#the book woman of troublesome creek

[bigdreamsandwildthings]

August wrap-up (bring on the best time of the year 🎃)

[ramblingromance]

The Book Woman of Troublesome & The Book Woman's Daughter: A Rambling Review!

Hey guys, I'm back once again, and this time, with a double feature!! Last month for the book club I'm in, the genre was historical fiction, and the book pick was The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek. Not only was this a wonderful book that made me cry and feel all the emotions, I also managed to make it to this month's book club, and it was honestly an awesome time! There is also a sequel of sorts to the aforementioned novel, and I went ahead and read that one as well, which I just finished up this weekend!

&

Book Woman takes place in the hills and hollers of Kentucky during the Great Depression, as well as during the time when there were pack horse Librarians. These riders, mostly women, road into the hollers with books, delivering them to their patrons who might not otherwise have gotten a chance to get their hands on the written word. It was honestly a great glimpse at history, especially the way a coal town worked in such days, and the hardships these poor Appalachians went through. Many of them were literally starving.

Our main character is a pack horse librarian, or a Book Woman, as she's affectionately called. She's also a Blue, or rather her skin is blue due to a rare gene disorder she and her family share, causing them to have methemoglobinemia. This blood disorder turns the blood a chocolatey brown color, making the skin appear blue. This in itself was also a real family line that existed in Kentucky, and I suggest googling Blue People of Kentucky if you want to learn more.

The Blues faced prejudice due to their skin color as well as the suspected inbreeding that was associated with it, so Cussy, our main character faces many hardships along the way.

The sequel features her daughter, the girl's blue color only showing up in her hands, and usually only if she's upset or excited. She takes on the role of an outreach librarian in the fifties at the age of sixteen, her own book featuring the themes of sisterhood and the importance of female friendships.

_______________________________________________________

These were both lovely reads, but I won't delve too much into them due to spoilers. There's some rough stuff in them though, so beware as there are mentions of rape, assault, abuse, sexism, and racism. There's also children literally starving, so it's not exactly a lighthearted read, but it's an important one all the same. My one word for Book Woman would probably be bittersweet, while Book Woman's daughter would be hopeful.

[ashleywool]

if you’re down for another long ramble: tell us about your current fave book or a book you think everyone should read :)

Everybody says "don't judge a book by its cover," but I will freely admit, when The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson came up on my Scribd recommendations, the first thing that drew me in were the boots worn by the model on the cover.

I mean. Look at those sweet boots. Look at this Pinterest-perfect cottagecore ensemble. Look at that exquisitely weathered pair of books wrapped in sisal twine. You can almost smell those books. That "old book" smell. You know the smell I'm talking about.

Anyway, once I dug past my lizard brain's "o wao pretty picture" reaction, I saw that Dolly Parton named it as her favorite read of the year in 2021. I don't usually put much stock in celebrity endorsements in and of themselves, but I think we can all agree that, if any celebrity out there has generally and universally-applicable good taste, it's Dolly Parton. So, I started reading.

I loved it from the first few pages. The story centers on a young woman, Cussy May Carter, who lives with her coal-mining father in the Appalachian mountains of east Kentucky. In the wake of her mother's death, her father risking his job (and his life) to unionize his fellow miners, and her social unfitness for marriage due to her blue skin--more on that later--Cussy May takes a job with the Pack Horse Library Project. The project was part of the job-creating initiatives of the Works Progress Administration, a federal agency established by FDR as part of the Second New Deal to create jobs for unemployed Americans (particularly those with little or no formal education) working on public works projects.

For Cussy May, that job entails riding her mule into the most remote parts of the mountains to deliver books, newspapers, periodicals, and sometimes academic schooling materials to communities with limited access to these resources. Cussy May comes from a family carrying a rare recessive gene that causes the blood disorder methemoglobinemia, which gives her skin a distinctive blue tint. She faces considerable ostracism and discrimination because of this.

So basically, we have a poor, socially ostracized woman with a rare disease telling the story of how she finds community and a more profound sense of identity and meaning in her life by increasing accessibility of information and enrichment to other poor, sick, and/or disabled people scratching and crawling their way through life after the Great Depression trying to survive and maybe even thrive. For me, that alone checks an impressive amount of boxes of "stuff I find interesting." Add in the story of her father, a heroic UNIONIZER (y'all know how much I love unions) risking his life and health and basically everything he has for the cause of a better environment and better treatment for his colleagues? You sold me. SOLD. ME.

I've always gravitated towards woman-centered historical fiction (shout-out to my girl Samantha Parkington and the OG American Girls historical fiction series), but I was surprised at how much actual American history I became aware of for the first time because of this book. The Pack Horse Librarian Project was a REAL THING that people REALLY DID and I'm genuinely angry that I didn't learn about it in school--not even in AP US History, where my best friend and I did an in-depth project on the New Deal. Thinking back on it, though, our textbooks presented us with a very shallow (and frankly, classist and imperialist) understanding of the history of the American economy, and what it meant to have a healthy or progressive economy. Their metrics were based on the rich white people in the major cities--not the poor blue people in the mountains of eastern Kentucky.

Oh yeah, and the blue people of Kentucky were also real--and I suppose technically they still are, since methemoglobinemia still exists, but we now have a better (and less prejudiced) understanding of the condition and how to treat it effectively. But again, these are not things that we covered in our bougie-adjacent northern Westchester education.

One thing that I particularly appreciated about this story was that it focused on a woman having and fulfilling an industrious purpose in her life that had nothing to do with pursuing or prioritizing a romantic or sexual relationship. There is an excellent love story interweaved, but it's not The Point Of The Thing, and the author also doesn't do that annoying virtue-signaling thing of hitting you over the head with the fact that the love story is not The Point Of The Thing.

Sidebar: It's honestly incredible (and annoying) how rare it is for adult-oriented literature to deprioritize (if not exclude) romantic/sexual story arcs for adult women. That may be one reason why, when people ask me about my favorite books, the ones that come to mind first are the iconic YA classics we read in middle school (e.g. The Giver) that traumatized the butterfly clips right out of our hair--but like, in a good way.

Anyway, I won't give any more of it away, but I honestly can't think of any reason why the majority of the types of people who follow me here wouldn't enjoy the heck outta this book. I mean, we all love stories that champion accessibility and education and community and overcoming systemic oppression and prejudice, right?

Or, if nothing else, we all love a sweet pair of boots.

[readingrobin]

Since I was caught up in the Magical Readathon this month, it gave me the opportunity to pick up my pace a bit reading-wise. Managed to get into those sweet double digits when it came to how much I read and the majority of them were great. It started off on a high note, but I think by the end I was getting into some very lukewarm reads. Nothing too terrible, since I didn't manage to DNF anything this month, but it's always disappointing to end a month with a whimper rather than a bang.

Total Books Reads: 11

Total Pages Read: 3,520

Books Read:

Murder for the Modern Girl by Kendall Kulper (3.5/5) (Review)

All the Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace (3/5) - A sea faring journey is just what I needed to get in the mood for a summer that feels not too far off. I will say, this book definitely lives up to its promise of adventure, due to its tense, bloody action and introduction to a world with a interesting magic system, though I did find myself constantly confused and unable to really visualize soul magic. I think the book's greatest strength is its setting, where each island holds its own kind of magic and traits. Though we didn't see every island, I'm sure the rest will be left for the sequel to explore, there was enough to sate me for this particular journey.

When it comes to our main crew, I think I have to echo some other reviews by saying Amora comes off as the least interesting. Bastian has his charm and inner turmoil that he tries to keep behind a mischievous facade, Ferrick, his foil, a bit more straight laced and focused, while also having the neat featuring of regrowing limbs, and Vataea, a mermaid with a sultry, yet scary strength. And Amora is…just there. She's the princess, our main character, the one who believes she alone can save the kingdom, which somewhat makes me feel like she views her crew as nothing more than lackeys and sidekicks who are but tools to help her get to each destination while she does the most self-sacrifical work. I know she's meant to be a stubborn royal who was most likely raised to believe so, but it still doesn't exactly put her in the best light to the reader.

The writing itself kept my attention, but the plot had the standard twists and formula one finds in most YA fantasy. Nothing wrong with a formulaic plot, but there should be some sort of window dressing or aesthetic that keeps it from fading into the background with all the rest like it. My mind was starting to expect certain plot beats, only to go "ah, there it is" when the shoe inevitably dropped.

Mage and the Endless Unknown by SJ Miller (4/5) - Not gonna lie, this graphic novel gets rough. If you're up for seeing a little mage constantly facing some sort of traumatizing event from the terrifying creatures he meets on his travels, well, this'll certainly do it for you. The artist really has a knack for drawing unnerving, rigidly detailed creatures that give off a Junji Ito vibe. The contrast of the amount of gore, violence, and disturbing visuals offset the more friendly and cartoonish looking mage, giving the idea that one of these things doesn't belong in this setting. Though upsetting at points, there is a glimmer of hope to this comic, one that offers a sense of peace and rest. The comic does have a physical release coming out, but you can read it now on the magecomic website.

Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger (4/5) - It's odd how I went into this book having both some expectations, mostly due my friends and everyone else lauding it extensively, and no expectations at all. This pretty much happens whenever I'm 3-5 years behind reading the latest hot titles. But Elatsoe really does live up to its clout. The world has a somewhat normalized take on the paranormal, where vampires, or "cursed" individuals, magic users, and faeries are a known part of the world, interacting with society with life pretty much going on as normal. Well, aside from the string of mysterious deaths that seem to linger around a small town in the middle of Texas. It presents a setting that is both familiar and yet holds a bit of intrigue in a sort of alternate Earth containing all the history of our world with just some extra bits.

I loved the incorporation of Lipan Apache culture in the story, giving it an identity all its own and more weight to its events. The theme of oppressors actively displacing and sacrificing the oppressed to survive and further their own needs will always be haunting, especially when tied to the history between colonizers and indigenous peoples. Little Badger gives an equal amount of lamentation for the crimes of the past and present, while also celebrating the endurance of culture and its teachings that are passed down throughout the ages. 

A big plus for making Ellie's asexuality just a casual feature of her character rather than making it an entire plot point. As an asexual person, I'm glad to have any normalizing representation that's more than an entire story where the protagonist has to repeatedly defend and validate their sexuality to other people. Here, it's just a part of her being, no big thing, and that's the way it should be. 

Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher (4/5) - I've been hearing a lot of good things about T. Kingfisher and how I would really jive with her work. Well, diving into a story with a main character that has trouble really understanding the world around her while also bringing together a group that may qualify as one of the odder found families definitely wins me over.

I think what really endears me to this book is how much I appreciate Marra as a character. I love how, despite how constantly and profoundly out of her depth she is, she is still determined to do anything to protect her family. That, while she is surrounded by people who, on the surface, are more exemplary and powerful, she is capable of working marvels. What makes her stand out among other royal heroines is that her abilities are not tied to skills she earned through her title or some kind of destiny, but a certain domesticity she finds comfort in and developed all by herself. Marra is a self made woman, wanting to make herself of use to others instead of sitting around, waiting to be used as a chess piece. I think there's something amiable in depicting a sort of power in the mundane, that, with enough determination and love, could be as strong as any weapon or magic.

The writing style makes it so immersive as a dark fairy tale. Kingfisher always nails the tone of a scene, whether it be unnerving, reflective, mysterious, or tinged with a hint of humor. There were some elements I think could have been expanded upon. I wish we got a little bit more characterization from Prince Vorling other than what we got as second hand accounts. Most of the time, he never really felt like a threat, just something far away and not really tangible, despite his lingering marks on Kania. I really wanted to see more of that Goblin Market as well. So very ripe with fantastical possibilities.

The Moth Keeper by K. O'Neill (3/5) - O'Neill, throughout all of their work, knows what it takes to make each of their worlds atmospheric, engaging, and magical. It's mainly through their artwork, which is just totally immaculate here. The night scenes, will covered in a dark, expansive sky, still have a certain glow about them, coming from Anya's lantern and the ethereal presence of the moths. The adding of animal characteristics to the characters also bring about a certain kind of charm, though I wonder if there was a purpose behind these designs beyond aesthetic. The art itself make it worth checking out, but I don't think it ultimately saves a story that seems somewhat empty.

I think, as I was reading, I never felt totally ingrained in the world. It seemed almost aloof in nature, not really explaining certain things or leaving other elements up to interpretation. I mentioned the story seeming somewhat empty, which kind of makes sense for one that has a desert setting and deals with feelings of loneliness in a community and isolating yourself. But there's not really much else that compensates for that space, not in depth worldbuilding or interesting character dynamics. The message is a reassuring one, that your responsibilities in your community shouldn't be a source of isolation, but rather a way to get closer to them. It's a simple, reflective story, which is fine, but I think I was expecting more out of the premise.

The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells (3/5) - Wells certainly has a penchant for emotionally aloof and antisocially prone main characters, but I'm all for it. In a world devoid of humans and populated by a slew of humanoid creatures, the story offers a setting completely alien to the reader, which leaves a lot up to the imagination. At first, it was somewhat difficult for me to properly visualize all the differences between the species. The book already has an appendix for how to differentiate between the Raksura and the Fell, so it would have been helpful to have another that focused on the other races in the world.

I don't know if this is just me, but I thought that it was somewhat odd that, despite possibly coming from a similar ancestor, the Raksura are an all sentient, rational thinking race among all their classes, but the Fell are a mostly animalistic hivemind species aside from their rulers. It kind of made for a messy parallel and I think was to make the reader empathize more with the Raksura and showcase the Fell as entirely evil with no capability for civility. I suppose it certainly helps side with the heroes as the two constantly slaughter each other, but it makes for a pretty boring antagonist that is simply evil scary monsters just because. The story seemed like it had a few opportunities to go deeper than that, as Cloud has a history with them and Wells has shown that she is capable of more nuanced storytelling, but fell off about halfway through.

I wish there had been more time set aside for Cloud to truly learn about his people and reflect on his place in their society before they thrust him into the hierarchical issues and the disputes with the Fell. Cloud has only just found his people for the first time after losing his mother and siblings as a child, wandering alone and hiding what he is from others, and I don't think we get a lot of him reflecting on what that truly means. Also, imagine going through all that, and discovering that your main purpose in that society was basically to breed. Again, may just be a personal thing, but I know that would certainly lead to an existential dilemma for me. Personally, I'm not a fan of society structures as, "you're born as this class, so obviously you must serve that role forever" seems too dystopic for my tastes. Wells subverts this with Chime in a way, but again, doesn't really tap the full ramifications or intrigue behind it.

The Sandman Universe: Nightmare Country Vol 1. by James Tynion IV and Lisandro Estherran (5/5) - It's very rare that I find a Sandman-affiliated comic that I don't like really. I love this world and all the terrifying sorts of beings that live within it. I know Tynion more for his young adult Wynd series, but know that he's very capable at writing horror and Nightmare Country certainly proves it. This comic takes Sandman back to its horror roots, following the Corinthian as a being with teeth for eyes other than him has been stalking a woman in her waking life for some time now. This volume serves as a good setup to the story, getting all our main players in, bringing back some familiar faces and introducing some new ones. With how the story ended, I'm really interested to see where exactly it's going to go.

Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson (4/5) (Review)

Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova (3/5) - I feel very lukewarm about Labyrinth Lost. It wasn't a particularly bad book, I think it's just one where I've read similar stories before and they were told in a way that was more gripping to me. I didn't really connect with the simpler writing style, or connect with any of the characters. I think the only elements that I was really interested in was the magic system and the environments of Los Lagos. I'm always a fan of the trope of the tempting feast, the one meant to lure you in with delicious food and fascinating company, only to trick you into eating dirt and keep you there forever. It's a portal fantasy staple, really. 

It may be just a me thing since I was breezing through this book so quickly, but the pacing felt a bit off at times, with the action starting and stopping so often, especially towards the end. I think what really threw me off about the group is that we don't really have a strong trio of characters between Alex, Nova, and Rishi. Usually in fantasies that usually follow a group of three characters off on a typical quest, there's some cohesion to them. They may get off to a rocky start, but eventually they really start to work well as a unit and become stronger for it. Here, the group doesn't really feel like a stable triangle, as they usually range from being incredibly snarky and antagonistic towards each other (Alex and Nova at the start, then Rishi taking over that job from Alex as the two start to get on better) or being completely devoted to each other (Nova warming up to Alex, as well as Rishi being a constant supportive force and that's it). I wish Rishi got some kind of quality that made her more of an asset to the team other than Alex's best friend and love interest. She literally just fell into the portal to Los Lagos after Alex on accident and really doesn't serve a function other than backing Alex up. It doesn't make her that memorable as a character and it's a little disappointing.

I know there's plot reasons as to why they don't really feel like a great team but the twist towards the end probably would have hit a lot harder if they were. 

Other than that, the family dynamic was a great element of the story, which makes it a bummer that we don't really see more of them. I know the sequel follows Alex's sister, which would probably focus a bit more on that aspect, but I don't think I gel enough with this writer or the overall story to continue.

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson (2/5) - Though I may not have liked this book very much, I will say that I appreciate that it introduced me to an interesting aspect of history that I had not known before, such as the Pack Horse project and the Blue Fugates family. I'm a real big fan of pieces of history that slips through the cracks and lead the way for improvement in societies that were disadvantaged, which was one of the aims of the Pack Horse project. To know the dedication of librarians in this context, to be introduced how they would travel in dangerous conditions to bring people books and magazines that would either give them a relief for their hard lives, or help them learn new skills that would help them contribute in new ways to their families or communities was a much welcome lesson.

That's probably the only praise I can really give this book. I wasn't a fan of how this book centered on the constant sense of tragedy that lingers around Cussy May. It seems that, no matter how little good she experiences, she can't hold onto it for long or it's overshadows by the many, many horrible things that happen to her. Numerous sexual assaults, medical assault, losing so many people. At some point, it almost feels manipulative that we're constantly supposed to feel bad for Cussy, but at some point it gets to be too much to take seriously. Did I feel anger at all the injustice she faced? Sure, as any rational minded person would. But when the only thing your character experiences is constant hardship without any slack, it gets to be real repetitive and boring. And that ending was just the cherry out a cake made out of frustration and emotional exhaustion.

When it came to the author's treatment of race in the book, I'm just gonna say that it's a bit messy in certain scenarios. Framing Cussy, a person with blue skin, as someone who is somehow treated more poorly than the few black people in the community, was, I don't know, probably not a great choice. The scene with the doctor's Jamaican servant (you can tell she's Jamaican because the author makes sure to lean hard into the accent), who doesn't even let Cussy into his house or provide her a drink when he asks her to, just felt a little tone deaf. 

While I'm glad this books highlights the importance of literature within a community, as well as how wealth and information disparity leads people to become more disadvantaged, misinformed, and generally have harder ways of living, its tone and content just felt a little overbearing.

Average Rating: 3.5/5

[thoughtfulfangirling]

I just finished The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek which is a historical fiction piece following the life of Cussy Mary, a blue Appalachian woman based off of the actual blue people in the Appalachians.

When I read that in the description, I did a double take. Actual blue people? I was skeptical, but it is apparently a thing. Just look up Blue Fugates on Wikipedia if you really want to know. I had to look it up. This is besides the point though.

What struck me reading this, was that a couple of days ago, I started Meru. It's a sci fi book that takes place in the far future where, while genetic diversity is valued highly, a lot of major diseases no longer happen. By a fluke chance, one of the main characters, Jayanthi, ends up with Leukemia however when her parents (sentient robots with organic parts but not human reproductive parts) let her genes be truly random out of human archives.

Cussy Mary from the first book is different in that she is blue, and because of this, society has rendered her disabled by this genetic difference. Something that she lives with completely healthily with becomes a disability entirely because society had decided it has no value.

Jayanthi, however, is incredibly affected by her Leukemia and is truly disabled in that it affects her health, how her body navigates the world, and the medications she needs.

Cussy starts and ends the book on the fringe of society, though she has a happy ending of sorts nonetheless, because of her arbitrary disability.

But Jayanthi is going to be able to visit the first discovered planet, Meru, only because of her actual disability. Meru's one problem for human habitation is its higher oxygen levels, something that is being used to treat Jayanthi's Leukemia and which she already takes some sort of treatment/supplement/whatever to counteract the corrosive effects of. No other human exists with this opportunity she has because of it, and for that, she has great value (not just that obviously but I'm clearly doing some contrasting here).

It's a contrast that's sticking in my brain. It happened completely by chance that I would be reading these books back to back, but it's incredibly fascinating and gives lot of food for thought. And because it has been swimming in my mind so much, I needed to get it out just a little by putting some words to it... here I guess. XD

[the-final-sentence]

My heart lifted, and I smoothed down the thick paper with my palm and penned Lovett to my signature with a hope-filled prayer.

Kim Michele Richardson, from The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek

[airplanes924]

Books I’ve Read in 2022

Number 43

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson

[abbydjonesoffaerie]

It should be fairly obvious that this isn't my normal fare. I would not under my own volition pick this book out ever. (I haven't been kidnapped.) I'm not that interested or fascinated by female-centric historical fiction. Give me a good book about war, a good detective novel, high fantasy, or cheesy fantasy and I'm much happier.

I read this in about 6, non-consecutive, hours give or take. It's a very quick, non-taxing read. I'd put it in my weekend read pile. It's something you read quickly. It's not heavy and doesn't require much concentration. (I'd rather read Larry Correa.)

On the positive, I'm a sucker for stories about people living in the back waters of the Appalachian mountains. I love the contrast of abject poverty, independence, and a sort of street smarts blended with a King James Bible vocabulary and law. I love the beauty of these wild places. So, that interest and love kept me engaged in the story.

On the negative, I thought the writing was just okay, repetition of unique descriptions was annoying, the pacing felt off, the love story was mediocre, and a lot of descriptions included teeth which I found odd and usually made me pause to try and figure out what was happening.

The main thing I felt was lacking was adequate reactions to the trauma inflicted on this character. I mean everything that happens in the book happens in less than 9 months but I feel like each one of these traumas should be soul-breaking, or at least soul-pausing. I'm not sure which was more horrific, the rape or bring medically experimented on while unconscious, but neither seemed to really affect Cussy Mary for more than a day. (I've read about traumatic single tours in Vietnam. Those men weren't okay, why is Cussy Mary able to take things in stride?)

I also disliked how the arranged marriage thing was handled. I would have expected something from her Pa the second time around after the disaster the first time, so that felt really really contrived. Like my emotions were being toyed with in an unrealistic manner. (I'm screaming at her Dad, then I'm like oh, then I'm annoyed at being toyed with.)

By the end, the trauma is all so major that I just wanted it to be over. Really didn't need the marriage fight at the end. I no longer cared. I didn't care because none of the trauma was adequately dealt with, it just happened.

Finally, can we just trash the feminists message. It's so overdone and it's boring. I love, just love *sarcasm* the whole "I demand work and independence!!!! Oh! People to tend!" message. I love how is okay to be a woman who is tending and nurturing as long as you're not tending your family. It's also okay to have a baby and be married as long as the baby isn't yours and and your husband is fine with you working all the time. The "I can take care of myself and my baby and don't need a man," it's worn out. It just gets old and boring. Yes, it's subtle in this book, or I wouldn't have made it, but the really amazing women in this story is Martha Hannah. A wife and mother raising like 9 kids and taking care of their home and making sure her kids are as educated as they can be. Now there's a woman. "Well behaved women rarely make history."

Excuse me while I go find anything to cleanse my palate.

[z00r0p4]

u ever read a book that's emotionally like a seismograph during an earthquake ?

[teeteepeedee]

2024 Books

Crying in H Mart - Zauner (1/8)

The Anthropocene Reviewed - Green (1/16)

The Music of Bees - Garvin (1/20)

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store - McBride (1/27)

The Martian - Weir (1/30)

The Wager - Grann (2/2)

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (2/6)

Crazy Rich Asians - Kwan (2/10)

Project Hail Mary - Weir (2/14)

A Man Called Ove - Backman (2/17)

Untamed - Doyle (2/20)

The Midnight Library - Haig (2/24)

The In-Between - Vlahos (2/27)

The Covenant of Water - Verghase (3/17)

Tress of the Emerald Sea - Sanderson (3/26)

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Shaffer (3/31)

Yellowface - Kuang (4/2)

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek (4/15)

[only-horse-polls]

Fictional Horse Tournament

Group Shane - Round 1

[bigdreamsandwildthings]

August Wrap-Up

The Good Sister (Sally Hepworth) (audio) ★★★

Delicious Monsters (Liselle Sambury) ★★★★1/2

The Moth Keeper (K. O'Neill) ★★★

Business or Pleasure (Rachel Lynn Solomon) ★★★★1/2

A Far Wilder Magic (Allison Saft) ★★★1/2

Part of Your World (Abby Jimenez) ★★★★

A Court of Thorns and Roses (Sarah J. Maas) (audio) (reread #3) ★★★★★

None of This Is True (Lisa Jewell) ★★★★

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek (Kim Michele Richardson) (audio) ★★★1/2

Ink Blood Sister Scribe (Emma Törzs) ★★★★1/2

Bring Me Your Midnight (Rachel Griffin) ★★★★

Find me over on Goodreads for more detailed reviews! I love to connect there too and share what we're reading.

[gradling]

I've been listening to the audiobook for The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek on two raving recommendations (they specifically mentioned that it was good based on the fact that it deals with issues of gender, race, poverty, etc.) and yet I've been finding it incredibly frustrating. On one level, it suffers from over-explaining exposition and telling its audience how to interpret events, and on the other level...much of the premise is that the main character is blue due to an inheritable genetic disorder, and therefore she experiences racism. On the surface, that's an okay premise (it turns out the blue people of Kentucky was an actual family who were, in fact, blue), but this is set in 30's-40's Appalachia, and the main character repeatedly is positioned as more oppressed than the Black characters. There's even a Jamaican character who refuses this blue character entry into a house on the basis of her blueness, and the whole time she's speaking with an (imagined) Jamaican accent that the main character makes a big deal of not understanding (and it's even worse in the audiobook). idk I'm not actually sure this is actually the incredible commentary on race that it was touted (to me) to be :///

[tinylittleladybug]

hiii!! so this is a 'get to know' post! (since it's probably best to make this first).

my name is kit/june/atticus lane, i go by he/them, im neurodivergent, and i write silly little things sometimes!!! i may put some of it on here, but yeah!! I'm a mentally ill teenager who is trying to get through life :)

Some of my interests?

✩ Shows/Books:

The perks of being a wallflower

All the bright places

The hate u give

The book woman of troublesome creek

Anne with an e

Steven universe

The amazing world of gumball

Clarence

Bojack horseman

✩ Movies:

Lady bird

Tangled

Bambi

Edge of seventeen

The perks of being a wallflower

All the bright places

✩ Random:

MY OC's GOOD LORD

People

Writing

Music (my music taste is everywhere)

Outside (Tree's, birds, grass...)

I would make it longer but this post would probably reach the pits of hell.. so yeah!! I'm a person with silly thoughts and a brain that goes too fast. I hope you enjoy the random shit I post!! <33

[thoughtfulfangirling]

2024 Reads

Another human invented marker of time has passed moving us from one year to the next. It's a good reason to start over my lists right?! XD 2023's list can be found here! 2024 starts below!

You Made a Fool out of Death with Your Beauty - Awaeke Emezi

Pussypedia: A Comprehensive Guide^ - Zoe Mendelson & Maria Conejo

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek -Kim Michele Richardson

Meru - S.B. Divya

The Cadaver King and the Country Dentist: A True Story of Injustice in the American South^ by Radley Balko & Tucker Carrington

Watching the Tree: A Chinese Daughter Reflects on Happiness, Tradition, and Spiritual Wisdom^ - Adeline Yen Mah

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous - Ocean Vuong

The Last Days of the Romanovs: Tragedy at Ekaterinburg^ - Helen Rappaport]

Pride and Prejudice* - Jane Austen

Fresh Girl - Jaida Placide

Butts: A Backstory^ - Heather Radke

The Girl Who Chased the Moon - Sarah Addison Allen

The Silent Patient - Alex Michaelides

The Blue Sword - Robin McKinley

In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex^ - Nathaniel Philbrick

A Wicked War: Polk, Clay, Lincoln and the 1846 U.S. Invasion of Mexico^ - Amy S. Greenberg

This Nonviolent Stuff'll Get You Killed: How Guns Made the Civil Rights Movement Possible^ - Charles E. Cobb Jr.

This Is Your Mind on Plants^ - Michael Pollan

The Silent Patient*~ - Alex Michaelides

Finding Me^ - Viola Davis

Wuthering Heights# - Emily Bronte

Exit Strategy~ - Martha Wells

The Girls Who Went Away:^ The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades before Roe V. Wade - Ann Fessler

Bowling Alone:^ The Collapse and Revival of American Community - Robert D. Putnam

Fugitive Telemetry%~ - Martha Wells

The History of Wales^*% - History Nerds

The War on Everyone^% ~- Robert Evans

Searching for Black Confederates:^ The Civil War's Most Persistent Myth - Kevin M. Levin

The Great Influenza:* The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History [2004] by John M. Barry

Network Effect~ - Martha Wells

Zelda Popkin:^ The Life and Times of an American Jewish Woman Writer - Jeremy D Popkin

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay - Michael Chabon

Currently reading: The Assassination of Fred Hampton and Medical Apartheid

Key: * = Reread ^ = Nonfiction ~ = Read with Empty % = Novella #= Doc book club

My goal for 2024 is for 40% of my reads to be nonfiction. I've had two years within the recent past where I managed 20% of my reads to be nonfiction, so I'm aiming to double that. THIS WILL BE HARD FOR ME! Not because I don't enjoy nonfiction but because I enjoy fiction a lot more and have a lot more practice reading it. Haha Also for me, I am in circles where I'm just going to have more awareness of fictional books that I'm likely to enjoy more so than nonfiction. I'm kind of hoping that this years journey will change that a bit too!

Okay, below the cut I'm putting the nonfiction books on my tbr, most of which I have the lovely people of Tumblr to thank for the recommendations!

1968: The Year that Rocked the World

The Age of Wood; Our Most Useful Material...

The Assassination of Fred Hampton

Behind the Scenes: Or, Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the...

Being Human:

The Big Oyster: History on the Half Shelf

Birdseye: The Adventures of a Curious Man

Bowling Alone

Brave the Wild: The Untold Story of Two Women Who Mapped...

Butts: A Backstory / Evermore Recommended

The Cadaver Kin and the Country Dentist / Automatuck9

Charity and Sylvia: A Same-Sex Marriage in Early America

Dancing in the Glory of Monsters: The Collapse...

Dear Senthuran

DisneyWar

Driven to Distraction: Recognizing and Coping with...

Finding Me (Viola Davis)

The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed...

The Food of a Younger Land

The Girls Who Went Away: The Hidden History of Women...

The Glass Universe

The Great Hunger: The Story of the Famine...

The Great Influenza

Helping Her Get Free: A Guide for Families and Friends of an Abused Woman

The History of Ireland

The History of Scotland

The History of Wales

How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

The Indifferent Stars Above

In the Heart of the Sea / ecouterbien

In the Wake of the Plague: The Black Death...

The Indifferent Stars Above

The Last Days of the Romanovs / Automatuck9

Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer

Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Medical...

Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During the Crisis...

A New World Begins

Nonviolence: The History of a Dangerous...

This Nonviolent Stuff'll Get you Killed / Empty

Radium Girls

The Road to Jonestown

Paper: Paging through History

People's Temple

Pussypedia / Bookstagram Rec

Salt: A World History

Say Nothing

Sea Biscuit: An American legend

Searching for Black Confederates

This is Your Mind on Plants

Unmasking Autism

The Unthinkable: Who Survives when Disaster Strikes - And Why

Watching the Tree / found all by my little self

We Wish to Inform You that Tomorrow we Will be Killed...

A Wicked War: Polk, Clay, Lincoln and the.. / Rose

The Writing of the Gods: The Race to Decode the Rosetta...

I will actually add to this list as I get more recs and whatnot. And I still have some coming which I ordered from Thriftbooks. Once those are here, I'll add those. I'm a little sad there aren't more memoirs, but there's plenty of time for that yet! This is already 37 books, and given lately I've been reading about 70 (nonfiction may slow me down tho), these should give me plenty of ability to reach my 40% goal. Now it's just a matter of if I do it XD

[njadastonearm]

2022 in books! All in all my best year for reading in a while -- I beat last year by 22 books and ~6500 pages. Thank you, audiobooks!

Full list below the cut. Favorites are bolded and marked with an asterisk.

Conjure Women by Afia Atakora

The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway

King Richard by Michael Dobbs

When Women Invented Television by Jennifer Keishin Armstrong

Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard *

Uncommon Sense Teaching by Barbara Oakley, Beth Rogowsky, and Terrence J. Sejnowski

The Lost Founding Father by William J. Cooper

The Fossil Hunter by Shelley Emling

Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno Garcia

If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look On My Face? by Alan Alda *

Coolidge by Amity Shlaes

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen *

My Heart Is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones *

The Quartet by Joseph J. Ellis

The Woman They Could Not Silence by Kate Moore *

The Bully Pulpit by Doris Kearns Goodwin

The Man From the Train by Bill James

How the Multiverse Got Its Revenge by K. Eason

I'll Be Gone In the Dark by Michelle McNamara

The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson

How to Write a Lot by Paul J. Silvia

The Truffle Underground by Ryan Jacobs

The Awakening by Kate Chopin *

Lovecraft Country by Matt Ruff *

Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White

While Justice Sleeps by Stacey Abrams

What Lives in the Woods by Lindsay Currie

Time Is a Mother by Ocean Vuong *

Why Fish Don't Exist by Lulu Miller *

Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala

The Chalk Man by C. J. Tudor

His Hideous Heart edited by Dahlia Adler

The Woman In the Library by Sulari Gentill

Persuasion by Jane Austen *

Misery by Stephen King *

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson

The Book Woman's Daughter by Kim Michele Richardson

Grant by Ron Chernow *

The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean

American Moonshot by Douglas Brinkley

The Axeman of New Orleans by Miriam C. Davis

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson *

Sisters by Daisy Johnson *

A Woman Is No Man by Etaf Rum *

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloane

Gilead by Marilynne Robinson

The Motion of Puppets by Keith Donohue

Sherlock Holmes (Audiobook collection: The Adventure of the Empty House/The Adventure of the Devil's Foot/The Adventure of the Abbey Grange) by Arthur Conan Doyle

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum *

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller *

The Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

Three Pianos by Andrew McMahon

Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

Ozma of Oz by L. Frank Baum

Dorothy and the Wizard In Oz by L. Frank Baum

I Hope This Finds You Well by Kate Baer

The Zealot and the Emancipator by H. W. Brands