Riveted_Reader_Melissa

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek | Kim Michele Richardson

Our next selection is on sale in the US on Amazon (thanks for the tip @BarbaraTheBibliophage ). I always try my library first, but if you can‘t get it there 2.99 on kindle or free if you have prime. #SheSaid

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @tenar @vlwelser @KVanRead @SamAnne @Julsmarshall @arlenefinnigan @Chab256 @Scochrane26 @CoffeeK8. @MallenNC @Caroline2 @DebinHawaii @Nute @Currey @Augustdana @Suet624 @Singout @mhillis @BarbaraTheBibliophage @megnews @Jgotham @AnneCecilie @Kdgordon88 @kspenmoll @staci.reads now

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Smrloomis @KathyWheeler @ImperfectCJ @bibliobliss @JenlovesJT47 @Karisa @fredthemoose @ravenlee @Christine @mandarchy @rjsthumbelina @rockpools @Tera66 @Megabooks @BookBosomed1 now

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek | Kim Michele Richardson

Lots of updates today #SheSaid, but first the most important one….the schedule for our next book. So pick up your copy or put in your library holds we are heading into Troublesome Creek this holiday season.

BarbaraTheBibliophage Kindle edition is $2.99 today and free for Prime members now

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @BarbaraTheBibliophage Thank you, that‘s a great deal… I love free. now

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Ring of the Ruby Dragon | Jeannie Black

Tor has an article in their newsletter about these

https://www.tor.com/2021/11/18/roll-for-romance-the-forgotten-dd-romance-novels-...

I had them and many many Choose Your Own Adventure books and knockoffs.

What great memories! 😉

vivastory I loved Choose Your Own Adventures! (edited) 4d

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @vivastory They were the best!!! 4d

GingerAntics Wait, there were D&D choose your own adventure romance novels? So much to unpack there. I‘ve never hear of choose your own adventure for romance. Does that make them choose your own romance? 3d

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @GingerAntics Yes, I had them… but they were like pre-tween romance. I think I read them around the same time I was into Sweet Valley High. So Choose Your Own Adventure, with a tween girl fantasy slant. 2d

GingerAntics @Riveted_Reader_Melissa oh okay. So not at all what I was thinking. 2d

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All | Martha S. Jones

Good day #SheSaid another week has flown by… and in the US the holidays are soon upon us. How are you making out with this week‘s reading, I personally am struggling a bit with the drier telling which is such a contrast to The Warmth of Other Suns which I‘m also reading right now. I learning much, but also looking forward to our fiction choice for next month😂. I also have an important question this week, there is a group read starting in ⤵️

Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ January for the 1619 Project. I think that is a great book to read as a group too, but I know it can be hard for some to read multiple non-fiction books a month. So my question is, do we want to join in on that read Jan-May, 1 essay a week… and just push back our schedule 5 months, basically break for that and then pick up where we left off when it finishes? What do you think? Would that be helpful? Doable? Or not? 7d

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa The 1619 Project read is hosted by @4thhouseontheleft if anyone would like to check out her post for more information 7d

vlwelser I'm guessing you would like to do this if you're bringing it up. Count me as a vote toward whatever you want to do. Because I honestly have no opinion and will do either option. 7d

vlwelser Regarding this week's reading, I'm struggling a bit with her writing style but I think this is amazingly well researched and I'm learning a lot about people I didn't know about. But it's not prompting me to google things for more details. 7d

megnews I am putting hosting any non fiction on hold til 1619 Project is done too. For one, this was a selection I had in mind and two, getting through non fiction can be difficult for me. Already pushing myself with the amount I‘ve been reading. I‘d support whatever you decided…not always able to join in anyway. 7d

megnews In regards to this week‘s reading, I finished up on audio and it‘s hard for me to separate out this and next week‘s sections. Overall, I think I learned a lot about historical figures I never heard of as well as expansion on those I only knew a little about. It‘s definitely made me want to read more on Rosa Parks. 7d

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @vlwelser I could go either way, but I know many people read at different rates than me…and I just don‘t want anyone to feel like they have to miss out on one or the other. 7d

4thhouseontheleft @Riveted_Reader_Melissa Thanks for posting about #1619GroupRead! I‘ll be putting out some more jnfo soon (we‘ll, maybe after Thanksgiving), but I plan on including some additional resources to go along with each essay that people can check out if they want. 7d

tenar Oh, interesting proposition! I was worried about joining 1619 because of overcommitment, so it would be helpful for me personally if we focused on it, but I‘m also okay with missing a little of either group if there are #SheSaid members who aren‘t interested in 1619 and want to keep going. 7d

tenar Things I didn‘t learn about in school #7867: the Senate of the United States in the early 1900s put up for a vote to alter the Constitution in a way that would trade black men‘s suffrage for white women‘s suffrage (bonus: with one of the major motivations being fear of black women‘s suffrage). That whole episode really threw me for a loop. 7d

ravenlee For the first note - I‘m planning to participate in the #1619GroupRead and am not sure how that would affect my #SheSaid participation, so I‘m ok with pausing the latter to pursue the former. The next few books aren‘t available through my library, so I need to source them elsewhere, and that gives me more time to do so. But I can also pop in and out if y‘all want to continue as planned. 7d

ravenlee This section really had me confused a lot - so many names to keep track of, and the timeline kept pushing forward and then pulling back to go along another line, so events and people got multiple mentions and it was confusing. Also, in discussing the conflict between the Black leaders and the white suffragists, I often couldn‘t tell who was whom (I must admit I‘m not really up on my suffragist who‘s who, which contributed to the confusion). 7d

ravenlee The discussion of Senator Vardaman and the mixed reaction to the threat he posed reminded me so much of the beginning of Trump‘s presidency. A lot of people blew him off (I honestly thought/hoped he‘s realize he didn‘t have infinite power and get bored; I never realized he‘d just dismantle all the safeguards), but there were those who recognized how bad things were about to get. 7d

MallenNC I am planning to do the 1619 reading too and it didn‘t really seem like too much for me to do both. However I read a lot, and understand others may not, so I‘m fine if others prefer to pause SheSaid. 7d

MallenNC As for Vanguard I am enjoying learning more about people and history that I didn‘t know much about before but I agree the drier, academic style is a little harder for me than narrative nonfiction like The Warmth of Other Suns. Both styles are valuable but the reading experience is definitely different. 7d

MallenNC @tenar I had never heard about that attempt to repeal (or otherwise limit) the 15th amendment either. And the part about Mary Church Terrell and her husband the judge was also new to me. Her saying she suffered more than her husband over the attacks on him reminded me of Michelle Obama‘s experience. 7d

staci.reads I got a late start this month, and I drudged through the first 3 chapters. I'm really struggling with the writing in this one, and it's due back to the library, so I believe I'm going to bail. I can't get into it, and I'm trying to get better about abandoning books I'm not enjoying. There are too many good ones out there to stick with one I don't like, but man, I hate doing it 😔 I'll join back in next month. 7d

BarbaraTheBibliophage @ravenlee I felt the same about Vardaman. Everything stays the same and that‘s why is so bloody systemic. 7d

BarbaraTheBibliophage @staci.reads I considered bailing more than once. Not so sure I loved it in the end. Her writing style just never clicked for me. But now I have a whole new list of Black women I want to read more about! 7d

rjsthumbelina @Riveted_Reader_Melissa Would it be possible for #shesaid to take 2 months to read books instead of one while #1619GroupRead happens? That way the sections would be more manageable. It just feels like that would be a long time to be on hiatus 7d

rjsthumbelina @staci.reads @Riveted_Reader_Melissa @BarbaraTheBibliophage I'm glad I'm not the only one having trouble with the dry writing! I'm way behind. But I'm determined to finish it bc I'm so interested in the subject matter - we'll see if that works out 🙃 7d

megnews @ravenlee I also found it to be a lot of names and going back & forth in time was hard, especially on audio. I enjoyed the stories told but may not pass a traditional test with dates etc if I was taking it from this. 😂 6d

megnews Another thing I noted throughout the book is the voter suppression even when it was legal to vote. Same old same old today. How people don‘t see through the shenanigans to what the actual purpose is-disenfranchising black people-is beyond me. It‘s willful to me. 6d

vlwelser What is the verdict on the 1619 thing? Are we keeping to the original schedule? I like knowing what the plan is. No pressure. 4d

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @vlwelser Sorry, no verdict yet… I‘m trying to think up a good compromise. I let you know this weekend though. 4d

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa

From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back (Star Wars) | Ballantine

Here you go @BookwormAHN #StarWarsBuddyRead

The schedule for the next few months, basically the new releases in publication order until we are caught up. 😉

Riveted_Reader_Melissa As always, if anyone would like added or removed from the tag list just let me know!
@CSeydel @alicia @bookandcat @DivaDiane @ElyssaReads @NovelGirl82 @Shadowfat @callielafleur @annkuch13 @PSreads73 @SenatorMothma @InLibrisVeritas @Andrew65 @GrilledCheeseSamurai @Jari-chan @teainthelibrary @BookwormAHN @taraWritesSci @TheGremo @MoMogrl @CrowCAH 1w

hannah-leeloo @Jackal121 1w

CrowCAH Great! I screenshot the list so I can join in! 1w

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BookwormAHN Looks great, thanks 😺 1w

Jackal121 @hannah-leeloo I may never catch up haha 1w

Andrew65 Thanks 😍 1w

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa

From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back (Star Wars) | Ballantine

Many many days late, I completely forgot until @BookwormAHN posted about the book today! So sorry #StarWarsBuddyRead

Here is our November read! I hope everyone enjoyed Thrawn last month (mine still hasn‘t come in from the library).

And yes @BookwormAHN I‘ll post a new schedule for 2022 very soon, we are caught up on the “older” new cannon books, so from here on, it will mostly be by publication order. 😉

BookwormAHN Glad I could help. I enjoyed both books 😸 1w

Andrew65 Still on October‘s! 1w

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All | Martha S. Jones

So sorry for the delay there #SheSaid it got a bit hectic here at my place today. But please jump on when you get a chance, and feel free to start discussing. I‘ll be back later (and yes, before anyone worries, I‘m fine, everything‘s fine…just needed to emergency repair an unexpectedly broken window on a Sunday 😂)

vlwelser Why did it never occur to me that obviously there were refugees during the civil war? I know that's not really the point of the last 3 chapters but that's what really bonked me on the head. 2w

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Karisa I loved the parts about Sojourner Truth. Jones grabbed my attention with “utopian, free love community” and kept it throughout that part. I had heard before that the ain‘t I a woman quote was misattributed to that conference. It was cool to read what she actually said in comparing her strengths to an equal of men (not just white women). She was fearless and had me thinking of Audre Lorde speaking in the 80s. What awesome inspirations! 2w

Karisa @vlwelser Yea, I marked that part too. “There, Shadd joined a growing community of Black Americans who
had fled-or, in the language of the
day, emigrated from-the United States in search of free soil.” 🤯 I think it was Shadd that they said maybe said the truth too much. Wth! (edited) 2w

MallenNC @Karisa I really enjoyed the parts about Sojourner Truth also. A while back my IRL book group and I listened to a Smithsonian podcast episode about Truth, and at the end an actor performs as she probably really sounded. https://npg.si.edu/podcasts/sojourner-truth 2w

MallenNC @vlwelser I had also never thought about refugees leaving the U.S. for Canada at that time either. 2w

Karisa @MallenNC Thank you! Sounds like the next best thing to a time machine.💗 2w

MallenNC One other thing I noticed in this section were the details about the prejudice and trouble Black people faced at this time even in free areas. It reminds me of the parts of The Warmth of Other Suns when in the Great Migration people faced many challenges in getting to (and after arriving in) their new homes in the North and West. 2w

MallenNC @Karisa Yes! We were all surprised that her real voice and accent had been so different. 2w

ravenlee @vlwelser I was struck by that, too - I knew that Black people ran for the lines when they could, but I never thought about it in terms of refugee camps, displaced families, and other images we have of modern war refugees. 2w

ravenlee Two things stood out to me in this section: the racism/segregation over transportation, which seems like such an iconic Civil Rights Movement/1960s idea, really dates back to pre-Civil War; and the impressive gains Black women fought for and won in church leadership. There‘s more than one road to power. 2w

tenar I found the women in our reading so ridiculously inspirational. They made me want to roll up my sleeves and write a letter to the editor, the governor, everybody. And I agree, some of the things people were up to in this time never occurred to me.

But those suffragist speakers comparing white women‘s station to slavery, using ‘slave‘ as a metaphor when actual slavery existed just a few doors down, has to be the pinnacle of ‘white feminism‘. Wow. 2w

ravenlee My favorite line this week was on page 80: “Truth was not a metaphor.” It‘s specifically about Sojourner Truth and her role as a speaker; but it works on so many levels. 2w

tenar @ravenlee I noticed that, too. So much of what I attribute to the 50s & 60s had been building for sooo long. And it seems like many movements for rights end up coalescing around transportation at some point. I was really interested in the story of the black woman and white woman who ended up teaming up in court against the conductor in DC! It sounds like he was charged with assault but not discrimination at that early date. Such a long time. 2w

megnews I had read Francis Ellen Watkins Harper‘s poetry but didn‘t realize she was involved in this movement. It makes me want to read more by and about her. 2w

tenar I wanted to suggest PBS‘s Crash Course Black American History series as a great companion to this reading. It‘s helped me with context, as I didn‘t learn practically any in school! They are compelling 10 min lessons, moving from pre-Civil War to, eventually, the current day, with a new ep each week. I particularly remember the ones on Frederick Douglass and womens‘ specific experiences of enslavement. It‘s on Youtube and hosted by the author of

How the Word Is Passed: A Journey Across the Country That Black America Built

(edited) 2w

tenar Here‘s a link to the whole playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8dPuuaLjXtNYJO8JWpXO2JP0ezgxsrJJ

I see they recently released an episode called “The Black Women‘s Club Movement”! 2w

MallenNC @tenar I have Crash Course bookmarked to watch soon. Thanks for suggesting it. 2w

tenar @MallenNC No problem! Thank you for sharing that podcast episode, I bookmarked it, too! This is such an interesting bundle of topics; I‘m enjoying learning about it all from multiple sources. 2w

ravenlee So much good stuff to dive into from this discussion! @tenar that whole “women are slaves” line really bothered me, too. Talk about being tone deaf! 2w

BarbaraTheBibliophage I‘m still struggling with the professorial nature of the writing. Then yesterday I explained the book‘s framework to my husband. That made me realize how much I‘ve learned, which was cool. I think it‘s structured like a series of mini-biographies of several generations of women starting at the of slavery. Also seeing the various focus areas - churches, clubs, and schools. When I think about it that way, it‘s pretty cool. 2w

tenar @BarbaraTheBibliophage That‘s so cool! I think teaching or explaining to someone can be the best way to find out if I understand something or not. I‘m learning a lot from this book, too, but honestly am not able to remember and keep straight all the different names. So instead I‘m trying to absorb the trends in those focus areas you mentioned. 2w

BarbaraTheBibliophage @tenar I wish there was a list of each of these women, like you said. I also find myself highlighting quotes from the women and I plan to go back and add notes so I know who said that. 2w

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All | Martha S. Jones

A new month, a new book #SheSaid.

What are your initials feelings starting this one, after the first sections?

My first thought was…maybe I should have read this one before Hood Feminism 🤷‍♀️ and I was thinking that before I even finished the introduction. 😂

Definitely some related reading we are in, I can tell we picked a lot around a central theme when we selected all of these and they are inter-relating very nicely (at least for me).

ravenlee I was thinking along similar lines, that they work together but this one is more informative and researched than subjective and experience-focused. I didn‘t know how active abolitionist movements were and the other societies described at such early dates - decades before we really learn about them in history classes. 3w

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BarbaraTheBibliophage I also think this is an interesting pair with

The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration

Riveted_Reader_Melissa Yes @ravenlee and so much again that we never learned because it got mainly “white” washed out of history and we learned just the white ladies names. It makes me appreciate the argument against White Feminism from the last book more, realizing how much we‘ve purposefully ignored/forgotten about people other than the privileged & white Susan B Anthony or Elizabeth Stanton‘s of the day. (edited) 3w

vlwelser I'm not sure what I expected from this book but it seems like an in depth history lesson so far. I like it, but it's a little dry. I did like that she was pretty detailed with her own family's history. 3w

BarbaraTheBibliophage @ravenlee The author of this one is a professor and it shows in her writing style, even when she‘s talking about family. 3w

BarbaraTheBibliophage @vlwelser I‘m also finding it somewhat dry reading. 3w

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @BarbaraTheBibliophage Yes, these and @megnews read along of the Warmth of Other Suns and 400 Souls before, have meshed very nicely for me. 3w

BarbaraTheBibliophage @Riveted_Reader_Melissa I want to go back to 400 Souls and read the part about Mariah Stewart again. And see if any others are mentioned from Vanguard. 3w

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @vlwelser Yes, this one is the history lesson, and Hood Feminism was essays & commentary on that history & present. 3w

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @vlwelser @BarbaraTheBibliophage The audiobook is pretty good, if either of you have access to that at your libraries. 3w

BarbaraTheBibliophage @Riveted_Reader_Melissa The audio of Vanguard? That might help. 3w

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @BarbaraTheBibliophage sometimes it helps me with more history lesson type books and the narrator isn‘t bad (not like the Lorde audiobook) 3w

MallenNC I agree with others that this is written in an academic style. Now that I accepted that I am enjoying it more! I think I expected that this was focused on the modern civil rights era, maybe because of the cover image. I did really appreciate learning about how abolition and early women‘s rights overlapped (though not as much as it should have). I want to look back at the Mariah Stewart part of 400 Souls. 3w

tenar I don‘t have anything new to add, but I love what I‘ve read so far! I think I like books with an academic flavor. (One Person No Vote was also written by a professor, right?) The person-focused introduction was a really compelling hook into the issues. The same thing stood out to me as to y‘all- the whitewashing of women‘s suffrage history by the white women themselves. Definitely helped in understanding how we got to the issues in Hood Feminism. 3w

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @tenar Yes it was. It‘s was by Carol Anderson, her other book is also excellent. So far I thinks it‘s worked out to be a good mix, some more academic, some more personal, or memoir, or essay. It keeps it from getting too stale, at least for me. So yes, I‘m finding this one a refreshing change after 2 essay books in a row, even if it is drier academically written.

White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide

(edited) 3w

megnews I still need to finish chapter 2 but so far I have similar observations. I love history but I struggle with a dry telling. I loved the intro on her family. I may need to switch to audio as well. I also think it works well with the other books we recently read or are reading. I particularly liked going back to the Revolution era as so little is taught about Black people during this time period. 3w

tenar @Riveted_Reader_Melissa Stacking that, thank you! The book selections have been great, all seeming to build on things we‘ve learned in the others.

One of the topics we‘ve only dipped our toes into is women‘s place in religious power structures. I was intrigued by the story of Jarena Lee, the preacher! Looking forward to more. I know that the Southern Baptist Convention is today still in turmoil over both race and women‘s rights to power. 3w

ravenlee I‘m actually appreciating the tone. While it is a little dry, it‘s still compelling and interesting to me. The exhaustive research gives it drive. With Hood Feminism, I think I expected more universalism (based on the subtitle), but it was very centered on Kendall‘s own experiences. I like the breadth we‘re getting in Vanguard that was missing before. 3w

ravenlee @tenar I agree, the importance of women in the churches is pretty fascinating, and it‘s definitely something that carries into the present or very recent history in so many of the denominations. 3w

Karisa @Riveted_Reader_Melissa Oh! I had not picked up that the author was a professor. Makes so much sense now. I agree that the audiobook is well done but a bit dry ( @vlwelser). I have had it playing in the car and glad my kids are listening. I had not realized church‘s huge role in the vanguard. I just did a Kindle version search; “church” has almost 300 hits in the book! I lucked out and grabbed both audio and kindle copies from my library 😊 (edited) 3w

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @tenar Another interesting one that you might like is Coretta Scott King‘s book…which touched on her childhood, the early movement through the church, and even touches on how women were staffing the offices and doing the work, but the men (the ministers) were the face and focus. I got the impression reading that, as much as she loved her husband, the movement got skewed then because of the way the church was structured…men as the head.

My Life, My Love, My Legacy

KathyWheeler I‘m not sure that I‘ll be able to get to this. I‘m going to try but I might not make it. 3w

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @KathyWheeler It‘s not a problem, unfortunately not every book is available at all libraries, and lives can unexpectedly get in the way of our best laid plans. So don‘t stress about it if you can‘t get to this one. 3w

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Litsy Tips

Reposting this and passing it along. Check out the original post at https://www.litsy.com/web/post/2111477 or under @LitsyHappenings to read the conversation or comment.

BethM How do I get to the post on the app? 3w

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa

A Book of Spinning Wheels | Joan Whittaker Cummer

#BookSpin list for November @TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 4w

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa

October Breezes (October Breezes #1) | Maria Rachel Hooley

Wrapping up October… I don‘t know where it went!

A bit of a book slump here, but I managed some comics and a junior book, and managed to stay môśtły caught up with môśt of my read-alongside.? (just pretend those are italicized). Anyway, on to another month!

#OctoberStats
#OctoberWrapUp

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All | Martha S. Jones

Just a reminder that we are starting Vanguard next #SheSaid so check out your local library or put in your interlibrary loans.

If anyone would like to join us, please feel free, and just let me know on the comments if you want tagged or removed from tagging.

ravenlee My library hold is in and I‘m picking it up tomorrow! 4w

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MallenNC I just picked up my copy from the library. 4w

vlwelser I've been looking forward to this one for a while. 4w

staci.reads Got it from the library yesterday! 4w

fredthemoose Just downloaded! Looking forward to it! 4w

BarbaraTheBibliophage Borrowed with no waiting!! 4w

megnews Just downloaded from the library! 4w

BookBosomed1 Being delivered from the library tomorrow! 4w

rockpools Hi Melissa. Can I be I untagged please? My nf reading has fallen through the floor the last few months, and my plans to join you all on a Sunday just aren‘t happening ☹️. I might try again in the new year - I enjoy seeing your discussions, and I‘m tagging pretty much Everything as you read… but I‘m just not getting through stuff right now. Thanks everso. 3w

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @rockpools You are welcome, and no problem. We all go through these fluxes while reading. Read something light and fun for awhile and we‘ll see you later down the road when or if you are ready. 3w

rockpools @Riveted_Reader_Melissa Thank you 😊. Your group is opening my eyes to lots of stuff I wouldn‘t have investigated otherwise, even if I‘m not actively taking part rn- so thank you! 3w

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @rockpools You are very welcome, and you are more than welcome to rejoin anytime…or even for one book once in awhile, whatever suits you best. 3w

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot | Mikki Kendall

#SheSaid

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot | Mikki Kendall

#SheSaid it‘s been another week and a whole month too!

How‘d you like the book overall? How about the last few essays? Any quotes that stood out to you? Anything you want to talk about, discuss, agree with, disagree with.

There was lots to think about in this book, and I appreciated that it made me think about many issue more thoughtfully, fully, interconnectedly (if that makes sense).

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Smrloomis @KathyWheeler @ImperfectCJ @bibliobliss @JenlovesJT47 @Karisa @fredthemoose @ravenlee @Christine @mandarchy @rjsthumbelina @rockpools @Tera66 @Megabooks 1mo

fredthemoose Thanks for organizing! I liked but didn‘t love the book. She includes a lot of fair criticisms in terms of thinking more broadly about what social issues feminism and feminists care about and which people they are serving. I thought her writing was strongest when it gave clear examples (e.g., mainstream feminist groups asking her to speak about reproductive rights after her hemorrhaging experience) and less so when the assertions were more general (edited) 1mo

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fredthemoose To me sometimes it seemed like she included all white women in her conceptualization of feminism (I think because all have benefited from feminism?) but I definitely know some white women who would be horrified to be called feminist, and I‘m not sure mainstream feminism should be asked to answer for the behavior of all white women without providing a more clear framework of who she includes in her critiques and why. (edited) 4w

ravenlee I agree with @fredthemoose - I also liked but didn‘t love it. One criticism I have - I don‘t think it‘s possible as an activist of any stripe to address everything, and I feel like that was kind of the message here. Maybe it‘s just about broadening general awareness, but it was overwhelming. I can‘t blame feminists who specialize in one or two aspects of the cause (I get that one of Kendall‘s criticisms is the idea of focusing on white women) 👇🏻 4w

tenar Overall I struggled with the way these essays were structured internally, but I think reading against some resistance helped me pull some good bits out of this book I may not have otherwise. I think I could have read it complacently, as I agreed with just about everything argued here.

I wish the essays would have included more of other women‘s stories when the author didn‘t have direct experience. More “notes from the women the movement forgot” 4w

tenar From this last section, I was deeply impressed with the time she took in the essay on abortion rights to tackle the nuances of abortion, eugenics, and disability. Often the existence and rights of disabled adults - those disabled kids grown up - is not even acknowledged.

The quote from the end that I loved and thought summed up the whole collection was, “We must be careful not to come in as gentrifiers of the feminism that comes out of survival.” 4w

ravenlee (at the expense of the rest, so that‘s still a problem) and we do need to understand how it all goes together, but I find it hard to extrapolate how to turn this awareness into action. This isn‘t a how-to, of course, and all the different issues that should fall under feminism are important and I appreciate the info, but I‘m kind of at a loss about how to go forward. 4w

tenar @fredthemoose You‘ve articulated this well, I agree. Re: Trump voting, it‘s been shown one of the best predictors of voting for him was a belief in “hegemonic masculinity”. This held for all genders and sometimes predicted voting patterns better than party membership. Those beliefs are opposed to feminist beliefs. May be worth questioning whether it‘s productive to hold white feminists to task for the actions of white women who are against them. 4w

tenar @ravenlee Sorry I posted my posts right in the middle of your posts! 😰 You‘ve explained something I was feeling last week- overwhelm at the breadth and the depth of the problems discussed. It must be hard to balance giving an sweeping overview with helping a reader feel energized and capable. 4w

fredthemoose @ravenlee I totally agree about the overwhelm! I think it‘s fair to critique a movement and ask for it to think more broadly in terms of who it serves and how, but sometimes it seems that she would have rather feminism hadn‘t achieved anything for women than achieved incomplete and imperfect victories. That can‘t be the end, and maybe shouldn‘t even have been the beginning of the movement, but those victories are still valuable. 4w

fredthemoose @tenar Thank you—and I totally agree about reading through resistance. I was glad to have been reading for this discussion because it made me interrogate where I felt it and why. Thanks for pulling out and sharing that quote! 4w

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @tenar I like that she tackled the disability issue head-on too. As much as she covered a lot, I also didn‘t feel like she left out important details like that either. 4w

Riveted_Reader_Melissa This book made me think back to The Poor People‘s Campaign that Martin Luther King Jr started after the Civil Rights Campaign and how much all the issues of food, housing, education, are interrelated and still are unsolved all these years later. 4w

ravenlee @tenar no worries! I didn‘t see anything until my second post showed, and then it was both yours and @fredthemoose ‘s second post - the vagaries of the internet! 4w

ravenlee @tenar that essay about abortion and how it also needs to factor in services to support those fetuses when they become children and then adults - man, that is definitely the rest of what the “pro-life” movement needs to figure out. They‘re not pro-life, they‘re pro-birth. That essay was one of the best, in my opinion. 4w

MallenNC What I liked about this book was that she was asking people to broaden their ideas of what issues should be considered feminist, and that they go beyond the workplace and reproductive rights. And that mainstream feminists should consider the whole of someone‘s life before criticizing. I think like any essay collection, some of the sections were stinger than others. I‘m glad I read it. 4w

KathyWheeler I loved the essay on reproductive rights. It seems to me that she was at her best here; nothing was confusing or unclear. In most of the book though, I found “white feminism” to be this large, amorphous entity. It might have helped if she been more specific. And she also seemed to equate white feminism with all white women. I liked her call for feminism to think more broadly, but no movement can work on fixing all of society; it‘s overwhelming. (edited) 4w

Singout Yes to what others have said about how important and engaging the piece on reproductive rights is. It‘s far more than just whether foetuses live or die: I thought the element about how the disability rights language can be manipulated in the interest of maintaining the status quo re abortion is very telling. 4w

megnews What @fredthemoose & @ravenlee said. I had posted my rambling feelings about generalizations & calling people who aren‘t feminists feminists a couple weeks ago when I was struggling to push through as @tenar mentioned. (Marked as spoilers.) I also expected the book to have more POVs from the subtitle. She gave me something to think about re: intersectionality of feminism & poverty. I have never looked at it that way and considered myself an 👇🏻 4w

megnews ☝🏻ally against poverty long before I would have considered calling myself a feminist. At times the message seemed off course. There was one late chapter that didn‘t mention feminism til the end and I felt more like I was reading an anti racism and/or education etc activist book than a feminist book. We can look at history & today & see the division in the movement but I‘m not sure this book clearly portrayed that throughout. Perhaps overly 👇🏻 4w

megnews ☝🏻and needed more focus. 4w

AnneCecilie The essay about abortion was my least favorite one. Maybe because the difference between US and Norway are so huge on this matter? Almost every abortion in Norway is done within the first 6 weeks so the ability or disability of the fetus doesn‘t matter, there are other reasons behind it. That doesn‘t mean that I don‘t agree with her on that disabled kids/ adults need help. My favorite essay where the ones about stereotypes, again maybe because 4w

AnneCecilie they are more easily transferable? I thought this book should have a broader view on feminism but it felt very American. A lot of the issues she discusses won‘t be an issue everywhere, like quitting school because of gun violence. And there are also countries that have safety nets when it comes to poverty and housing. This book felt very from her perspective and her experiences. I didn‘t read the blurb, but I guess I was expecting something 4w

AnneCecilie different. Sorry for my rambling thoughts. 4w

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @AnneCecilie Nope, they made perfect sense to me, no rambling. It‘s hard sometimes when picking books, and we‘ve had a bunch focus on US history and issues lately. We‘ll have to see if we can broaden our scope when we pick the next group. 4w

AnneCecilie @Riveted_Reader_Melissa Normally I have no problem with that. I think it was just the subtitle that made me expect something different. 4w

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Nabokov's Favorite Word Is Mauve: And Other Experiments in Literature | Ben Blatt

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Such a weird, fun, odd, interesting, and quirky book! This book looks at classics, bestsellers, award winners and analyzes them using modern tech like word counts & algorithms. All those “rules of English” you learned in school, are they right? Do “good” books statistically have less cliches, exclamation points, or -Ly descriptors? What defines good? What is an author‘s favorite word? The answers are fascinating, and sometimes just plain weird.

Riveted_Reader_Melissa I finally finished this one @tjwill and it‘s already on its way back to you. Thank you for being so patient as I went through a bit of a book slump there, with physical books returning last. Another great year for #NForNonfiction @daniwithtea @BarbaraTheBibliophage 1mo

squirrelbrain Sounds fascinating - stacked. 1mo

tjwill @Riveted_Reader_Melissa I totally understand going through book slumps! It was a good #NforNonfiction year! (edited) 4w

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @tjwill Yes it was, we always get a good mix of topics, and books I never knew I needed to read. 4w

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Halloweenies | Dan Fiorella

Thank you for this adorable Halloween surprise card @TheSpineView it was an unexpected “treat” to find in my pile of mail. I hope the season is treating you well, with only good fun tricks & treats.

TheSpineView 🧡🎃🧡 1mo

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Romeo & Juliet | William Shakespeare

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I‘ll admit, I had my doubts about revisiting this one, I didn‘t remember it fondly from school, but I‘m glad the #ShakespeareReadAlong encouraged me to reread it. It was so much more poetic now then I remembered, plus I could appreciate the language so much more, as well as the teasing Nurse, arbitrating Friar, and the two deeply in love Star-crossed lovers and the world that conspired against them.

Riveted_Reader_Melissa This version @GingerAntics 4w

GingerAntics OH YOU HAD MICHAEL SHEEN!!! LUCKY!!! 💙💙💙 4w

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Y: The Last Man, Vol. 8: Kimono Dragons | Brian K. Vaughan

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Yorrick and crew have finally made it to Japan after the kidnapped…monkeynapped…Ampersand, who may hold the key to a cure for the Y chromosome killing plague (and if it isn‘t him, why is everyone after this monkey).

Of course trouble and misadventure seems to continually shadow this crew, and as the series gets closer to it‘s finale I can‘t wait to see what happens next, and as usual the mystery seems to deepen more in this installment.

Riveted_Reader_Melissa #SeriesRead with @TheSpineView 1mo

TheSpineView Great job 1mo

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Y: The Last Man, Vol. 7: Paper Dolls | Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra

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Finally Yorrick has made it to Australia (accidentally, but still), the last known whereabouts of his girlfriend/possible fiancé Beth. But can he find her, will it be the reunion they expected….and more importantly what happened to his pet Ampersand.

And as interesting as all that would be on its own, both Hero and a roving reporter both find the scoop they were least expecting to stumble upon!

Riveted_Reader_Melissa #SeriesRead with @TheSpineView 1mo

TheSpineView Excellant 1mo

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Y: The Last Man, Vol. 6: Girl on Girl | Brian K. Vaughan

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The hunt for the missing monkey paw…well, the whole monkey really, body, paws, poo flinging and all….in fact the poo might be the most important part 🙊🙉🙈.

Yorrick and crew head to Japan in search of his stolen pet, but the crew and fellow passengers aren‘t what they seem. Lots of action, and maybe MAYBE Yorrick‘s long term goal (Australia) may be closer then he thought.

Riveted_Reader_Melissa #SeriesRead with @TheSpineView 1mo

TheSpineView Doing great 1mo

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Y: The Last Man, Vol. 5: Ring of Truth | Brian K. Vaughan

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So many theories about what caused the plague in this series, but which has the ring of truth. A few threads are pulled in this installment, closing some plot hole threads, but opening some new ones.

Riveted_Reader_Melissa #SeriesRead with @TheSpineView 1mo

TheSpineView Fantastic 1mo

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All | Martha S. Jones

Since you asked @vlwelser I decided to make the schedule today.😉

Here you go #SheSaid! The schedule for November. It is weighted a little lighter for that last section at the end of the month since I know a few of you will be having family get togethers for Thanksgiving here in the US.

As usual, make sure to put in you library holds or interlibrary loans.

vlwelser 🤗😘 thank you! Sorry for being a pest! 1mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @vlwelser You weren‘t, not at all… but you did put the little whisper in my ear to start thinking about it…so thank you. (edited) 1mo

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Smrloomis @KathyWheeler @ImperfectCJ @bibliobliss @JenlovesJT47 @Karisa @fredthemoose @ravenlee @Christine @mandarchy @rjsthumbelina @rockpools @Tera66 @Megabooks 1mo

MallenNC I just put this on hold at my library so I‘ll be ready. 1mo

megnews I‘m going to try to do this one. 1mo

BookBosomed1 I‘m trying with this one, too! 1mo

Tera66 I think November and December are going to be a bit hectic for me and I'm trying to catch up my Galley copies. But please keep me as part of the group because I would love to join again in 2022 and loved reading the discussions. 1mo

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Quick and Short Book Reports | Randy Thorne

A very delayed (and for 3 weeks!!!) quick & short #BookReport. We‘ve been moving some rooms around here and there is a new puppy in the house, so reading time went way down the last couple weeks…but I got some short stories and comic anthologies read.

This week‘s #WeeklyForecast has to be wrap up a few of the monthly group reads, finish up my book to get it back to the library, and then start a new fun read. 😉

vlwelser Have you posted the schedule for Vanguard yet? Obviously no pressure. 1mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @vlwelser Not yet, but I will by this weekend‘s discussion. (edited) 1mo

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot | Mikki Kendall

Another week has flown by, how did we get almost finished with this book #SheSaid

These essays remain strong for me, and that first one is sticking with me hard. How about you, any sticking really hard in your psyche this week?

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Smrloomis @KathyWheeler @ImperfectCJ @bibliobliss @JenlovesJT47 @Karisa @fredthemoose @ravenlee @Christine @mandarchy @rjsthumbelina @rockpools @Tera66 @Megabooks 1mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa I definitely have Trump loving, COVID denying family members who I know are part of a larger societal problem, and sadly, I feel more like I‘m trying to reprogram a cult member than confronting someone‘s bigoted attitude most of the time…but with all the talk of keeping the peace in the family and leaving politics outside…I‘ve found that harder and harder to do, and that first essay in this section really resonated with me this week. Maybe I‘m ⤵️ 1mo

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️looking at the whole think backwards. Instead of feeling like I‘m failing at being the “good” daughter/sibling/cousin while biting my tongue and basically just avoiding some of them, I‘m failing at confronting them instead. Flip the script basically on my perceptions and what I own to people (edited) 1mo

Singout Yes, me too. I think it‘s really important for women who self identify as feminists to be committed to not hiding behind whiteness and the privilege it brings when it makes them more secure and comfortable. I don‘t have the same issues in Canada as people living under Trump did in the States but there are lots of forms of oppression that need to be challenged here too. 1mo

Singout I could also really identify with the housing essay because I live in a rapidly gentrifying diverse low income neighborhood, and I‘m at risk of losing my own housing, so it‘s an issue I‘ve been doing a lot of thinking and reading about. I really liked what she said about the importance of security and everyday needs of long-term residents being more important then introducing new jobs/“culture” at their expense. 1mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Singout Yes… we have that problem here too. It‘s always about bringing in new whatever to revitalize (and usually giving them tax credits to move here) while the current residents suffer with little gov‘t help. It probably didn‘t resonant as much from Canada as it did here, but the issues are the same…about portraying some areas as not thriving because companies have moved out (rush belt), but framing the discussion of inner cities differently⤵️ 1mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ I couldn‘t help but think that applied to reservations too, that have never gotten the infrastructure & support they needed. And now after reading Seven Feathers, I know that problem exists in Canada too.

Seven Fallen Feathers: Racism, Death, and Hard Truths in a Northern City

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Singout Absolutely. So much injustice done towards First Nations: a huge number don‘t even have potable drinking water, and definitely get blamed for wanting to stay on their own land if they can‘t “contribute to the economy.” 1mo

megnews I I‘ve always been very interested in education and housing issues so those essays resonated with me the most. I struggled with some of the reading this week. I learned the word advocate in about third grade when my principal called me one and I didn‘t know what it meant. I‘ve always been the one with the big mouth who stood up to racist family members and “ruined” everyone‘s holidays. I guess when I see people post about dreading ⬇️ 1mo

megnews ⬆️holidays being racist great aunt karen is going to be there I thought it was because they were fellow holiday ruiners. Perhaps not? The author gives us an assignment to push back on that even at the cost of others‘ comfort. We have to. How can this ever change if not? I used to be loud about it. And my girls are now. I try to teach them what I‘ve learned over the years to be armed with indisputable facts (less feeling) and as little ⬇️ 1mo

megnews ⬆️abrasive as possible so people will hear your message and not the passion they interpret as anger or worse yet crazy. I‘ve flagged a lot this week and keep going back to read sections. 1mo

tenar Two of the essays in this section are, I think, my favorites so far. Education and Housing. The Education essay really moved me; we‘re failing kids of color and disabled kids terribly by investing badly-needed school dollars into police presence. And the Housing essay had me researching more on public housing, and reminded me of the work of Catherine Flowers in sewage and sanitation problems right here in the US. Been meaning to read her book

Waste: One Woman�s Fight Against America�s Dirty Secret

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megnews I have Seven Fallen Feathers in next months‘ tbr. Looking forward to it. 1mo

tenar Reading y‘all‘s comments and thinking about what we‘ve read, I feel terribly overwhelmed by just how much we‘re Not investing in our futures. Housing, education, infrastructure, health. All lacking terribly. The safety net is like a couple of cords you hit on your way down, not really functional. I‘m definitely going to have to process these feelings and try to make some fuel for change from them. 1mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @tenar I heard something similar when they were discussing the 2 current infrastructure bills, roads & bridges and human infrastructure…the comment was that the second bill is seen as so liberal & controversial here, but in any other modernized/westernized country it wouldn‘t be considered radical at all, but basic and easy to pass. 1mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @megnews I read it earlier this year with #NonfictionNerds. And she‘s right, the struggle for potable water is real, and decent schools, etc. So sad. But I can‘t say we are much better. Flint is still struggling with potable water and it‘s not the only city. 1mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @megnews no, I dread family get togethers because it‘s just me in a sea of Republicans…and they are family that I grew up with and mostly love, but they will definitely gang up on you with their weird mis-information facts. I‘ve had FB fights over the confederate flag with my aunt, and the advice to me is usually to just ignore their posts, but when I unfriended them because I don‘t want to see it and be silent, I‘m the crazy one. ⤵️ (edited) 1mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ it really is a no-win situation. 1mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @tenar That stuff eats at me. We refuse to educate or provide basics like health care, but yet somehow think we are an exceptional country and will continue to be so while basically unfunding any new generations of leaders, scientists, etc. if we can not provide for the children of this country, how can they grow up to be better, smarter, better prepared, etc. (edited) 1mo

MallenNC @tenar The education and housing essays stuck with me too. I like how she frames these as feminist issues. Affordable housing is becoming so scarce in my city now, and the school to prison pipeline is real. We didn‘t have school cops when I was in school, so I hadn‘t realized that what kids used to just get “in trouble for” can now send them to court. 1mo

MallenNC @Riveted_Reader_Melissa I‘m so sorry for your family situation. It is hard when they don‘t want to listen. I have a very small family now, and I‘m lucky that my circle of friends is pretty much on the same page with me. But extended family and high school friends are another story but these aren‘t people I interact with much. 1mo

MallenNC I saw this story about “Dads on Duty” after reading the education chapter. It seems like a possible better option if it could be expanded. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dads-louisiana-high-school-student-violence/ 1mo

megnews @Riveted_Reader_Melissa I had to unfriend some family members for the same issue. Also ones who post Christian stuff in between trump supporting posts. I just can‘t. I‘m sorry you‘re so outnumbered in your family. 1mo

megnews @MallenNC I just saw this on tiktok. 😂 but I did think it was an amazing solution!! 1mo

Tera66 @Riveted_Reader_Melissa I also am the black sheep in a sea of Republicans in my family, I have pretty much avoided FB because of it. I don't want to "fight" with my family but the misinformation and gaslighting gets under my skin. I'm definitely guilty of not speaking up to avoid the fight. 1mo

Tera66 And I'm with everyone, the essays on Education and Housing definitely resonated with me. I'm in Denver and housing prices are ridiculously high, and forgot trying to buy anything. Homelessness has exploded. And the Education piece broke my heart, I've experienced and witnessed the bullying and biase in classrooms, no student or child deserves this. 1mo

ravenlee I‘m traveling at the moment and didn‘t get to this week‘s section. I‘ll see all y‘all next week! 1mo

KathyWheeler While I understand her point about pushing back, it‘s been my experience that there‘s no way to change these people‘s minds. They don‘t listen to anything you say no matter how grounded your argument is in facts. Facts aren‘t important to these family members. Pushing back just feels futile. I quit talking to my brother after he said my husband belonged in an insane asylum for his views that support housing and health security for everyone. (edited) 1mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @KathyWheeler I feel this so much. Even where something like COVID is concerned, neither I nor my BSN RN mother can convince my brother to be vaccinated or to vaccinate his daughters…because he heard/saw/read “reasons”. And if we can‘t even break through the misinformation on something that could directly & detrimentally effect him…any hope I had of cutting through the misinformation & spin on larger social issues is pretty much nonexistent. ⤵️ 1mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ it‘s painful. I still try to talk with him about that, but get no-where. And living in the red area we live in, most of his friends all believe the same thing, reinforce it to each other, and I‘m the crazy/living in fear one. It truly can make you feel like you are crazy or in this case feel like you must be a hypochondriac at times. Pure insanity, living surrounded by those not living in reality. And the funny thing is, a few years ago.. (edited) 1mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa …I would have thought, well we don‘t agree on everything, but science is safe…Nope, not any more. Surreal times, that has only made the gap worse. (edited) 1mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Tera66 I use to have to put my family in the FB “time out corner” every election cycle. Basically check a box not to see their stuff for awhile (say 6 months), then it was usually safe to converse again. Now the election season/cycle never ends…I had to unfriend most of them. (edited) 1mo

KathyWheeler @Riveted_Reader_Melissa yeah, I would have thought science was safe too, but no. My brother is also one of these people who aggressively believes what he believes and calls you stupid and other names if you believe differently. It‘s sad. 1mo

megnews @KathyWheeler @Riveted_Reader_Melissa my dad is a Fox News on 24/7, worship everything trump says. The founding father worship is real. This is why I taught my kids real history at home because knowing it helps with today‘s arguments. Here‘s how I handled the vaccine debate. “How do you think the founding fathers would handle it?” Generally when I throw a question back in his court he either doesn‘t answer or spews something I can tell he heard ⬇️ 1mo

megnews ⬆️ fox or online. I can‘t recall which that time. Then I told him during the Revolutionary war smallpox outbreak Washington insisted on vaccination of all soldiers and did it first himself as an example. Adams led by example in this area as well. At that point I get dumbfounded looks and no further response. 1mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @megnews Right, and when you explain Trump and his whole family are vaccinated, and every employee at FOX news must be it‘s crickets and then usually a, ‘well, Im not doing it because xYZ crazy agreement‘. My one uncle said he won‘t get it because they keep pushing it on people, what do they have to gain pushing it on people so hard, someone‘s making money off this. Uh, they push because they don‘t want people to die 🙄 and you are paying ⤵️ (edited) 1mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ nothing….the gov‘t bought for all its citizens to protect them. 1mo

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot | Mikki Kendall

Another week had flown by #SheSaid and this grouping of chapters/essays continues to impress me. She has done a great job here showing how attitudes and words we mean to be empowering can in fact do the opposite. Something I think we can all relate too. There is usually a “strong” one in every family and someone who seems to constantly screw up and gets bailed out repeatedly, but if the strong one makes a mistake it‘s worse, 🙄

Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ because they knew better, were more responsible, etc. I don‘t think I realized just how much we were stereotyping that and using those wedges on whole races…and putting all the “strength” and responsibility onto the shoulders of those who have the least societal power and whom we should be bearing some of their load instead of visa versa. 1mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Smrloomis @KathyWheeler @ImperfectCJ @bibliobliss @JenlovesJT47 @Karisa @fredthemoose @ravenlee @Christine @mandarchy @rjsthumbelina @rockpools @Tera66 @Megabooks 1mo

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa I also found myself in these chapters thinking of recent examples for all of them that have happened since this book was printed. I couldn‘t help reading about Serena Williams and thinking about Simone Biles and how she was treated by many for trying to take care of herself and her mental health in a very similar way to Serena trying to take care of her physical health. That her performance was owed to the American people, her body ours to win⤵️ 1mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ win medals with and accolades for a country that didn‘t much care when she was being abused in that same gymnastic program. And again I thought of the current Gabby Petito coverage for days, and how wrong that case is, how it could have been ignored so long (my god he came back in her car to the home they lived in together, and everyone including his family & law enforcement just shrugged), only to also know that that coverage is rare and ⤵️ 1mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ only for a privileged few that our society/media find sympathy worth, or justice worthy. ☹️ 1mo

MallenNC Yes, the main theme I saw in this section was how dangerous the “strong Black woman” stereotype is bc it allows people to ignore issues and not offer help. The chapter on the unequal treatment of missing women has been sadly apparent in recent coverage of Gabby Petito, but it‘s not a new issue at all. I really like Kendall‘s voice in these essays. 1mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @MallenNC I know, and sadly as bad as Petito‘s story is, it‘s almost hard to grasp that at least she got coverage, attention from keyboard sleuths, maybe eventually some justice (if we are lucky). The statistics on Native women have been horrible for a long time, and sadly not getting any better. Plus they somehow fall into a loophole between US law enforcement and Reservation law enforcement, where perpetrators seem to walk free once they ⤵️ 1mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ cross an invisible line on a map put there by humans. 1mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa *I should add here, not just the US. From what I‘ve read the pattern is the same in Canada 1mo

MallenNC The first time I ever heard of Missing White Woman Syndrome was Lacey Petersen. At least I‘ve read that Gabby‘s family is using the notoriety of her case to try to help others who‘ve gotten less publicity. 1mo

BkClubCare Great comments, discussion. I have been wanting to yell at the TV updates on the Petito case, “what about all the other missing women?!” 1mo

megnews Having grown up during the period of John McEnroe having temper tantrums and throwing rackets, the Serena Williams situation really ticks me off. I NEVER tell anyone how strong they are and if I never hear it again, it‘ll be too soon. All it means is people have done some crappy stuff to you that you‘ve found some way to survive. 1mo

Karisa Agreed! Our local news has been pointing out the disparity of coverage often with this case and using the moment to shift to other missing person cases that are not getting the same visibility. It needs to happen more often. The air time reflects our society‘s values. I‘m struggling with this book a bit. I liked it at first but feels repetitive now. I think it‘s because she always starts with a personal narrative. Somehow it‘s annoying my brain😅 1mo

Karisa I know her points are valid though. Probably just me 🤷🏻‍♀️ 1mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @megnews 😂funny, I feel the same way about strong & people who say you are such a great multitasker… it‘s usually just a backhanded compliment to give you more stuff to handle because you are soooo good at handling it, never an invitation to take some of the load off before you crumble. (edited) 1mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Karisa Maybe you are.reading them too close together. Maybe try spreading them out this week and read one every other day? See if that helps? Sometimes that helps me, sometimes not with these type of essay books that have multiple essays on similar interrelated themes. 1mo

Karisa @Riveted_Reader_Melissa Yep, I‘ll try that. Too much at once and all the essays blur together. Thanks! 1mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Karisa You are welcome, I hope it helps. I know I had that with a book earlier on (I can‘t remember which one at the moment unfortunately), but it seemed to help somewhat. Read together they seemed repetitive, but separated out they supported each other and were interrelated but separate essays. 1mo

ravenlee I was thinking of Simone Biles and also Naomi Osaka while reading about Serena Williams, and about how toxic the cultures seem to be in tennis and gymnastics. The more of these essays I read the more I see not just Audre Lorde‘s torch being passed but also some of Maya Angelou. 1mo

ravenlee I‘ve also been forcibly reminded of the ridiculousness going on the Carroll, Texas school system right now, and how Texas is trying so hard to force a particularly narrow perspective of history (Heather Cox Richardson did a great write-up on this today on her Facebook/blog and why it matters in a national and historic sense). 1mo

megnews @ravenlee so in Texas anything they teach they have to teach the other side to neutralize the message. I heard a secretly taped teachers meeting the other day where a teach asked “So when I teach the Holocaust?” How do you teach the other side to neutralize that. It‘s ridiculous. I can‘t wait til teachers catch on where they can only teach abstinence, to neutralize the message by teaching contraception too! 1mo

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Star Wars Myths & Fables | LucasFilm Press

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I enjoyed these mixed myths & fables set in the Star Wars universe, some more than others which is always the case with a grouping of stories, but a few that touched on characters we know well were (of course) my favorites. 😉

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot | Mikki Kendall

#SheSaid discussion time!

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Smrloomis @KathyWheeler @ImperfectCJ @bibliobliss @JenlovesJT47 @Karisa @fredthemoose @ravenlee @Christine @mandarchy @rjsthumbelina @rockpools @Tera66 @Megabooks 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa I have only read the first two, so I‘ll comment on the rest this afternoon when I get to sit down and finish them. Sorry, about that. I‘m still finding these very thought provoking, and applicable to me as well. So much so in the body, developing, shaming essay…the good girl/bad girl dynamic is so entrenched in our society, and no one can meet that standard. No matter what happens, there will be 1 reason you failed and deserved XYZ.⤵️ (edited) 2mo

See All 48 Comments

Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️The blaming the victim thing is imposible to beat, because no matter what the situation can be picked apart to blame them for something, therefore not a “good” girl, and victims fault. I‘m seeing the same thing with racism though…Trayvon Martin is the example I always think of here…he‘s walking with tea & Skittles, but as soon as he‘s dead, the media is all over …he wasn‘t innocent, he got caught with pot in school… but come on, that isn‘t a ⤵️ (edited) 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ death sentence, isn‘t even illegal in many states…and it had 0 to do with the night he was murdered, but yet it‘s offered up like an justification. 2mo

AnneCecilie There was so many things that was recognizable in these essays. As women we are always met with expectations in how to look and how to behave, and no matter what we do we end up doing something wrong. And this is no matter our skin color or race or religion or what ever. But I never given much thought to that having a different skin color than white, you will meet this from two sides, both within your community and outside, and how these ⬇️ 2mo

AnneCecilie expectations might differ, making it impossible to make everyone “happy”. When it comes to victim blaming the BBC made a thing a couple of years ago where they had two policewomen talk to man after he had lost/ had is expensive watch stolen, and they ask him the same questions victims of rape are asked. Did you wear those clothes? Where you drunk? etc. They really made it clear of how it‘s not the victims fault. 2mo

megnews @AnneCecilie I love that experiment! 2mo

megnews From the first essay, I really loved learning about Rosa Parks civil rights activism as early as 1944, 11 years before she refused to move on the bus. From the third essay, I loved this quote about respectability: “We point to the suits and ties and dresses worn during the Civil Rights movement and ignore that the people in them were still beaten, still arrested, still lynched.” I stopped and reread that quote several times. It was powerful. 2mo

Megabooks @AnneCecilie I love that experiment as well. @Riveted_Reader_Melissa I‘m tagging the book I‘m currently reading as it talks a lot about gender violence too. I‘m currently so deep into Hill‘s book that I‘m conflating it with Kendall‘s book.

Believing: Our Thirty-Year Journey to End Gender Violence

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Megabooks @megnews I remember I learned as a kid that Parks sat down because she was tired, as if she were an overworked maid or mammy. It wasn‘t until I was out of college that I started learning about her activism. I don‘t know if it was that I grew up in the South or that was just how it was framed in the 80s/90s, but it was a real disservice to her and her legacy. (edited) 2mo

MallenNC Hi everyone! I was offline today so just got a chance to check in here. I am enjoying this book especially on audio b/c it‘s read by the author. I think the first essay in this section was my favorite. But the one on How to Write about Black Women made me glad we‘re reading this. It underscores the need for her perspective. 2mo

ravenlee The parts that really stood out to me (which, in large part, stood out as examples of how Kendall is carrying Lorde‘s torch) included, from the Fasttailed Girls essay, “Any system that makes basic human rights contingent on a narrow standard of behavior pits potential victims against each other and only benefits those who would prey on them.” 2mo

MallenNC @Megabooks I learned the same myth about Rosa Parks, until I was older too. I think it really minimized her as well. I am also in the South so I don‘t know if that was a widely taught “lesson” or not. 2mo

ravenlee And how the It‘s Raining Patriarchy essay was so clearly a continuation of the message from Lorde about sexism within the Black community. Same idea, different times, same problems. The idea of men trying to force the respect at home that they don‘t get in the outside world…that was a big idea for me. 2mo

ravenlee Also in the Raining essay I was struck by the mention of how victims “ruin” a man‘s life by reporting assault; and I thought of all the mamas on social media during the #MeToo moment railing against girls who could ruin their sons‘ lives (mostly moms of kids, worried about the future) by crying rape. Instead, raise your sons to be unimpeachable in their conduct and there won‘t be any opportunity for the allegation! 2mo

KathyWheeler I particularly liked the section on beauty standards. Most women find American beauty standards impossible to live up to because they are so narrow, but the added pressure on Black women from both inside and outside their communities seems insurmountable. 2mo

KathyWheeler @ravenlee I always found that argument to be ludicrous. No ma‘am, no sir — your son ruined his own life by assaulting a woman. She didn‘t ruin it by reporting it. (edited) 2mo

ravenlee @MallenNC @Megabooks as a kid in the ‘80s/‘90s I remember that, too, although I think it was that she was physically tired and then tired of the BS so she refused to move. I was overseas in a base school, so no South defense there. Either it was the accepted myth or we were “too young” to be taught activism. 2mo

ravenlee @KathyWheeler I had a friend who had a daughter with two sons and a son who was early 20s and living with her. She told me if a girl ever claimed she was pregnant with son‘s baby she‘d demand a paternity test (and claimed it wasn‘t accusatory or rude); but she was mad as a hornet that her daughter‘s second husband wanted a paternity test for her second son because the daughter‘s word should be good enough. I still don‘t understand the hypocrisy. 2mo

KathyWheeler @ravenlee 😳. I don‘t get the hypocrisy there at all. And how could she say it wasn‘t accusatory or rude? She clearly knows that it is, or she wouldn‘t be so mad that her daughter‘s second husband wanted one. 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa So sorry I was out most of the weekend. I loved all these essays and the discussion here has been great. @MallenNC @Megabooks @megnews @ravenlee I learned the same thing about Rosa Parks in Pennsylvania. First it just goes to show how standardized all the teaching material is, but, and this is the important part, I think it was framed that way because then she was the “good girl” who was just tired and started a movement….not an instigator⤵️ (edited) 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ or troublemaker (like those “bad” kids at lunch counters having sit ins and marches). Although now we see it as diminishing her work & legacy, I think at the time it was put in our textbooks, it was spun that way to make it more compelling and relatable…understandable…innocent I guess. That perception was needed I‘m sure at the time to make it a rallying cry/act. 2mo

Megabooks @ravenlee I read the tagged book by Anita Hill today, and she talked about how particularly in the Black community that Black victims accusing Black men of sexual assault is keeping a good man down and not looking at the broader community. It was interesting reading the two books on back-to-back days. But like Kendall, she also talked about the broader patriarchy for people of many races and gender identities.

Believing: Our Thirty-Year Journey to End Gender Violence

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Megabooks I really want to read that book too. I loved her Speaking Truth To Power and it‘s amazing to me that the letters she got from women after her testimony has led her on this path of exposing sexual harassment and now sexual violence. It‘s scary in a way, to have your life shaped by something someone did to you, but she has embraced it as a calling. I‘m torn between reading it immediately and/or adding it to our reading group for next yr

Speaking Truth to Power

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Megabooks @Riveted_Reader_Melissa agree. There was always something saintly about Parks that wasn‘t that way even with King and certainly not other civil rights leaders. 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @megnews I highlighted that same quote about respectability politics. It was so powerful. And it‘s the same for that, “what were you wearing question”. How your dressed won‘t protect you. It‘s a lie we tell ourselves to feel like we can control sexism or racism. But rapists or racist don‘t care what you‘re wearing. And it‘s a lie they use to control us, to blame the victim…if you‘d been more “respectable” this wouldn‘t have happened to you. 2mo

Megabooks @Riveted_Reader_Melissa it would definitely have good discussion points. I haven‘t read her other book, but I plan to. It is just amazing how Hill took the role and ran with it. I remember watching the hearings, but I was only 11 and didn‘t get it yet. Monica Lewinsky was also forced to embrace a role based on public opinion. Do you get HBO? I was going to watch the documentary 15 minutes of shame that Monica executive produced. 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Megabooks @megnews @ravenlee one more thing about Rosa Parks that I didn‘t learn until much later. She wasn‘t the first to refuse to move, it was a nonviolent tactic others had used, she‘s just the one who became famous for it. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudette_Colvin (because of “respectability politics” even) ⤵️ (edited) 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa “Colvin's case was dropped by civil rights campaigners because Colvin was pregnant with a child out of wedlock during the proceedings.[6][7] It is now widely accepted that Colvin was not accredited by civil rights campaigners at the time due to that notion, with even Rosa Parks saying "If the white press got ahold of that information, they would have [had] a field day. They'd call her a bad girl, and her case wouldn't have a chance."[6][8]” 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Megabooks I‘d like to see it eventually, but I don‘t have HBO. And yes, Monica was another one vilified because of something that was done to her. If any student/intern today had sex with a much older married boss/professor….we‘d immediately read it as a power difference with the power of an authority figure translating to an abuse of power in the relationship. But then, like Anita, the ideas of harassment were so new in the public conscience 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @ravenlee @KathyWheeler That “ruining HIS life” will forever make me think of Brock Turner now….and with disgust. We need to start saying they ruined their own lives with their behavior. It‘s funny how they don‘t seem to see it until it effects them regarding the lady with sons & daughters. Did either of you see or remember the commercial about what you should do when a girl is drunk? 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa I had to search a bit… but I found it! https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.buzzfeed.com/amphtml/meganm15/a-quick-psa-about... 2mo

KathyWheeler @Riveted_Reader_Melissa It always makes me think of Brock Turner too. That‘s the first time I‘ve seen that commercial. Thanks for the link. 2mo

Tera66 Hey, friends! This is my first time joining you all. Thanks for the invite @Riveted_Reader_Melissa I have so many thoughts about this book and have loved reading all your comments today. Hopefully I can put them all together for next time and do better at joining the conversation. I feel like I'm highlighting half the book. 😊 2mo

megnews @MallenNC @megabooks @ravenlee @Riveted_Reader_Melissa @kathywheeler I learned the same thing about Parks in Ohio. I don‘t know if I was taught she was tired of the BS or my little activist ❤️ interpreted it that way but I always thought she was tired of being treated that way. I also did not learn about Colvin until I was an adult. In regards to the ruin his life argument, clearly it‘s not even true. Thomas & Kavanaugh were confirmed to the ⬇️ (edited) 2mo

megnews ⬆️ highest court in the land and we‘ve had a President elected after being caught on tape admitting “grabbing women by their pussies.” The internal emotional damage a woman subjected to sexual assault is so much more compared to the phantom consequences a man is alleged to face. (edited) 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @megnews I agree. We need it to be reframed in our society…badly. 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Tera66 Welcome! You can join in this conversation anytime. People jump on and off as they finish the section, or think of something else they want to talk about. And yes, so much highlighting! 2mo

megnews @Riveted_Reader_Melissa I just realized my statement is backward. The phantom consequences are nothing compared to what the woman goes through. I fixed it. (edited) 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @megnews I didn‘t even notice 😂. But glad you fixed it anyway, I would have done the same. 2mo

rjsthumbelina @ravenlee I agree, the talk about black men trying to regain the respect at home that they don't get in society was impactful. People will take power from anywhere they can, especially if they don't get much of it 2mo

rjsthumbelina @Riveted_Reader_Melissa I think one point that Kendall really drives home in this section (without even having to come out and say it) is this: in the context of racism and sexism, the abusers/perpetuators use so much gaslighting to try to convince others that they've done something wrong to deserve the way they're treated. "If only you were prettier/wearing more clothes/acted more respectably" 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @rjsthumbelina Yes, and I think that‘s even true about your first comment, and the way she explained it….you have to be submissive to me at home to sooth my ego, my feelings of oppression/inadequacy, and if you don‘t you are a bad woman and I‘ll find another. So it‘s your fault if I cheat, am abusive, etc. It‘s all gaslighting to feel power over someone else. 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @rjsthumbelina What about women‘s feelings of oppression and/or suffering, are we just supposed to keep passing the buck downhill to the children, and the children to the pets. I‘ve always hated the excuse of a bad childhood for bad adult behavior, this is another cycle of violence to me, but you always have a choice…if you hate the way you were treated as a child (or in this case in the outside world), you have a choice to decide to never be ⤵️ (edited) 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ like that or repeat the behavior you know you hated when it happened to you. 2mo

megnews @Riveted_Reader_Melissa I agree but disagree with some of your comments above. Some people haven‘t come to the point where they hate the way they were treated because it may have been normal in their community. We often discuss the lack of mental health options and this is one part of the problem. The Fear and Feminism chapter kind of explains why I disagree with your statement. While I don‘t pretend to understand what it is to be a Black woman ⬇️ 1mo

megnews in America, as a woman married to a Black man-who went through what you describe above-I was always cognizant the stakes of the cops being called were so much higher for him. Black women are fighting on two fronts: for feminism and against racism and trying to protect their communities intact. It took me awhile to respond trying to get my thoughts together but I think this chapter did it for me. 1mo

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Y: The Last Man, Vol. 4: Safeword | Brian K. Vaughan

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I‘m still enjoying these, but this one did have me wondering a bit…. Strange happenings when agent 355 leaves Yorick with her “friend” agent 711, to go on a mini vet side mission to get Ampersand some antibiotics. While leaving Yorick in “safe” hands to keep him out of trouble, has she unintentionally put him in harm‘s way….

Poor Yorick is having to grow up hard & fast in this new world where he is the center of so much hope and hate.

Riveted_Reader_Melissa #SeriesRead @TheSpineView 2mo

TheSpineView Awesome! 2mo

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Y: The Last Man, Vol. 3: One Small Step | Brian K. Vaughan

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There is a chance of tripling the male population on earth, as the astronauts left in the space station make a dangerous effort to try and return to earth….can they make it without help from earth, will they die as soon as the breath Earth‘s atmosphere again (after all, we still don‘t know why all the men on earth have died). Will Yorick finally have some male companionship besides his pet monkey? Can the ladies of Earth get it together?

Riveted_Reader_Melissa #SeriesRead @TheSpineView 2mo

TheSpineView Great job! 2mo

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Quick and Short Book Reports | Randy Thorne

Time for a quick & short #BookReport and #weeklyForcast

I‘m finally caught up with the #StarWarsBuddy, next I need to catch back up with the #PratchettPosse aka #OokBOokClub

Cinfhen Hi!! Just wondering if you‘re planning on hosting another #NonFictionChallenge in 2022?? Please tag me with details if you post!! Thanks 1mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Cinfhen Yes I am! I already have it ready to go. I‘ll probably put it up closer to the end of the year. 1mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Cinfhen And yes, I‘ll tag you 1mo

Cinfhen Thanks so much, Melissa!! Can‘t wait 😛 1mo

51 likes4 comments

Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America, 1619-2019 | Ibram X. Kendi, Keisha N. Blain

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This book is a collection of individual short essays, each essay covering a span of years & the history that occurred during that time span. Don‘t be intimidated by the subject or length because you can read one or a few, and take a break whenever, coming back to it over time. Each story is unique, but they add up to a greater understanding and in-depth look at our collective history.
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa Honestly this would make a great daily devotional type read, with a section of history each day.

Thank you so much for organizing this group read @megnews . This book is one I knew I wanted to read, but probably would have been intimidated and put off indefinitely, so thank you so much for the motivation to read it, and the great discussions for each section. I can‘t wait to finish up our discussion next weekend. #400Souls 2mo

megnews Great review! I didn‘t feel like anything I could say would do it justice. Thank you for being such an integral part of the conversations. 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @megnews You are very welcome, and again, thank you! 2mo

AnneCecilie Great review. Perfectly summed up. 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @megnews @AnneCecilie it was hard to write a review for this one, especially in 451 words. (edited) 2mo

47 likes5 comments

Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot | Mikki Kendall

Discussion time #SheSaid

I‘ll admit, I was leery about reading two essay books back-to-back, but this one has such a different flow than the last, it wasn‘t a problem at all.

I really liked her no nonsense writing style, and the way she cut right to the point and seemed to easily explain how some things are feminist issues, that I‘ve often struggled to concisely articulate.

What were your thoughts on these first few essays?

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Smrloomis @KathyWheeler @ImperfectCJ @bibliobliss @sabyym @JenlovesJT47 @Karisa @fredthemoose @ravenlee @Christine @mandarchy @rjsthumbelina @rockpools @Tera66 @Megabooks 2mo

Megabooks I agree that they have a flow, much more so than other essay collections. The topic of Solidarity is much talked about now (I‘ll tag a whole book about it.), but it was more novel on my first read. I think hunger and food deserts are often though of as more of an economic problem than a feminist one, but she makes an excellent argument as to why it should be though of in both spheres.

White Feminism: From the Suffragettes to Influencers and Who They Leave Behind

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See All 39 Comments

megnews I agree there‘s a rift in the feminist movement between whites and woc. I think an example is going on right now with the Women‘s March. The vast majority of women I‘ve seen are white. Having worked in “the hood” for 2 decades, I have thought of hunger as a poverty issue and not a women‘s issue. It is taking my brain some time to wrap around thinking of it differently. (edited) 2mo

Karisa Both are essayists and the theme of feminism needing to be more inclusive is central to both. I love how Mikki Kendall also is ready to speak truth to power. Is it a fair inference that true feminism has much in common with socialism? We need to support tangible ways that help the daily lives of all women (food/education security; fairness in pay; controlling gun violence in all neighborhoods; etc). Kendall never actually says the word though. 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa I thought about the recent news coverages about Gabby Patito, not only how so much coverage was given to a missing white woman, and so many WOC go missing and it‘s just sort of ignored. Also the fact that the police responded to a911 call about him hitting her, but decided she was the aggressor and trouble despite the fact that she had bruises and he did not. I also thought about the fight for the new “soft” infrastructure bill, all of which ⤵️ 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ are non-traditional infrastructure issues, but are all things we‘ve seen (especially through a pandemic) we need to keep the country moving…and how many of them usually fall into unpaid women‘s work (and often underpaid WOC work, like service jobs). I recently saw a program about why the pandemic hit WOC so hard, because they are often the food preparers, care givers, service transportation providers, but often in jobs with little health ⤵️ 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ care or social safety net, but yet absolutely essential workers…that get paid less and also had to do those essential jobs, and were more exposed to CoVID. (edited) 2mo

tenar What an incredible book pairing! The introduction felt like a direct passing of the torch from Audre Lorde to our author. She shared her experience again: your silence will not protect you. It‘s very powerful hearing it echo on this way.

It‘s really interesting y‘all talked about the flow, as I had a harder time this week! The gun violence essay in particular was not constructed in a way that was easy for me to understand. I felt like… 2mo

tenar …it jumped around to different ideas and then ended before I felt like I had learned enough. I would have liked to know more about what kind of legislation she supports, especially since she had used, maybe owned guns.

@Karisa I think that‘s an inference that makes a lot of sense given what she‘s said so far. Lorde, again, was a socialist, too. I think social justice in general has a lot in common with socialism, but maybe that‘s a hot take. 😌 2mo

MallenNC I am listening to the audiobook of this one but I also have the ebook to go back and mark some passages. I think the main thing that she is saying is that feminist issues have to be seen as broader than “leaning in” at work and reproductive rights. I think as @megabooks said that idea was perhaps more novel when this book came out, but it is still true that women‘s rights are seen in a narrow lane. 2mo

MallenNC This was one of the quotes I saved: “you can‘t “lean in” when you can‘t earn a legal living wage and you still need to feed yourself and those who depend on you.” 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @MallenNC Yes… every time she uses “lean in” I feel like it‘s a bit if a response to Sheryl Sandberg‘s book by the same name. And I have to admit, even I (a poorer handicapped white lady) never read Sandberg‘s book, because though it was acclaimed I immediately thought it did not apply to me…her life had a lot of privilege that I just didn‘t feel was relatable to my life and I never felt the urge to read it, I can‘t image what it felt like to WOC

Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ but I remember when “lean in” was the catch word, the “it” term. 2mo

MallenNC @Riveted_Reader_Melissa Oh it‘s absolutely a direct response to Sheryl Sandberg. I‘ve never read it either but it was hard to avoid it in the media when the book came out. It‘s easy to lean in when you have privilege. 2mo

megnews @Riveted_Reader_Melissa totally agree about the difference in coverage for missing white women and missing woc. One good result of the pandemic is it forced the increase in pay for a lot of jobs that people living in poverty may hold (again, if they have childcare, transportation, etc). 2mo

megnews @tenar I struggled with the writing too. I haven‘t quite put my finger on why. Maybe I‘ll feel better about it after I get a little further in. 2mo

megnews @MallenNC @Riveted_Reader_Melissa definitely a response to Lean In. I believe I recall Mrs Obama throwing some shade to the lean in concept at one point. I think on Oprah. I haven‘t read the book either but I have worked hard in my workplace leadership role to help other women speak up and to make a point of hiring and promoting POC, particularly women. 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa Did the example of gun violence effecting women as bystanders grab everyone‘s attention, she mentioned being shot in your own bed…and I immediately thought of Breanna Tyler, shot in her own home in her own bed by police with a no knock warrant ….I actually had to look and see if the book was written/published after that, but nope published before…just shows how ubiquitous those incidents really are…sadly. 2mo

Megabooks @megnews @MallenNC @Riveted_Reader_Melissa I never felt Lean In applied to me even when I had a corporate job, much less now that I‘m living on disability. I think more white women are becoming aware that the world is broader, but unfortunately not enough. Plus there are the controversies of white women taking credit for Black/WoC‘s work. A recent example I read about was the Instagram account “SoYouWantToTalkAbout” that a lot of people thought ⬇️ (edited) 2mo

Megabooks ⬆️ was controlled by Ijeoma Oluo because of her book title, but it was actually a white woman who spilled the white tears when she was confronted about it by Oluo. The SoYouWant… account still has more followers than Oluo herself.

So You Want to Talk About Race

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KathyWheeler @Riveted_Reader_Melissa I never related to “lean in” either and I‘m a cisgender, straight, middle-class, non-disabled white woman. I never read Sandberg‘s book because I felt it applied only to a small portion of women, and I wasn‘t one of them. I always considered poverty and hunger to be feminist issues and it disturbs me that they aren‘t seen this way. (edited) 2mo

KathyWheeler I especially related to the essay about hunger where she talks about the need to stop shaming people for needing help. I still remember, more than 40 years later, the deep shame I felt when I had to apply for food stamps for my mother, only to be denied because I lived with her, and I made too much money. She lived on disability, and I made $2000 a year as a grad student assistant. It was humiliating. There‘s no need for that shaming. 2mo

MallenNC @Megabooks I heard about “So You Want to Talk About” when the controversy happened. I hadn‘t ever seen it before then. That person had a lot of nerve! 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @KathyWheeler I‘ve been there and it is utterly ridiculous….the standards they have, the hoops you gave to jump through, and then even if you qualify for food stamps or disability the amount is so small. And the stuff covered not enough to support anyone (I was glad she at least mentioned it in that essay…food stamps doesn‘t cover laundry detergent, dish detergent, diapers or tampons or pads or any “over the counter” supplies like cough drops, ⤵️ 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ cold medicine, Advil, you‘re on your own there. And even if, as I found out, you are on Disability with Medicare, you can still be below the poverty level enough to qualify for food stamps and all of those essentials and over the counter stuff isn‘t covered by anyone. Not cough medicine or iron supplements for someone anemic, once it is over the counter it‘s usually not covered by insurance, and if it isn‘t human food it isn‘t covered by SNAP 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ I was also glad she mentioned the elderly and disabled specifically in that essay….people who can‘t just “work” more, ask for a raise, get a better job (or any of the other cop outs you hear when discussing poverty or food stamps). (edited) 2mo

KathyWheeler @Riveted_Reader_Melissa I was glad she mentioned that too. My mother had bone cancer and had to have her leg amputated. When she first talked to the food stamp people, they wanted her to come down to their offices! They finally agreed that I could come in her place. The whole experience was unnecessarily cruel, and this was before they put all the restrictions they have now. What my mom got from disability wasn‘t enough to live on. 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @KathyWheeler To me, the idea of a social safety net is that it catches you in a time of need….if the catch is so flimsy that you need to apply for 3 other kinds of aid, and still can‘t afford the basics…it‘s not providing a really good “net” at all because there are way too many holes to fall through. I often think that if the rich had to go “in person” and go over all their intimate financial details to qualify for each tax break, maybe they ⤵️ (edited) 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️Wouldn‘t get as many. Both are basically forms of social welfare, but one is coated in difficulty of access and shame and the other flows to you automatically in the tax code and means “you are just a great businessmen”. (edited) 2mo

KathyWheeler @Riveted_Reader_Melissa yes. There‘s no point of a safety net if it lets you fall. I love that idea about the rich. I‘ve often thought senators and representatives should lose all access to their money and living spaces and be forced to live on welfare for several months before they‘re allowed to make policies about anything like welfare and healthcare and minimum wage. 2mo

Tera66 @Riveted_Reader_Melissa Sorry I'm late to the party. I would still like to join in and will be caught up by the 10th! 2mo

ravenlee Sorry I‘m late - my internet was out yesterday! I‘m finding this book really good, clearly written and relatable. As everyone else said, the way she so clearly explains why issues like hunger are feminist issues, why “solidarity” isn‘t the togetherness we might think, it all really works. I especially appreciate the idea of Kendall receiving the torch from Lorde; it‘s fascinating to read them in order. 2mo

ravenlee I may be in the minority here, but I found the gun essay really compelling, in large part because I share Kendall‘s background as a military-trained gun handler. I agree with her stance that those weapons do not belong on the streets, and I support much stricter gun laws - but I‘m a gun owner myself. That‘s an unusual perspective these days. 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @ravenlee I think we need more people, especially gun owners, to speak up about it. I know there are many who own guns and are at least supportive of better and more complete background checks, and until they speak out more I don‘t think much will change. I think we are starting to see cracks in the NRA monolithic opinion though, people breaking from the no restrictions at all. 2mo

sabyym Hey, I‘m just here to say that I won‘t be joining the next few book club reads including this one cuz the lack of free time has caused me to prioritize few other books I really need to read next. So yes if I don‘t participate that‘s the reason. I‘ll come back to discussion when I finally catch up :) (edited) 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @sabyym I completely understand, I backed out of a few other reading groups myself lately. With Litsy, it‘s very easy to get into too much, and get overextended. If and when you want to come back, feel free. Do you want me to take you off the tag list for now so it isn‘t flashing up and annoying you? 2mo

sabyym @Riveted_Reader_Melissa yes that‘s very sweet of you. Thank you! Will be back soon! 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @sabyym No problem, just let me know when you want re-added. 2mo

36 likes2 stack adds39 comments

Riveted_Reader_Melissa

October Breezes (October Breezes #1) | Maria Rachel Hooley

I‘m a bit behind, what else is new… but as they say ‘better late than never‘!

#OctoberTBR /wishlist

46 likes

Riveted_Reader_Melissa

A Book of Spinning Wheels | Joan Whittaker Cummer

#BookSpin list for October @TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks Yay!!! 2mo

51 likes1 comment

Riveted_Reader_Melissa

The Great Big Bingo Book: Bingo Games for ESL Learners | Anne Berry, Nina Ito

No #BookBingo‘s for me for September, but I sure flirted around it @TheAromaofBooks

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! Great month!!! 2mo

Kenyazero So close! Looks like a good month! 2mo

51 likes2 comments

Riveted_Reader_Melissa

It's a Wrap: Sewing Fabric Purses, Baskets, and Bowls | Susan Breier

It‘s a Wrap…and more importantly where did September go?

#SeptemberWrapUp #SeptemberStats

46 likes

Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy: (Book 1: Chaos Rising) | Timothy Zahn

So did you enjoy Queen‘s Peril last month?

I quite enjoyed it, I left wishing they‘d rewrite the series from the women‘s POV‘s…all Padmé, Leia, and Ray. ?

This month we have the first book in a new Thrawn Trilogy! So put in your library holds or dig out your books. ?. Mine has a huge waitlist at the library, so I‘ll get to it when it gets here.

#StarWarsBuddyRead

BookwormAHN I really enjoyed Queen's Peril but I'm really looking forward to more Thrawn. 2mo

Andrew65 My copy of Thrawn Ascendancy just came in from the library! 😍 3w

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Andrew65 Mine still hasn‘t arrived 😂 (edited) 3w

30 likes4 comments

Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Galaxy's Edge: Black Spire | Delilah S. Dawson

pick

I may not have gotten to it until a month after I was supposed to, but I‘m glad I finally gave up on the library and splurged for the audiobook. I ended up really enjoying the next section of Vi‘s adventure, I wish the ending had been a bit different…but I understand why they ended it the way they did.

#StarWarsBuddyRead

39 likes

Riveted_Reader_Melissa

An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States | Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz

In case you‘re interested @megnews

I know we were talking about reading this one eventually, and I don‘t know if the audio version is well done, but it‘s part of the audible 2-1 sale selections at the moment.

megnews Thanks! 2mo

GingerAntics This has been on my wish list for ages. I even double checked that it‘s definitely written by an indigenous person. 2mo

Megabooks I picked this up and am reading it this month. 2mo

44 likes3 comments

Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Y: The Last Man, Vol. 2: Cycles | Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra, Jose Marzan

pick

I‘ll admit, the commercials for the new TV show intrigued me, so of course I picked up the book/source material. Lots of potential in the first installment, and this second volume was even better.

So now to track down volume 3…

Riveted_Reader_Melissa #SeriesRead with @TheSpineView 2mo

Daisey Interesting. I read the first one a while ago and thought it was ok. Maybe I need to try the next one before the new series comes out. 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Daisey I kinda felt that way about the first one too, that things just fell apart or into clicks a bit to fast, the second one was a bit better because now you‘re following those already established groups. But yes, I can still tell it was written by a man, both the jokes and obvious (only women) humor grate at times…. It reminds me of Sleeping Beauties, another one with a great concept, that would have been even better if that idea was ⤵️ 2mo

See All 6 Comments

Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ developed by a female writer, with a female POV. 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Daisey plus I have to laugh at the fact that the entire food production/distribution chain has fallen apart in 2 months, but yet multiple people have managed to travel overseas to look for the last man. 🙄. So fun, if taken as light reading and not too seriously I guess. 2mo

TheSpineView 👍📖📚 2mo

48 likes6 comments

Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Y: The Last Man, Vol. 1: Unmanned | Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra, Jose Marzan

pick

I‘ll admit, the commercials for the new TV show intrigued me, so of course I picked up the book/source material. Lots of potential in this first installment, some things I‘m a bit unsure of, but I‘ll be curious to see how it all develops.

Riveted_Reader_Melissa #SeriesRead with @TheSpineView 2mo

36 likes1 comment

Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Hostage to Pleasure | Nalini Singh

pick

Dorian was a character I had been looking forward to reading and I loved that his love interest literally just appeared and was the person he would least likely have picked (at least until he got to know the real her). And as always with this series, what I find fascinating is the world building, the backroom deals, and with this one new players have stepped forward onto this game of chess and I‘m more curious then ever where it‘s all leading.

Riveted_Reader_Melissa #SeriesRead with @TheSpineView 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa Sorry it took me forever to get to this one @ScientistSam , but I‘m glad I found the time for Dorian‘s story. 2mo

TheSpineView Awesome! 2mo

ScientistSam @Riveted_Reader_Melissa not to worry! And glad you liked it. It might be my favorite so far 2mo

38 likes4 comments

Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches | Audre Lorde

pick

If you‘ve been reading along with me and #SheSaid you‘re not going to be surprised that this was a pick for me. It took concentrated reading to follow these often deep & incisive essays, lose concentration for a bit & you will have missed something & need to re-read, but there is so much here that is still very relevant, she could have easily been critiquing things going on today, she was not only incredibly smart, but ahead of her time.

40 likes

Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Quick and Short Book Reports | Randy Thorne

A quick and short (and this week timely) #BookReport and #WeeklyForecast.

Honestly I‘d love to finish the 3 I have on the currently reading shelf, they are all roll-overs from August, and I really don‘t want to have to roll them over into October too. 😂

We‘ll see….any way the wind blows, doesn‘t really matter to me 😉

MatchlessMarie I‘m working on my October list and some of those might be roll overs from last October 😂 also I love your mock bookshelf set up 😍 2mo

kspenmoll I like your shelves!!! 2mo

Karisa Loved that Rainbow Rowell book! Simon and Baz forever! 🥰 2mo

65 likes3 comments

Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches | Audre Lorde

Discussion time #SheSaid

I found a lot here I related to as a woman (even if it‘s as a handicapped white woman and not necessarily the intended audience), plus I thought the large section about internalized hatred steaming from racism & sexism is something we really need to look at more closely….even white women who vote against their own interests (how much of that is the same type of internalized hatred & anger against ourselves & other women).

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Smrloomis @KathyWheeler @ImperfectCJ @bibliobliss @sabyym @JenlovesJT47 @Karisa @fredthemoose @ravenlee @Christine @mandarchy @rjsthumbelina @rockpools 2mo

Karisa I kept writing “Unity” and “Identity” in the margins as reoccurring themes. Made me reflect on what I can do as a teacher to help students celebrate their identities and unify for strength/understanding. I agree with your original post. We are repeatedly told that women are not leaders (and other negative stereotypes) and many then show that in the way we vote. We need to really listen to the messages and vote for who can truly represent us 2mo

See All 38 Comments

vlwelser That essay on Grenada made my head explode. I think I was too young to know about this but it seems like a recurring theme in American politics. 2mo

vlwelser I think she saved the best essay for last (because she added the Grenada one later). She was such an amazing person and a great person with a unique perspective. 2mo

MallenNC @vlwelser I didn‘t know any of that about Grenada either. I have a vague memory of it happening but had no idea why (or “why”) it happened. (edited) 2mo

MallenNC I was glad I read this because I didn‘t know much about Audre Lorde other than seeing her quoted in other contexts. As we‘ve all said, it is striking how relevant her writing from the 1980s still is. In this section, I enjoyed her thoughts about what could be learned from the 1960s. It was good timing as I‘ve been watching the Muhammad Ali doc on PBS, and Malcom X has a big part in the first episodes. 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @MallenNC I read Malcom X‘s autobiography recently… his story and transformation as he learns and grows more is amazing. 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Karisa All of that and, women are too emotional, but also if we tone that down to please, to cold. Basically we are just taught that women are less than, to be seen and not heard (unless she‘s backing up a man), and we internalize all of that and dislike people who break out in any way. I‘m old enough to remember when Hillary was hated because she was still going to “work” when her husband was elected & the flack when she “stood by her man” ⤵️ 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️After he cheated. 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Karisa I can see the sane thing with “the squad” now. They are too independent, too ethnic….AOC alone is too stuck up, but she “danced” in college (on tape gasp!). She‘s just a bartender, but she went to the Met Gala for the rich, what was she doing. Literally no matter what she does, it‘s vilified 2mo

Karisa @Riveted_Reader_Melissa Yep, there is no winning. Especially because at the heart of it is a desire to keep the status quo—everyone staying in their “place”. So frustrating! 2mo

KathyWheeler I loved that essay on hate and anger. I think it‘s possibly the best one in the book. I remember that Grenada invasion— I was young enough (in my 20s) to be less cynical about the USA than I am now and was very confused about the whole thing. That essay added some clarity. 2mo

rjsthumbelina The essay about black women's hate and anger was my favorite in the book. I know it wasn't directed at me, but as a (white) fat woman with chronic pain, it felt so familiar. This collection as a whole made it clear what an important thinker/philosopher Lorde was. 2mo

ravenlee There was so much in this section, so many things I underlined or noted in the margins! I‘m just amazed at how clearly Lorde articulated these nebulous concepts, crystallizing the important parts, so that no matter where we come from we can all identify with it and shout “yes!” I feel like we were cheated by her loss at such a young age, and I wish she were with us now to help make sense of the mess we‘re currently in. 2mo

ravenlee @Riveted_Reader_Melissa I think Lorde had more than one intended audience - because she might have been speaking directly to Black women, but she made it a point to include the rest of the world so we could learn from her words without her having to pander/dumb it down for us. I love the way she‘s inclusive yet specific. She puts the heavy lifting on us to understand but enables our understanding (did that make sense). 2mo

KathyWheeler I also loved when, in the essay on Malcolm X, she said, “There is no such thing as a single issue struggle because we do not live single issue lives.” 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @vlwelser Yes it does! I was too young then too. And I didn‘t fully understand the implications of Reagan‘s administration until later (again too young) until I learned more about the “War On Drugs” vs “Iran Contra Affair” and how they related. But boy, it sure sound reminiscent of the case to go to war in Iraq doesn‘t it (WMD‘s that weren‘t there, but oil was 🙄) talk about forgetting our history and repeating it. I also couldn‘t help in ⤵️ 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ this section thinking about a book a read about Hawaii, and how even way back we have arranged things just so, to “save” them. In Hawaii‘s case it became as state by asking too, under equally duplicitous twists…the “Hawaiians” who asked for statehood were the children of missionaries and settlers on the island, not the natives. And the US at the time wanted a Navy base to be a naval power, so pushed it against the native Hawaiians wishes.

Unfamiliar Fishes

2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @rjsthumbelina I found a lot in that essay too (white, fat, & genetic disorder here)…so much that related to women themselves. How we are taught to take care of everyone else, but not ourselves, and if we dare to take time/care for ourselves, we are selfish…and if we break down and cry we are weak and also using our tears. So much of that crossed over as sexism (and controlling) and relatable to me. Even the hating of self, internalizing it ⤵️ 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ it…leading to staying with bad people in bad relationships (because we think we don‘t deserve better), or the hate turned inward because it‘s unacceptable to put outward by “good girls”. I‘d have loved to see her views on this as we moved into the eating disorder, cutting, etc issues of today. To me, that essay seemed ahead of its time. (edited) 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @ravenlee I know, some books I highlight so much, I‘m surprised the Goodreads quotes/notes section doesn‘t have basically the whole book in it and violate copyright laws. (edited) 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @ravenlee Yes it did make sense. There were a lot of layers to her writing, and I find myself glad that she got the space and time to write these, not just the poetry she is known for. So much is still relatable today, and I think any women could get something from this, and probably different things at different states of her life. 2mo

staci.reads @KathyWheeler I highlighted that quote as well. It seems more and more people are single issue voters, and I struggle to understand that kind of thinking. 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @KathyWheeler I highlighted that quote too! She was ahead of her time with intersectionality too, and reading her put it so plainly…I can‘t imagine why feminism took so long to get there. It seems so obvious in her writing. (edited) 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @staci.reads Yes! How can you not look at the whole package? I don‘t think I‘ll ever understand how people can turn off 90% of their interests because so-and-so says they‘ll do 1 thing. What good is that 1 thing to you, if the rest of your life is miserable…not to mention everyone else‘s? 2mo

staci.reads I found her quote " We do not have to romanticize our past in order to be aware of how it seeds our present." It makes me think about current issues with Confederate memorbilia and statues and the argument that we shouldn't be erasing history. There is such a difference between romanticizing history and acknowledging history, and I think that's what a lot of people fail to understand. 2mo

staci.reads I also was moved by her statement "Revolution is not a one time event. It is becoming always vigilant for the smallest opportunity to make a genuine change in established, outgrown responses..." 2mo

ravenlee @KathyWheeler @staci.reads @Riveted_Reader_Melissa I don‘t understand the single-issue thing, especially when that single issue is abortion. They refuse to see how so many other issues are related: healthcare, poverty, minimum wage, education…and those anti-abortion candidates are making everything that contributes to a higher abortion rate so much worse! 2mo

ravenlee @vlwelser I knew almost nothing about Grenada (a small amount from movies), and I was just horrified. And it keeps happening, and happening. 2mo

ravenlee @staci.reads I found that notable too. We must constantly fight to retain the ground we‘ve gained, because there are those who are constantly trying to take it back. My mom marched in a women‘s march a few years ago with my sister and niece with a sign that said “I can‘t believe my granddaughters are still fighting for the same shit we did.” 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @staci.reads Yes! So many of the quotes just seemed like they jumped out about issues today. I‘m glad it wasn‘t just me seeing those connections. The romanticizing the past quote also made me think of the recent backlash against plantation weddings…how did they go from homes of the landed elite that enslaved and tortured people for generations to romance settings…and yet, here we are. 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @staci.reads And the quote about Revolution not being a one time event…made me think of all those young people who thought feminism had won, it was all over, roe v wade was settled and safe… to the point where being a feminist was a “bad” thing…a feminazi, a man hater. It‘s seen a bit of a resurgence lately, but the first few big names who said they were feminists were taking big risks at the time. It‘s amazing how much was taken for granted ⤵️ 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ that now has to be fought for again, exactly the same thing with Civil Rights at the moment and things like voting rights. Laws were enacted & people felt safe and got complacent, but there was & still is this huge movement working to unwrite those decisions & laws, groups actively looking to reverse them….so feeling safe & not worrying about it, gives them space to unwrite the Voting Rights Act for example, now it must be fought for again. (edited) 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @ravenlee Great sign! 2mo

KathyWheeler @ravenlee The abortion thing drives me nuts because those same people are also against birth control, free condoms, Plan B, universal health care, and sex education. Everything that‘s been proven to reduce abortion rates. Even if I were against abortion, I simply could not vote on that issue alone — not when so much of the policies by anti-abortion politicians impacts my life negatively. 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @KathyWheeler It drives me crazy too…for all those reasons, if you don‘t want abortions make unwanted pregnancies easier to prevent and the flip side….if you are so prolife, why are you against maternity leave, childcare, healthcare, geez even school lunches. Even as a single issue, it just seems hypocritical how they support it. 2mo

KathyWheeler @Riveted_Reader_Melissa very hypocritical. 2mo

33 likes38 comments

Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot | Mikki Kendall

The next schedule for #SheSaid please feel free to join us if you are interested! Just let me know in the comments if you‘d like added or removed from tagging.

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Smrloomis @KathyWheeler @ImperfectCJ @bibliobliss @sabyym @JenlovesJT47 @Karisa @fredthemoose @ravenlee @Christine @mandarchy @rjsthumbelina @rockpools @Tera66 @Megabooks 2mo

Megabooks I‘ll definitely be joining you! 2mo

See All 10 Comments

Riveted_Reader_Melissa I think I remembered everyone who asked to be added for this month‘s read, if I forgot you…please forgive me and just remind me here (again) to add you to the list. 2mo

staci.reads I read this one about a year and a half ago, but keep me tagged please. I may do some skimming and hop back in for discussions. 2mo

megnews Can‘t wait! 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @staci.reads No problem, please feel free! 2mo

ravenlee I got it from the library this week and can‘t wait to dive in! 2mo

kspenmoll Like to join in but I am behind schedule. 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @kspenmoll Feel free to join in and catch up when you get a chance. I read this week‘s section just last night and this morning, it was a quick read. 2mo

40 likes2 stack adds10 comments

Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Rat Queens Vol. 8: The God Dilemma | Ryan Ferrier

so-so

I‘m giving this one a so-so. I loved this irreverent series in the beginning, but this side jaunt into an alternative universe and the issues of recombining the two has been less than a favorite for me….however, I think based on the wink at the end we‘ve realigned, and maybe just maybe the next edition will deal with the original issue instead of running from it.

Riveted_Reader_Melissa #DoubleSpin @TheAromaofBooks 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa #SeriesRead with @TheSpineView 2mo

AkashaVampie I love the cover of this!!! 2mo

See All 6 Comments

TheAromaofBooks Great progress!!! 2mo

Eyelit I hope you‘re right - I miss my rat queens and it‘s been hit or miss for a while now 🙁 1mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Eyelit I‘m glad it‘s not just me that feels that way. 1mo

55 likes6 comments

Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Star Wars the High Republic: Into the Dark | Claudia Gray

On sale on kindle in the US today.

#StarWarsBuddyRead

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @CSeydel @alicia @bookandcat @DivaDiane @ElyssaReads @NovelGirl82 @Shadowfat @callielafleur @annkuch13 @PSreads73 @SenatorMothma @InLibrisVeritas @Andrew65 @GrilledCheeseSamurai @Jari-chan @teainthelibrary @BookwormAHN @taraWritesSci @TheGremo @MoMogrl @CrowCAH As always, if anyone would like added or removed from the tag list just let me know! (edited) 2mo

Patchshank I'll do a star wars buddy read. How far behind am I? I've read some of the comic and none of the novels. 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Patchshank We are reading the Disney new cannon books, I‘ll tag you on the schedule for the rest of this year. 2mo

BookwormAHN Thanks 😺 2mo

33 likes4 comments

Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Quick and Short Book Reports | Randy Thorne

A quick and short (and late ((again)) #BookReport and #WeeklyForecast 😂

I better get reading for the rest of this month, the books and library loans are piling up!🤫

45 likes

Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches | Audre Lorde

Just a reminder that Hood Feminism is next on our list for October, so put in your library hold and interlibrary loans if you haven‘t already.

And we need a June book, it should be time for a fiction book by then, so start posting your suggestions/recommendation below and I‘ll make up a voting quiz.

#SheSaid

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Smrloomis @KathyWheeler @ImperfectCJ @bibliobliss @sabyym @JenlovesJT47 @Karisa @fredthemoose @ravenlee @Christine @mandarchy @rjsthumbelina @rockpools 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Tera66 I know you were thinking about joining us for Hood Feminism in Oct, so I wanted to tag you here too. 2mo

See All 23 Comments

vlwelser I'm skipping Hood Feminism (already read it with a different group) but don't take me off your tag list. 2mo

megnews I‘m looking forward to

Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot

2mo

rjsthumbelina Idk if anyone else likes to read nonfiction via ebooks so that you can save your highlights to search through later, but Hood Feminism is currently $5.99 on Kindle! 2mo

rjsthumbelina (in the US, at least) 2mo

rjsthumbelina It will be a re-read for me, but last time I listened to it on audio, and I remember thinking that I should re-read it physically so that I can highlight and retain more of it 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @vlwelser No problem, you can still jump into discussions if you want. 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @rjsthumbelina I picked it up on a previous kindle sale, so that‘s very timely that it‘s on sale again. 2mo

staci.reads It's non fiction, but I'd nominate Girlhood by Melissa Febos as a future-read. It came highly recommended by a former student and has a 4.29 rating on Goodreads. 2mo

staci.reads For fiction, I'd nominate Women Talking by Miriam Toews. I picked it up based on employee recs in a bookstore but haven't read it yet.

Women Talking

2mo

Megabooks I may do a reread with y‘all. Could you tag me? 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Megabooks Definitely! 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa Maybe

Red Clocks: A Novel

2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa

When She Woke: A Novel

2mo

Singout Yay Canadian authors! You might want to tweak Alicia Elliot's name spelling, though.
To-reads: Under the Undala Trees, Seven, All of These Hills is Gold, The Mountains Sing

Have-reads: Milkman, about a young woman dealing with personal sexual harassment and political oppression during the Troubles in Northern Ireland
The Marrow Thieves: Indigenous Canadian post-apocalyptic.
Sing, Unburied, Sing
Everything I Never Told You
The Bone People

Seven

2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Singout Thanks for the catch, I fixed her name. Auto fill and auto correct are a blessing and a curse. 😂 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa Maybe

Sistersong

2mo

KathyWheeler @SamAnne posted this review of a book earlier that seems interesting and appropriate for this group. It‘s not fiction though. The book is called The Right to Sex. Here‘s the review: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/21/books/review-right-to-sex-amia-srinivasan.htm... 2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa

The Other Black Girl

2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa

A Woman Is No Man: A Novel

2mo

Riveted_Reader_Melissa I just heard about this one

Sankofa

2mo

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Joined April 2016