I am doing my best to be a better ally. I have to remind myself that my own marginalizations do not exempt me from perpetuating harm.
My goal is to find at least two Indigenous people or organizations to support. I’ll update with my choices at the end of the month.
Until then, here’s a Vice article a friend of mine posted to Twitter about how to be an ally to Native and Indigenous people.
October is breast cancer awareness month.
I read this Vox article two years ago about pinkwashing and it stuck with me since. I noticed that there was suddenly pink and pink ribbon merchandise EVERYWHERE.
I noticed the same thing during Pride. Rainbows as far as the eye can see.
This October I want to take more conscious action. I have two goals: (1) to make a donation to a local group working to help BIPOC access breast cancer treatment and (2) to educate myself better on what breast cancer actually is, how it works, and the challenges patients face.
I just purchased a copy of Audre Lorde’s The Cancer Diaries. A new Penguin Classics edition was just released. I read Lorde’s Sister Outsider earlier this year and it changed my life. I expect nothing less from The Cancer Diaries. I hope reading this book will keep me focused on the actual people. People with breast cancer who are jumping through the three ring circus that is American healthcare to get treatment and live. I do not want to focus my attention or money on corporations who think “breast cancer pink” is the new way to sell everything.
*This post was written before Game of Thrones Season Six Episode Four premiered. It is in response to Episode Three: Oathbreaker.
Don’t mind me. I’m just over here crying for fictional characters. It’s a thing I’m used to, being a book nerd. I am in full mourning for Shaggy Dog. I have been enamored with the Stark direwolves since they very first episode. I mourned the loss of Lady and Grey Wind as well. I knew Jon Snow was gonna be fine because Ghost was fine and now I know poor, innocent baby Rickon is doomed because… well… Ramsey, but beyond that, Shaggy Dog is gone. I just can’t.
It is clear that none of these characters understand:
I have consumed nothing but Game of Thrones related stories. Here are some of my favorites:
Elite Daily- Bran Theory
Arts.Mic- Hodor Theory
Also Nerdette does a fantastic recap podcast with Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me’s Peter Sagal. I have just been listening to the episodes on repeat. They post generally at about 3:00 p.m. on Mondays. I believe they are going to have a live event at the close of the season. I’m looking forward to attending.
That’s all for me this week!
I had the nerdiest weekend ever.
Saturday was BookCon. It was so much fun! The got a gallery of Dark Matter coming from Penguin Random House. They also gave away copies of The Wrath and the Dawn. Eeeeekkkk!
I purchased Wytches: Volume One. I read the first three pages while waiting for a panel to begin. Big mistake. I’m going to have the worst nightmares.
A portion of the floor at BookCon
Lunch with friends.
Daniel José Older, my shiny forehead, and I.
I’m now on my way to see Captain America: Civil War. Have a great weekend all!
The goal is eight books. So I should have read two…
I read two!
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I started the week with Paper Girls: Volume 1 written by Brian K. Vaughn of Saga fame. There may be time travel and aliens and a group of bad ass paper girls. It rocked my world. I can’t wait for volume two.
Look at that beautiful art.
I purposefully chose short books to get through this weekend and jump start my reading stats for #SmashYourStack Week 2 and in preparation for #BoutofBooks. More on that in another post.
These are the shortest books I own (each under 200 pages). I decided to start with The House on Mango Street. It was the shortest, contained vignettes, and is set in Chicago. That sound you hear are all my bells ringing. Cisneros did not disappoint. Esperanza, the narrator, is so perfect. I totally identified with her. I knew that pain, that joy. Yes and yes.
I’m going with Sula next because I am in the mood to have my life changed. This is my fourth Morrison, after The Bluest Eye, Beloved, and A Mercy. I feel it my duty as a black person, a woman, a book nerd, and a Howard University alumna to read all of her books.
I met up with some of my book club people on Sunday afternoon for reading and general nerdy socializing and, of course, drinks. It was a great way to wrap up the week.
Here’s to two more books next week!
Wired Book Club reading The Fifth Season by N. K. Jemison. It is their inaugural book. I’m probably not going to get to it this month, but I will try to get it soon. Maybe even write a review…?
My virtual book club, The Blissful Bookworms, is reading Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. I was addicted after about 20 pages. Look at that cover!
Black Girls are from the Future is reading Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neal Hurston. This is a childhood favorite of mine and I have endless feels, which I will not go into now, about Zora Neale Hurston. For now, know that she was the bomb and did/does not get the credit she deserves.
Veronica Roth’s new book. Make. your. money. honey! Take all my little coins. Also, Ms. Roth will be at BookCon and maybe, hopefully, so will a few ARCs.
I’m still trying to get over Game of Thrones. I just watched episode 3 this morning and I’m just like…
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So, that’s all for me this week.
I am still sipping on this ice cold, refreshing #Lemonade that Beyonce served us all. Some profound writers and thinkers are drinking it too.
Brittany Luse, a fellow Bison, wrote for Refinery 29
Roxanne Gay via The Guardian
Janet Mock gave me chills with her epic rundown of Lemonade, Their Eyes Were Watching God, and the burden of black womanhood.
The New Yorker even had commentary
Also, April 27th, marked 100 days until the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I love the Olympics. The Olympics ads are, to me, just as good as the Superbowl ads. P&G has been winning for several years with their Thank You Mom campaign. The SoChi ad is still available here, but the one for the 2016 Summer Olympics is heavier and brought me to tears at my desk at work. It’s amazing. Not only is P&G sending a powerful message about the strength and importance of mothers, but they do it by showing ALL the moms (read: colorful moms). This is way to make ads people. Follow them.
#IndependentBookstoreDay was April 30th. J and I spent the day on a self-made book crawl. It may have been the best thing to happen to me this year. So many good books! It’ll get a separate post soon. Here’s J’s post and we were together, so it’s kind of the same.
Hot drinks and new books. That is living your best life
Me going into The Book Cellar. Third Bookstore of the day.
P.S.: If you have an iPhone, I set up a Litsy account. Litsy is the child of Goodreads and Instagram. It’s great. You can find me there as Lucky_LaDee.
I am not the best at spending money wisely. I am really bad at impulse buying and my favorite implies buy are books. In the last six months, I’ve attended three huge book sales and acquired too many books to count or store. I have got to do something so I’m at least reading and then, hopefully, giving away all these books.
Enter Andi, Melissa, and their pragmatic book challenge.
The concept is simple:
Set a percentage of your own books to read for the month.
Pick a number!
Go hard and read ALL your own books!
Considering that I have library holds I have to read in May as well, I’m setting my goal at six books. It seems low, but I like to under promise and over perform. If the first half of the month goes well, I’ll increase my goal. I know that’s technically cheating, but it’s all I got.
Shoutout to The Shrinkette for bringing this challenge to my attention when I truly needed it.
Let’s see how this goes!
Mondays are hard for me. I promise I’m trying.
Image credit: Bookwitty
On to the big news, #LEMONADE!
I doubted, but I’ve been converted thoroughly. Beyoncé is everything. Lemonade made me feel like I could take over the world. I’m used to being invisible. The brands, performers, and politicians I love hardly see me, or at least hardly openly admit to seeing me. On national television, for an hour, Beyoncé said to every black girl and woman in the world, “I see you. I am you. I am proud. You should be too.” I just can’t stop watching and listening to it.
Mashable did a fantastic breakdown of other the other wonderful Black women featured in Lemonade. I needed it.
In other big news, #GameofThrones. Quick recap:
Nerdette Podcast, that I love with many loves, does a delightful recap podcast every Monday. They’re recap is much better than mine.
Last, but certainly not least, Prince made is final exit this week. I just can’t. I seriously can not say any more about him. I can not even try to do his life, his work, and his/it’s importance any justice at all.
This New Yorker Magazine cover is the best I can do.
Have a great week!
P.S.: If you have an iPhone, I set up a Litsy account. Litsy is the child of Goodreads and Instagram. It’s great. You can find me there as Lucky_LaDee.
I’m a journalist by trade, technically, and I do spend a lot of time each day reading articles and newsletters from my favorite outlets. I’ve decided to compile a collection of news I think is interesting, relevant, and/or problematic. I’m basically making a digest each week.
It’s new. Just go with me.
The Washington Post’s, “In 6 graphs, here’s why young women don’t support Hillary Clinton as much as older women do” for obvious reasons.
The Post also did another great story about how long commutes are the worst. I know from personal experience.
HuffPost Black Voices, “Gospel Singer Tasha Cobbs Says Black Church Can Help With Depression. I thought this headline was misleading. It’s a wonderful story, though. This hit home for me because I am hyper aware of the dangers of untreated mental illness, especially in relation to people of faith and people of color.
Aset Editorial Services 