Tag: Our Stories Our Voices: 21 YA Authors Get Real About Injustice Empowerment and Growing Up Female in America

Posted in Books

A Reading List for the Coming Four Years | Books for Rising, Resisting, and Keeping the Hope

Posted on by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Monday, bibliophiles…sort of. We’re in for a long four years.

It’s already been said what a slap in the face it is to have Trump sworn in on the day we normally set aside to commemorate Martin Luther King Jr., one of America’s preeminent champions of civil rights. (I’m sure the administration will find some way to spin it in their favor, the same way that Trump spun the Women’s March. Eurgh.) I’m grieving. I will continue to grieve, so long as our country is once again helmed by a tyrant who uplifts the wealthy and bigoted while the marginalized are squashed underfoot. My processing this won’t end until we get him out of office (because I refuse to believe that this is the end), and that’s okay.

But today, as with most of the activity on this blog, I’d like to talk about books.

Anyone who has even had a semblance of a pulse on the news in the last five years or so has seen the increased hateful rhetoric surrounding books—particularly those concerned with promoting diverse voices. Mass book bans have swept the country, with everything from the most innocuous picture books to critical feminist knowledge being stricken down across the board, all in the name of “protecting the children.” The process of objecting to a book is frighteningly simple and straightforward, leading to bans on the basis of misinformation—just look at the time Amanda Gorman’s The Hill We Climb was challenged after a single complaint…and attributed to Oprah Winfrey (ah, yes, because all Black women are the same person, apparently). Apologies for the strong language here, but to quote a great button that I have on one of my jackets, “you know these fuckers banning books don’t read shit.” It’s true. Rarely do those in charge of banning, especially those in the highest offices in the country, consider the actual contents of the books—they simply get a whiff of anything that smells to them of D.E.I. or the “woke groomer agenda” and try to smite it out of the public consciousness.

It was never about the children. The majority of the books that are being banned to “protect children” aren’t even aimed at children. And even if they are, it’s only for superficial reasons—inclusions of, god forbid, diverse perspectives (LGBTQ+, POC, disabled, etc.) or acknowledgments that maybe, just maybe, America is not perfect and has never been perfect. It truly is dangerous. We’ve seen how the Trump campaign was built on twisting and exaggerating lies about this country, feeding its supporters that we must go back to some nonexistent, golden age. Of course it never existed, but the way that they do it is by blocking off access to information on all levels—perpetuating lies and attacking those who spread the truth. Book bans are how this is done at the largest level; it starts with the very youngest, and they claim to “protect the children” as they restrict their access to learning about how this country—and the world—truly is. The regimes that put blinders on its populations—especially the ones banning or burning books—never land on the right side of history.

I believe that the best way that you can combat this deliberate shielding of the truth is to read. In a world where the ruling class relies on you being complacent enough to accept their lies as fact, reading is the ultimate form of rebellion. We read to learn: about other kinds of living, other kinds of people, and possibilities in the imaginations of people you know nothing about. Literature is the site of change because it shows us this possibility—if you can imagine an alternative world, you can put it into action. When you feel powerless, remember that you have boundless knowledge at your fingertips.

So I’ve compiled this reading list for anyone looking to rebel. I’ve gathered books of all age levels and from all kinds of diverse voices that Trump and his cronies would have you believe neither matter nor exist. Whether your stance is to directly fight the power or quietly rebel by imagining a way out, there are books here for you. Fiction and nonfiction, here are the tools you need to combat misinformation, bigotry, and hatred—and have a great read, too.

A READING LIST FOR THE COMING FOUR YEARS | Books for Rising, Resisting, and Keeping the Hope

FOR THE FIGHT:

These are the books about resistance, in the real world and in imagined worlds. If you need the motivation to stand up and fight for your rights and the encouragement to not pull punches when doing so, these are the books for you.

FOR A BETTER TOMORROW:

Here is something I want to emphasize going forward: it’s important to fight, but not all of us have the strength to do so—and that’s okay! Plenty of people aren’t ready to get out into the streets, and we need to respect that perspective. (This is coming from someone who isn’t quite ready either.) What we need the most in these times is hope, and though there is injustice in these books, they present stories where, despite hardships, joy prevails. They also present vital alternatives to the now—one of the most powerful ways of resisting, in my opinion, is to have the ability to imagine a better tomorrow, whether it’s alternate history, the distant future, or simply a kinder present.

FOR KNOWLEDGE:

The best way to combat misinformation is to inform yourself. Here are some of my favorite nonfiction books about resistance and feminism and its many facets—race, sexuality, gender, ability, and more. Ranging from revered feminist scholars to more contemporary perspectives, I hope there is something for everybody here.

A SELECTION OF GREAT BOOKS BANNED FOR RIDICULOUS REASONS:

Here in the U.S., we’ve seen a deeply disheartening uptick in book bans for a number of reasons—none of them valid. Standing up to book bans is essential in these times, and through it, you can discover some excellent literature, whether they’re classics like Maus and The Bluest Eye or newcomers like The Poet X.

RESOURCES FOR FIGHTING AGAINST CENSORSHIP:

  • PEN America – if you’ve been paying attention to efforts against book banning, you’ve likely seen PEN America come up, and for good reason—they are one of the foremost organizations fighting for the rights of authors and journalists, as well as the freedom to read and write.
  • Authors Against Book Bans – self-explanatory, but this organization has a variety of resources on how you can fight against book bans around the country.
  • M.K. England (Substack) – although my list didn’t end up containing any of their books (sorry 😬), England has provided a comprehensive list of ways you can fight back against the potential threat of Project 2025 in terms of queer literature for younger (MG and YA) audiences.
  • SUPPORT! YOUR! LOCAL! LIBRARY! Wherever you are in this country, use as many of your library’s resources as you can! Whether you’re checking out books physically or digitally, or using their non-book services, libraries need all the support that they can get in these coming years.

That being said, this list is by no means exhaustive! I encourage you to look beyond this list to find even more books you love that live up to these principles. Scour the internet and your local library, and you are sure to find many more examples. Let me know in the comments what your favorite books about making change, resisting, and keeping hope are!

Today’s song:

it’s a relevant song for this post, but also, I did just listen to Humanz for the first time over the weekend. Not their best, but this was one of the highlights; as much as I despise Oasis, I do find it poetic that Albarn and Noel Gallagher sang together on this one after having the most ridiculous, decades-long rivalry. (To say nothing of Liam…)

That’s it for this post! Have a wonderful day, and…I know I put this at the end of every post, but please take care of yourselves. I love you.

Posted in Sunday Songs

Sunday Songs: 8/4/24

Posted on by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Sunday, bibliophiles!

This week: I fully see the irony of putting a song called “Get Off the Internet” on a blog post……….decidedly on the internet, but you get it, right? Right?

Enjoy this week’s songs!

SUNDAY SONGS: 8/4/24

“Get Off the Internet” – Le Tigre

I miss when people could get along despite their politics, but…have you seen Project 2025 lately? Were you not paying attention to Trump’s entire presidency? I wouldn’t be saying this if, y’know, they weren’t trying to take all of our rights away, but…

GET OFF THE INTERNET!! DESTROY THE RIGHT WING!!!!

…AND A BOOK TO GO WITH IT:

Our Stories, Our Voices: 21 YA Authors Get Real About Injustice, Empowerment, and Growing Up Female in America – edited by Amy Reed – modern accounts of femininity and feminism from a collection of incredible authors.

“Gran Mamare” (from Ponyo) – Joe Hisaishi

Watching Ponyo as an adult felt like watching it for the first time. Technically, my recent rewatch was my second time seeing it in over a decade. Every time I’ve thought about it before then, it felt like a fever dream…probably because my first viewing was something along those lines. I was about 5 or 6, and I’m almost positive that I was home sick from school. Either way, I was in my parents’ bed. All I could remember were faint glimpses of Ponyo underwater, the man, the myth, the legend, Fujimoto (close enough, welcome back David Bowie)…and Granmamare.

If there’s any gorgeously-crafted scene (of which there are many) to take away from that movie, it’s any scene with her. No wonder my five-year-old brain retained an image of such beauty, even when it was (probably) sick. Her first appearance isn’t necessarily emotional—all she’s doing is talking to Fujimoto about what to do with Ponyo—but all of the sudden, I found myself overcome with tears. All those years ago, and it took my breath away. (And who better to voice such a goddess of such beauty than Cate Blanchett? It had to be Cate Blanchett.) Maybe I was just in an emotional state, but something in the sheer beauty of that scene stirred up something hidden and beautiful in me. Joe Hisaishi’s sweeping score gives it an appropriately sparkling, John Williams-like grandeur, befitting of a character so powerful that she illuminates the whole ocean with her radiance.

Either way, I’m so glad that I rewatched it. Ponyo want ham.

…AND A BOOK TO GO WITH IT:

Lakelore – Anna-Marie McLemore – mysterious and magical underwater realms, anyone? (Admittedly, Ponyo delivers much more on that aspect, but you can’t beat Miyazaki.)

“I’ve Got Me” – Joanna Sternberg

The name of the video is a bit of a misnomer, in my opinion—yes, technically it is a lyric video, but the lyrics are accompanied by a full-color comic drawn by Sternberg, which makes it feel like a fully-fledged music video. It’s so worth a watch—they have such a charming art style.

When I say this, I say it with all of the affection in my soul, but it’s remarkable that at only 32, Joanna Sternberg sounds just like a kind, elderly music teacher. Again: nothing but affection. Their voice just emanates that comfort that I associate with the kind of person who teaches preschoolers how to use maracas and such. The album art, as well as the associated art only add to the vibe—the scratchy inking and pastel backgrounds only add to the feeling that I would find this CD in said music teacher’s collection. Heck, I can almost imagine having to sing “I’ve Got Me” in a preschool program, if not for lines like “between self-hatred and self-awareness is a very small, thin line.”

Nonetheless, all of this is to say that “I’ve Got Me” has a purity to it. It’s got the sing-songy sway of a children’s song, but in its touching vulnerability, brushes over a sentiment I’ve battled with for much of my life: “why is it so hard to be kind and gentle to myself?” (Boy, do I relate to the panel at 0:46 with a sullen-faced Sternberg wearing thick-framed glasses captioned “me looking through the file cabinet in my brain that stores all of my bad memories”—even better, it’s alphabetized.) Armed with nothing more than their acoustic guitar and a stand-up bass, they produce a solution that gives this even more of a children’s music feel: “Take the box of self-deprecation/Lock it and put it on the shelf/Then wait five days, take that box/And throw it in the fire.” Through said self-deprecation gathering dust and anxiety on the shelf, Sternberg retains an understated but resilient hope—”I’ve Got Me” as a title feels like an assertion that, no matter if you think you’re alone, you are all you’ve got. You have but one body and one mind, in all of its flaws, and you may not be able to control some of the inevitable bouts of self-deprecation, but it’s still you, in the end.

…AND A BOOK TO GO WITH IT:

Someone You Can Build a Nest In – John Wiswell – in both a literal and figurative sense, learning self-love after viewing yourself as monstrous.

“Learning to Apologize Effectively” – Deerhoof

Being a newcomer to Deerhoof is a unique experience because I can never seem to find a consensus about what they sound like—or what other people think they sound like, at any rate. One reviewer says this is a return to form, another critic says it’s some kind of new venture, like nothing they’ve ever done before. The only consensus I can seem to draw is that they’re bent on being weird—and I have nothing but admiration for that, especially after seeing the craft to their weirdness. (Learning “Future Teenage Cave Artists” on guitar and having to puzzle through not one but four odd time signatures with my guitar teacher sure was something.)

Either way, I’m almost ashamed to say that the YouTube algorithm spat this one up before me, but I’m not one to complain. I’m done being ashamed with how I found out about songs—so long as I have the song in my hands and I enjoy listening to it, what’s the issue, really? “Learning To Apologize Effectively” is much more rock-oriented (as its album, The Magic, seems to be in its entirety), with crashing. classic rock-recalling guitars. Yet even if their inspirations for this track lie more in mainstream rock, there’s that undeniable weirdness that seems to ooze from their music no matter what. Like with “Future Teenage Cave Artists,” Satomi Matsuzaki’s vocals have an uncanny quality to them, not necessarily in the sound of her voice, but in the ever so off-kilter timing of it—I can’t pin down a time signature, but in her “the song is waiting for another song” intro, each pause makes a deliberate form of obscurity, darting into an unexpected corner when you expect it to go down the well-lit hallway right in front of it. It feels like an imitation of rock from a band used to making the most deliberately strange music for most of their career—an imitation that feels almost authentic.

…AND A BOOK TO GO WITH IT:

Lagoon – Nnedi Okorafor – “And when we saw what we were doing wrong/We found the cause underwater, long/And then we saw what we were doing wrong…”

“Miss Amanda Jones” – The Rolling Stones

For a fleeting moment, I can pretend that this song exists in a vacuum, and that Mick Jagger hasn’t been acting like it’s 1967 for the past five decades or so. The fact that he (and Keith Richards) have actually survived long enough to act like they’re 20 for so long is almost impressive, but…yikes, dude.

As much as I rag on Jagger and company, I can’t deny that for at least a decade or so, he and the rest of the Stones could concoct some truly legendary songs. Of course they could, they’re the Rolling Stones! Yet somehow, I rarely see this one among the greatest hits—maybe it’s the rose-colored glasses shielding everything once more, but I feel like if it was good enough to name a whole character after it in Some Kind of Wonderful, that has to give it some street cred, right? (So real of them to name a character after a song just so that they could play said song in the movie. I feel like I’m gonna wind up doing that someday.) Aside from being a staple of car rides in my early childhood, it’s just so unbelievably tightly-wound. Not a single cog is winding out of sync, from the twin talents of Brian Jones’ rhythm guitar and Keith Richards’ spiky riffs—in 1966, we already had the precursor to my favorite, early-’70s guitar sound, warm and thick as a fresh pot of soup. It’s a bit too rough around the edges (for the ’60s, anyway) to really be truly jangly, but it’s got the swagger and sway that makes the rock of the ’60s so delightful to listen to.

…AND A BOOK TO GO WITH IT:

Little Thieves – Margaret Owen – “Just watch her as she grow/Don’t want to say it very obviously /But she’s losing her nobility, Miss Amanda Jones …”

Since this post consists entirely of songs, consider all of them to be today’s song.

That’s it for this week’s Sunday Songs! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!

Posted in Books

The Bookish Mutant’s 5-Star Reads of 2022

Posted on by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Monday, bibliophiles!

2022 was a strange, messy, and transitional year for me—graduating high school, starting college, and all of the chaos in between. It’s been an unusual reading year for me too—I haven’t been able to read as much, what with college and finals throwing me off of my reading rhythm for most of the second half of the year. I didn’t have as many 5-star reads as I have in previous years (not counting re-reads, for which there were many), and that might be a consequence of how weird this year has been, but that maybe the more I read, the more selective I get with my 5-star ratings. It’s not every day that a book changes your life, rocks your world, or shifts you in some other way. But there were still several books that deserved that rating this year, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t give these truly wonderful books all my love as the year reaches its end.

(NOTE: re-reads that I previously rated 5 stars will not appear on this list.)

Let’s begin, shall we?

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️THE BOOKISH MUTANT’S 5-STAR READS OF 2022⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Wide Starlight – Nicole Lesperance

My first 5-star read of the year, and an unexpected one as well; a beautiful story of northern lights, fairytales, and family.

Read my review here!

Art Matters – Neil Gaiman and Chris Riddell

An essential read for anyone with creative aspirations of any kind. Neil Gaiman never misses.

Alone in Space: A Collection – Tillie Walden

A beautiful collection of vignettes and short comics from one of my favorite creators in recent years!

The Reckless Kind – Carly Heath

Another 5-star read from a new-to-me author, The Reckless Kind captured my heart with its tale of queer love and disabled identity.

Read my review here!

The Amazing Screw-On Head and Other Curious Objects – Mike Mignola

Another beautiful anthology from one of my favorite artists and storytellers. The Magician and the Snake always gets me choked up.

Call Us What We Carry – Amanda Gorman

At this point, Amanda Gorman is incapable of writing anything that doesn’t immediately awe me; Call Us What We Carry is filled to the brim with creativity, wisdom, and timely insight that will surely stand the test of time.

Honorable Mentions (4.5 stars):

Today’s song:

probably the last album I’ll listen to in 2022, and it was a great one!! this definitely my favorite track

That’s it for my favorite books of 2022! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!

Posted in Weekly Updates

Weekly Update: March 28 – April 3, 2022

Posted on by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Sunday, bibliophiles! I hope this week has treated you well.

The beginning of this week was sort of weird; going back to school post-spring break hit me hard on the first day (and not getting much sleep the night before didn’t help), so Tuesday was a slog. But the rest of the week was nice and slow—I’m glad that I haven’t had a lot of schoolwork this week. Nice to ease back into routine.

I had more time to read this week, and I had a good batch of books from the library—all in the 3.5-4 star range! I got some more promising books from the library this week, as well as a few from Barnes & Noble yesterday (FINALLY got my hands on Any Way the Wind Blows!), so it should be another good week next week! I haven’t really done any writing since The Sharing of My WIP, so…

Other than that, I’ve just been drawing, listening to too much Spiritualized (as usual, but now I’m freaking out that I’M SEEING THEM TOMORROW AAAA), watching Severance (A A A A A), re-watching the original Spiderman (you know, I’m something of a scientist myself…), and Death on the Nile (ehhhhh…at least Gal Gadot is gorgeous), going to Barnes & Noble, and trying to get Ringo not to bite me. He’s still in that phase.

And I hit 500 followers! I’ll say it once and I’ll say it again: thank you all so much, you mean the world to me 💗

WHAT I READ THIS WEEK:

The Island of Excess Love (Love in the Time of Global Warming, #2) – Francesca Lia Block (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)

Most Likely – Sarah Watson (⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)

Our Stories, Our Voices: 21 YA Authors Get Real About Injustice, Empowerment, and Growing Up Female in America – Amy Reed et. al. (anthology) (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5)

Flamefall (The Aurelian Cycle, #2) – Rosaria Munda (⭐️⭐️⭐️.75, rounded up to ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)

POSTS AND SUCH:

SONGS:

CURRENTLY READING/TO READ NEXT WEEK:

Witches Steeped in Gold – Ciannon Smart

The Conductors (Murder and Magic, #1) – Nicole Glover

Our Stories Carried Us Here – Tea Rozman Clark et. al. (anthology)

She Who Rides the Storm – Caitlyn Sangster

Today’s song:

That’s it for this week in blogging! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!

Posted in Monthly Wrap-Ups

March 2022 Wrap-Up 🪺

Posted on by madeline @ The Bookish Mutant

Happy Thursday, bibliophiles!

🫠🛟🫥🫘🩻🫧🪸🪹🪷🫶🪬🫣

Might as well make use of some of these new emojis…interesting bunch we’ve got here

And sorry for the lack of a book review this week, I just didn’t have the energy for it once the afternoon/evening came (first day after spring break, am I right or am I right).

GENERAL THOUGHTS:

The beginning of March was a bit of a slog, what with all my classes trying to cram a bunch of stuff in before spring break. I finally have that big research paper out of the way though, and we did loads of fun projects in creative writing!

My reading month was good, I’d say; very few books that I didn’t like (no 1-stars and only one 2-star!), my first 5-star read of the year, and indulging in a Smoke Thieves trilogy re-read. I finally got into Heartstopper after all these years of having it on hold at the library too! Worth the wait.

This month was also the month that I finally, finally started sharing my WIP with people! I’ve sent it to some family and friends, and…not gonna lie here, my hands were shaking whenever I put it out there, but I’m proud of myself for getting over the initial hurdle after clamming up about my writing for so many years. Baby steps.

Other than that, I went to see the new Batman (AMAZING!), re-watched The Rocky Horror Picture Show, continued with Raised by Wolves and started Severance, and went to the museum and played guitar there. They have a guitar exhibit at the Denver Museum right now, so I put on a one-man show for my dad and the security guard. The very short setlist consisted of “Trimm Trabb” and “Savior Complex.”

And yesterday, I hit 500 followers!! I’m going to make a longer post later, but for now, thank you all so much for your love and support. 💗

READING AND BLOGGING:

I read 20 books this month! I thought I’d read less for some reason…it feels like I haven’t had as much time to read this month, but I suppose I did read some short books.

2 – 2.75 stars:

Jade Fire Gold

3 – 3.75 stars:

The Golden Apples of the Sun

4 – 4.75 stars:

Our Stories, Our Voices

5 stars:

The Wide Starlight

FAVORITE BOOK OF THE MONTH: The Wide Starlight – 5 stars

SOME POSTS I’M PROUD OF:

POSTS FROM OTHER WONDERFUL PEOPLE THAT I ENJOYED:

SONGS/ALBUMS THAT I ENJOYED:

ONE MONTH UNTIL WE GET THIS ALBUM AND LESS THAN A WEEK UNTIL I GET TO SEE THEM LIVE AAAAAAAA
what a wonderfully weird little song
I would once again like to thank whoever put this on the art class playlist
I CANNOT stress enough how phenomenal this album is
ARCADE FIRE IS BACK I REPEAT ARCADE FIRE IS BACK
AND SOCCER MOMMY TOO!! so much wonderful new music coming our way this year…

DID I FOLLOW THROUGH ON MY MARCH GOALS?

  • Read at least 20 books: 20!
  • Spend some time with Ringo (of course): yep! He’s a troublemaker, but he’s a sweet little puppy. Impossible not to love.

GOALS FOR APRIL:

  • Read at least 20 books
  • Try not to spontaneously combust at the Spiritualized concert if/when they play “Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space”

Today’s song:

That’s it for this month in blogging! Have a wonderful rest of your day, and take care of yourselves!