WAR IS PEACE. FREEDOM IS SLAVERY. IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH. Winston Smith does not know what year it is when he sits down to write his diary. He thinks it’s 1984, but he can’t be sure. The past has been edited and rewritten so many times that the current date and year of Oceania can be hard to trace. In fact it’s Winston’s job to help rewrite the past, by updating newspapers and media everytime the Party demands it. “Who controls the past controls the future. […]
“Now we have to somehow un-fuck everybody.”
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Quick Review: This is a very good YA debut by Angie Thomas and it is important reading to be done in this cultural climate in the United States. Thomas clearly, and evocatively, brings the reader into the layered life of a black teen in today’s United States with its systemic racism. It reminded me of of my own history, and my lived experience, and grew it out. But it isn’t a primer in the way that Between the World and Me is, it is a […]
He may be able to turn a phrase, but I’m thinking Hemingway isn’t for me
A few weeks ago, I put out a plea on my Facebook page – I had overlooked choosing a book for this year’s Banned Book Week. While emmalita sang the praises of This One Summer a book I already had on my to read list (which I did read that week), another friend gamely suggested that I read A Farewell to Arms since he was reading it as well. I checked out the audio offerings, and decided to give it a go since John Slattery […]
Banned Book Week Selection: Are you kidding me this was the most challenged book of 2016? Has everyone lost their minds?
Each year, I try to read a frequently challenged or banned book during Banned Books Week (September 24-30). I have very particular feelings about the concept of banning or suppressing works of fiction because they do not fit into a particular worldview (I’m staunchly against it). Do I think every book should have an audience and be read? Probably not. However, I do believe in our ability to choose for ourselves what we should read, and that banning or challenging books which only serve to […]
Such a Disappointment
In Praise of Hatred by Khaled Khalifa
One of the rewards of being the book club maven is that I have to be on the lookout for books outside of my comfort zone. In my bio (which you can see just down there) I describe myself as someone who reads everything, just some types of books more frequently than others. That applies to proper Literary Fiction as well. More often than not, I’m rolling around in the genres. However, I try to give the people what they want and there were several […]
Discussion Topics: In Praise of Hatred
Our September book club is coming up quickly, we’re just two weeks away. Our non-western literary fiction choice In Praise of Hatred by Khaled Khalifa has lots for the reader to absorb and think about. Our group chat about this book will get going around 2 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday September 13th, both here and in our Facebook group, the Book Chat. Book Club is open to anyone and everyone. If there’s a topic, thought or opinion you’d like to see addressed, leave a comment down below […]
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