#decolonizeyourfeed

[thebookdragon217]

"One of the things that allyship fails to address is the fact that you can continue to view black people as inferior while still being committed to their 'protection'." QOTD: What antiracist work should be required reading? Thanks to @harperperennial and @bibliolifestyle for the gifted copy. I haven't finished this one yet because although it is a short book, it is one to take your time with and dissect. This particular quote sticks out to me because it rings so true. Often times people in their quest to "be an ally" have not done the work to decolonize themselves. This is always the first step in any sort of advocacy. I am eager to see what Dabiri has to teach me and what further insight she has in this area. SYNOPSIS: Vital and empowering What White People Can Do Next teaches each of us how to be agents of change in the fight against racism and the establishment of a more just and equitable world. In this affecting and inspiring collection of essays, Emma Dabiri draws on both academic discipline and lived experience to probe the ways many of us are complacent and complicit—and can therefore combat—white supremacy. She outlines the actions we must take, including: Stop the Denial Interrogate Whiteness Abandon Guilt Redistribute Resources Realize this shit is killing you too . . .  To move forward, we must begin to evaluate our prejudices, our social systems, and the ways in which white supremacy harms us all. Illuminating and practical, What White People Can Do Next is essential for everyone who wants to go beyond their current understanding and affect real—and lasting—change. #whatwhitepeoplecandonext #gifted #emmadabiri #bibliolifestyle #books #oliveinfluencer #HarperPerennial #bookphotos #booksoutside #read #ownvoices #newrelease #bibliophile #antiracist #blackauthors #booktour #bookfeature #allyship #bookdragon #decolonizeyourfeed #bookstagram #BIPOCbookstagram #bookrecs #blackbooks #blacknonfiction #booksinnature #readingisresistance #blacklivesmatter #bookish #bookfeature #bookstoread (at Prospect Park Ball Fields) https://www.instagram.com/p/CQrGE6vrdkr/?utm_medium=tumblr

[thebookdragon217]

Identity is very personal and often a source of conflict for some folx for many different reasons. It is difficult when white heteronormative society has created these labels for people that just don't quite fit and feel oppressive and not representative of who you are as a whole. I've been thinking a lot about my own identity and the gatekeeping that occurs even within our own communities and how difficult it is to put myself into a box that just doesn't quite fit. Reading has always been a way of my journey to explore who I am and where I fit in the grander scheme of things. Growing up I always gravitated towards books written by Black and brown folx because that is where I saw bits and pieces of myself. That is where I saw people who sounded like me and who had similar experiences. It is 2021 and there are still not nearly enough representative voices. I decided to put together a guide of Afro-Latinx authors and book recommendations across different genres so I could share some books from some of my favorite Afro-Latinx voices that do not get all the love and praise they deserve. For me this is only the beginning and I am excited to share more of myself in this space. I want to personally thank: @sailyreads for inspiration and help with technical stuff. @thesolreader for encouraging me to be loud and proud @abookinbed for always pushing me to try new avenues of media and being helpful @librosconleet for all the deep conversations about any and everything As a reminder Black lives matter every single day of the year. No one group is a monolith. Choosing what to read holds power and value. If you are not being inclusive in every aspect of your life, not just reading, you're doing life wrong. You don't need monthly holidays to have a reason to amplify marginalized voices and read inclusively. To all my BIPOC friends, no one gets to decide who or what you are. You are the author and expert of your own life. #AfroLatinxauthors #Bookrecs #bookstagram #bookdragon #AfroLatinxbooks #bookguide #Readingispolitical #bookish #BlackLivesMatter #bibliophile #decolonizeyourfeed #books #diversespines #booksarelife #contentcreator #bookworm #AfroLatinx (at Bushwick) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLNfqg7gvw-/?igshid=gkt60u7xyng5

[thebookdragon217]

It's Self Care Sunday. For me self care looks like a book haul from one of my favorite indie bookstores @thelitbar. It was hard to only pick up a few books. One of these is actually for my husband. He enjoyed browsing shelves and making a mental TBR. Reading choices are intentional. The more diversely you read, the better perspective you gain on humanity as a whole. 📘Postcolonial Love Poem: Postcolonial Love Poem is an anthem of desire against erasure. Natalie Diaz’s brilliant second collection demands that every body carried in its pages—bodies of language, land, rivers, suffering brothers, enemies, and lovers—be touched and held as beloveds. Through these poems, the wounds inflicted by America onto an indigenous people are allowed to bloom pleasure and tenderness 📕Carry: A Memoir of Surviving on Stolen Land: A powerful, poetic memoir about what it means to exist as an indigenous woman in America, told in snapshots of the author’s encounters with gun violence. 📙 Sex Money Murder: Chronicling the rise and fall of Sex Money Murder, one of the era’s most notorious gangs, reporter Jonathan Green creates a visceral and devastating portrait of a New York City borough and the dedicated detectives and prosecutors struggling to stem the tide of violence. Drawing on years of research and extraordinary access to gang leaders, law enforcement, and federal prosecutors, Green delivers an engrossing work of gritty urban reportage. Sex Money Murder offers a unique perspective on the violence raging in modern-day America and the battle to end it. 📗 Sweat the Technique: The musician and Hip Hop legend--hailed as "the greatest MC of all time" and compared to Thelonious Monk--reimagines the writing handbook in this memoir and guide that incorporates the soulful genius, confidence, and creativity of a master artist. QOTD: Are you reading any Indigenous or Nonfiction books this month? #IndigAThon #nonfictionnovember #IndigenousHeritageMonth #memoir #tonijensen #investigativejournalism #decolonizeyourfeed #diversespines #hiphop #rakim #poetry #nataliediaz #blacklivesmatter #readIndigenous #bookstagram #bookworm #books #bookhaul #thelitbar #supportindies #bookdragon #read (at Bushwick) https://www.instagram.com/p/CHWXPyIgSyW/?igshid=17jzmtoc75ez1

[thebookdragon217]

"Democracy is based upon the conviction there are extraordinary possibilities in ordinary people." Today humanity won! Biden told us to keep the faith and now we can all breathe just a little bit deeper today. We still have so much work to do my friends. Let's keep up the momentum! BTW I will never forget how Puerto Ricans, American citizens, were denied funds that had already been granted to them and left to die because a certain person did not consider them to be his citizens and wanted to sell their country in a trade deal. I also will never forget all of those who have supported this reign of terror and who have decided that a few tax dollars was more important than actual human lives. We are all accountable for our actions and choices and expect to be treated accordingly. Your voice. Your platform. Your activism. Your choices. Your family and friends. Your communities. Your dreams. Your livelihood. Your bodies. Your stories. They're still important and they matter even more now than ever. I challenge you to use your gifts, talents, resources and time and make our world a reflection of who we want to be. Now is not the time to sit down and go back to sleep. Our country needs us now. #loveoverhate #wedidit #resultsarein #democracywins #bookstagram #decolonizeyourfeed #bookdragon #bookworm #WhenIwasPuertoRican #thefightisntover #blacklivesmatter #maketheworldabetterplace #winning #esmeraldasantiago #latinxliterature #PuertoRicanauthor #readdiverse (at Bushwick) https://www.instagram.com/p/CHT1viDAEfZ/?igshid=1vcnlgwcapdar

[thebookdragon217]

The perfect title for the state of the world right now: Every Body Looking Watching. Waiting. Anticipating. Awaiting the fate of humanity. How far we have fallen, never reconciling with the past. No remorse. No repentance. Just votes for white supremacy. White patriarchy. White money, money, money. But those tax breaks become taxing when they are paid in blood. The world is watching and now everybody knows exactly you did. Your vote was a reflection of what actually lives in your soul. (Words by bookdragon) It's not a secret that when my emotions are overflowing I write. I write to free myself and find my voice again. I write because it is resistance. I write because it helps to tame the flame inside of me that refuses to die, and reignites and reminds me that the fight has only just begun. 📗 Synopsis: Every Body Looking is a heavily autobiographical novel of a young woman's struggle to carve a place for herself--for her black female body--in a world of deeply conflicting messages. Told entirely in verse, Ada's story encompasses her earliest memories as a child, including her abuse at the hands of a young cousin, her mother's rejection and descent into addiction, and her father's attempts to create a home for his American daughter more like the one he knew in Nigeria. The present-tense of the book is Ada's first year at Howard University in Washington D.C., where she must finally confront the fundamental conflict between who her family says she should be and what her body tells her she must be. #latinxbookstagram #bookdragon #decisiontime #blacklivesmatter #weneeddiversebooks #ownvoices #readingisresistance #bibliophile #everbodylooking #jackpot #books #heartsunbroken #bookmail #read #Indigenousbooks #Blackbooks #decolonizeyourfeed #diversespines #decolonizeyourlife #thislandisstolen #useyourvoice #useyourpower #IndigenousHeritageMonth #write #bookstack #readdiversestories #candiceiloh #nicstone #cynthialeitichsmith (at Bushwick) https://www.instagram.com/p/CHO4rgNA3z5/?igshid=of3rau2kymbc

[thebookdragon217]

The first challenge for #IndigAThon is chow wow: current read and a snack, meal or drink. November is Indigenous Heritage Month and I am currently listening to an ALC of Apple: Skin to the Core on @librofm. If you're looking for some new audiobooks, check out my link in the bio and help support local books shops. Please take this opportunity to learn about the various indigenous cultures and let it be the first step to lifelong learning and advocacy. QOTD: What are some indigenous reads I need to add to my library? 📕SYNOPSIS: Apple: Skin to the Core, is a YA memoir-in-verse. Eric Gansworth tells the story of his life, of an Onondaga family living among Tuscaroras, and of Native people in America, including the damaging legacy of government boarding schools—and in doing so grapples with the slur common in Native communities, for someone “red on the outside, white on the inside,” and reclaims it. #IndigAThon #IndigAThonChowWow #IndigenousHeritageMonth #reading #weneeddiversebooks #bookstagram #bookworm #bookdragon #booknerd #candycorn #booksandsnacks #audiobooks #decolonizeyourfeed #decolonizeyourshelves #bibliophile #diversereads #readingisresistance #readindigenousforever #readtolearn #readingisresistance #booksinverse (at Bushwick) https://www.instagram.com/p/CHHFOokgI0a/?igshid=19c3nzm4tdlam

[thebookdragon217]

Today is my stop on the #NeverLookBackTour and I will be sharing my favorite quotes. This was a 5🔥 book and one I will always hold dear to my heart because it takes place in my current hometown NYC and Puerto Rico, both of which tie heavily to my identity. 🇵🇷 🌴 "You have to know your history before you can move forward. Some people say dwelling in the past can be a crutch, but you can't ignore it either. There has to be a fine balance." 🌴 "Pheus and I are products of a world where we are not meant to flourish, but we will. With every single obstacle put in front us we still persevere. We will thrive in spite of it." 🌴 "Puerto Rico is not a cursed island meant to be repeatedly ravished, be it from hurricanes or corrupt men or demented spirits." 🌴 "This world is filled with things outside of what is deemed reality. The horrors we are meant to take in every single day. Microaggressions. Blatant aggressions. Violence. Surviving the streets every day is a miracle. How does logic play into the everyday terrors we are meant to overcome?" 🌴 "Your skin color means you can't fail, means you are not allowed to make a mistake." All these quotes remind me about the resilience of my people. They tether me tighter to my identity and give me a sense of pride in being Puerto Rican because of all we have already overcome. The U.S. tries to kill us and break our spirit but la tierra del borinquen continues to rise up against the oppression. We continue to remind them that we are here and we aren't going anywhere and despite it all, we remain united and unwavering in our pride for our heritage and culture. The world seeks to tell us that we aren't worthy and our stories don't matter but it is important to hold on to the hope of our ancestors and claim our existence and power each and every day. We need to continue to craft our own narrative, not let the oppressive system dictate who we are and what we are meant to be. We will not die. #NeverLookBackTour #lilliamrivera #coloredpagestours #latinxreader #latinxbookstagram #latinxauthor #readlatinxbooks #latinxyaliterature #ownvoices #decolonizeyourfeed #weneeddiversebooks #bookdragon #bibliophile #bookworm #boricua (at Ridgewood Branch Queens Library) https://www.instagram.com/p/CGvIzY5gseI/?igshid=1dm26qtspmqyi

[thebookdragon217]

What beautiful bookmail! Thank you so much @authoraliciadwilliams for all the details and the personal note. I cannot tell you how excited I am to read this one. Every day I love middle grade books more and more specifically because they tackle the hard topics in realistic and heart warming ways. They say the things that were in our hearts when we were growing up. In Genesis Begins Again, the topic of colorism is front and center in this coming of age story. Being latinx, I'm no stranger to the topic because the anti-blackness runs rampant through our communities as well. This is exactly why I am so grateful that books like this exist. We get an in depth view into the internalized effects of colorism and we get to confront the harmful narratives. We help young people see themselves when we share these stories with them. QOTD: What other books are you picking up about this topic along with Genesis? 💐💐💐SYNOPSIS💐💐💐 This is the story of a thirteen-year-old girl who is filled with self-loathing and must overcome internalized racism and a verbally abusive family to finally learn to love herself. There are ninety-six things Genesis hates about herself. She knows the exact number because she keeps a list. Like #95: Because her skin is so dark, people call her charcoal and eggplant—even her own family. And #61: Because her family is always being put out of their house, belongings laid out on the sidewalk for the world to see. When Genesis reaches #100 on the list of things she hates about herself, will she continue on, or can she find the strength to begin again? #genesisbeginsagain #middlegrade #aliciadwilliams #blacklivesmatter #readBlackstories #blackresilience #diversifyyourreading #bookstagram #weneeddiversebooks #readMGlit #supportblackauthors #colorism #fallvibes #booksoutside #bookmail #atheneum #decolonizeyourfeed #comingofage #bookdragon #books #bibliophile #readingislearning (at Bushwick) https://www.instagram.com/p/CGs9u66Awbb/?igshid=1str3cjk9vlr0

[thebookdragon217]

"It is important to have strong images of women out there, women who aren't afraid of expressing themselves, women who aren't afraid of taking chances, women who aren't afraid of their own power". -Gina Torres QOTD: What Latinx book have you read recently with a strong, female character or author? Latinx Heritage Month is still going strong and I wanted to feature just a snippet of some recommendations written by and about strong Latinx females. It is important for Latinx women to be able to see themselves represented in literature because not only does it validate who we are, but it also helps us not only to reclaim our power but to walk in it proudly. I am inspired by these stories because for many of us, alot our experiences, emotions and thoughts have been captured beautifully within the pages and these books have helped us to feel seen for the first time. Latinx female characters are often portrayed in negative stereotypical ways that are harmful and degrading. We have been portrayed as sexualized, having no identity outside of men or children and lacking in intelligence in mainstream media forms. These books I have featured are so empowering because they focus on our strengths and uplift the power of our voices. They reinforce the belief that our narratives and identities are our own and only we have the power and expertise to tell our stories. They also showcase that we are not a monolith and we are multi-layered beings with unique experiences and depth of character. Today I honor and salute all the Latinx women that are mad strong. #latinxwomenaremadstrong #latinx #LatinxHeritageMonth #latinxreader #latinxbookstagram #celebratelatinx #readlatinxwomen #latinxstories #weneeddiversebooks #bookdragon #latinxbookworm #latinxbibliophile #decolonizeyourshelves #books #decolonizeyourfeed #latinxrecs (at Bushwick) https://www.instagram.com/p/CGGWwNpAo4H/?igshid=776laxaxaspf

[thebookdragon217]

"When she read to her fellow inmates, she felt the pressure in her chest ease. She imagined her lungs backed up with words and her voice pushing them out, letting her breathe. Wiping her soul clean of remorse had turned put to be most difficult and slow, but she had more time than life. This was her only way of alleviating the pain." This quote really resonated with me and embodies the core of this book. Libertad, cleverly named, starts a Library Club as a way to unload her emotions and free herself of guilt and trauma that she has experienced growing up on the road as a trucker with her dad. Libertad means freedom and that is the best way that I could describe the cathartic feelings I experienced reading this novel. Simply put, this book left me feeling free to just feel, free to just be and free to just think. There are books in this world that simply take your breath away and leave you speechless. I didn't know what to expect when I started reading this one but I was immediately sucked in. There is something special about having a reader as the narrator telling stories through other stories. I was captivated by the poetic prose and the protagonist's strong storytelling held my attention until the very end. I did not want the story to end and even as I write this my mind is still in this book. The deeper I delved into this book, the more I hung on every word that Libertad spoke. I felt like I was right next her audience listening to her story, wanting to know the ending and captivated by her magic. The way Mexican history was blended into story was brilliant and seamless. I just want to hug this book tightly and never let it go. I will forever be grateful to @idleutopia_reads for hosting this buddy read. I have a serious book hangover. This bookdragon rates this one 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥. #LatinxHeritageMonth #latinxreads #ownvoices #buddyreads #booknerd #latinxbookstagram #bookdragon #diversifyyourbacklist #bookworm #booksandsunsets #diversereader #decolonizeyourfeed #latinxrecs #bibliophile #bookaddict #books #dignidadliteraria #readersforequality #supportlatinxbooks #latinxreader #readlatinxstoriesallyearround #read #threeriverspress #mariaescandon (at Bedford-Stuyvesant) https://www.instagram.com/p/CFijxxkgVJd/?igshid=pld38ux6nbvs

[thebookdragon217]

Latinx Heritage Month is in full effect! I got some bookmail today I wanted to share it with you all but I also wanted to share what is on my mind today. Reading Latinx stories should a part of your reading life all year round, not just the next 30 days. One of the main purposes of reading is to build imagination. If your reading choices only reflect characters that look and sound just like you, what world are you imagining? Is there room in your world for people with different backgrounds, religions, cultures, neighborhoods, socioeconomic status, languages spoken and hues of melanin? How far can your stretch your imagination if your mind stays closed? More importantly, how narrow is your worldview, if you can only view humanity through your own cultural lens? Here are three great books where you can challenge yourself to expand your world even even farther: 📕 The Grief Keeper- The Grief Keeper is a tender tale that explores the heartbreak and consequences of when both love and human beings are branded illegal. 📘 Sia Martinez & the Moonlit Beginning of Everything: Sia races to save her mom from armed-quite-possibly-alien soldiers, she uncovers secrets as profound as they are dangerous in this stunning and inventive exploration of first love, family, immigration, and our vast, limitless universe. 📗 Miss Meteor: There hasn’t been a winner of the Miss Meteor beauty pageant who looks like Lita Perez or Chicky Quintanilla in all its history. But that’s not the only reason Lita wants to enter the contest, or why her ex-best friend Chicky wants to help her. The road to becoming Miss Meteor isn’t about being perfect; it’s about sharing who you are with the world—and loving the parts of yourself no one else understands. So to pull off the unlikeliest underdog story in pageant history, Lita and Chicky are going to have to forget the past and imagine a future where girls like them are more than enough—they are everything. #hennylatinxchallenge #latinxreader #latinxbookstagram #readlatinxya #LatinxHeritageMonth #latinxauthors #readlatinxallyearround #bookdragon #decolonizeyourshelf #booksarelife #decolonizeyourfeed #diversespines #weneeddiversebooks #ownvoices (at Bushwick) https://www.instagram.com/p/CFNhQp5gtgY/?igshid=3w5qr6uq345u

[thebookdragon217]

After a few days of processing, I am reminded that the work is far over. I wasn't shocked because the verdict reflects the very foundation of what this nation was built upon. It continues to uphold white supremacy and not reckon with actual history. I am only one person but I chose to use my voice to speak out and my platform to continue to elevate marginalized voices. I encourage you all to reflect not only on this latest incident but on what you can do to speak truth to power in your immediate communities. As you prepare to "celebrate" Thursday ask yourself what truth you are willing to stand on. Is the genocide of Indigenous peoples a cause to celebrate or should it be a moment of mourning and reflection of truth? How many Black lives were taken too soon and will never have a chance to celebrate anything with their families again? When do we begin to reconcile and dismantle the systems that have long been oppressing and killing people? Books have always been tools to provide new perspectives, widen point of views and begin the process of decolonizing minds. Thanks to @coriolisco for the gifted copy of Call and Response: The Story of Black Lives Matter by Veronica Chambers which is about the BLM movement and how it shaped history. Synopsis will be in the comments. #CallandResponse #bookstagram #BlackLivesMatter #bookworm #VeronicaChambers #BlackAuthors #bookstagrammer #bookphotos #booksbooksbooks #bibliophile #amplifymelanatedvoices #BLM #ownvoices #reading #bookish #bookrecommendation #books #booklover #booknerd #TBR #photobooks #ReadBlackBooks #Afrolatinx #readingispolitical #readersofinstagram #libros #activism #decolonizeyourfeed (at Bushwick) https://www.instagram.com/p/CWl2QJPgTzO/?utm_medium=tumblr

[thebookdragon217]

If you've been following me for a while , you know how much I love short stories. They are quick bites to get me through reading slumps. They also give me little glimpses of life and short takes on different issues. I also love when short stories become longer works in the future. QOTD: What short story collection have you read recently that you loved? Thanks to @eccobooks and @bibliolifestyle for the gifted copy. Afterparties by Anthony Vesna So released August 3rd. Make sure you pick up a copy to get a taste of Cambodian life. 🥳SYNOPSIS🥳 Seamlessly transitioning between the absurd and the tenderhearted, balancing acerbic humor with sharp emotional depth, Afterparties offers an expansive portrait of the lives of Cambodian-Americans. As the children of refugees carve out radical new paths for themselves in California, they shoulder the inherited weight of the Khmer Rouge genocide and grapple with the complexities of race, sexuality, friendship, and family. A high school badminton coach and failing grocery store owner tries to relive his glory days by beating a rising star teenage player. Two drunken brothers attend a wedding afterparty and hatch a plan to expose their shady uncle’s snubbing of the bride and groom. A queer love affair sparks between an older tech entrepreneur trying to launch a “safe space” app and a disillusioned young teacher obsessed with Moby-Dick. And in the sweeping final story, a nine-year-old child learns that his mother survived a racist school shooter. With nuanced emotional precision, gritty humor, and compassionate insight into the intimacy of queer and immigrant communities, the stories in Afterparties deliver an explosive introduction to the work of Anthony Veasna So. #Afterparties #AnthonyVeasnaSo #eccobooks #bibliolifestyle #books #booktour #bookfeature #bookish #bookphotos #Cambodia #Asia #AsianLit #AAPIbooks #shortstories #bookworm #bookdragon #reading #bibliophile #essays #newrelease #BrooklynBeerGarden #BooksandArt #BooksandMurals #bookstagram #BIPOC #ownvoices #diversereads #decolonizeyourfeed #paperbacks (at Brooklyn Beer Garden-Bushwick) https://www.instagram.com/p/CS2eAbprKfu/?utm_medium=tumblr

[thebookdragon217]

Thanks to @berkleypub and @tlcbooktours for the gifted copy. QOTD: What poetry book do you always recommend? I have been devouring this one poem at a time because each piece is raw, full of emotion and pure honesty. It speaks what's in the heart of Black women and provides refuge and healing. It's National Poetry Month so please pick this one up. Here is a snippet: FEATURED: Black Girl, Call Home AUTHOR: Jasmin Mans Crazy Are women labeled crazy when you feel like their rage outweighs the evidence of their pain? 💐SYNOPSIS💐 From spoken word poet Jasmine Mans comes an unforgettable poetry collection about race, feminism, and queer identity. With echoes of Gwendolyn Brooks and Sonia Sanchez, Mans writes to call herself—and us—home. Each poem explores what it means to be a daughter of Newark, and America--and the painful, joyous path to adulthood as a young, queer Black woman. Black Girl, Call Home is a love letter to the wandering Black girl and a vital companion to any woman on a journey to find truth, belonging, and healing. #Blackgirlcallhome #jasminemans #tlcbooktours #NationalPoetryMonth #BlackAuthors #BlackPoetry #books #bookfeature #bookstoread #gifted #bookish #bookstagram #bookworm #readBlackbooks #blacklivesmatter #booksoutside #booksandtrees #booksbooksbooks #bookrecs #bookdragon #ownvoices #reading #diversespines #decolonizeyourfeed #poems #poetry #paperbacks #bookphotos #bookstobuy (at Bushwick) https://www.instagram.com/p/CN2vRtdLIvs/?igshid=12wd4hc3hjnkk

[thebookdragon217]

Thanks to @amazoncrossing and @tlcbooktours for the gifted copy. QOTD: What's your favorite translated work? I'm excited about being on tour for this because I haven't read many translated works and it is also a parable. Bees are fascinating so I'm looking forward to reading how they are used in this tale. 🐝 SYNOPSIS 🐝 From an award-winning Tunisian author comes a stirring allegory about a country in the aftermath of revolution and the power of a single quest. Sidi lives a hermetic life as a bee whisperer, tending to his beloved “girls” on the outskirts of the desolate North African village of Nawa. He wakes one morning to find that something has attacked one of his beehives, brutally killing every inhabitant. Heartbroken, he soon learns that a mysterious swarm of vicious hornets committed the mass murder—but where did they come from, and how can he stop them? If he is going to unravel this mystery and save his bees from annihilation, Sidi must venture out into the village and then brave the big city and beyond in search of answers. Along the way, he discovers a country and a people turned upside down by their new post–Arab Spring reality as Islamic fundamentalists seek to influence votes any way they can on the eve of the country’s first democratic elections. To succeed in his quest, and find a glimmer of hope to protect all that he holds dear, Sidi will have to look further than he ever imagined. In this brilliantly accessible modern-day parable, Yamen Manai uses a masterful blend of humor and drama to reveal what happens in a country shaken by revolutionary change after the world stops watching. #TheArdentSwarm #YamenManai #AmazonCrossing #allegory #bees #translatedfiction #diversereads #booksoutside #bookfeature #books #bookdragon #bibliophile #bookish #bookworm #bipocbookstagram #yellowbooks #Tunisia #booksofIG #hardcover #booksbooksbooks #ownvoices #NorthAfricabooks #readAfricabooks #readtheworld #fiction #whattoread #toberead #parable #decolonizeyourfeed (at Middle Village) https://www.instagram.com/p/CNiee3_LPuO/?igshid=lytgzrqil3if

[thebookdragon217]

It's #GuideFriday and on this week's edition I bring to you Puerto Rican poetry recommendations. QOTD: What is your favorite poetry collection? In the spirit of celebrating Women's History Month, I've compiled a list of favorite female and non-binary Puerto Rican titles. Poetry hasn't always been a choice I made when it comes to reading but last year it became a saving grace. Reading poetry has shown me the beauty of tapping into your innermost emotions. After reading different poetry collections this past year, it has also become a preferred way of social resistance and led me back to writing again. Poetry has also inspired me to pick up more books in verse and other mixed formats. I'm really excited that one of my favorites @elisabetvelasquezpoetry has her first novel in verse "When We Make It" coming out in September. If you're looking for more great poetry recs, please check out Pedro @prettymuchbooks. I've gotten many great recs from his page. #GuideFriday #Bookrecs #bookish #books #bookdragon #ReadPuertoRican #ownvoices #ReadLatinx #poetry #Latinx #booksinverse #bookstagram #LatinxBookstagram #reading #Latinxpoets #PuertoRicanlit #bookguide #poetrycollections #PuertoRicanwriters #PRpoets #bookworm #poetsofIG #libros #bibliophile #bookworm #read #diversereading #ILoveBooks #decolonizeyourfeed #diversespines #dignidadliteraria (at Bushwick) https://www.instagram.com/p/CMDYbdEAEKb/?igshid=11zyplhixk6ib