Top Ten Tuesday #30

Welcome to another Top Ten Tuesday, now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

This week's topic is "Books I'd Slay a Lion to Get Early". My list only has one book, but rest assured, this topic also applies to any and all projects Dan Jones has yet to complete, or begin, or even think of, that will be available in the future.

BUT, it may surprise you to learn that the reason I want this book is not solely due to Dan Jones providing the text. If you have never seen any of the photos that Marina Amaral has colorized, you MUST LOOK RIGHT NOW. She is amazing and I am so excited to see what images she will bring to life next. Her portfolio is breathtaking. Images you may have seen a hundred times before will look new, and it is well worth your time to see what she has done thus far.

I pre-ordered it when it first became available, but I have to wait until October for it to arrive 😭

What books are on your list this week? Leave a comment and a link to your list.

Happy Reading!

Sarah

State of the ARC 4

State of the ARC is a monthly feature hosted by Avalinah's Books. I am so glad I stumbled upon it, because it is really helping me with my 2018 Reading Goals (also find a related Top Ten Tuesday HERE). Links go to Goodreads, unless I have finished the review, in which case it goes to that. All ARCs are from NetGalley or Edelweiss, unless otherwise noted.

(Format equals = title/% complete, pub date)

Pending Approval = One
Top Hoodlum: Frank Costello, Prime Minister of the Mafia, 6-26-18

Not Started = None

Started = Eight

The Price of Greatness (15%), 6-5-18

Queens of the Conquest (24%), 9-26-17

The First Congress (26%), 2-9-16 (Received one month after publication)

We Were Eight Years in Power (64%), 10-3-17

George Washington's Secret Spy War (25%), 9-20-16

Scars of Independence (23%), 5-9-17

Six Months at the White House with Abraham Lincoln (14%), 4-15-16 (Received three days after publication)

First Ladies of the Republic (49%), 3-6-18

DNF = Three

Failure (26%), 7-1-16 (Received three months after publication)

The Witch of Lime Street (28%), 10-6-15 (Received three months after publication)

Dictionary of Gypsy Mythology, 7-10-18

Finished/Review to Come = Eight
Whose Promised Land, 10-15-15 (Received four months after publication)

American Gothic, 10-4-16

The Black Prince, 5-1-18

The Poison Plot, 5-1-18

Those Three Words, 5-15-18

Planet Funny: How Comedy Took Over Our Culture, 5-29-18

Lighting the Fires of Freedom, 6-8-18

Lincoln's Last Trial: The Murder Case That Propelled Him to the Presidency, 6-5-18

Review or Feedback Sent = Four

Little Shoes: The Sensational Depression-Era Murders that Became My Family Secret, 4-3-18

Crux, 7-17-18 (from publisher)

The Library: A Catalogue of Wonders, 4-10-18 (from publisher)

Things That Make White People Uncomfortable, 4-3-18 (received 4-27-18)

I am pleasantly surprised by the progress I have made. Now if I can just get those reviews done and sent off, this will look even better next month!

It is tough-going sometimes, because I am constantly wanting to push the ARCs aside and grab something off my shelf. But I remind myself that once these are done, I can have a break from the ARCs and read what I want, when I want, again!

Happy Reading!
Sarah

Things That Make White People Uncomfortable

I received a free digital ARC via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 4 Stars

I have no other way to really sum up the book than this: every single person who has ever had the audacity to say #AllLivesMatter when that is clearly NOT the case in America needs to read this book. They won't, but they should. Let's clear something up right now: No one ever said #BlackLivesMatter MORE, we are saying #BlackLivesMatter also. So please spare me the #AllLivesMatter bullshit because until black lives do, that simply is not true.

Bennett touches on so many issues that are so hugely important right now and will remain so until we can find a way to come together and fix what is wrong with our country. I teach in a school that is predominantly African-American. I teach specifically in a Special Education class for students diagnosed with emotional disturbances. I have nine students and guess how many are African-American males.

I'll give you a second...

Six. SIX. Six, out of NINE.

And with this being my sixth year teaching in this setting, you can imagine how many little black boys have come through my room (though I must also make note that my students are with me for three years. I was a 4-6 room until our district moved 6th grade into the middle schools and last year I became a 3-5 room.) It absolutely terrifies me for these boys I know and care about so deeply, that someday some might be will be looked at the way Trayvon was, or Philando, or Eric, or Freddie, or any of the countless young men who have been murdered because their skin color was deemed dangerous. 

Bennett makes several good points about several related topics, including the NFL as a whole (and the idea that the league is roughly 70% black, yet the "owners" are 100% white), the n-word, his support not only of #BlackLivesMatter, but women's rights, LGBTQ rights, and so on. He also speaks specifically about Kaep and what a complete clusterfuck it is that he is not allowed to play in the NFL.

The book is written very much in a conversational style, and it would be easy to imagine yourself sitting down with Bennett and having a long chat about a whole host of issues we must resolve if we are going to survive as a nation.

Highly recommended.

Stacking the Shelves 17

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly feature co-hosted by Tynga's Reviews and Reading Reality. It is a chance to showcase all the goodies you've collected throughout the week, whether they're bought on-line or in-store, an ARC or a final copy, borrowed from a friend or the library, physical or digital, etc. Never has my addiction been more obvious than when I am now keeping track of every single book I acquire.

Edelweiss


Kindle Unlimited
 
  

Amazon (via BookBub)
  
  
 

Gift

On Wednesday one of the women in my small group at church brought a copy of this book for everyone. This came at a good time, I often feel like I am repeating myself in prayer and it is something I struggle with a lot. Hopefully this will help!

Divine Truth

  

  

Happy Reading!

Sarah

Book Brag!

WOOOHOOO!

I requested this one ages ago on Edelweiss and did not think I would get approved once the publishing date had come and gone. BUT I finally was approved today! Definitely going to drop everything else I planned to read/write tonight for this one, and I won't even feel one smidge bad about that!

Happy Reading

Sarah

The Beastie Boys Said So, Right? Right.

And sadly, if some of these politicians have their way with the huge funding cuts to these valuable community resources, this might become a reality.

But I will always fight for my right, and everyone else's, to library!

First Line Friday: The Apostle Paul Edition

First Line Friday is brought to you by Hoarding Books.

"The Apostle Paul is one of a handful of people from the ancient world whose words still have the capacity to leap off the page and confront us."

Ain't that the truth!

Paul and I are not always in agreement on issues and I do still struggle with the idea that before he became one of The Guys, he was a persecutor of the very people who he would eventually lead. I mean, yes I know, he was called specifically by Jesus, but he endorsed the murder of Stephen, the first Christian Martyr, holding the coats of the stone-throwers. How does Jesus choose THAT guy? And honestly, I do know and understand, but sometimes that part of me that is very un-Christian when thinking about earthly justice just gets kind of annoyed. But, I have also never claimed to be a very mature Christian in all regards and I am a work in progress.

Plus, I enjoyed what I have read by N.T. Wright so far and this was the last copy on the shelf, so I had to snag it. My pastor believes it will help me look at Paul with fresh eyes.

Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

Happy Reading!

Sarah

The Dream

Would You Rather... #2

A

B

...Have Option A or Option B?

Why?

(Remember, you are choosing ONLY based on how comfy/cozy it would be for reading!)

My Tuesday Night...

My usual Tuesday night when my daughter is at her father's home. My goal is to have the first draft done by August 1st. I fear I won't make it. I started this project in February of 2017. I wrote and wrote and wrote, then discovered more and more sources - especially from the chroniclers of the time. So, now I am adding to what I wrote before, as well as completing chapters that were not yet done before the new sources. Someday, I will be able to do this for a living and it will be glorious.

Happy Reading!

Sarah

Mind Blown

Top Ten Tuesday #29

Welcome to another Top Ten Tuesday, now hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. I am so glad there is any easy one for me to participate in, it has been ages since I have done a TTT.

This week's topic is all about frequently used words in (insert genre/age group) titles. Well, I guess my genre is going to be pretty obvious. With the exception of anything written by Dan Jones, all of these books are still on my to-read list, because my to-read list is over 4,000 books at this point and I just prefer to not think about the fact that I will die before I get to read every book on that list - because let's not even start thinking about all the books that will be published in the future that I will want to read.

 Thoroughly depressed now? Great! Here we go!

Anglo-Saxon

  

Plantagenet

  

Tudor

  

Medieval

  

King/Queen/Prince/Princess

 

 

Rebel
  
Let me know what you think or if you've read any of these. Then leave a link to your TTT.

Happy Reading!
Sarah