State of the ARC #25

State of the ARC is a monthly feature hosted by Evelina at Avalinah's Books. I am temporarily hosting until she is able to get back into it. So, until then, thanks for joining me here! If you are new to the meme, you can check out the guidelines HERE.

Links go to my review. The majority of the ARCs I receive are through NetGalley. Some have come from publicists, or were offered to me from a publisher who specifically approved me for it on NetGalley; I will always note in the review how I acquired the ARC.

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***ARCs totally fell by the wayside this month in the wake of George Floyd's murder in Minneapolis at the end of May. Much of my attention since then has been on gathering all the books I have read in recent years by Black and African-American authors who have written extensively about racism in America. I have been compiling a #BlackLivesMatter Reading List and have continued to add to it, in a variety of genres. I have also been reading Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla F. Saad and started a book discussion that will follow all 28 days worth of prompts. Please join the conversation as we fight to dismantle systemic racism so we can move forward together.

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Reading Now

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Publisher Gift

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Did Not Finish

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Finished, Review to Come

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Review or Feedback Sent

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When I first started blogging my monthly State of the ARC I felt like I was drowning in ARCs. My main goal was to get my NetGalley feedback ratio above 80% and thanks to this meme, I slowly but surely clawed my way up. At my highest I was at 97%. I am currently at 84% now after this binge.

How have you done with your ARCs in the last couple months without State of the ARC around? Did you keep posting your own, or are you just starting back now?

I am so excited to be helping out, let's talk ARCs!

Happy Reading

Sarah

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Book Talk | Dismantling White Supremacy Day 3

I began this book last week and would love to have discussions based on the prompts provided within the book. The book is set up so that after each day's reading, there are a handful of prompts to respond to. Feel free to respond to as many or as few as you like. I would love for this to be a discussion and a place where we can learn and grow together. Please be honest, because that is the only way anything will change.

Additionally, I have been compiling a list of books under the #BlackLivesMatter Reading List tab. I am usually adding books daily that I find, or are recommended by others. Please leave a comment on that page if you have titles to add. I hope you can find titles on this list that you will learn from as well.

Day Three Prompts

Tone Policing - a tactic used by those who have privilege to silence those who do not by focusing on the tone of what is being said rather than the actual content

1. How have you used tone policing out loud to silence, shut down, or dismiss BIPOC? What kinds of words have you used to describe what tone a BIPOC should use?

2. What tone policing thoughts have you harbored inside when you've heard BIPOC talk about race or their lived experiences, eve if you don't say them out loud?

3. How have you derailed conversations about race by focusing on how someone said something to you rather than what they said to you? Looking back now, why do you think the tone that was being used was more important to you than the content of the information being conveyed?

4. How often have you made your willingness to engage in antiracism work conditional on people using the "right" tone with you?

5. How have you discounted BIPOC's real pain over racism because the way they talk about it doesn't fit with your world view of how people should talk?

6. How have you discounted BIPOC in general because of the tone they use when they talk?

Let's talk!

Sarah

Top Ten Tuesday | Most Anticipated Releases for the Second Half of 2020

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

I am a simple girl, really. Give me Dan Jones (literally, please), Karen McManus, some history, and I'm good!

 

  

Happy Reading!

Sarah

Book Talk | Dismantling White Supremacy Day 2

I began this book last week and would love to have discussions based on the prompts provided within the book. The book is set up so that after each day's reading, there are a handful of prompts to respond to. Feel free to respond to as many or as few as you like. I would love for this to be a discussion and a place where we can learn and grow together. Please be honest, because that is the only way anything will change.

Additionally, I have been compiling a list of books under the #BlackLivesMatter Reading List tab. I am usually adding books daily that I find, or are recommended by others. Please leave a comment on that page if you have titles to add. I hope you can find titles on this list that you will learn from as well.

Day Two Prompts

White Fragility - a state in which even a minimum abut of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves (definition at 15%)

1. How does your white fragility show up during conversations about race? Do you fight, freeze, or flee?

2. Describe your most visceral memory of experiencing white fragility. How old were you? Where were you? What was the conversation about? Why did it bring up white fragility in you? How do you recall feeling during and after the interaction? How do you feel about it today?

3. How have you weaponized your fragility against BIPOC through, for example, calling the authorities, crying, or claiming you're being harmed ("reverse racism!" or "I'm being shamed!" or "I'm being attacked!")?

4. How do you feel when you hear the words white people? Do they make you feel uncomfortable?

5. How has your white fragility prevented you, through fear and discomfort, from doing meaningful work around your own personal antiracism to date?

Let's talk!

Sarah

Book Talk | Dismantling White Supremacy Day 1

I began this book last week and would love to have discussions based on the prompts provided within the book. The book is set up so that after each day's reading, there are a handful of prompts to respond to. Feel free to respond to as many or as few as you like. I would love for this to be a discussion and a place where we can learn and grow together. Please be honest, because that is the only way anything will change.

Additionally, I have been compiling a list of books under the #BlackLivesMatter Reading List tab. I am usually adding books daily that I find, or are recommended by others. Please leave a comment on that page if you have titles to add. I hope you can find titles on this list that you will learn from as well.

Day One Prompts

White Privilege - unearned advantages that are granted because of one's whiteness or ability to "pass" as white (definition given at 13%)

1. In what ways do you hold white privilege? Study the list from Peggy McIntosh and reflect on your own daily life. Make a list of the different ways you hold white privilege in your personal life.

From the reading. In her original article McIntosh listed fifty examples. Saad has chosen a handful here for readers to think about.

1. I can, if I wish, arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time

7. When I am told about our national heritage or about "civilization", I am shown that people of my color made it what it is

12. I can go into a book shop and count on finding the writing of my race represented, into a supermarket and find the staple foods that fit with my cultural traditions, into a hairdresser's shop and find someone who can deal with my hair.

15. I did not have to educate our children to be aware of systemic racism for their own daily physical protection.

25. If a traffic cop pulls me over or if the IRS audits my tax return, I can be sure I have not been singled out because of my race.

36. If my day, week, or year is going badly, I need not ask of each negative episode or situation whether it has racial overtones.

41. I can be sure that if I need legal or medical help, my race will not work against me.

2. What negative experiences has your white privilege protected you from throughout your life?

3. What positive experiences has your white privilege granted you throughout your life (that BIPOC generally do not have)?

4. In what ways have you wielded your white privilege over BIPOC that have done harm (whether or not you intended to do so)?

5. What have you learned about your white privilege that makes you uncomfortable?

Let's talk!

Sarah

Stacking the Shelves #100

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.

***As you might have noticed, there has been a big increase in my YA reads recently. I have found some really great books by Black and African-American authors and I am trying to amplify as many voices as possible. I have a reading list going and am trying to include as many genres as possible, for all age groups. Take a look and let me know if you have any to add to this list: #BlackLivesMatter Reading List***

Author/Publisher/Blog Tour

Library Treasures

                 

Happy Reading!

Sarah

First Line Friday #114

First Line Friday is brought to you by Hoarding Books. Playing along is easy: open the book nearest you and share the first line. Then check out the link to see the other first lines posted this week.

"Two stable houses, side by side."

So begins the story of the two buildings that would eventually become one as the Stonewall Inn. Being that this is the last Friday of Pride Month, I thought it was a fitting selection - especially as the 51st anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising is just two days away. This is a fantastic picture book that tells the story not just of the Uprising but also Greenwich Village, where everyone was welcome. The story is told from the perspective of the building itself in an age-appropriate way for young readers. Would absolutely have this in my classroom if I still had my own room, and it will definitely have a place in Eleanor's library. The story does lack in the department of recognizing trans women of color among the leaders of the movement, but is still a good place to start.

You can read my review HERE.

Leave a comment and let me know what you think, and leave a link to your FLF so I can stop by to see what you've posted this week.

Happy Reading!
Sarah

Books From The Backlog #51

Books from the Backlog, hosted by Carole's Random Life in Books, is a fun way to feature some of those neglected books sitting on your shelf unread.

I am featuring books in the order that they were added to my Goodreads To-Read shelf, so sometimes there will be a couple weeks in a row of books on the same topic.

Neglected Book of the Week

Why did I add The Tudor Queens of England to my TBR?

Because even though the Plantagenets long ago replaced the Tudors as my fave dynasty, I still love reading anything and everything I can find on both families. At this point so much of it is repetitive because I have read so many texts, but I don't think I will ever stop reading books on either family.

Have you read this book, or is it somewhere on your TBR? If you've read it, would you recommend it to others?

Happy Reading!

Sarah

Dismantling White Supremacy

When I first requested this book, I did not realize it was actually a workbook of sorts to work though. The author suggests keeping a journal while working through the 28 days worth of reading and prompts. I was wondering if anyone would be interested in working through it with me? I can post the prompts day by day, or for the week, and we could discuss them together. I could post a video of the reading, or something - we can figure out the details once I know if anyone is interested.

Let me know!

Sarah