ARC, Books

Book 873: I Love You, Call Me Back – Sabrina Benaim

I’m not a big reading of poetry person. I just never have been, but as I’ve been trying to read more nonfiction and things that aren’t my norm (HA! right), when the publisher reached out it was a great opportunity to say yes.*

I do love spoken word poetry and Benaim has millions of views on hers (like Explaining My Depression to My Mother) and found the two the publicist sent to be incredibly beautiful and moving. I’ll probably spend some more time checking out some of her other spoken word because the delivery is perfection.

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Books

Book 835: Legendborn (Legendborn Cycle #1) – Tracy Deonn

I was on hold at the library for months to get this one! I vaguely remember it being released, but didn’t realize it’s connection to UNC Chapel Hill (my undergrad) until I saw the cover and Deonn in one of the alumni newsletters and then of course immediately had to read it, but was stifled by the long hold times :’-(

I wasn’t only drawn to it because of the UNC connection, but also because of the modern retelling of Arthurian legends. I knew this was going to be a fascinating take on them with a Black protagonist, southern history, secret societies, and the first public university in the country, how couldn’t it be!

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Books

Book 412: Are You My Mother? – Alison Bechdel

After re-reading Fun Home for book group I dove right into the follow-up Are You My Mother? As much as I enjoyed it and ultimately identified with it, it didn’t live up to the magical experience of Fun Home. It’s hard to say whether this lack of magic was a result of the intense navel gazing or the less compelling surface emotional story. To be honest it could be the daughter identifying with mother as this is an experience/story that I will never experience in the same way.

This being said, the story was still eloquently and humorously told! The graphics were just as poignant and detailed as those in the original. I enjoyed the complete color shift from the green-gray to the red, especially when Bechdel revisited scenes from her earlier work and the emphasis changed slightly. The book list in Are You My Mother? wasn’t quite as long as Fun Home but it was still pretty impressive at 38 separate works listed.

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