Due to family obligations and having to catch back up with my community action program after being at the hospital with my dad for so long, I missed out on most of the really great chats that were going on but I was able to pop in and read some of the responses. I'm so glad so many of you are feeling more comfortable in actively seeking out diverse books and understanding that not all representation is good. It feels like everyone has grown so much in the last few months since the original #DiverseAThon week was started... which is a good thing now that we see how the next four years are going to go. It's imperative that we continue to push marginalized voices up higher, that we lend platforms and ears and hearts to their words so that they can't be silenced.
I don't feel that I read as much as I could have read this week, but again, I had plenty of obligations that kept me running so I'm trying not to feel too bad about it.
Here's a wrap-up of everything I read during #DiverseAThon:
ALICE + FREDA FOREVER: A MURDER IN MEMPHIS by Alexis Coe
I stumbled across this book months ago during the original #DiverseAThon and for whatever reason, I never got around to it. ALICE + FREDA is a nonfiction book that chronicles the rocky relationship between Alice Mitchell and Freda Ward which ended when Alice publicly slit Freda's throat. What was so weird to me was the fact that Alice was able to plea insanity and people believed her not because of the crime she committed but because she was in love with a woman. Definitely pick this one up for an interesting history lesson.
THE ROUND HOUSE by Louise Erdrich
This is one of those books that I could read over and over and never get tired of. THE ROUND HOUSE follows the Coutts, an Ojibwe family dealing with the aftermath of their matriarch's rape and attempted murder by a supposedly unknown assailant. I don't want to give too much away because this is a book that has to be deeply experienced. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who understand that sometimes revenge is the best option.
(I also want to talk about people who are rating this book who are Non-Native and do not understand Native family and tribal dynamics who are calling this book unrealistic: It's not.)
THE BACKSTAGERS VOL 1 by James Tynion
I saw this on Net Galley and thought it would be a cute read. It follows Jory, a new student at an all-boys academy who stumbles upon the stage crew and all the mysterious things that happens backstage. It definitely reaffirms my personal belief that nothing is better than working backstage... that is where all the magic really happens.
TWIXT by S.E. Diemer
After reading THE DARK WIFE and loving it, I was excited to read TWIXT. It has lesbians, demons, dead people, and ugly angels... everything I never knew I needed in a book.
I also attempted to read QUEEN SUAGR but DNFed it after 3 pages when one of the characters talks about Natives "liking to be called Indians" and talking about the "jackals at the Indian casinos". No, thank you. THE BONE WITCH was another one I DNFed at 50% due to sheer boredom.
What books did you get to during #DiverseAThon? Any conversations really stand out to you? Let me know in the comments below!
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