Reading Joyce for "Fun"

I had a dentist appointment a few weeks ago, and the doctor saw me a full 45 minutes late. I had rushed out of a meeting to get to the appointment on time, and forgotten my phone, and realized I left my wallet at home, so had 45 minutes of time to sit and steam a bit. But actually, I didn't steam. Because even though I'd forgotten essentials like phone and wallet, I'd managed to grab my current book, Dubliners. So I had 45 uninterrupted, unreachable moments to sit and read Joyce's short stories. What a gift.

When the doctor did finally come in, she apologized briefly for "running a bit behind," and struck up the requisite small talk when one has a book in her lap: Oh, what are you reading?

Dubliners.

Are you a student?

No.

Why would anyone read Joyce if it wasn't for school?

#SJBookClub: Retirement Edition

I started the Social Justice Book Club in 2016 after a semi-joking Twitter conversation with fellow non-fiction lovers Shaina and Shannon turned into a chorus of "I'd join that!" type tweets. We read our first book--Just Mercy, by Bryan Stevenson--in April of that same year, and things took off from there.

After the election in 2016 and inauguration in 2017, there was an even greater clamor to read more, to understand more, to empathize more with the issues at play on both the domestic and international political scenes, especially as those issues related to matters of social, racial, and economic justice. The club grew. We moved to Slack. The ever-incredible Janani joined me as a co-host in 2017. We developed a massive list of potential books to read some day.

But now, roughly two years after it started, it's time to close this chapter. As I wrote recently, 2018 is all about re-allocating my time and energy. And as much as I've loved #SJBookClub (and I think Janani would echo me here), I just haven't had the time or energy to do it justice of late. So it's time to say goodbye.

The archive of the books we've read will continue to live here, and I certainly don't expect to stop reading--or writing about--books centered on themes of social justice any time in the future. I hope you won't either, and I hope you'll continue to share your book recommendations and thoughts moving forward. If there's interest, we can try to share the list of potential books we worked up at some point in the coming weeks.

I can be reached at ofabookworm AT gmail DOT com, on Instagram or Twitter @kerrymchugh, on Litsy @kerry, or here on this blog. (I'm admittedly not particularly active on Twitter of late, and generally bad at answering emails. But I'm trying.)

Social Justice Book Club: Enrique's Journey, by Sonia Nazario

Another month gone, another Social Justice Book Club book under our belts. In March, the group read Enrique's Journey: The Story of a Boy's Dangerous Odyssey to Reunite With His Mother, by Sonia Nazario. The book, originally published in 2006, was revised and updated in 2014 to reflect the ever-changing story of immigration in the United States from Central America. The story began as a series in the Los Angeles Times (for which Nazario received a Pulitzer Prize for feature writing), and offers an in-depth account of one boy's journey from Honduras to reunite with his mother in the United States, often atop dangerous freight trains surging through Mexico.

Social Justice Book Club: February Wrap-Up and March Announcements

The Social Justice Book Club read The Autobiography of Malcolm X in February; did you join in? I, for one, was not able to read along--I had an unexpected delay getting my hands on the book, and a death in the family railroaded my reading (and general life) plans for February. And so my "wrap up" of the month here is sorely lacking, but if you read along, I still want to hear what you thought!

Janani is having some computer difficulties, but will have a proper wrap-up post for the February book up within the next few days.

Week in Reading: February 6, 2017

It's been an unsurprisingly light week in the reading world over here. Work's work, but my spare time has been spent almost exclusively visiting a sick family member and running myself into the ground--not necessarily in that order. Luckily, getting to these visits means plenty of time for audiobooks, and my long run this weekend--my longest to date!--went well and didn't kill me. So, small things. Focus on the small things.

Social Justice Book Club, January 2016: Hope in the Dark Sign-ups & Information

It's that time again! We're excited to be closing in on the start of the January 2016 Social Justice Book Club group read of Hope in the Dark, by Rebecca Solnit.

Social Justice Book Club: Men We Reaped -- Midway Discussion

So we're halfway through Men We Reaped, and (as suspected) this is some powerfully heavy reading. But important, intriguing, and so far exceptionally compelling--I read this section in just about one sitting (and only partially because I was so far behind in my own schedule...). I'm particularly interested in Ward's decision to move forward and backwards in time, depending on the subject of each chapter, and I'm eagerly anticipating the moment when these two timelines intersect (which, based on her introduction to the book, I expect to coincide with her account of her brother's death). Some things to consider in discussing this book at the halfway-ish point:

Social Justice Book Club: The Men We Reaped Sign-up & Schedule

We're gearing up for the October edition of the Social Justice Book Club. Based on participant input, we'll be reading Men We Reaped: A Memoir by Jesmyn Ward this month. In order to help keep us all on the same page (somewhat literally), I've outlined an (entirely optional) schedule for the month's reading below. I bumped start/end dates to Mondays instead of Saturdays, as I for one try to spend less time at my computer on the weekends than I do during weekdays. But feel free to post whenever works for you!

Social Justice Book Club: The New Jim Crow Intro & Kick-Off

Friends! This post is a day late, for which I am eternally sorry; I was planning to finalize some things and get this up yesterday morning, and then we lost internet in a big storm on the islands on Saturday, and here we are. Anyway, I'm home now, and so so excited to be diving into Michelle Alexander's powerful book with so many of you.

To get started, let us know in the comments below or in your own blog or social media post:

Social Justice Book Club: The New Jim Crow Schedule & Plans

After hearing from several participants about ideas for fostering more discussion for the Social Justice Book Club group reads, I've decided to go ahead and make a few changes for the August club read. As always, think of these as optional upgrades; life happens, things come up, and I know strict readalong schedules and posting requirements can quickly become a burden. But, in hopes of finding more ways to connect with other readers in the club, here we go...

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The New Jim Crow Reading Schedule

August 1st: Start date 

(Optional intro post/check-in 8/1; I'll share discussion questions here a few days in advance)

August 1st-15th: Chapters 1-3

(Optional mid-way post/check-in 8/15; I'll share discussion questions here a few days in advance)

August 16th-31st: Chapters 4-6

August 31st: The End! Link up reviews, final thoughts, etc. etc. etc.

(Stay tuned, too, for a hoped-for Q&A post with author Michelle Alexander)

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The New Jim Crow Introductory Discussion Questions

At the start, middle and end of this month's reading, I'll post discussion prompts on this blog that participants can respond to in a blog post, tweets, on Instagram or Litsy photos, or any other number of platforms you can imagine that I haven't even thought of yet. For those who like to plan out blog posts and whatnot in advance, I'll post discussion questions a few days before the end of each section.

If you're not much for blog posts and social media sharing, commenting is great too--and Disqus, the platform I use for comments here, can and will notify you of follow-up comments, so it can be a great space for discussions.

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Social Justice Book Club Twitter Chat

There's been a lot of interest in a scheduled Twitter chat as an additional component of this shared reading event. If we were to host a Twitter chat, would any of the following times work for all?

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What do ya'll think? Will this work, logistically? I'm always open to ideas and suggestions, so feel free to chime in in the comments or shoot me an email at ofabookworm AT gmail DOT com if you've got ideas to make this all work better! 

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And it's not too late to sign up!

Social Justice Book Club: August Book will be The New Jim Crow

It is with heavy heart that I write this post after hearing of not one but two police shootings of black men this week alone. It's heartbreaking. It's absurd. It's important. I had a lot of books floating around in my head for our possible August read, but I've decided to go with The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, by Michelle Alexander. It seems (unfortunately) timely for our next pick, and though I know several past club participants have read it already, I'm hopeful it will still foster some discussion among those reading it for the first time and those revisiting the subject with the group.

Social Justice Book Club: The Long Shadow of Small Ghosts Link Up

It's the end of June (already?) which means we're wrapping up the second installment of the Social Justice Book Club. This month we read The Long Shadow of Small Ghosts, and hoooo boy, was it a book. An excellent one, but a heavy one, as author Laura Tillman explores the horrific murder of three young children by their parents and the long-lasting impact the crime has had on the community surrounding them.

Social Justice Book Club: Q&A with Author Laura Tillman

The Social Justice Book Club is a bi-monthly online reading group that reads books focused on social justice issues. For the month of June, we selected The Long Shadow of Small Ghosts: Murder and Memory in an American City, by journalist Laura Tillman. Below, Tillman talks about the book, what it was like to write it, and recommends some other social justice books. Thanks to all who contributed questions this round!

(And don't forget to link up to any discussion or review of the book in the June Social Justice Book Club Link Up post over here.)

In the introduction, you write about the fact that because the victims of this crime were children, and because an explanation was never reached, those impacted found themselves questioning everything they knew about their community. Do you think that is the case with all crimes against children? All crimes that cannot be, somehow, rationally explained?

That's a good question, and one that's hard for me to answer. I would imagine there is some element of disillusionment and confusion whenever a crime against children occurs - it's hard to wrap your mind around how someone could victimize a child, who is innocent and totally vulnerable. I do think that there is a difference, however, in the way a community reckons with distinct events. In the case of Brownsville, many crimes had happened, many involving children. And yet, not all left the same impression as this one. I think the building is partly responsible for the way people continued to mull this crime over, and, in so doing, how it squared with their perceptions of justice and morality.

Week in Reading: May 16th

Greetings from the lovely Minnesota, all! I'm writing this curled up on the couch in a log cabin in the woods somewhere outside of Minneapolis after a weekend of wedding celebrations and family and new friends. This trip was preceded by a whirlwind expedition to Book Expo America in Chicago--which was incredible--and my head and heart are full of books and travel and wonderful people.

I'll have several posts in the next few weeks coming up about Book Expo and the books discovered there. In the meantime, to clear up space for all the shiny new galleys on my radar following the show, I'm working on catching up on deadlines and book club books and other assignments:

Social Justice Book Club: June Book Pick

We're not quite finished the first round of the Social Justice Book Club, true, but I'm comfortable enough calling it a success to go ahead and pick the book for round 2: The Long Shadow of Small Ghosts, by Laura Tillman. (Thanks to Julianne for the recommendation!)

Because so many have other reading commitments, and I know some readers weren't able to join us this time around because of delays in getting a copy of Just Mercy, #SJBC will become an every-other-month reading event. So we won't be diving into The Long Shadow of Small Ghosts until June (but I wanted to get the book announced ASAP so folks (like me!) had time to get their hands on a copy).

The more the merrier--link up below if you're interested in joining! No pressure--the link-up just helps me (and others!) keep track of who's participating so we know where to go to discuss.

And stay tuned next week for a wrap-up of this first edition of the Social Justice Book Club, and a call for your input in shaping how we move forward!

Social Justice Book Club Discussion: Just Mercy, by Bryan Stevenson

A while back, Shannon mentioned something on Twitter about starting a Social Justice Book Club, as she, Shaina and I all tend to migrate towards non-fiction on social justice topics:

Pretty sure I need to form a social justice nonfiction book club with @shainareads and @kerryamchugh. #BBAW

— Shannon (@rivercityreadng) February 17, 2016

Great Book Club Books to Read Instead (or After!) of Defending Jacob

I wrote last week about how much I disliked Defending Jacob -- for a variety of reasons, none of which we need to re-hash here. But I fully admit that, despite its weaknesses, it made for an excellent book club discussion at my book club's meeting last month. With that in mind, here are a few suggestions that I'd offer up to book clubs interested in something similar:

Defending Jacob: Maybe Great for Book Club Discussion, but Not for Me

It's not often I write negatively about a book I've read -- mostly because I rarely make it more than 50 pages into a book that isn't working for me. Life's too short to read bad books.

But book club reading falls somewhere in a grey zone here: after all, I joined a book club to expand my reading horizons. And I generally don't think it's fair to hate on a book in discussion if I haven't finished it.

Which is basically the only reason I got to the end of Defending Jacob, the legal thriller from William Landay that topped more book club recommendation lists than I can count. At a high level, the novel is about a prosecutor whose 13-year-old son is accused of murdering a classmate. It asks big questions about parenting and the law: How far would you be willing to go to defend your child against an accusation of murder? How well do parents--or how well can parents--know their own children? What weighs more in the creation of a character: nature or nurture? How imperfect is the United States legal system?

Week in Reading: January 11

How's January going, guys? Who's still keeping up with their resolutions? Who didn't even bother making any to begin with?

January here has been weird: it swung from 55 degrees to 18 degrees back to 55 degrees in about a week, and it's taking a toll on these ol' sinuses. As such, I haven't gotten quite as much reading in as I'd have liked (sinus headaches are the worrrst), but it was still a pretty great reading week. I'm loving The Blind Assassin, which I'm reading for a Mini Long-Distance Book Club discussion with a friend, and Hamilton is off to an absolute baller of a start. I'm also still puttering through my re-read of Rules of Civility on audio.

Week in Reading: August 17

I didn't read anything this weekend, but that's ok, because I ran eight miles (and filled my water bottle from a mountain spring mid-run, which made the two-mile up-hill trek worth every step) and celebrated my SIL's surprise engagement with an impromptu road trip to visit family. While I'm ok with not reading for a few days (life events trump reading sometimes, though I'll admit it's a rarity), the break means my stack for this week is even more ambitious than it normally is:

I've got book club meetings tomorrow night (The Nightingale, which I actually finished on Friday--a fast-paced World War II read that I enjoyed, though there are other WWII historical fiction books I liked far more) and Wednesday night (Narcoland, for a Curious Iguana series on Latin American voices). I'm also eying some September releases: Not on Fire But Burning, which I know very little about, but it sounds somewhat post-apocalyptic--plus, that title!; and Big Magic, the new book on living your best creative life, out next month from Elizabeth Gilbert of Eat, Pray, Love fame (I've never read the latter, but am excited to try out the former).

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What do you have on your stacks this week?