A detailed look at last week’s reading habits: three new books read, three re-reads, one DNF and three new books I want to read that humanize heavily politicized issues (immigration, addiction and abortion). I unpack some of the antiracism books I am currently reading (and working through) as well as an upcoming review of an advanced reader copy.
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Series: Standalone
Release Date: October 25, 2019
Sohaila Abdulali was the first Indian rape survivor to speak out about her experience. Gang-raped as a teenager in Mumbai and indignant at the deafening silence on the issue in India, she wrote an article for a women’s magazine questioning how we perceive rape and rape victims. Thirty years later she saw the story go viral in the wake of the fatal 2012 Delhi rape and the global outcry that followed.
Drawing on three decades of grappling with the issue personally and professionally, and on her work with hundreds of other survivors, she explores what we think about rape and what we say. She also explores what we don’t say, and asks pertinent questions about who gets raped and who rapes, about consent and desire, about redemption and revenge, and about how we raise our sons. Most importantly, she asks: does rape always have to be a life-defining event, or is it possible to recover joy?
Format: Paperback
Rating: 5/5 stars
Trigger Warning: This review discusses topics that can be triggering for some. Please read the ‘Possible Triggers’ tab above for details.
(more…)A detailed look at last week’s reading habits: five new books read, one re-read, three new books I want to read all exploring the variants of love and connection and a detailed look at my upcoming books to read, as well as my upcoming blog posts.
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Series: Twilight Saga*
Release Date: August 4, 2020
When Edward Cullen and Bella Swan met in Twilight, an iconic love story was born. But until now, fans have heard only Bella’s side of the story. At last, readers can experience Edward’s version in the long-awaited companion novel, Midnight Sun.
This unforgettable tale as told through Edward’s eyes takes on a new and decidedly dark twist. Meeting Bella is both the most unnerving and intriguing event he has experienced in all his years as a vampire. As we learn more fascinating details about Edward’s past and the complexity of his inner thoughts, we understand why this is the defining struggle of his life. How can he justify following his heart if it means leading Bella into danger?
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 4.75/5 stars
*Companion to Twilight (told in Edward’s perspective)
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Series: Dread Nation
Release Date: April 3, 2018
Jane McKeene was born two days before the dead began to walk the battlefields of Gettysburg and Chancellorsville—derailing the War Between the States and changing America forever. In this new nation, safety for all depends on the work of a few, and laws like the Native and Negro Reeducation Act require certain children attend combat schools to learn to put down the dead. But there are also opportunities—and Jane is studying to become an Attendant, trained in both weaponry and etiquette to protect the well-to-do. It’s a chance for a better life for Negro girls like Jane. After all, not even being the daughter of a wealthy white Southern woman could save her from society’s expectations.
But that’s not a life Jane wants. Almost finished with her education at Miss Preston’s School of Combat in Baltimore, Jane is set on returning to her Kentucky home and doesn’t pay much mind to the politics of the eastern cities, with their talk of returning America to the glory of its days before the dead rose. But when families around Baltimore County begin to go missing, Jane is caught in the middle of a conspiracy, one that finds her in a desperate fight for her life against some powerful enemies. And the restless dead, it would seem, are the least of her problems.
Format: Kindle Unlimited
Rating: 4.25/5 stars
(more…)A detailed look at last week’s reading habits: four new books read, all with a rating above 4-stars, three new books I want to read that all centre resilient Black women; I also introduce my Up Next shelf and details the books I’m going to read this week as well as the highly anticipated release of Midnight Sun.
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A detailed look at March’s reading habits: 24 books read, two DNFs, seven books read from my Up Next Shelf. I also read books continuing four favourite series of mine, and I finally finished the Throne of Glass series!
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Also by Bonnie Balliff-Spanvill, Mary Caprioli and Chad F. Emmett
Series: Standalone
Release Date: April 7, 2012
The authors compare micro-level gender violence and macro-level state peacefulness in global settings, supporting their findings with detailed analyses and color maps. Harnessing an immense amount of data, they call attention to discrepancies between national laws protecting women and the enforcement of those laws, and they note the adverse effects on state security of abnormal sex ratios favoring males, the practice of polygamy, and inequitable realities in family law, among other gendered aggressions.
The authors find that the treatment of women informs human interaction at all levels of society. Their research challenges conventional definitions of security and democracy and shows that the treatment of gender, played out on the world stage, informs the true clash of civilizations. In terms of resolving these injustices, the authors examine top-down and bottom-up approaches to healing wounds of violence against women, as well as ways to rectify inequalities in family law and the lack of parity in decision-making councils. Emphasizing the importance of an R2PW, or state responsibility to protect women, they mount a solid campaign against women’s systemic insecurity, which effectively unravels the security of all.
Format: Paperback
Rating: 5/5 stars
Trigger Warning: This review discusses topics that can be triggering for some. Please read the ‘Possible Triggers’ tab above for details.
(more…)I’ve decided to start doing a weekly, monthly and yearly wrap up/review of my reading habits. I have so many books I want to read that I’ve purchased and still need to read, books I need to investigate and books I want to review. I also only review two books a week on my blog, which is not indicative of how many books I’m reading during the week.
Hopefully, by doing this weekly and monthly wrap, I’ll be able to expose more readers to some excellent books!
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Series: Standalone
Release Date: June 11, 2020
Women Don’t Owe You Pretty is the ultimate book for anyone who wants to challenge the out-dated narratives supplied to us by the patriarchy.
Through Florence’s story you will learn how to protect your energy, discover that you are the love of your own life, and realise that today is a wonderful day to dump them.
Florence Given is here to remind you that you owe men nothing, least of all pretty.
WARNING: CONTAINS EXPLICIT CONTENT (AND A LOAD OF UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTHS).
THE FEMINIST MEMOIR EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT.
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 4/5 stars
Trigger Warning: This review discusses topics that can be triggering for some. Please read the ‘Possible Triggers’ tab above for details.
Note: This novel is very similar to What a Time to Be Alone: The Slumflower’s Guide to Why You Are Already Enough by The Slumflower (Chidera Eggerue) which was published in 2018. Women Don’t Owe You Pretty was published in 2020. If Given’s book looks like something you want to read, I highly recommend reading What a Time to Be Alone first.
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