Tag: diverse reads

Bookish

July ReadAThon | FuckAThon!

India

I am trying to participate in another readathon this month. So far… I’m behind. What’s new with that though. This month I’m participating in the Fuck-A-Thon that is hosted by Noria at Noria Reads on Youtube. The Reading Challenge has prompts that basically are there to challenge the social norms. We have all month to read these books, so I need to get on that. There is also a group book as well! I have put my TBR down below and also attached Noria’s original video. I’m thinking about vlogging for this challenge, but considering I’m already behind that might be a lot haha. What do you think of this new reading challenge?! Let me know down in the comments or on my video! Until next time,

Keep turning the Pages

India

 

Noria’s Original Video | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lypysK_Rlw

FuckAThon Prompts:
Fuck Racism: Read a book that explores race relations
Fuck the Patriarchy: Read a book that challenges patriarchal norms and behaviour
Fuck Ageism: Read a book that centers a well-rounded older character
Fuck Heternormativity: Read a book that is queer af!
Fuck Realism: Read a fantasy book
Fuck Pollution: Read literature that talks about pollution or climate change
Fuck Abuse: Read a book that focuses on any form of abuse
Fuck Classism: Read a book that explores class stratification and the role it plays in a character’s life
Fuck Ableism: Read a book with a main character that has a disability.
Read the Group Book: Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde
*The Liveshow is on July 27th at 8PM

 

Book Reviews

The Poet X, Elizabeth Acevedo

India
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
The Poet X by Elixabeth Acevedo
Xiomara came into this world fighting and she’s going to keep fighting through out it. She’s learned now when to use her fists and when not to, but she’s starting to learn how to use her words. X has always had a lot to say, but often would never say it. She had to please her mother and the Catholic church, she had to look out for her twin, and she had to be a best friend. X wanted to experience more and be more, but with her mom believing that God would send her to the depths of hell with just a word to a boy she couldn’t do much. Her twin gave her a leather bound notebook for one of her birthdays and X has always written her thoughts and feelings in it, including some poems. When she meets her english teacher for the year and she suggests that X joins the Poetry Club, X isn’t quite convinced and plus it’s another thing that she has to hide from her mom. What if this is what Xiomara needs to spread her wings and speak her truth. Maybe this is where she can find and use her voice.
This book was really good. To me it wasn’t great, but I also think that it was because I couldn’t relate to a large part of the book and it took me awhile to get into it. I started off by listening to it on Audible, but I felt like I was missing some formatting of the book. Then I decided to read it on my Kindle, it was then that I understood that everything was written as a poem.  It all clicked! I definitely felt like the book could be relatable to the Latinx and Catholic communities and brought some amazing points on family dynamics. I guess the reason this book wasn’t great to me was because I was also looking for resolve with Xiomara’s brother, Xavier. I loved what happened between Xiomara and her mom. I’ve been lucky because I’ve always felt like my mom is my best friend, and I don’t mean that in a way that she gives me everything I want, but she has always been supportive of me and I can spend all day with her. I loved talking about what it’s like to go from a body of a girl to a body of a woman and how the rest of the world starts to perceive you. Some good topics were brought up and I loved how they were expressed in poems, but I just didn’t feel completely fulfilled at the end. I would still recommend this book though. Have you read The Poet X? What did you think? Until next time,
Keep turning the Pages
India
Book Reviews

Let’s Talk About Love, Claire Kann

India
Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann
Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann is definitely a book that the world needs. Is it my favorite book probably not, but definitely a book the world needs and young ones in high school and in college need. Let’s Talk About Love is about a 19 year-old black woman who has partially come to terms with her sexuality or lack of sexuality. Alice considers herself to be biromantic and asexual. Only a few people in her life know those terms when it comes to her and that makes her hold a lot of emotions in. Of course you would never know it because she is still an expressive person. With her experiences in relationships she has found that people don’t understand what she needs and what she wants and that they don’t see her. She was even nicknamed “The Corpse” because sex doesn’t mean anything to her. It doesn’t give her a thrill, but romance does. This book follows Alice as she suffers through one breakup, but finds support and comfort in her long time friends and a new man who has come into her life that is breaking her Cutie Code and turning her ideas upside down on if she can have a stable relationship or not. Alice has a lot to work through and a lot to come to terms with herself and she takes the strides to do it.
I enjoyed Let’s Talk About Love, but I’m not going to say that I loved it. I believe that it is a book that some people in the LGBTQ+ community might need in their lives. I think it dives into a realm of the LGBTQ community that is not often talked about and is often overlooked. For me it was a side I often wondered about, but never had anyone to ask, so I’m glad that this book discusses what it means to be asexual. I enjoyed the friendship dynamic because sometimes it is hard to be the third wheel of someone in a relations, but I think that it was awesome for them to talk about and discuss what was going on, and to be able to remain friends. I do believe that it is rare to stay friends with your high school friends through college, but that it can happen. That’s why I also thought that that was something good to be discussed in this book because friendships matter. Not just romantic endeavors. I talk some more about it in my review on my Booktube channel, which you can find here and down below. Let me know what you think about Let’s Talk About Love in the comments! Until next time
Keep turning the Pages
India
Book Reviews

From Twinkle with Love, Sandhya Menon

India

— Short Story —

Twinkle Mehra has wanted to be a filmmaker since she was a little girl. She is constantly writing in her journal to famous female filmmakers in hopes of channeling their creative energy and overall bad assery as a women in film. At her school there is an annual showcase where students can create something and present it to their  fellow students at the end of the year. When a classmate of hers, Sahil Roy, and asks her if she would like to make a film for the showcase of course she says yes. Through out her entire time in high school she has always been one of the unseen people and she thinks by doing this she can become seen through out school. Maybe she can even be noticed by Sahil’s twin brother, Neil, who is the most popular boy in school. During her time working on the film she starts to make actual friends, and also starts to receive secret admirer emails from someone with the initial, N. She is certain that it’s Neil Roy who has decided to finally talk to her, and gets herself in a love triangle of sorts. The questions becomes, is being a director of her own film, too much for Twinkle to deal with?

— My Thoughts —

I liked the book. I didn’t love it. Some of the things that Twinkle goes through and says, is honestly downright silly and mean. She becomes so self centered with herself that she does not notice the people directly in front of her, and because of that she ruins a lot of relationships that she is just forming. I would say that it’s how any high school girl acts when she is trying to find herself, but that would not be true. All in all it’s not my favorite. I felt like if you changed the names of the characters you wouldn’t even be able to tell that there are brown people in the book. It could be From Rebecca with Love and it would still feel the same, and I think that’s one reason I really don’t like it.  I break down my thoughts a little bit more in my video. What did you think of From Twinkle with Love? Until next time,
Keep turning the Pages
India
Bookish, Coffee Break

Is booktube and book blogging stressful?!

India

There has been a lot of videos going around about people being stressed doing something that they love. Does that really mean that you should be doing it?? There is never a reason to be stressed doing something that makes you happy. Take the time out to rest and enjoy your family and try and see what is making it stressful, can you avoid it and continue to be happy? Here are my thoughts, and I want to hear yours!! Until next time,

Keep Turning the Pages

India