Worlds of Ink and Shadow

Worlds of Ink and Shadow by Lena Coakley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Really enjoyed reading this book: It made me believe that many fictional characters are living real lives in alternate realities. Great way to understand the inspirations for the novels of the Bronte sisters. Worlds of Ink and Shadow is a YA book, but as an adult reader, I am frustrated that some of the darker aspects of the Brontes (repressed sexuality, ambition, and rivalry) isn't explored more fully. Hmmm, guess I should pick up a copy of Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre.

4.5 stars - keep thinking about this book

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The Best Kind of People

The Best Kind of People by Zoe Whittall
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Solid, crafted writing from an unusual perspective: the wife, son and daughter of someone accused of sex crimes. The book details their year of living in isolation and suspension.

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Reading List for a Trumpish America

Some context, after the election. Five new books and one oldie, but a goodie. 

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

“Offred is a Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, once the United States of America” (back cover).

Safekeeping by Karen Hesse

“America is on the verge of anarchy. Survival is all that matters now” (front cover).

We Gon’ Be Alright: Notes on Race and Resegregation by Jeff Chang

“Trump, the silver spoon-fed child who, as a second grader, punched his music teacher in the eye, aspired ‘to be the toughest kid in the neighborhood’” (5).

The Return of History: Conflict, Migration, and Geopolitics in the Twenty-First Century by Jennifer Welsh

“The public utterances of almost every populist politician today include the refrain ‘Take back control’” (31).

The Black Presidency: Barack Obama and the Politics of Race in America by Michael Eric Dyson

“The birthers cut straight to the chase and argued that Obama’s birth certificate was phony and that he was not born in America, a claim amplified by billionaire political huckster...Donald Trump” (135).

Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race by Margot Lee Shetterly

“During World War II, America’s fledgling aeronautics industry hired black female mathematicians to fill a labor shortage. These ‘human computers’ stayed on to work to NASA and made sure America won the Space Race. They fought for their country’s future, and for their share of the American dream. This is their untold story” (front cover).