2021 Q4 Quarterly Challenge - Non-White MCs/Race + Science

[Carol]

For our last quarterly challenge of 2021, we are reading books falling into one or both of the following categories:

· Novels featuring non-white main characters, or nonfiction books focused on race or ethnicity;

· Fiction or non-fiction focused on science, including subject matter relating to the environment

We'll use this thread to capture our plans, thoughts and conversations about it. Our challenge starts on 1 October and ends 31 December.

Each participating member can choose to focus on one of our two themes to the exclusion of the other or mix and match, as you choose. The rules and boundaries are up to you. Feel free to set up your own threads to capture your progress, or comment here.

Do you plan to participate? Let us know what you're thinking about reading for these themes. If you have recommendations or the occasional, "recommend avoidations", share those as well.

[Michaela]

I´ll add our group read My Place by Sally Morgan to my challenge. Will add more later, planning to read at least three this quarter.

[Hannah]

My upcoming fiction reads that fit this challenge:
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
Corregidora by Gayl Jones
Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
Alpha. Abidjan to Gare du Nord by Bessora
The Night Watchman by Erdrich, Louise

[Story]

I'm planning to read these:
Science:
The Sleeping Beauties: And Other Stories of Mystery Illness by neurologist Suzanne O'Sullivan
Unthinkable: An Extraordinary Journey Through the World's Strangest Brains by Helen Thomson

Race/Ethnicity
African Europeans: An Untold History by Olivette Otélé
Manikanetish by Naomi Fontaine
and Sea People: The Puzzle of Polynesia, by Christina Thompson which relates to both categories.

[Nadine in California]

I'm sure I'd never have heard of Alpha and Manikanetish if not for this thread, so thank you for that gift!

[Story]

I'm excited about Alpha too!

[Michaela]

Does NF mean non-fiction? Just to know which books to add...

[Monica]

Race/Ethnicity
One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression Is Destroying Our Democracy by Carol Anderson
Midnight Robber by Nalo Hopkinson
We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo
The Shadow King by Maaza Mengiste


Science
Grunt: The Curious Science of Humans at War by Mary Roach

[Carol]

Michaela wrote: "Does NF mean non-fiction? Just to know which books to add..."

Yes - and thanks for your patience.

[Carol]

y'all are the best. I've got some heavy family stuff going on right now and my plate-juggling skillset has not improved over the last decade. Thanks for moving on along, ignoring that man behind the curtain.

Aligned with the first theme:

Transcendent Kingdom is a definite.

Also contemplating:

Perfect Black by Crystal Wilkinson (poetry)
The Tiger Mom's Tale by Lyn Liao Butler
This Bitter Earth by Bernice L. McFadden
What Storm, What Thunder by Myriam J. A. Chancy (release date Oct 5)
Broken Places by Tracy Clark

[Michaela]

Carol wrote: "Michaela wrote: "Does NF mean non-fiction? Just to know which books to add..."

Yes - and thanks for your patience."

Thanks, and no worry! Will there also be a widget?

[Carol]

Michaela wrote: "Carol wrote: "Michaela wrote: "Does NF mean non-fiction? Just to know which books to add..."

Yes - and thanks for your patience."

Thanks, and no worry! Will there also be a widget?"

Yes!

https://www.goodreads.com/challenges/...

[Michaela]

Thanks Carol! :)

I want to read at least three of this list:

My Place by Sally Morgan
Home by Larissa Behrendt
The Grass Dancer by Susan Power
Left Behind by Velma Wallis
Raising Ourselves: A Gwitch'in Coming of Age Story from the Yukon River by Velma Wallis
Corregidora by Gayl Jones
Lakota Woman by Mary Crow Dog

[Alwynne]

I'd like to join in this one. I've now read Gorilla, My Love stories but hope they fit the bill.

Planning to read:

Our Lady of the Nile
Corregidora
Plum Bun: A Novel Without A Moral
Something by Jaqueline Woodson haven't decided which one yet.
In The Ditch:

[Carol]

Alwynne wrote: "I'd like to join in this one. I've now read Gorilla, My Love stories but hope they fit the bill.

Planning to read:

Our Lady of the Nile
Corregidora
[b..."

I'm really curious about Plum Bun, but would have to buy it, so if you read it I'll pay close attention to your rec - not to put any pressure on or anything : )

Pssst. [book:Another Brooklyn|27213163] remains one of my favorite books ever, if you haven't read it already.

[Alwynne]

I haven't, and I have it, so thanks!

[Story]

First book completed for this challenge was a memoir: Pourin' Down Rain: A Black Woman Claims Her Place in the Canadian West. Very enjoyable on a personal level as I discovered that the author grew up in my neighbourhood and that I'd gone to school with one of her cousins. But even beyond that, an interesting exploration of what it was like to grow up Black in an overwhelmingly Caucasian city.

[Michaela]

Sounds interesting, thanks Story!

[Claire]

How interesting Story, to have such a close connection to the setting of Pourin' Down Rain and even the family.

I love those stories that are able to trace back to African origins even when an author does so through fiction (like Maryse Condé) researching their own and writing it into story.

[Story]

Thanks, Claire. I would have been fascinated by her story even without the personal connection, but it certainly added a layer of meaning for me.

Which Maryse Condé would you recommend starting with?

[Claire]

I'd recommend starting with her nonfiction title Tales from the Heart: True Stories from My Childhood a wonderful book that provides the basis for reading her fiction. When she was longlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2015 (back when it was for a lifetime's work) all the authors were asked that question of where a reader should start if they wanted to read their work and this is where she recommends starting. For me she was the most interesting author on the longlist and I've been slowly reading through her novels ever since.

She wrote another family oriented book called Victoire: My Mother's Mother which her publisher insisted must be declared a novel, it's not, it's her research about her grandmother she never knew, in order to better understand her mother (interesting it reminds me a little of Sally's mother Gladys and Nan in My Place). Sometimes she imagined her grandmother in the room asking her questions and shares those conversations. From my perspective, I think those experiences are real, certainly they feature in a lot of Caribbean women's literature, which I love.

[Story]

Thank you, Claire. I will start with Tales as you suggest.

[Carol]

Story - I don't want to slow you down if you want to pursue Tales shortly, but I'd be up for buddy reading Tales just after the holidays (in January). I suspect others would join in, too. My guess is we'd all have to obtain a copy somewhere, e.g., library access might be limited. If that appeals to you...

[Story]

That sounds (tentatively*) good, Carol. My library does have a copy so I can reserve it now and then pause the hold till Dec 30th or so, so that it would arrive in early Jan.2022. Does that work for you?

* I say tentatively as there's a possibility I might have a large project happening around then. But as of right now it sounds good.

[Carol]

Story wrote: "That sounds (tentatively*) good, Carol. My library does have a copy so I can reserve it now and then pause the hold till Dec 30th or so, so that it would arrive in early Jan.2022. Does that work fo..."

That would rock! I’ll get my copy and have it join its many companions on my bedside table for a short while.

[Story]

Done!

Anyone else care to join Carol and I?

[Michaela]

I´ll think about it, as my library has several of her works, but only novels, not this one.

[Misty]

New to this group and still figuring it all out, but I'm jumping in. :) I'm not exactly sure what all I will read yet, but I have already read The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna. It is a West African inspired YA fantasy novel that is really fantastic. I highly recommend it (although there is a some harsh violence against women, so it won't be right for everyone). I am currently reading The Beauty of Your Face by Sahar Mustafah. I'm maybe 1/3 through, but so far it is also really fantastic. It's heavy - not a light read at all (subject matter - not writing style), but it is a very good book. So far, I definitely recommend it as well. Again - some violence, so some may want to steer clear.

I'm not sure what else I'll be reading. I'm finishing up another year long book challenge as well.

[Carol]

Carol wrote: "y'all are the best. I've got some heavy family stuff going on right now and my plate-juggling skillset has not improved over the last decade. Thanks for moving on along, ignoring that man behind th..."

I've had to shake up my plans after trying 2 of my books and putting them aside. My revised plan is this:

Aligned with the first theme:

Transcendent Kingdom is a definite.

Also contemplating:

Adding: Skye Falling by Mia McKenzie
Perfect Black by Crystal Wilkinson (poetry)
The Tiger Mom's Tale by Lyn Liao Butler (around page 50 - not what I expected, but still moving forward for now)
The Jigsaw Man by Nadine Matheson
What Storm, What Thunder by Myriam J. A. Chancy (release date Oct 5)(my hold remains pending since my library STILL doesn't have it in inventory *grumble* *grumble)
Broken Places by Tracy Clark

[Michaela]

I finished my challenge, though I only read two of my list, both with the group: Corregidora and My Place. The third was a Netgalley read, In Every Mirror She's Black which was a bit of a disappointment to me.
Hope to read the one or other from my list additionally.

[Alwynne]

That's great Michaela, if you combine fiction/non-fiction then I've managed this one too, with Gorilla, My Love, Aftermath, Our Lady of the Nile, and Corregidora.

Also adding:

Violets, How We Fall Apart, A Single Shard and Woman Running in the Mountains

[Liesl]

Alwynne, those are some really great books. "Aftermath" in particular sounds really fascinating. My TBR list just grew.

[Alwynne]

Thanks Liesl, I thought Aftermath was fascinating, a really original approach and very powerful.

[Carol]

This has been an unexpectedly unsuccessful challenge for me. I started 5 qualifying books, two of which I was most excited about, and abandoned all but one. It's still very much possible that I will finish 2 books - The Jigsaw Man and Conjure Women - but looking at my reading realistically, I think they'll slip into January, and I'm okay with that.

I likely wouldn't have pushed to try all of the books I tried if not for this challenge, and that's a win in my book when it comes to non-white authors. Just moving them up the TBR and giving them precedence over white authors is a behavior I like to see in myself.

If anyone's looking to fit in just one more book that qualifies, I recommend the super-short and super-strong Assembly, one of my 2021 faves.

[Story]

Story wrote: "First book completed for this challenge was a memoir: Pourin' Down Rain: A Black Woman Claims Her Place in the Canadian West. Very enjoyable on a personal level as I discovered that..."

I've completed three science-themed books for the challenge, two on neurology:
The Sleeping Beauties and It's All in Your Head, both by Suzanne O'Sullivan
and one about the future of AI by Jeanette Winterson: 12 Bytes: How We Got Here. Where We Might Go Next.

As well, I read two more novels featuring non-white main characters, with a focus on ethnicity:
Ghost Forest by Pik-Shuen Fung
Sunlight on a Broken Column by Attia Hosain

So, that makes for a total of 6 books completed, which is one more than I'd hoped for :)

[Carol]

Story wrote: "Story wrote: "First book completed for this challenge was a memoir: Pourin' Down Rain: A Black Woman Claims Her Place in the Canadian West. Very enjoyable on a personal level as I d..."

What wonderful sounding choices. Yay!

[Michaela]

Lucky that we read some race and science orientated books by PoC these months, so I could have added more to my list. :)

[Story]

Carol wrote: "What wonderful sounding choices. Yay!"

Thanks to you for creating the challenge and helping me focus on which books to choose :) I so appreciate the work you and Anita do for us.

[Carol]

Story wrote: "Carol wrote: "What wonderful sounding choices. Yay!"

Thanks to you for creating the challenge and helping me focus on which books to choose :) I so appreciate the work you and Anita do for us."

Ha! I'm a pro at planning, Story. Follow through is my personal challenge; I leave it all at the altar of work and you see how that plays out here. : )

I just learned of a non-fiction book that almost surely will be a 2022 read, but wanted to flag it here in case anyone else is interested in it or has read it and is up for sharing their assessment:

The Rage of Innocence: How America Criminalizes Black Youth by Kristin Henning.



I had to do a little digging to find Henning's bio and background. Here's a link to her author page at the Penguin Random House site.

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/au...