Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion
2018 Challenge Prompts-Advanced
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9. A book about a problem facing society today
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I chose Other Desert Cities for this. Deals with political problems in America.
I am using The Sandcastle Girls for this prompt. It is about the Armenian genocide which took place around 1915. To me it is an extreme example of ethnic and religious hatred/intolerance, which is causing so many problems in our society today.
for this prompt.
Poetry about what to do in a broken world.
Finished Jan 2018
Only Child, the debut novel of Rhiannon Navin, came out February 6. It's about a school shooting, and is narrated by a first grader. The audiobook is also narrated by a child.
I was actually thinking of reading The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton. I haven’t decided for sure yet. I’m reading the book though. Basically it’s society’s obsession with beauty and being beautiful which is a major problem facing society today. The way other people judge us and how we judge ourselves is based on first impressions and what we look like. The quest to be perfect causes many health and mental problems for those who try to attain the unattainable. Even the pictures we look at in books and magazines are photoshopped and the “perfect” women in the photos aren’t even that perfect. Sure this isn’t a non fiction book and it has villains and things happen but it is a society obsessed with beauty. I wanted to read The Beauty Myth but haven’t been able to find it.
Would I’ll Give You The Sun work for this?
I used Red Clocks for this, it's about an ultra-conservative US government taking away the reproductive rights of women. Topical just now, with the defunding of Planned Parenthood among other things.
Can I get some books that could be related to the opioid crisis?
I am currently reading American Kingpin: The Epic Hunt for the Criminal Mastermind Behind the Silk Road Am about 50% in and it is really interesting and good so far.
poshpenny wrote: "Only Child, the debut novel of Rhiannon Navin, came out February 6. It's about a school shooting, and is narrated by a first grader. The audiobook is also narrated..."I was just going to write about this book. I couldn't put it down. It was heartbreaking and it was very thought-provoking. For those who do not want to read a non-fiction book, this novel about a school shooting would fit the category well. I didn't read it for this prompt, however. I'm currently reading The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness.
I've just finished Beyond the Beautiful Forever and might count it here, even though I'm not Indian and nor do I live in India. In this day and age of globalisation etc all societies are interconnected and the prompt didn't say it had to be our society.
Serendipity wrote: "I've just finished Beyond the Beautiful Forever and might count it here, even though I'm not Indian and nor do I live in India. In this day and age of globalisation etc all societies are interconne..."I definitely agree that it counts. Also, great book! I love love loved it!
I just read Fat Girl Walking: Sex, Food, Love, and Being Comfortable in Your Skin...Every Inch of It and I think this could fit this prompt. What do you all think?
Kerry wrote: "I just read Fat Girl Walking: Sex, Food, Love, and Being Comfortable in Your Skin...Every Inch of It and I think this could fit this prompt. What do you all think?"Read it last year for a similar prompt. Would say it most definitely works.
Roxane Gay showed up a handful of my podcasts last year to promote Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body. After reading this stunning memoir about weight and sexual violence, I am now Roxane Gay's #1 fan, I think.
I'm wondering if this would work: Snowing in Bali? It's about drug trafficking and although it doesn't take place in the U.S. it is definitely a problem facing our society.
For any SFF fans looking to fill this prompt:Too Like the Lightning - Very philosophical book about a Utopian society 400 years in the future. Looks at issues such as gender/sex equality, religious and national division, war and peace, etc. It can be a very difficult book to read but I recommend it wherever I can because if you can give it the attention it requires it will really get you thinking about issues in society today and perhaps how we could attempt to solve them or if they can even be solved.
The Just City - Another philosophical book about Plato's republic brought to life. Not necessarily about specific problems facing society, but about how society could become the best society it could be (and what does that society look like?) Looks at things like education, division of labor, raising children, equality between the sexes, etc.
I already read one book for this prompt, but the book I'm currently reading (for 'Author of a Different Ethnicity Than You'), Living and Dying in Brick City, is written by a frustrated black Newark, NJ ER doctor who addresses the health issues frequently encountered by members of his largely minority population, everything from uncontrolled high blood pressure and obesity, to sickle cell anemia patients who have learned to monopolize their disease to score free narcotics. I read his earlier book, The Pact and am finding this one just as enjoyable.
I read The God Daughter by Karin Slaughter. About a school shooting kind of. Amazing book that fits this prompt.
Sadly, there are so many different problems facing society today . . . :(
I'll be reading Feast: True Love in and out of the Kitchen for this one. I'm very excited to start it tonight!
I read In the Midst of Winter by Isabel Allende with my book club and enjoyed it. The back stories of the three main characters are revealed over a few days. The back stories were interesting, but some might find it distracting that the story flips to another character just when it's getting good with the current character! My only minor complaint is the ending was fairly predictable to me and therefore somewhat of a letdown. I felt the book humanized the refugee plight in America.
So I read the incredible Everyday Sexism. What an important book. I was appalled and saddened by the accounts I read, but not at all surprised. Anyone who thinks we don't need equality or feminism really needs to read this book...but sadly they are the sort of people who never will. Still, it fills me with hope that there are voices out there like this, and that so many of us (men as well as women) have not given up. This book is so accessible, with personal stories, tweets and facts built in to each of the very well written chapters. Chapters which cover every prominent issue that sexism taints, for both men and women. A really powerful book.
Ariane wrote: "Sara wrote: "Oh my...where to even start! One of the books on my list to read is The Hate U Give. I have it checked out of the library right now, but I may save it for next year."..."
I hadn't even thought of using fiction for my prompt, and that's on my to-read list. I just defaulted to nonfiction, but I think I'll go with this one. Thanks for the idea!
I read Almost Gone: Twenty-Five Days and One Chance to Save Our Daughter for this challenge. I read it in one sitting, but was highly dissapointed in the ending, and well, the anti-Muslim language involved by the author. It was like the author built you up for this big event, only to not really be that big of a deal. It brought up the current issue of online dating/immigration/green cards. Worth a gander--just don't have too high expectations going into it.
What about a fiction book for this topic?
Yes fiction absolutely works. As an example I recently read Kick by Mitch Johnson, a children's book with an Indonesian boy working in a factory. So I would say one theme of the book is exploitation of cheap child labour - a problem facing society today, in my opinion.
If you need recommendations for fiction books for this prompt there are a lot of good suggestions in this thread.
Highly recommend the essay collection Not That Bad: Dispatches From Rape Culture edited by Roxane Gay for this.
I’m going to pick Death at Seaworld by Jack Kirby. I know that this particular topic is not being discussed as much as the time around the tragedy of Dawn Brancheau, but time and again whenever something comes up negative at Seaworld the conversation sparks again.
Would The Trial by Franz Kafka work, since it accurately depicts the modern bureaucracy, and the way it so avidly pollutes our society?
I read Bed-Stuy Is Burning, which takes place about a quarter mile from where i live so is very pertinent to my current situation. It addresses numerous immediate problems like gentrification and the forced mixing of different socio-economic groups, and also some more subtle problems like the weakening of organized religion.
Mod
LOL I see the weakening of organized religion as a PLUS! some things are all in one's perspective :-)
Јована wrote: "Would The Trial by Franz Kafka work, since it accurately depicts the modern bureaucracy, and the way it so avidly pollutes our society?"Yes. It´s not a smaller problem for society just because it´s been a problem for a long time.
I want to read something about gender identity, and the LGBTQ community, and the social and other challenges they face: I've chosen "You're in the Wrong Bathroom!": And 20 Other Myths and Misconceptions about Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming People, it seemed to get very good reviews!
Marilyn wrote: "The Hot Zone: The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus"I have just started this book for this prompt.
Sally wrote: "Marilyn wrote: "The Hot Zone: The Terrifying True Story of the Origins of the Ebola Virus"I have just started this book for this prompt."
Fun fact: the monkey house mentioned in that book in Reston, Virginia is now a daycare center.
Planning on reading This Is Where It Ends, since school shootings have become almost commonplace and I have 2 school age kiddos now. Its terrifying.
Finished "A Coal Truth: The Fight To Stop Adani" by David Ritter. This one will stay with me. I can't stop talking about it
Anyone else reading “I am Malala”? I got it from Libby. It turns out there two versions. One is the standard length and one is a child’s version. There are 5 hours difference between them.
Tracy wrote: "Planning on reading This Is Where It Ends, since school shootings have become almost commonplace and I have 2 school age kiddos now. Its terrifying."That is so terrifying. I have three school kids (9, 15, 17) and I am SO GLAD I live in a country where this doesn´t happen.
Johanne wrote: "That is so terrifying.""Johanne, my 6 and 8 year old daughters have to do safety drills at school where they hide under the desks or in closets and have to be absolutely silent. They don't even understand why they have to do it :/
Tracy wrote: "Johanne wrote: "That is so terrifying.""Johanne, my 6 and 8 year old daughters have to do safety drills at school where they hide under the desks or in closets and have to be absolutely silent. T..."
Oh man, I feel for you. Here the kids have fire emergency drills, that´s it. And even that is scary for them, when they´re your daughters´ and my youngest son´s age, but a lot easier to explain.
Using Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur for this task. Content Warning for certain topics: rape culture, rape, negative treatment of girls/women(treating them as less than boys, telling them not to speak, telling them to dumb themselves down, etc.), domestic violence/abuse grooming. . . and that's just so far. It addresses others as did her poetry book The Sun and Her Flowers.Two of the poems from Milk & Honey for examples:
this one about DV grooming/negative treatment of girls/teaching them unhealthy lessons at a young age http://i68.tinypic.com/2hh269d.jpg
this one about the toxic views of 'dishonor' obviously counts toward rape culture/domestic violence grooming http://i67.tinypic.com/2ylpi52.jpg
Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Milk and honey (other topics)The Sun and Her Flowers (other topics)
Beartown (other topics)
This Is Where It Ends (other topics)
This Is Where It Ends (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Rupi Kaur (other topics)Franz Kafka (other topics)
Franz Kafka (other topics)
Rhiannon Navin (other topics)
Rhiannon Navin (other topics)
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That's the one I chose too. I work in healthcare, so it intrigued me even before I saw the challenge prompt.