In our monthly book club, we discuss whatever we happen to be reading and ask everyone in the comments to do the same. What Are You Reading This Month?
Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy Of White Male America by Ijeoma Oluo
To be clear, there never was and never will be a time when Ijeoma Oluo’s new book Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy Of White Male America (Seal Press) isn’t relevant. But reading history-rich analysis of white male supremacy and its toxic repercussions from the author of So You Want To Talk About Race on the same week that the living personification of white grievance stormed the U.S. Capitol was like finding the key in the back of a fantasy novel: Suddenly, the labyrinthine gibberish started to make sense. Throughout the book, Oluo lifts the hood on institutional racism and sexism, breaking down everything from how white backlash to Reconstruction influenced widespread housing discrimination—and, in turn, racial wealth gaps—to online “brocialists” and their allergy to female power. (Hint: White male identity politics are still identity politics.) One by one, Oluo holds up parts of these complex and insidious engines, demonstrating for readers how each piece, as she puts it, “works by design.” One-star reviews of Mediocre on Amazon are mostly knee-jerk complaints about its title, which is ironic, but not unexpected: If these aggrieved reactionaries bothered to read the book, they’d have a better understanding of why they find the concept of deconstructing whiteness so triggering, and why rejecting Oluo’s ideas, and those of writers like her, is a mistake. As Oluo explains it, training white men to believe that “everything should be built for you and that anything built with the consideration of others is inherently harmful to you” ends up harming everyone—except for the small handful of mediocre white men writing the rules. [Katie Rife]
IRL: Finding Realness, Meaning, And Belonging In Our Digital Lives by Chris Stedman
As the country nears a full year of COVID-induced lockdown, many people’s lives—the personal, the professional, etc.—have predominantly been lived in an online space. In many respects, the virtual world has become individuals’ day-to-day reality, making Chris Stedman’s IRL: Finding Realness, Meaning, And Belonging In Our Digital Lives (Broadleaf Books) all the more essential. Even without the pandemic, IRL would be a vital read, a thoughtful examination of our perpetually “logged on” existence, and a measured critique of the social systems that define our time online. As the book underscores, the internet may break down barriers and allow us to stay more connected than ever, but platforms like Twitter and Instagram are still products of capitalism with their own set of rules to maintain status quo that privilege the powerful. To its benefit, IRL isn’t an indictment of social media, nor is it an outright embrace—instead, it encourages us to use the tools of the digital world more mindfully, harnessing their power so we can experience more enriched lives, both online and off. Crucially, Stedman isn’t writing a how-to guide; he doesn’t pretend to have all of the answers. In his previous book, Faitheist, Stedman argued for a space for atheists in the interfaith dialogue, and he takes a similarly holistic, humanist approach to the internet, his background in religious studies illuminating parallels between organized religion and our perpetual search for community and belonging on the web. Warm, vulnerable, and curious, Stedman’s personal stories of success and heartache provide IRL with a compelling through line, weaving in metaphoric observations about drag queens, map makers, and tattoos that illustrate the ways we’re constantly finding and redefining ourselves online. Eye-opening and affirming, IRL should be required reading before the next time you hit send on a tweet. [Cameron Scheetz]
24-Carat Black’s Ghetto: Misfortune’s Wealth (33 1⁄3) by Zach Schonfeld
24-Carat Black only released one proper album, 1973’s Ghetto: Misfortune’s Wealth, an ambitious, offbeat, and despairing soul-funk concept album that bluntly tackled themes of poverty and urban struggle. The album faded into obscurity alongside the outfit, but has since been resurrected thanks to its impact on rappers like Kendrick Lamar, Pusha-T, Jay-Z, and Nas, all of whom have sampled its tracks in their own work. In his new contribution to the 33 1⁄3 book series, veteran music journalist and past A.V. Club contributor Zach Schonfeld uses the LP to unpack the ’70s soul scene, the decline of the influential Stax Records, and the bullshit industry practices that have made it so difficult for 24-Carat Black’s surviving members to get paid. He also traces Ghetto’s creation, release, and cultural resurgence with the help of the key players, each of whom brim with rich anecdotes, industry insight, and musings about the late Dale Warren, the brilliant, hard-drinking Motown arranger so integral to the album’s trailblazing sound. [Randall Colburn]
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A newly translated collection of letters from my favorite Greek poet, spanning from the 30’s to the 70’s. Mostly written at sea, as he lived as a radio operator on various freighters and passenger boats. Unassuming letters, showing his trademark mix of cynicism, vulnerability, romanticism and anti-romanticism. A life that seems so small, so fragile. But wasn’t he the master of small forgotten, invisible lives…
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As research for a story I’m writing, I discovered that there’s a public domain book called Space Settlements: A Design Study published by NASA. It’s from the 70’s, but it’s really interesting anyway. We won’t have floating space colonies in our lifetime. Still really cool to think about, though.
nothing new… currently rereading “the seven ages of paris” to brush up on my french history, since i live in france. it is a very interesting book, currently in the age of the “commune,” after the chapters of Napoleon and before WWI.
recently finished “Harrow the Ninth”, which was awesome. i had to reread “Gideon the Ninth” a second time, with only a couple of months between reads, which i rarely ever do, just to make sure that i understood it. it was worth the second read, even in such a short interim period of time. harrow the ninth is even more complicated, but it pays off, and now i am stuck waiting for the third which will take god knows how long to come out! 😀
other than that i am reading bits and pieces of english and french psychology literature in preparation for writing a proposal for a masters thesis. winnicott and oury, respectively.
Gideon and Harrow were both so absolutley bonkers great, and I was spoiled by able to read them back-t0-back. Unfortunately, it looks like we’re waiting til 2022 for the next one
i hope not!
They are enjoyable but pretty much nuts.
I just finished Axiom’s End by Lindsay Ellis. It’s solid SF and actually made me tear up at the end. I’m looking forward to the sequel, Truth of the Divine, which is supposed to come out later this year.My mom got me a book called Money for Nothing by Thomas Levenson, which purports to be about how the modern era of financial chicanery was invented in London in the early 1700s. Interesting so far but I’m only one chapter into it.I’m rereading Lois McMaster Bujold’s Penric and Desdemona series. I read most of them over the last few years but I missed a couple along the way somehow; they’re all pretty short (novellas) so burning through the entire series won’t take very long.
Right now I’m listening to A Children’s Bible (great) and Queer City (less great- like having wikipedia read to me), as well as reading You Don’t Belong Here: How Three Women Rewrote the Story of War. It’s fantastic but heavy, and I need to finish and review before the pub date in February!Earlier in the month I enjoyed The Only Good Indians, The House on Vesper Sands, Big Girl, Small Town, Murderbot Diaries 2-4, and Sally Rooney’s “Mr Salary”.I tolerated Nothing to See Here, was pleasantly surprised by Amazon’s Inheritance collection, and finally kicked off The Dresden Files.
The Only Good Indians was my book of the year for 2020. Stephen Graham Jones can do no wrong.
that book was amazing. and brutal. started in november, finished in january due to MUCH needed breaks.
I was delightfully surprised to see Becky Chambers wrote a novella, “To Be Taught, If Fortunate,” that I didn’t know about that’s set in the “Wayfarers” series. So last night I started that in anticipation of her next full length novel, “The Galaxy and the Ground Within,” releasing later this year.
TBTIF is such a delight. I am VERY impatiently waiting for that new release in February!
I started it too late at night and fell asleep after a couple pages. Tonight I’ll make better progress. I’ve never been a big sci- fi reader but the “Wayfarers” books are just so good.
Just finished To Be Taught, If Fortunate in December. It’s an excellent little novella and completely independent from the Wayfarer’s series.It’s also very slightly harder sf than that series.
I thought it was set pre-Exodus. It’s still great and is getting me excited for her upcoming book next month.
Currently reading We Keep the Dead Close: A Murder at Harvard and a Half Century of Silence by Becky Cooper. Audio is Emily Wilson’s translation of The Odyssey, the first time a woman has translated it into English, read by Claire Danes.Also read in January so far:Piranesi by Susanna ClarkeWintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine MayThe Long Goodbye and The Little Sister by Raymond ChandlerSometimes You Have to Lie: The Life and Times of Louise Fitzhugh, Renegade Author of Harriet the Spy by Leslie BrodyInventing New Orleans: The Writings of Lafcadio HearnThe Orphan of Salt Winds by Elizabeth BrooksQuiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan CainDark Wave by Lana GuineayThe Book of Lamps and Banners (Cass Neary #4) by Elizabeth HandPiranesi was amazing. The writing was so good that even if there had been no plot and it was just the journal of this guy living in a very weird place, I would still have enjoyed reading it. And I found out by accident (when she appeared on a 99% Invisible episode about movie novelizations) that Hand had published another Cass Neary book, so that was a very pleasant surprise.
How do you feel about the Fitzhugh bio? It’s on my TBR!
It was good, provided you aren’t only reading it a Harriet the Spy superfan. Only because it wasn’t a huge part of her life—she was in her mid-30s when she wrote it and only lived to be 46. Originally she was a painter and an illustrator. But she certainly had an interesting life.
I rarely read anything as quickly as I devoured Piranesi. That was a delight from start to finish. One of those where I just want to live in that world a little bit longer than I’m allowed.Mrs. Lantern was scolding me for sitting with my nose in a book all month but so far I’ve finished that and the first four volumes of the Locke and Key graphic novels along with a couple other smaller works like Paulo Coelho’s The Archer which has a more motivational reader bent than a short story. Which suited me at the beginning of the year.
I loved Piranesi. Stunning novel.
I started rereading The Expanse series in mid December or so, finished early last week and am super disappointed that the last book isn’t out yet.So now I’m reading the Hyperion Cantos over again. That’s one I had skipped for a long, long time and finally got around to reading early last year. My initial impression was that the first book was good but by the end the series had disappeared way up its own ass. I’m interested to see if that’s still my opinion after reading it again.
Bleak House. Always Bleak House.
I finished Pagan Babies, as I continue Elmore Leonard’s bibliography. Good!I’m 100 pages into Antkind by Charlie Kaufman. Weird!
Reading “Magic for the Resistance” by Michael Hughes, who created the “Bind Trump” spell. It isn’t too late to utilize some magic/prayer along with concrete action.Also read “Protest Kitchen” by Carol J. Adams and Virginia Messina, about how veganism will save the world. Nothing very new, but I’m making some of the recipes. (Not the ones with imitation foods.)
Also in the middle of “The Goddess Chronicles” by Natsuo Kirino, a Japanese crime-fiction author whose work I am not familiar with but who is well thought of. It’s based on the myths of Izanaki the Creator god and Izanami the death goddess, essentially a saga of love, death, and grief, told via magical realism. I don’t usually read crime fiction but I may check out some of Kirino’s other books.
I’m almost through “Time Between” by Chris Holman. I like rock bios
I’ve been reading Axiom’s End by Lindsay Ellis since I got it for Christmas. It’s pretty damn good. It’s got a nice 1980s retro sci-fi vibe to it, even though it takes place in 2007.
I’m currently reading Devices and Desires, the beginning of a trilogy by one of my favorite fantasy authors, KJ Parker. Enjoying it so far.
I’m currently reading Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor. Before that this month I read How to Become a Henchman by J Bennett, and early this month finished Bystander 27 by Rik Hoskin.
Completely earnest question: Why is it a big faux pas when a White person writes a book about the black experience, but a black lady writing about white civilization isn’t? Personally, if you’re an expert on the subject, it shouldn’t matter what race you are. Just seems like a strange double standard that comes up often.
Subtitles in movies
I’ve decided that for me, 2021 is going to be the year I read or catch up on epic fantasy series’, so January is starting out with me reading The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan (Book 2 of The Wheel of Time), and The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss.I also have a library hold on Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson.
Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, full of literary nuance but I mostly like the simplicity of his style and ideas. And Baron-Cohen’s Mindblindness, which I am realising was years overdue on my reading list. Need to exercise my reading muscles a bit more than I already do.