I’m sure few of you have heard of Richard van Camp (Dogrib), Eden Robinson (Haisla) or Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm (Anishinaabe), who runs Kegedonce (http://www.kegedonce.com) publishing, which published the first ever anthology of Native erotica?
Drew Hayden Taylor (Anishinaabe) just published Me Sexy, an anthology of essays about Native sexuality and a follow up to Me Funny.
So more Aboriginal / First Nations/ Metis / Native American writers! We’re amazing!
Posted 19 May 2008 at 1:51 pm ¶
livininphilly wrote:
currently reading:
“The Deal” A Gay Romantic Comedy- Timothy Lambert & Becky Cochrane
“Black Like Me”- John Howard Griffin
“Bloodchild”- Octavia Butler
“Stitch ‘n Bitch” The Happy Hooker- Debbie Stoller (soooo proud of myself for actually finishing one of these projects {shrug} & starting another {skirt}
“Eva Luna”- Isabel Allende
“The Edible Wife”- Margaret Atwood
I’m in my project/crafty & newly discovered (by me) author phase. I will probably create my summer reading list from this thread since you all are reading some interesting stuff.
Posted 19 May 2008 at 1:59 pm ¶
deb wrote:
I was reading “American Infidel: Robert G. Ingersoll” until I abandoned it for “Dear People: Remembering Jonestown.”
I’m already thinking about reading….
*Montaigne: Essays by Michel de Montaigne
*The Consolations of Philosophy by Alain de Botton
Posted 19 May 2008 at 2:08 pm ¶
Treacle wrote:
To Latoya Petersen:
I enjoy Claymore. However, I’m deliberately reading it with a non-critical eye (the way I do most comics).
To lowercase tasha:
I was reading JLA on occasion (Wonder Woman was the very first comic I ever bought), but ever since they started drawing Vixen like a white woman, I’ve had to boycott them. There aren’t enough black characters in comments to start whitewashing them.
Posted 19 May 2008 at 2:09 pm ¶
deb wrote:
I’ve got this on my mp3 player, and have listened to the first two chapters, but I have to give it a serious listen, not a leisurely one.
I’d like to read this, but I know it’s gonna make me mad.
Posted 19 May 2008 at 2:12 pm ¶
Winn wrote:
dcase,
Bentley Little is my real guilty pleasure. His books are quick, dirty reads, menacing and disturbing in just the right places, just enough goriness mixed with humor. Great summer reading! The best thing about him? How his books are all titled “The _______”. “The Association”, “The Store”, “The Policy” (the most recent Little I read), “The Town”, “The Walking” (?) Come on now, that is just cheesy goodness! The best part? The books are often much better written and plotted than those generic titles and lurid covers would suggest.
Posted 19 May 2008 at 2:34 pm ¶
f wrote:
Joseph, I’m also using the Otterman and Margulies books - what’s your research on? And yes, it can be really upsetting… I usually spend the whole day reading this stuff (I’ve been in this chair for 10 hours already, argh) then mindlessly lie in bed and watch ANTM to relax. There are certain things that are just so shocking they seem to imprint themselves on you, and you can’t forget them.
The Cruel Secretary - I’m in the UK, so I’m a year and a half in, with a year and a half to go. Thank you, I need all the good wishes I can get, I feel like I’ve done nothing and am getting nowhere at times. It’s very weird to be so deeply invested in just one thing for so long. But, I like it, and am really interested in it, so overall I’m enjoying it quite a lot.
Posted 19 May 2008 at 2:41 pm ¶
heyhey wrote:
@Persia: Do the FMA mangas go beyond the series? I saw that and the movie and wonder if the manga’s worth a read.
@eric daniels:Oooh, your book sounds intriguing!
Garlic and Sapphires - Ruth Riechel
Now that school’s winding down I gear up for hosting summer patio parties by reading foodie books. Good, easy read, with a little insight into how perceived class affects your fine dining experience. Probably re-read “A Cook’s Tour” as well.
The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Junot Diaz
Buying it this wkd. Been waiting to read this ever since seeing him on Tavis Smiley last year.
Dead Girls - Richard Calder
Just wrapped this last week. I’d call it “William Gibson’s Neuromancer mit cyborg vampires”. Despite that set-up, really not that good.
Posted 19 May 2008 at 2:52 pm ¶
deb wrote:
–Bulletproof Diva, by Lisa Jones (a book I can re-read and re-read)
When I first saw this thread I thought: “Nobody reads the stuff I read. I’m so wrong! I read this book years ago.
Word?!
Prince, Mazarati (aka. The Black Ratt), Vanity 6, The Time, Andre Cymone, Sheila E. etc.
I gots down to the MPLS sound!
Posted 19 May 2008 at 3:04 pm ¶
Josh wrote:
Lately, I seem to be reading about Sri Lanka - I recently finished _Anil’s Ghost_, by Michael Ondaatje, which is set in Sri Lanka in the early 90s, about a Sri Lankan born and western educated woman returning to the island to help a human rights investigation into the numerous killings that were happening there at the time. Really good book.
Now, I’m reading _The Fountains of Paradise_, a science fiction novel by Arthur C. Clarke. After I started it, I was surprised to discover that it was set in a fictionalized version of Sri Lanka, called Tamprobane. I knew Clarke lived in Sri Lanka for decades, but I didn’t realize that was where the novel was set. I’m only about a third of the way through, but it’s interesting so far. I’d recommend it to science fiction fans.
Related: is anyone familiar with a writer named Percival Everett? My sister just graduated from the College of Santa Fe over the weekend, and he was given an honorary doctorate. He’s a African American writer, currently living in Los Angeles and teaching at USC, and it sounds like he’s written in a lot of different styles and genres. Despite studying African American Lit a fair amount, I hadn’t heard of him, but his speech raised my interest. If anyone’s familiar with his work, is there a particular book of his you’d recommend?
Posted 19 May 2008 at 3:22 pm ¶
atlasien wrote:
Ah, Dead Girls… interesting worldbuilding but terrible execution. The author tries for a mix of Gibson and Burroughs, but falls far short.
I feel sort of the same way about Octavia Butler. I’ve never read more than one of her books all the way through. Bizarre, worldchanging, philosophically complex events are presented in prose so flat that they might as well be furniture assembly directions. I felt like I had to plough through the sentences to get to the ideas.
Posted 19 May 2008 at 3:24 pm ¶
Joanna wrote:
Recently read:
Like Son by Felicia Luna Lemus
Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem
Currently reading:
Ellington Boulevard by Adam Langer
Want to read:
Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri
Free Food for Millionaires by Min Jin Lee
The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem
Trace Elements of Random Tea Parties by Felicia Luna Lemus
Magazines:
ColorLines
GOOD
The Advocate
The Ave.
GO!
Time Out New York
Posted 19 May 2008 at 3:31 pm ¶
Ms. Four wrote:
Atlasien, which book of Butler’s did you read? I find them quite readable, actually. But maybe I haven’t read yet the tough one?
Posted 19 May 2008 at 3:33 pm ¶
Revista wrote:
I’ve been on a ‘reading for pleasure/fiction’ bender since the semester ended for me in early april:
already read:
The Last Witchfinder–James Morrow
Ravensong–Lee Maracle (and also my favourite thus far)
Moral Disorder–Margaret Atwood
Big Big Sky–Kristyn Dunnion (awesome speculative sci-fi about female warrior assassins that really turns gender and sexuality on its head)
Running with Scissors–Augusten Burroughs
Currently reading:
Sarah–JT LeRoy
On the shelf:
Stiffed–Susan Faludi
The Double–Jose Saramago
…and a bunch of others not near my computer as I type this…plus I’m always keeping my eyes out for new recommendations…
yay for books!
Posted 19 May 2008 at 3:51 pm ¶
eric daniels wrote:
Deb and Hey Hey , yes it about Minneapolis in certain ways but it’s also about the entire era which encompasses the last gasp of progress of black folks celebrating the gains of the civil rights movement to the begining of the second reconstruction after Reagan was elected Preisdent, the music reflected the victories and the loseses that would soon come,from the first shot of what is modern black music shift into the electronic age (even though Stevie Wonder recorded with Tonto since the early 70’s) it’s really 2 songs that is the blue print for black music’s modern era..
Everybody Dance - Chic
Flashlight - Parliament
It’s also about androgny of the Minneapolis Sound and it’s contridictions on sexual freedom and it’s results on the music of this era, the death of the Southern Black Male r&b singer which lead to the falsetto voices of Prince, El De Barge and Michael Jackson and the rise of the disco black female singers all of that led to Hip- Hop’s uber masculine takeover in the early 90’s which was the result of the ‘feminizing of black music’ in the eyes of many rappers and critics of this music.
And it’s also a celebration of 11 years of great black music which gets short shrift in other black music forms like “Hip- Hop’s golden age,” the Soul and Funk generations and other great music revolutions. It’s a look back at Jheri Curls, Trench Coats, Polos and the short gasp of indivdualism that African- Americans enjoyed before having to be “black again”.
Posted 19 May 2008 at 4:39 pm ¶
gorgeous black women wrote:
I just finished reading “The Black Woman’s Guide to Beautiful Hair.” I could say “100 Years of Solitude” but that’s on my to-read pile.
Posted 19 May 2008 at 4:43 pm ¶
Claudia wrote:
Kao Kalia Yang : ‘The Latehomecomer”
Kao Kalia Yang’s written words read just like her spoken word sounds - eloquent, sparse, and powerful in its own quiet, poetic way. Kalia’s book is the first novel published by a Hmong woman, and as a creative non-fiction memoir of her family’s migration from the hills of Laos to refugee camps in Thailand to the cities of Minnesota, it makes a beautiful addition to the long history of Hmong storytelling as well as a promising start to what is likely to be an incredible career for Kalia and a lon…more Kao Kalia Yang’s written words read just like her spoken word sounds - eloquent, sparse, and powerful in its own quiet, poetic way. Kalia’s book is the first novel published by a Hmong woman, and as a creative non-fiction memoir of her family’s migration from the hills of Laos to refugee camps in Thailand to the cities of Minnesota, it makes a beautiful addition to the long history of Hmong storytelling as well as a promising start to what is likely to be an incredible career for Kalia and a long future for Hmong American writing. Having had the pleasure of meeting and speaking with Kao Kalia several times, I can only say that this book more than meets my expectations, and I wish her the best of luck with it, although is is not really needed.
Posted 19 May 2008 at 4:55 pm ¶
macon d wrote:
Josh, I recommended Everett’s Erasure up above. Yeah, he’s great! But sometimes intentionally off-putting. He doesn’t pander. I’ve read four or five of his many novels. He’s with Danzy Senna now, whose novel Caucasia is wonderful.
I also recommend by Everett The Water Cure and Watershed, and a satire he did with James Kincaid, A History of the African American People [Proposed] By Strom Thurmond.
Posted 19 May 2008 at 5:00 pm ¶
meownette wrote:
A thread about reading! I work in a bookstore and get so overwhelmed by the thrilling covers and tantalizing smells of books that I am permanently behind on my self-imposed reading list. I just finished Salt: A Brief World History by Mark Zurlansky. Now I’m reading Stiff by Mary Roach, which is a frothy, funny pop science book about human cadavers. I’ve been waiting to read Oscar Wao forEVER but the library waiting list for it is essentially miles long.
I know a couple people mentioned The Beauty Myth. I haven’t read it since I was 15 and primarily interested in Klein’s take on body dysmorphism and disordered eating (to the exclusion of other topics the book addresses). I can say that it was a huge factor in informing my feminist consciousness at the time, but I wonder if I’d find the book as complete now as I did then.
Posted 19 May 2008 at 5:14 pm ¶
Grandpa Dinosaur wrote:
You got to read 20th Century Boys and Pluto by Naoki Urasawa, it’s AWESOME!! (Not available in book form, but can be read online via One Manga.)
Posted 19 May 2008 at 5:27 pm ¶
stankerbell wrote:
Just finished, “Medical Apartheid” by Harriet Washington and “Tangled Webs” by Anne Bishop…
Currently reading: Lords of Rainbow by Vera Nazarian (loving it) and Zulu Heart by Steven Barnes (also very good)
Next in queue: The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
I haven’t read the manga for Death Note but I did start watching the anime…. (very, very, very eagerly awaiting vol. 5 next month) and the live action movie premiere’s tomorrow in the US, is anyone going to go see it? Has anyone seen it? Should I go see it?
Posted 19 May 2008 at 6:05 pm ¶
rere wrote:
I’m currently reading The Shock Doctrine too! The chapter about Ewen Cameron is terrifying (not that the other chapters aren’t, but I’ve just barely started) and I can’t believe I never heard of him before. Reminds me of the whole Duplessis Orphans thing.
I’m also reading:
On Beauty - Zadie Smith
The Death of Vishnu - Manil Suri
To The Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf (almost done!)
A Wild Sheep Chase - Haruki Murakami
In The Time of the Butterflies - Julia Alvarez
A People’s History of the United States - Howard Zinn
Chairman Mao Would Not Be Amused (an anthology of contemporary fiction from mainland China)
And for school I’m reading Faulkner’s Go Down, Moses (LOVE Faulkner) and trying to convince one of my favorite teachers to give me a copy of Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses.
Posted 19 May 2008 at 6:11 pm ¶
Karen wrote:
School:
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
Leisure
-Have read
Nickle and Dimed(about living on min. wage)
Discover Your Genuis(Think like 10 revolutionary minds). *pick this up*
Misogyny(history of western misogyny)
Can’t Stop Won’t Stop(hip hop history)
Anarchist in the Library(about the parallels of anarchy and oligarchy within Internet use)
-reading now
Homosexuality-Opposing Viewpoints
TV-The Great Escape
Better Off-Flipping The Switch on Technology
Waiting list:
Guns, Germs and Steel(about why the diff. continents developed the way they did)
A Thousand Splendid Suns(about two Afgani women by Khalid Hosseini)
Posted 19 May 2008 at 6:37 pm ¶
gothic guera wrote:
Loitering with the intent an autobiography by Peter O’toole
War and Peace
Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston(for my English class
Posted 19 May 2008 at 7:03 pm ¶
InJM@work wrote:
Books: Nothing! I have a pile of stuff to read though and I just bought two more books Sunday (which are the last two in a series which is still in my pile). I suppose I should turn off the TV and read more. My pile includes both “Goth” books and “Z001″ and “Z002″ by Otsuichi, NHK ni Yokoso and a few other books by the same author whose name I forgot, a collection of short stories by Akutagawa Ryunosuke, “Kokoro” by Natsume Soseki, and a few others I don’t remember.
Magazines: Famitsu (occasionally)
Comics: Nothing at the moment but I’m waiting for the next collections of “Berserk” and “Highschool of the Dead” to come out.
Posted 19 May 2008 at 7:07 pm ¶
deb wrote:
eric daniels! I can expect to be addin your book to my “must read” list when?
And speaking of “Jheri Curls” the style is discussed in the book Hair Story : Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America under the subchapter titled, “The Big Wet Eighties.”
Good book, btw.
Posted 19 May 2008 at 7:30 pm ¶
deb wrote:
macon d, good call on “Makes Me Wanna Holla by Nathan McCall.” I knew I was gonna like this book from the very first page. I read it years ago, so I actually don’t remember the exact scene on page one (something about a frog?) but it really grabbed me; the stuff about “running trains” on women, not so much.
Posted 19 May 2008 at 7:37 pm ¶
Clara wrote:
The last book I read that wasn’t for a class were the Twilight series. Not a perfect series by any means, but still entertaining and quick reads. Right now, I’m working my way through Truman’s Capote’s In Cold Blood.
And other than that, the books I’ve been reading are for college. This semester I took an Asian American Literature course, and my favorites from our booklist are:
Blu’s Hanging - Lois-Ann Yamanaka
Bone - Fae Myenne Ng
Obaason - Joy Kogawa
Book of Salt - Monique Truong
Year of the Dragon - Frank Chin
I also really enjoy writings by Vladimir Nabokov (favorites: Lolita, Pnin, Invitation to a Beheading, and Laughter in the Dark). Terry Pratchett and NEIL GAIMAN also rock my socks. Neil Gaiman’s writing in particular inspires me.
And I’m glad to see manga fans here! My favorites: Blade of the Immortal, Fruits Basket, Ouran High School Host Club, Bleach, Naruto, and Paradise Kiss
Posted 19 May 2008 at 7:53 pm ¶
Persia wrote:
@Hey Hey– the FMA manga starts taking a pretty sharp turn from the anime fairly early on (think Hughes). It’s still ongoing in Japan.
Our different reactions to The Beauty Myth are really interesting. It’s another reminder that a book’s not just what you read, but what you bring to it.
Posted 19 May 2008 at 8:19 pm ¶
Keke wrote:
Here’s a little of what I’ve been reading:
Mistress of the Spices-Chitra Divakaruni
The Host-Stephenie Meyer
47-Walter Mosley
The Machine Stops-E.M. Forster
L.A. Banks-The Darkness
I love the fact that the Vampire Huntress series by L.A. Banks features a cast of characters that are multi-cultural. I love reading sci-fi, fantasy and just about anything else I can get my hands on.
Posted 19 May 2008 at 8:29 pm ¶
Liza wrote:
Just starting “Americans In Waiting” about immigration by Hiroshi Motomura
About to read “Three Cups of Tea” because the college I work at is reading it with all first year students. Reading it with my race-lens on, certainly.
Comic/graphic novel: Definitely a huge shout out to “Gunplay” by Jorge Vega about a Buffalo Soldier with a cursed gun who befriends a 14-year old white boy. Has prose written by Priest (www.gunplaythecomic.com)
Posted 19 May 2008 at 9:40 pm ¶
Free wrote:
What is always with me and lovingly reread: A Draft of Shadows and other poems by Octavio Paz
Just completed:
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Suskind
Cairo City of Sand by Maria Golia [recommended for anyone interested in contemporary Egypt]
Doria Shafik - Egyptian Feminist - A Woman Apart by Cynthia Nelson [ditto]
The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine by Ilan Pappe [how the State of Israel came into existence]
In the Belly of the Green Bird: The Triumph of the Martyrs in Iraq by Nir Rosen
The Audacity of Hope and Dreams of My Father by Barack Obama[audiobooks]
Dangerous Nation: America’s Place in the World from It’s Earliest Days to the Dawn of the Twentieth Century by Robert Kagan
What I hope to finish before my annual summer trip to the States. (I have 20 days to go)
Sun After Dark: Flights into the Foreign by Pico Iyer
The Curtain: An Essay in Seven Parts by Milan Kundera
Love in the Kingdom of Oil by Nawal El-Saadawi
(Woman goes on leave and does not return. May God help us!)
What I’m taking with me (besides Octavio)
Istanbul: Memories of the City and/or Snow, both by Orhan Pamuk
My return reading list:
Culture Imperialism by Edward Said
Powers and Prospects: Reflections on Human Nature and the Social Order by Noam Chomsky
City of the Djinns: A Year in Delhi by William Dalrymple
Chicago by Alaa Al Aswany [ the great Egyptian novel about an American city]
House of Bush House of Saud by Craig Unger
In the Eye of the Sun by Ahdaf Soueif [the great English novel about Egypt which is also the great Egyptian novel about England]
Posted 19 May 2008 at 9:54 pm ¶
macon d wrote:
deb, yes, the stuff on running trains shook me as much as any reading has for years. I pushed myself to get through it, though, and I felt McCall was being pretty honest throughout. Even about his inability, more or less, to fully understand his own lingering misogyny.
Frog? I thought the first page was about black kids beating up a white one who’d wandered into their neighborhood . . .
Posted 19 May 2008 at 10:08 pm ¶
Cat wrote:
I just finished Middlesex by Jeffery Eugenides and Racism without Racists by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva.
I’m looking to start The End of Poverty by Jeffery Saches (hella late), and buying the Dave Eggers books Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and What is the What. But I’m hesitant about it because of the white-man-writing-stories-they-don’t-know. Has anyone read it?
I’m also collecting news articles about the Global Food Crisis as a basis before I begin my Research Methods class next semester.
Posted 19 May 2008 at 10:10 pm ¶
Araja wrote:
Oh, book talk, yay! What a great place to get reading recommendations.
Right now I’m reading, or trying to:
The King Never Smiles by PM Handley, about the king of Thailand (which was banned there). Really interesting book and I especially appreciate his discussion on how Buddhism has been used to build Thai society…I’m not a fan of the Thai monarchy, but if you are, then this book might not be so enjoyable.
Shame by Salman Rushdie
The Circle of Reason by Amitav Ghosh (highly, highly recommend The Glass Palace by him as well)
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. I have no words for how amazing this novel is. You just have to read it.
and lastly, The White Man’s Burden by William Easterly
Posted 19 May 2008 at 10:34 pm ¶
jvansteppes wrote:
Cruel Secretary: you’re spot on with Bitch and $pread, those are my favorite magazines.
June: I hear you, Canadian Aboriginal writers are so often unheard of in the US. What gives? I picked up a Lee Maracle book when I was 19 and every time I go into a book trade in store I head to the M section first.
Cat: I found that Eggers book to be a bit of a pity party inflected with a white male middle class sense of entitlement. Just a warning.
Currently reading/just read/will read soon:
Shani Mootoo - Cereus Blooms at Night [to be read and reread]
Dionne Brand - What we all long for
Jeannette Winterson- The Passion
Viviane Namaste- Invisible Lives: the erasure of transsexual and transgendered people
Sherene Razack- Dark Threats and White Knights: the somalia affair, peacekeeping and the new imperialism [amazing, like all her other work I’ve gotten my hands on]
Norman Finkelstein- The Holocaust Industry
-zines
Posted 19 May 2008 at 11:37 pm ¶
london(2) wrote:
i love historical books fiction as well as non fiction but as long as th detail is accurate..
have just started reading ’scanty particulars’ by rachel holmes.. it’s about a victorian surgeon who upond dying was found out to be a woman..
scanty particulars relates to the fact that he/she left little or no trace of his/her life…
my next books will be the series by jane stevenson ‘astrea’ ‘the pretender’ and ‘empress of the last days’… these books hint at a black branch of the royal family.. and finally i will embark on a one after another red through of l.a banks vampire huntress series… i stumbled upon one and am collecting all of them from the beginning.. religion and cults and the fight for good over evil…. so sexy.. lol
should keep me busy for a couple months…
Posted 20 May 2008 at 12:08 am ¶
heyhey wrote:
@atlasien:Or just read “Snow Crash” where the author just stops the movie-ready action for a language lecture…literally. Another book that, for me, had issues, but at least the dry portions are confined to one chapter.
@Persia: Well hell, time to hunt down some scanlations.
eric daniels: I’m intrigued. I miss the kind of gender fluidity of that era, particularly the crazy outlandishness of Bootsy, George and crew, and course The Purple One is number 1 now and 43ver. Very few artists seem to experiment in that area (Andre3000) and if not for his publicized relationships with Erykah, etc. would probably get the “down-low” side eye.
Good luck with that book!
Posted 20 May 2008 at 12:09 am ¶
MistressBeatz wrote:
Trying to learn a foreign language leaves me too little time for reading, so I mostly read manga/graphic novels these days. The format satisfies my need to get found in a good story without eating up too much time.
Mushishi
Nana
Monster
Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service
HunterXHunter
Fruits Basket
xxxHolic
Reservoir Chronicle Tsubasa
Demon Flowers
Wild Adapter
Blade of the Immortal
Vagabond
Yotsuba to!
Love Mode
Love Pistols
Canterella
Wallflower
Carla Speed Mcneil’s Finder
Y the last man
Jane’s World
Recent Books:
Taxes are a Woman’s Issue - M. Abramovitz & S. Morgen. I recommend this book to anyone that wants to understand how our tax system is working vs what taxes are meant to be. And it is written in English instead of tax-ish.
In Defense of Food - M. Pollan
Current reading the biography of Frida Kahlo.
Posted 20 May 2008 at 7:33 am ¶
macon d wrote:
Maybe this thread is already dead by now, but I forget one of my recent favorites, a hilarious satire on the current selling of just about everything.
Jennifer Government
by Max Barry
Posted 20 May 2008 at 9:39 am ¶
Philly Phil wrote:
latoya: great post! i came back to read the comments and was shocked to see how big it blew up!
i’m curious to know what you would think about 100 Bullets. i’m sure you’ve read the premise before but, amongst this huge and complicated power struggle, it also deals with crime, class, race, and violence in a manner i haven’t really ever seen. there are currently 11 paperbacks out and the series is coming to an end over the next year.
never too late to play catch up!
Posted 20 May 2008 at 9:58 am ¶
Dan wrote:
Jennifer Government was great macon.
Good read.
Currently reading:
“IV: A Decade of Curious People and Dangerous Ideas” by Chuck Klosterman
“White Men Challenging Racism: 35 Personal Stories”
“Yurugu: An African-Centered Critique of European Cultural Thought and Behavior” by Marimba Ani
That last one is a doozy. Mind blowing.
Posted 21 May 2008 at 1:36 pm ¶
deb wrote:
Good call.
Posted 21 May 2008 at 3:36 pm ¶
nonfictions wrote:
Books: The End of Faith, Feminist Frontiers, African-American Humanism, The Brutal Language of Love and I’m anxiously awaiting Willow weep for me (a memoir written by an African-American woman with depression) and Bitchfest (a collection of articles from the past 10 years of Bitch magazine).
Mags: Bitch (hands down my favorite mag), but I’m also subscribed to Paste, and I foolishly buy People magazine every so often, but NEVER (and I do mean never, but always think I will) read it.
Sadly, I read more articles/short stories than actual books, but every so often I find a great book. Right now I’m looking up Hardcore Zen on Amazon, and it seems very interesting!
Posted 22 May 2008 at 2:52 pm ¶