Religion – Page 34 – Cannonball Read 17

Bronze Age Crete in modern tone

Minoan Wings V02 Swallow's Dance by Wendy Orr

September 29, 2023 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

A companion to Minoan Wings V01 Dragonfly Song we follow a young woman on the eve of her first “bleeding” (mensuration) and what that means to her within her community in Minoan Wings V02 Swallow’s Dance. Several natural disasters mean that our narrators’ carefully ordered and privileged life is shattered. Eventually, these disasters leave her, her mother and their old nursemaid-slave homeless and alone in a strange new land. Realizing how her once higher status is now her greatest enemy, she must learn to put […]

Family connections

I'll See You in Ijebu by Bunmi Emenanjo

September 28, 2023 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

I usually am a fan of the books from Barefoot Books. And with I’ll See You in Ijebu I think I found my new favorite book this year (or for sure in the Top 15). This is a delightful story of one young girl and the rich culture and family she comes from. We see how she celebrates both her mother’s family and their Muslim faith, and her immediate family and their Christian (specifically Catholic) faith as well. The two worlds are not separate, but can be […]

Hail To the President

Brave Volodymyr: The Story of Volodymyr Zelensky and the Fight for Ukraine by Linda Elovitz Marshall

September 27, 2023 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

After reading the chapter book about ghosts, I found a book about Volodymyr Zelensky. I figured you cannot get farther apart in subjects, so it was the perfect next read. Now, I will say that while I enjoyed Brave Volodymyr: The Story of Volodymyr Zelensky and the Fight for Ukraine, it is slanted. The start of this picture book was telling us in the most poetic manner how beautiful the Ukrainian flag is. How magnificent. How proud the people of Ukraine are of it. Now, […]

“This book’s findings should temper our estimation of the freedom we have to change ourselves.”

Degrees of Separation: Identity Formation While Leaving Ultra-Orthodox Judaism by Schneur Zalman Newfield

September 26, 2023 by GentleRain 4 Comments

CBR15Bingo: North America (the book focuses mainly on the Satmar and Lubavitch communities in New York and New Jersey.) I really enjoyed Degrees of Separation, which examines the experience of leaving Ultra-Orthodox Judaism (specifically the Lubavitch and Satmar communities) and how those who leave form their identities during and afterwards, as well as the long-term ramifications. This is an academic text and so there is a lot of sociology terminology to work through, but Newfield did this study based on interviews so there are a […]

Two Takes on Religion and Politics

Life On the Fringes by Haviva Ner-David

Take This Bread by Sara Miles

September 25, 2023 by GentleRain Leave a Comment

CBR15Bingo: Politics (feminism, inter-community politics, personal politics) Both of these texts engage with what religion means to the writer and how they engage with their religious communities with a more radical and transformative mindset. Reading them in close succession was an interesting look into how feminist, progressive religious women struggle to find their place within structured organizations. However, they are coming from two very different faith traditions and two very different personalities as well. As someone who reacts strongly with the personality of the […]

When the Olympians were kids

Zeus and the Thunderbolt of Doom Graphic Novel (1), by David Campiti

Poseidon and the Sea of Fury Graphic Novel (2) by David Campiti

Hades and the Helm of Darkness Graphic Novel (3) by David Campiti

Hyperion and the Great Balls of Fire Graphic Novel (4) by David Campiti

September 19, 2023 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

The Heroes in Training Graphic Novel series is adapted by David Campiti and based on the Joan Holub and Suzanne Willians novels for probably about second to fourth grade readers (going by the graphic novels). The myths of the Olympians are told in modern tones, with the original setting of some of their backstories (Zeus grew up on an island, Poseidon learns he is King of the Ocean) but they are not always true to the original stories. The first three books focus on one of the […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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