Thursday, April 30, 2020

The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson

The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Stor… In The Warmth of Other Suns Isabel Wilkerson tells the story of the mass migration of millions of Black people who felt compelled to flee the south, settling in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and other cities in the northern and western states of the U.S. The story is both heartbreaking and inspiring. Heartbreaking because people were effectively forced to leave. Slavery may have technically been over but Jim Crow was alive and kicking. Heartbreaking because racism thrived in the west and north as well; it just wore different clothes. But it was also inspiring because this is story of people of were determined to survive and thrive. It is the story of people who took control of their destinies despite forces that tried to grind them down.

"All told, perhaps the most significant measure of the Great Migration was the act of leaving itself, regardless of the individual outcome. Despite the private disappointments and triumphs of any individual migrant, the Migration, in some ways, was its own point. The achievement was in making the decision to be free and acting on that decision, wherever that journey led them." (page 535)

Like many people educated in the United States, I have read and seen immigration and migration stories about people arriving at Ellis Island, navigating new cities in a new country, and moving from one area of the country to another in response to a drought or some other type of natural disaster. I love those stories but always felt that something, or rather someone, was missing. Actually, lots of someones were missing. Reading this book I feel like a piece of my personal history has been filled in. Beyond the personal, The Warmth of Other Suns sheds a little light on how certain cities changed and took shape over the last century.

The Warmth of Other Suns isn't just a history book of facts and figures. Wilkerson vividly brings history to life by focusing on three people:
  • Ida Mae Brandon Gladney and her family left Mississippi and settled in Chicago after a family member was falsely accused of stealing a White man's turkeys and beaten within an inch of his life. 
  • George Swanson Starling wanted to go to college but ended up picking citrus fruit in Florida. Faced with the threat of being lynched after asking for a fair wage for his work, George fled to New York.
  • Robert Joseph Pershing Foster was a surgeon who served in the military and was still treated like a second class citizen. He wasn't even allowed to rent a hotel room at most places. Born in Louisiana he eventually made his way to Los Angeles. 
By telling Ida Mae's, George's and Robert's stories, Wilkerson makes history personal. It serves as a reminder of what our parents, grandparents, and great grandparents have achieved and survived. They had dreams for themselves and their children and sought to make them a reality

The Warmth of Other Suns lives up to its subtitle; it is truly an epic story well told.

Wednesday, April 29, 2020

Wolf's Bane by Kelley Armstrong

How I have missed the Otherworld series! I'm so glad Kelley Armstrong decided to carry on the series, if only for a little longer.

Wolf's BaneWolf's Bane is the first book of duology focusing on the next generation of supernaturals, specifically Kate and Logan, the children of werewolf alpha Elena and her husband Clayton Danvers. Now teenagers, Kate and Logan are sent off to supernatural summer camp. In theory a supernatural camp is a great idea. Traditionally the supernatural races of werewolves, vampires, witches, sorcerers, demons, necromancers, and others have stayed far apart from one another. In fact, for a long time some didn't know the others existed. In theory camp gives the kids a chance to meet and make friends with other supernaturals and not hide who they are the way they have to do with regular humans. Even if they don't become bosom buddies it would give them a chance to build bonds and open the lines of communication between the races.

But this is the Otherworld so of course nothing goes as planned. Something or someone is amping up everyone's emotions, especially their rage. Instead of making friends and building bonds everyone either wants to make out or fight. In the middle of all this there is sibling drama. For most of their lives Kate and Logan have been super close and not they find themselves drifting apart. Both of the twins missed the bond they used to share and neither is quite sure what to do about it. Still they love each other and have each other's back even as they struggle to articulate words to explain what they're feeling. In addition to their sibling issues, the twins and other teens deal with regular teenage problems like dealing with the pressure to have sex, figuring out one's sexuality and dealing with a culture that may have a problem with one's sexuality, mean girls, and bullying. It's a delicious mix of mystery, the supernatural, family drama, and teen drama.

I loved this. I really hope Armstrong writes more books in the series about Kate, Logan, and other kids in the Otherworld series.

Sunday, April 26, 2020

April 2020 Dewey's Read-a-Thon - Final Hours and Roundup


The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Stor…Wolf's Bane

Ah, the final stretch. 

9 -11 p.m. /Hours 17-19 Read 50 pages of The Warmth of Other Suns (see previous post). Ate dinner. Watched a little TV. Started a new book, Wolf's Bane by Kelly Armstrong.

12 a.m. /Hour 20 Five hours to go and I am tired. For now, I'm hanging in there but my bed is definitely calling.

2 a.m./ Hour 22 Time to call it quits. I've been up for 22 hours reading, walking, doing yoga, and more. This is the longest I've ever lasted in a read-a-thon.

In the end I read 2 full books (The Bookshop and Fables Vol. 18 Cubs in Toyland) and made progress in two others (The Warmth of Other Suns and Wolf's Bane). I'm pretty happy about read-a-thon experience. It was fun and I read a lot.




Saturday, April 25, 2020

Dewey's 24-Hour Read-a-Thon - April 25, 2020, Hours 9 to 16

First third of read-a-thon is in the rear view. Now's in the middle and I'm still going!

Fables, Vol. 18: Cubs in Toyland1 - 3 p.m. /Hours 9 to 11The afternoon is going pretty well. I baked chocolate chip banana bread and started my second book of the day, Fables Vol. 18 Cubs in Toyland. I came across the Fables series a few years ago and have been steadily working my way through. There are 22 books in the main series, not including the spinoff series. This year I plan to finish the main series. Who knows? Maybe I'll even finish it today

4 p.m. /Hour 12 Finished Fables Vol. 18 Cubs in Toyland!


5 to 7 p.m. /Hours 13 to 15 In theory a 24-hour read-a-thon means reading all day, but truthfully I never actually do that. As much as I love reading I need breaks. Also I strive to make healthy choices as much as possible. I'm not always successful but I try. This morning I took a short walk. In the afternoon I want for another walk and did an hour yoga in my living room

8 p.m. /Hour 16 And now I'm back to reading. This time it's The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson. I started it early April. At over 500 pages is is taking a while to read. I won't finish it tonight but I hope to read another chapter or two.

The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald

The Bookshop  Mrs. Florence Green has a simple dream - to open a bookshop in a small seaside town that has none. She purchases an old, abandoned building and seems to be on her way. Unfortunately Mrs. Gamart, a well-to-do powerful woman wanted to turn that same abandoned building and turn it into an arts culture center. Mrs. Gamart is determined to have her own way and drive Mrs. Green out.

The Bookshop is a sad, sweet novella. It celebrates books and trying new things, especially in middle age, while at the same time reminding readers that trying hard and kindness doesn't always mean everything will work out the way one hopes. There is a passage where Mrs. Green remarks that with hard work surely she will succeed. Another character responds that working and trying hard does not always lead to success. Unfortunately the second character's insight is proven to be true for Mrs. Green.

I found it interesting that books are seemingly excluded from "arts" or "culture." Perhaps that is because Mrs. Green is not judgmental toward books or her patrons. She sells books she thinks are good stories, books that people want.

The ending is rather sad, which many might find to be turn off. I did wish for a happier ending but the ending was not inappropriate and for that reason I'll accept it. This book was made into a movie starring Emily Mortimer, Bill Nighy, and Patricia Clarkson. While the ending in the movie is equally sad there is a slight twist that I welcomed. I would recommend both the book and movie.

Dewey's 24-Hour Read-a-Thon - April 25, 2020 - Hours 1 to 8

It's that time of year again, time for the Dewey's 24-Hour Read-a-Thon! This year I am going to attempt tracking my progress for as many hours as I can.

The Bookshop5 a.m./Hour 1 For the first time ever I started more or less on time. I live on the west coast of the United States an the start time is 5 a.m. As a general matter I find there is almost never a good reason to be up this early but this time I decided to go for it! My first book of the day is The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald. At 156 pages it ensures that I will finish at least one full book today.

6 a.m./Hour 2 Still reading The Bookshop.

7 a.m./Hour 3 First break of the day. The previous two hours were spent reading in bed, something I almost never do. Decided it was time to get up and move about so went for a short walk and made a spinach and spam (I'm trying something new) omelet for breakfast.

8 a.m./Hour 4 Started this blog post and then back to The Bookshop.

9 - 11 a.m./Hours 5 - 7 Continued reading but then took a little nap. The problem with getting up extra early and this inevitably I end up needing a nap.

12 noon/Hour 8 Finished The Bookshop and made a batch of banana chocolate chip bread. It's the first time I've made this, hope it turns out well.