Recently Read: Uncle Tom's Children

Author: Richard Wright

Genre: Classic- short story/ novella collection

Publication Date: 1938

Page Count: 263

Rating: 4/5

The latest read for my American Literature class is Uncle Tom's Children by Richard Wright. This is a collection of short stories that all connect thematically. All of the stories center around racial violence in the American South during the time of the Jim Crow Laws.

I really like short story collections where the stories connect to each other so I really enjoyed the form of this book. Not only were the stories connected by their obvious racial violence themes, but there was also smaller elements such as weather and water that could be traced throughout the stories. These stories were really hard to get through at some points. They are very honest portraits of the violence and intolerance that frequented the American South, and some of the characters that are on the other end of this violence are very young. But these stories are absolutely necessary in American Literature and should be read and shared into the infinite future. 

My version, which is the centennial edition pictured above, starts off with a narrative essay by Wright entitled, "The Ethics of Living Jim Crow" which was amazing, and possibly more powerful than the violent images in the short stories that follow it. I highly recommend checking out that short essay even if you plan on skipping the rest of the novel. 

Novels about such heavy themes can be difficult to talk about because of how heavy and undesirable the themes are, but it's important that they continue to be read and discussed instead of just being pushed aside because the topic is uncomfortable. If you are looking for a read that covers racial violence, or the Jim Crow laws, I really recommend this one. Wright is a brilliant writer and he doesn't shy away from the truth, which is exactly how you want authors to tackle such difficult topics. 

Versatile Blogger Award!

I was nominated by Emma @ Emma Likes Books for the Versatile Blogger Award! Thanks, Emma.

How it works;

1. Nominate 15 other bloggers relatively new to blogging.

2. Let the bloggers know that you've nominated them.

3. Share 10 random facts about yourself.

4. Thank the blogger who nominated you and link back to their blog.

5. Add the Versatile Blogger Award picture to your post.

I Nominate:

Jess @ Curiouser and Curiouser

Becky @ Becky's Babble

Alex @ Blethering About Books

Belinda @ Bookarahma 

Ten Facts About Me

1. Avocados are among my favorite foods. 

2. Sherlock Holmes is one of my favorite literary characters that has ever been written. He is so compelling.

3. When I was a kid I was obsessed with Walt's Disney's 101 Dalmatians, both the cartoon and live action version, and I would love to own a dalmatian.

4. My feet are always cold, regardless of the season. 

5. I can't fall asleep if I haven't brushed my teeth.
6. A few of my favorite bands include: The 1975, Arctic Monkeys, Snow Patrol, x ambassadors and Glass Animals.
7. I really want to go to more concerts this year. Let me know which ones you guys have been too and enjoyed.
8. I'm really itching to reread Harry Potter this year.
9. I'm way too obsessed with Leonardo DiCaprio.
10. I don't have any tattoos, but I'm thinking that will change soon.

Thanks for stopping by today guys! And don't forget to tell me which concerts you have been to and enjoyed. 

   

Weekly Wrap-Up: Busiest Week Ever!

What's New
I am literally crawling out from under a mountain of homework to put this post together. This was the week before spring break, so of course everything was due all at once! But I managed to get it all done and keep my sanity (well most of it anyway). Because of the homework, I didn't read much this week, but I finished one of the books I was working on for school, Uncle Tom's Children by Richard Wright and I made some slight progress in Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman, which I read before bed the other night and got totally freaked out by one of the stories. Next week is break so I'm hoping to get ahead on some homework and do some fun reading, but we all know how that usually goes! 

 

What I Bought
Nothing this week!

What I Posted This Week
Monday- Things got a little personal on my latest 1 A.M. Post- I reflected on my latest birthday
Tuesday- was Top Ten Recent Favorite Reads
Wednesday- I did the TBR Tag
Thursday- I did another installment of my Recently Added series

Last week's wrap-up (which has some pretty exciting book purchases)

What's Next
I was tagged to do the Versatile Blogger Award by Emma Likes Books so that will be happening next week, as well as a review for Uncle Tom's Children. Beyond that and Top Ten Tuesday, I will have a free day to post whatever comes to mind.

What's new with you guys?

Just Added (4)

Here's a look at the latest books I've added to my Goodreads TBR! Make sure to add me so I can see what you're reading!

A Dangerous Woman: The Graphic Biography of Emma Goldman, Sharon Rudahl  

Summary from Goodreads:

A wonderful retelling of the famous anarchist and radical icon Emma Goldman's extraordinary life, this graphic biography embodies the richness and drama of Goldman's story in a wholly original way.

A Dangerous Woman depicts the full sweep of a life lived to the hilt in the struggle for equality and justice. Emma Goldman was at the forefront of the radical causes of the twentieth century, from leading hunger demonstrations during the Great Depression—"Ask for work! If they do not give you work, ask for bread! If they do not give you work or bread, take the bread!"—to organizing a cloakmakers' strike, from lecturing on how to use birth control to fighting conscription for World War I, while her soulmate, Alexander Berkman, spent fourteen years in jail for his failed attentat against industrialist Henry Clay Frick.

Sharon Rudahl's lovely, energetic illustrations bring Goldman's many facets and passions to new life; her work belongs with the critically acclaimed graphic nonfiction of Alison Bechdel's Fun Home and Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis. Featuring a foreword by Alice Wexler, A Dangerous Woman is a marvelously compelling presentation of a woman devoted to revolutionizing her age. 

Why I added it: I love nonfiction graphic novels (the last one I read was The Beats on the Beatnik Generation) and I'm really eager to try a biography in graphic novel form. I don't know anything about Ms. Goldman, so this should be an interesting read. 

The Case of the Missing Moonstone, Jordan Stratford 

Summary from Goodreads: 

Jordan Stratford imagines an alternate 1826, where Ada Lovelace (the world’s first computer programmer) and Mary Shelley (author ofFrankenstein) meet as girls and form a secret detective agency!

Lady Ada Byron, age eleven, is a genius. Isolated, awkward and a bit rude—but a genius. Mary Godwin, age fourteen, is a romantic. Adventurous, astute, and kind, Mary is to become Ada’s first true friend. And together, the girls conspire to form the Wollstonecraft Detective Agency—a secret constabulary for the apprehension of clever criminals. Their first case involves a stolen heirloom, a false confession, and an array of fishy suspects. But it’s no match for the deductive powers and bold hearts of Ada and Mary.

Mystery fans will love this tween girl riff on Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. History buffs will be delighted to see all the real figures who play a role in this story and appreciate the extensive backmatter that helps separate truth from fiction. Parents and educators hoping to promote the STEM fields for girls will be thrilled to have a series where two girls use math, science, and creative analytical thinking to solve crimes. But most espicially--emerging readers will love this series filled with humor, action, intrigue and wonderful artwork from Kelly Murphy.

Why I added it: This book has a list of perfect ingredients: middle grade. Mary Shelley, Willkie Collins, Ada Lovelace, mystery, history and girl power!  

The Tortoise and the Hare, Elizabeth Jenkins

Summary from Goodreads:

A love story with a difference, this exquisite novel subtly demonstrates that in affairs of the heart, the race is not necessarily to the swift—or the fair. It comes with a beautiful cover by Florence Broadhurst.

The magnetic Evelyn Gresham, 52, is a barrister of considerable distinction. He has everything life could offer—a gracious riverside house in Berkshire, a beautiful young wife, Imogen, who is devoted to him, and their 11-year-old son, a replica of his father. Their nearest neighbor is Blanche Silcox, a plain, tweed-wearing woman of 50 who rides, shoots, fishes, and drives a Rolls Royce—in every way the opposite of the domestic, loving Imogen. Their world is conventional country life at its most idyllic: how can its gentle surfaces be disturbed?

Why I added it: Look how beautiful this Virago edition is! I'm so jealous of the U.K's many choices for beautiful book publishers and how easily they can get their hands on the many different Penguin Publishing editions! Anyways, I heard about this book on a booktube channel and the premise really caught my eye; it sounds like a book that I would love! Plus I've really been wanting to read more classics by women, and especially women who seem to have been forgotten.  You can see the current list of women writers I'm working on reading here. 

The TBR Tag!

I was tagged by Jess @ Curiouser and Curiouser to do the TBR Tag! Now, not surprisingly my to be read list (both of books I already own and the huge list I have cataloged in my head) is out of control. So feel free to share how out of control your TBR pile is and how overwhelmed you are by it with me. Let's stick together on this one people!

How do you keep track of your TBR?
I have a list on my Goodreads of books I have come across on there and want to read, but I also have a huge list of books that I want to read sometime in my life in my head. 
Is your TBR mostly print or e-books?
I own more print books that I haven't read than e-books, but I do own quite a few e-books that I have yet to read. I tend to forget that I own the books on my Nook so I forget to read them. I'm thinking about having a month this year where I only read e-books, probably some time this summer, so I can get caught up on my e-book TBR.  
How do you pick which book to read next?
It depends. Sometimes I know what I want to read next before I finish what I'm currently reading, and sometimes I just sit and stare at my shelves for two hours trying to pick something. I usually just go with whatever I'm in the mood for. I'm not one to stick to specific or monthly TBRs.
A book that has been on your TBR the longest?
Oh gosh... I don't know! I know I have owned Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen since it first came out, but have yet to read it. And the first book on my Goodreads TBR is The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin.

 

A book you've recently added to your TBR?
I just added I Crawl Through It by A.S. King to my TBR earlier today! 

A book that made your TBR because of its beatiful cover?
The cover of Radiance by Catherynne M. Valente caught my eye on Goodreads, and then when I read the synopsis, I was totally hooked! 

 

A book in your TBR you never plan on reading?
If the book is in my TBR, I plan on reading it. I haven't cleaned out my book collection at my parents' house lately, but I know all of the books at my apartment I plan on reading, and I want to read all of the books in my Goodreads TBR, but that doesn't mean it will happen.

An unpublished book from your TBR you're excited for?
There are so many 2015 releases I'm looking forward too! But the latest one I have added to my TBR is The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness. 

A book on your TBR that everyone recommends to you
I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson, which I am finally going to read over Spring Break hopefully. 

Number of books on your TBR? 
I have no idea how many books are in my mentally cataloged TBR- but my Goodreads TBR has 173 books on it, and there are currently around 80 unread books in my apartment- and more than that at my parents house. So, to sum that up: a lot.  

Thanks again to Jess for tagging me!
If you want to do these questions, I tag you!

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Recent Favorites

I HATE the concept of committing to a favorite anything and books are no different. I could never single out ONE book and confidently label it as my all time favorite. But today I'm going to make a list of ten of my favorite books I have read since I started blogging- which was in 2013.

Hosted by: The Broke and the Bookish

 

1. The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath

Is anyone surprised with this pick? This is in my top ten of favorite books of all time, and always will be. Plath is an amazing writer, and I promise you, she understands everything you are feeling and has put it down into words somewhere. I love her work.

2. The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood

Again, is anyone surprised? I talk about this book all the time because it horrified me. I always think about it and I'm itching to reread it, even though I just read it about six months ago. Atwood is a genius and I need to read more of her works. Which of her books should I read next? 

3. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen 

I can't believe it took me until last year to read this! This was my first Austen and now I can't get enough of her! I love the characters and humor of this novel, along with how well it translates into film. Lizzie is fierce and independent, and everything I love in a heroine.

 

4. Midwinterblood, Marcus Sedgwick 

This is another one I always talk about, but this book really blew my mind! I had never read anything like it, and it's another one I can't stop thinking about. I also plan to reread this one soon. I haven't heard it talked about very often, and I would love for more people to read it. Segdwick is a great author and I have loved everything of his that I have read so far!

5. Papertowns, John Green 

This one didn't become a favorite until I reread it in 2014 for my literature class. I liked this book the first time around, but I didn't notice how well constructed and just how meaningful it was until the second read. It is by far my favorite John Green book. 

6. The Book Thief, Marcus Zusak 

I love the characters in this novel and how unique the narrative voice is. This book is a testament to the power of love, humanity, and books. What more could you ask for in a book?

 

7. Ariel, Sylvia Plath

I love, love this poetry collection. It is so haunting and powerful. I would give my left arm to write half as well as Plath.  

8. Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton

I read this one a couple years ago in a literature class at my community college and was immediately enamored with it. The plot is so simple, but this short novel is such a great character study and is really unforgettable. Shocker, I'm hoping to reread this one this year as well, and I can't wait to share my thoughts and love for this short novel with you guys. 

  

9. Bridget Jones' Diary, Helen Fielding

This book is so funny, and so true! I read this novel right before I moved out on my own and I love Bridget and sympathize with her in every way. If you are a single girl living on your own, Bridget is your soul sister!  

10. Grasshopper Jungle, Andrew Smith

I think about this book all the time! The more I think about it, the stronger and more unique the themes become. I love Smith's writing and how natural his protagonists' voices are. There are a few of Smith's works that I need to read yet, including his latest release, but I am hoping to get to them soon. 

Reflections Upon My Twenty-First Birthday-- 1 A.M. Post

On Saturday, I tuned twenty-one years old. Which if you aren't from America, you might not know that this is meant to be your best, and "most fun", birthday because you can legally drink. Parties and bars aren't really my thing, so I just wanted to go home for a long weekend to see my family and have some dessert. As the week before my birthday progressed I started to feel more and more blahhhh (great and poignant adjective use, I know) about things in my life (I know, I hate when people are so vague about this stuff too, but we don't have time for long stories).

So, instead of getting hammered on my twenty-first birthday, I made a pretty important decision. Right now I don't have time to really worry about anyone else but myself. I've done that for a lot of years and now I'm over it.

I like me, I like spending time by myself and I'm not in the mood to worry about what other people think or feel about me or if they see me as desirable, smart, blah blah, you name it. I had just gotten to feel this way and then something happened that put me back to square one; I just needed to write this as a reminder to myself.  

This line from Plath's poem Lesbos captures my thoughts perfectly:

"Every day you fill him with soul-stuff, like a pitcher.

You are so exhausted." 

And as a reminder to you, don't let anyone else define you, and don't feel like you have to put all of your energy into someone else. You don't. Put your "Soul stuff" into yourself; it's where it belongs.

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