I am now entering year three of Tackling the TBR. Slowly but surely I have made big strides in getting by TBR under control. When I first started in 2019, my TBR was topping out at over 5,000 books. I don't know that I will ever get below 500, but a #BookDragon can dream!
I will be posting on the 7th, 14th, 21st, and the last day of the month. Feel free to join in if you'd like!
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Previous Week's TBR Total: 2,986
Currently Reading
Books Added to TBR
Books Removed from TBR: 0
Books Read
Books DNF-ed: 0
Duplicates Removed: 0
New TBR Total: 2,986
No change is better than regressing!
Any of these catch your eye? Have you already read any? Let me know!
So I kind of already did this post on January 1st but I am re-sharing it for this week's Top Ten Tuesday because I don't do resolutions of any kind except this. And these aren't resolutions, they're more like goals and I am suuuuuuper competitive - especially with myself - so there's that.
Over the last two years I have really relaxed and given myself a lot more grace when it comes to whether or not I am successful with each of my goals. Blogging is fun and I want it to stay fun, not feel like a job. So, if I reach all my goals, awesome. If not, oh well. Still, having at least a target to aim for is always helpful, so here they are.
1. Read 275 books - This is definitely doable and a total I have made before. I think 300 might be out of reach, even for me. In 2020 I read a total of 480 books. 199 of those were chapter books with Eleanor and 281 were books I read for myself.
2. Reduce my TBR to less than 2,500 books - Tackling the TBR has definitely helped this cause. Heading into year three of this long-term challenge, I foresee even more progress than ever before.
3. Reduce my Upcoming Review list to less than 150 - Who knows if this is even doable. I spent pretty much the last week of 2020 doing reviews because I met my reading goal, but I don't know if I will ever get my Upcoming Reviews under control. I ended 2020 with roughly 230 books waiting to be reviewed. Yikes!
Have you made any goals for 2021? If so, let me know in the comments or leave a link to your post.
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.
I am now entering year three of Tackling the TBR. Slowly but surely I have made big strides in getting by TBR under control. When I first started in 2019, my TBR was topping out at over 5,000 books. I don't know that I will ever get below 500, but a #BookDragon can dream!
I will be posting on the 7th, 14th, 21st, and the last day of the month. Feel free to join in if you'd like!
+++++++++++++++
Previous Week's TBR Total: 2,989
Currently Reading
Books Added to TBR
Books Removed from TBR: 0
Books Read
Books DNF-ed:
Duplicates Removed: 5
New TBR Total: 2,986
Any of these catch your eye? Have you already read any? Let me know!
Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. This week is Books I Am Looking Forward to in the First Half of 2021. There's only one on the list, and I have been waaaaaaaaaiting for ages. I compulsively checked my library catalog every day after my purchase request was approved and as soon as possible, I put it on hold. Few authors destroy the souls of their readers so well, yet keep us coming back for more.
I do not recall exactly how I first learned of Mona Eltahawy. Somehow this video came across my Twitter feed and I was completely enthralled by what she was saying, by the power in her voice, her absolute certainty in what she was saying, all the words I have ever wanted to hear.
As a result of the discussion, ABC Australia removed this Q & A session from its website altogether but here is the banned episode in its entirety.
There is truly no way for me to "review" this book in the traditional sense. I originally checked it out from the library but it was clear within the first chapter that I would need my own copy, as my fingers were just itching to highlight and underline and scribbles notes to myself in the margins.
Even after I finished the book within a couple hours, I could not stop thinking about. I just sat there, clutching the book to my chest, knowing that finally FINALLY, here was someone telling me that my rage is righteous and justified. It's not in my head, I am not too much. I am here, I count, I am 100% unapologetically me.
"We must make patriarchy fear us. We must reject politeness; there is nothing polite about patriarchy. We must reject civility; there is nothing civil about racism or misogyny or transphobia. Warnings precede profanity, to protect the sensibility of the reader; where are the warnings that precede patriarchy to protect the lives of women and girls? Curse words are bleeped out of television and radio broadcasts; how to we bleep out patriarchy?" (pg 76)
Fuck anyone who doesn't like it. Fuck anyone who wants me to be nice, to be civil. FUCK YOU, PATRIARCHY.
I feel this book so deeply in my soul. The words have seeped into my skin, my bones, my very being. I have always considered myself a feminist, but after reading this brilliant work, I feel different. I feel more. I am radicalized. I can face patriarchy head-on and smash it into tiny fucking pieces, pieces so small that it can never even hope to put itself back together again.
Eltahawy is strong and brave and powerful. She has shown me I can be those things, too. I can raise Eleanor this way, to raise her fist, shout "FUCK THE PATRIARCHY" and to understand the weight of the words, to understand that she too is declaring war on a society not built for her. That she can bring that society down, and create a new one where all women are free.
I started reading various paragraphs out loud to Eleanor the night I bought my copy and found myself at a loss when she first asked what patriarchy meant. How do you explain systemic oppression of women and girls (don't forget to factor in that things get drastically worse when you also consider race and socioeconomic status of those women and girls) to a seven year old? Even a seven year old as intelligent and thoughtful and curious as mine?
Mona to the rescue! I tweeted this very predicament to her and she responded shortly with a video she had previously recorded doing just that, explaining what patriarchy means in as kid-friendly terms as you can get. Eleanor and I both appreciated this very much.
I don't know that I can ever truly convey what this book means to me. No words do it justice.
But I know what it means to patriarchy: your days are numbered.
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.
I know people are super excited that 2020 is over, but let's be realistic. At a minimum the first six months of 2021 are going to be just as terrible. I hope Eleanor and I do not have to quarantine again but you all know there will be plenty of reading and reviewing to be done if that happens.
Over the last two years I have really relaxed and given myself a lot more grace when it comes to whether or not I am successful with each of my goals. Blogging is fun and I want it to stay fun, not feel like a job. So, if I reach all my goals, awesome. If not, oh well. Still, having at least a target to aim for is always helpful, so here they are.
1. Read 275 books - This is definitely doable and a total I have made before. I think 300 might be out of reach, even for me. In 2020 I read a total of 480 books. 199 of those were chapter books with Eleanor and 281 were books I read for myself.
2. Reduce my TBR to less than 2,500 books - Tackling the TBR has definitely helped this cause. Heading into year three of this long-term challenge, I foresee even more progress than ever before.
3. Reduce my Upcoming Review to less than 150 - Who knows if this is even doable. I spent pretty much the last week of 2020 doing reviews because I met my reading goal, but I don't know if I will ever get my Upcoming Reviews under control. I ended 2020 with roughly 230 books waiting to be reviewed. Yikes!
Have you made any goals for 2021? If so, let me know in the comments or leave a link to your post.
