Cory Day’s
Comments
(group member since Aug 18, 2012)
Cory Day’s
comments
from the Reading with Style group.
Showing 441-460 of 1,205
20.4 - The SouthBurn for Me by Ilona Andrews
+20 Task (set entirely in Texas)
+5 Combo (10.8 – burn)
Task Total: 25
Grand Total: 95
20.6 - Under 31Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews
+20 Task (pub. 2012 when Andrews was 30 - born in 1982 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_An...)
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 70
10.9 - Diverse GenresIndigo by Beverly Jenkins
+10 Task (Romance on main page, author and main characters are all African-American)
Task Total: 10
Grand Total: 50
15.1 - 10-20 - Time TravelerThe Dark Between the Stars by Kevin J. Anderson
+15 Task
Task Total: 15
Grand Total: 40
10.8 - Summertime HeatServed Hot by Annabeth Albert
+10 Task
+5 Combo (10.9 – Romance listed on genre page; Robby is half Korean)
Task Total: 15
Grand Total: 15
Rebekah wrote: "This is nothing about the task. I have no problem with it but with the further discussion I was just thinking. I think its funny that if a person has one ancestor "of color" then that person is al..."I think every term is imprecise and has downsides – and ideally, it wouldn’t matter. In a couple of generations, it’s likely that in the USA it will be harder and harder to actually MAKE those designations – by 2020, the census reports show that over 50% of children will be minorities. Unfortunately, no matter what terms we use, many people do judge based on color, intentionally or not. I’ve always thought it strange that our president gets put in one box instead of another, but the reality is that no matter who his mother is, his skin color has at least partially shaped his life.
For this task in particular, I wanted to address some of the problems we have across media, and specifically in publishing. The depiction of non-white characters, in anything from movies to books is not representative of the true makeup of the USA, let alone the world. When we do see minorities in stories, the focus is often solely on their race; I thought it was important to highlight books where whatever the ethnic background of a character, it is simply a part of the story, not necessarily the center of it. I read an interview of Amma Asante, director of the movie Belle that came out last year, where she said, “If I'm honest, I wanted to show a woman of color being loved.” I also thought about an interview with Beverly Jenkins I heard, where she said, “I told this story too about the young woman who came to me and said she, she, she tried to, to float a story, and an editor told her, well, we already have Beverly Jenkins. You know, and that’s sad, and that’s, you know, angering and, and, and stupid and, and all of that other stuff because, you know, we got more than Eloisa! We’ve got more than Sarah MacLean, we’ve got, you know, more than, than, than Jenny Crusie, so, you know, why should there only be one of me?”
Anyway, I mentioned it earlier, but I really do like the series of FAQs Book Riot did recently: http://bookriot.com/2015/02/12/readin.... We Need Diverse Books (http://weneeddiversebooks.tumblr.com) also tackles some of these issues, mostly from a children’s and YA books perspective. I hope this answer wasn’t too long-winded - I know your original post was more rhetorical - I just thought it was important to address!
Katrina wrote: "Hi, i just want to check that the graphic novel The Encyclopedia of Early Earth would count, it is listed as a fantasy and the main charcter is an eskimo/inuit. Thanks"
I actually wonder about this too - I can't figure out if graphic novels work for tasks that specify reading a "novel". I'm guessing that despite the term, graphic novels don't actually count as novels. Mods?
Sam wrote: "I'm guessing since Shadow from American Gods works, so will Peter Grant from Midnight Riot? I've found a couple sources that say he's biracial (mother is from Sierra Leon..."Yup, he should. I found this: "It’s also inclusive. The protagonist is a mixed race man and many of the side-characters are POC as well. Not only POC but they are POC that both lack stereotypes and carry a full sense of their own culture. Peter doesn’t just avoid being a stereotypical black man, but he also carries his culture with him – from his parents cooking to his family – his race isn’t just a descriptor that’s included in the beginning then forgotten and the same applies to Beverly Brook, she’s more than just a racial descriptor. And I absolutely loved that Mama Thames (feuding with Old Father Thames) is a Nigerian woman. Who is awesome."
Time-Traveler Plan (birth dates 1955-1970):(p. 2014) The Dark Between the Stars by Kevin J. Anderson (b. 1962)
(p. 2012) Greatshadow by James Maxey (b. 1964 - his 50th birthday was in 2014)
(p. 2011) Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch (b. 1964)
(p. 2010) The Amazing Absorbing Boy by Rabindranath Maharaj (b. 1955)
(p. 2007) Devil May Cry by Sherrilyn Kenyon (b. 1965)
(p. 2006) Story House by Timothy Taylor (b. 1963)
(p.2004) Vamped by David Sosnowski (b. 1959)
(p. 2003) Stone Maiden by Ann Aguirre (b. 1970)
(p. 2000) Valor's Choice by Tanya Huff (b. 1957)
(p. 1996) Archangel by Sharon Shinn (b. 1957)
(p. 1995) Lucien's Fall by Barbara Samuel (b. 1959)
Chances are good I won't finish the first book, so I've added an extra. If I do finish it, I just won't read one one of them along the way.
Amanda wrote: "Um, not sure on this as I haven't read it ( but I've seen the trailer, and that doesn't seem to make this fit ), The Hunger Games( on the first list) ??Ruling for narrator / main c..."
Kazuo Ishiguro is of Japanese descent, so he counts.
Ed wrote: "Just want to make sure that Alexander Dumas qualifies as a person of color for purposes of this task."It's pretty well documented that Dumas' grandmother was a slave of Afro-Carribean descent, so he should count, but I'll let the mods make the final decision.
As a note, when I conceived of this task my rough definition of "person of color" was heavily influenced by this: http://bookriot.com/2015/01/22/readin.... The whole reading diversely series Book Riot put together is worth a read, but that installment has some good links and a working definition of what I had in mind.
Liz M wrote: "Amanda wrote: "Um, not sure on this as I haven't read it ( but I've seen the trailer, and that doesn't seem to make this fit ), The Hunger Games( on the first list) ??..."I have ne..."
Yeah, Katniss's race isn't specifically identified, but she's supposed to have olive skin or something like that.
For American Gods, I found this: http://americangods.wikia.com/wiki/Sh..., which says "Gaiman has confirmed that Shadow's mother is black." So he should count.
What's interesting about this discussion is that both characters have ambiguously defined races, but simply talking about it serves to make us think and not default to picturing them as white just because it's so often the default.
I don't know about The Country of Ice Cream Star, but it looks like it's likely - one of the reviews calls it "postapocalyptic ebonics written by a white woman" (not a ringing endorsement, I guess!). I don't know whether it's actually made clear what her race is, however, so you might just have to read it and see.
Missed that one! Thanks :)
20.4 GuardianGiovanni's Room by James Baldwin
+20 Task
+5 Combo (10.3 – Liz M)
Task Total: 25
RwS Completion Bonus: 100
Mega Bonus: 200
Grand Total: 1915
Thanks everyone! That's it for me :)
Karen Michele wrote: "Kate S wrote: "Karen Michele wrote: "20.4 - Guardian The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene
+20 Task
+10 Canon
Task Total: 30
Grand Total: 1545"
+5 Prize-worthy: Ha..."
Me too... I managed to get through the book I'd been nursing almost all challenge today. Finally.
20.8 Spring BreakThe Loss of El Dorado: A Colonial History by V.S. Naipaul
+20 Task
+10 Not-a-Novel (non-fiction)
+5 Combo (10.4 – history)
Task Total: 35
Grand Total: 1590
20.9 NamelessThe Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
+20 Task
+5 Prizeworthy (Locus)
+25 Combo (10.3 – Kate, 10.5, 10.7, 10.8, 10.9)
Task Total: 50
Grand Total: 1555
No problem - I'm sure you would've figured it out without my input, but I'm a busy body :)Thanks!
Kate S wrote: "Cory Day wrote: "Kate S wrote: "From Post 1000
Cory Day wrote: "15.9 – Central America – Mexico
The Mongolian Conspiracy by Rafael Bernal
+15 Task (A, B, C)
+5 O..."
Here's mine:Days of Blood and Starlight
The Beauty and the Sorrow
Zahrah the Windseeker
Under the Poppy
East
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
One Foot in the Grave
1632
Empire Falls
The Crisis
Heavy on the science fiction/fantasy, but that's ok :)
