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The End of 2023 Approached

The End of 2023 Approached

So many books. Too little time. The end of 2023 approached (which just blows my mind) what should I prioritize?

#bookstagram #booksbooksbooks #alwaysreading #reading #readmore #readmorebooks #nonfiction #fiction

Allow Me to Retort

Allow Me to Retort

The rage in Elie Mystal’s Allow Me to Retort is so thick you can hammer it with a meat cleaver. But rightfully so. Look, my high school education was incredibly white washed. My US history teacher, his favorite president was ANDREW JACKSON. so yeaaaaaah. The only thing I remember about my US government class was learning about checks and balances which we all know is bullshit. There is no such thing.

Reading this helped me fill in a lot of gaps and I learned a ton about the Supreme Court. It is a bleak read. Mystal does not sugarcoat anything, he’s realistic. He knows and understands the fight ahead, and I appreciate how he lays it out. He really helped me make sense of things you see on the news every day. It’s one I find myself going back too if I need clarification about certain Amendments and what they REALLY mean. It helps that he’s also quite funny. I highly recommend this one for people who want to understand how we got here and where we go from here. If I taught high school I would definitely pull some of these essays. I would’ve actually paid attention in class if this was part of the reading.

#allowmetoretort #nonfiction #usgovernment #history #alwayslearning #alwaysreading #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #learnushistory #readmorenonfiction

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi

Yesterday was #talklikeapirateday and I totally missed the opportunity to post this gem. The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty was a perfect summer read. Badass female pirate in her forties and a mother? SIGN ME UP. My only complaint (and it’s always THE complaint) is it went too long. Nevertheless if you’re looking for something fun and purely entertaining, then this book will be there for you.

But seriously, can we please get more fantasy with main characters like Amina?! I loved that she had this internal struggle of loving her daughter and being a mother but also loved being a pirate and going on adventures. That struggle is so real! (I mean I wish my job was that of a sea faring pirate but alas I’m just a classroom teacher) I loved seeing that internal struggle all working moms go through represented in a really creative way here. I will definitely be checking out book two.

#piratebooks #fantasybooks #fantasynovels #badassbooks #bookstagrammer #adventurebooks #funbooks #novels #booksbooksbooks #bookstagram

Three Books I Read this Summer that I Loved

Three Books I Read this Summer that I Loved

Three books I read this summer that I loved:

The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty snuck up on me. I don’t know what I was expecting but I ended up completely captivated with this novel. It’s beautifully written and slightly weird. Taking place in a crumbling midwestern town called Vacaville we follow several different characters whose lives intertwine in different and unexpected ways. The more distance I have from this book the more I like it and want to revisit.

The characters in What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez pop off the page. I loved all these women and I was rooting for them the whole time. Two sisters and their mom try to uncover what happened to their missing sister, as they move along the journey they discover more about themselves and their love for each other along the way. This slim novel packs a punch, and I highly recommend this one.

All My Rage is a YA novel that had me ugly crying when I finished it. Reading this was a cathartic experience and I loved it so much. It won the National Book Award for Young Peoples Literature and I can see why. I love that it’s YA too. File under books I wish I had when I was a kid.

I loved all three of these and I would recommend them to anyone.

#booksrecommendations #fictionbooks #booksbooksbooks #ilovereading #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #summerreading #therabbithutch #whathappenedtoruthyramirez #allmyragesabaatahir #greatbooks

Chain Gang All-stars

Chain Gang All-stars

Recently made a National Book Award longlister (like the Oscars for book nerds for those who don’t know), Chain-Gang-All-Stars is sure to start making the rounds again, and deservedly so.

In Americas increasingly profitable private prison industry, convicted inmates are allowed to enroll in a program called CAPE, or Criminal Action Penal Entertainment. They fight like gladiators to earn one thing: their freedom. We follow Loretta Thurwar and Hamara Stacker, better known as Hurricane Staxxx who are the stars of the “show.”

I will admit I was a bit frustrated at first with this novel because I felt like it was almost overly detailed. It starts off with a lot of world building. There are chapters dedicated to side characters that range from very important to never mentioned again. To be frank, I think I was expecting something a bit more action packed. The fact that it wasn’t maybe led to my deflation but I’m ashamed to say that probably says more about me than it does about the novel. Was I expecting more violence and bloodshed in a novel about this country’s prison industrial complex so I was entertained? YIKES VIV. Once I recognized that and let go of those expectations I was able to find my footing. And once I was in, I was IN.

And really the ending had my jaw to the floor. I had to read it three times to make sure I understood it because I was simply so shocked. It is one I turn over in my head from time to time, it haunts me. It was like the end of season one game of thrones with Ned (IYKYK). But there will be no season 2! Sheesh. Guess I will always wonder what next? It’s a bold ending and it makes sense.

Have you read this one? What did you think?

#chaingangallstars #novels #fiction #booksbooksbooks #bookstagram #bestbooksof2023 #nationalbookaward #dystopianbooks

Killers of the Flower Moon

Killers of the Flower Moon

Every time I peel back another layer of American history I will never fail to be utterly disgusted with the foundations of this supposed “great nation.”

I read this because I have always been meaning to since it came out and now with the movie right around the corner I figured it was time. David Grann does an excellent job of unraveling this particular part of American history. For those who do not know, the Osage Tribe was once the richest group per capita IN THE ENTIRE WORLD due to the vast oil fields found beneath their reservation. I’m sure you can guess which group of people were displeased with that fact. When members of the Osage tribe are murdered one by one the federal government must get involved to solve the grisly crimes. What they uncover is a conspiracy beyond comprehension.

This is an excellent book and deserves all the notice it has been getting. David Grann’s research is thorough and it’s clear he had the trust of the Osage to further investigate the crimes and tell part of their story to the wider audience. Still, I can see why people are concerned that the movie will suffer from a white savior narrative as the lead detective does take center stage. But at the end of the day as the title suggests, this is also about the birth of the FBI.

An important book worthy of your time, I hope some good will come out of it as the movie comes out and this part of history is brought into the light. The Osage deserve reparations and justice, but I doubt anyone is holding their breath. My only hope is that as more people become aware of this story perhaps the needle will move a little bit in the right direction.

#killersoftheflowermoon #booktomovieadaptation #nonfiction #truecrime #greatbooks #alwaysreading #bookstagram #bookstagrammer

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