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50books_pocSo I have nine books to review.
38. Benjamin Ajak, Benson Deng, Alephonsian Deng, They Poured Fire On Us From The Sky
This belongs to the Sudanese Lost Boy genre. It's a very good example of its genre. Unfortunately, I read it back in October last year and didn't review it at the time, so I don't have a lot to say about it.
39. Charles R. Saunders, Imaro
If you like old school sword and sorcery, and don't mind a whole lot of sexism with it, this is your book. I had high hopes for Imaro, because I used to read Marion Zimmer Bradley's Sword and Sorceress collections, and his Dossouye short stories in those were great. I've heard there's a Dossouye novel, maybe that's the book I was hoping for from him. I'm definitely planning to buy it and find out.
40. Sherri L. Smith, Flygirl
A whole lot of people in this community have already reviewed this, so I'll just add a couple of points. One: the cover art is fantastic. Two: for people who haven't read Flygirl already: you know those novels (Alanna by Tamora Pierce is the first one that comes to mind) where the heroine disguises herself as someone she isn't in order to get the special training she needs to do something wonderful? And she feels guilty and divided about lying to all her new friends about her real identity, and is afraid they'll reject her when they find out the truth? But when they find out, it's all okay because they knew something was different about her, but they totally accept her for who she really is? This is not that book. This is a more complex book than that.
41. INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence, The Revolution Will Not Be Funded
This book was hard. It's an anthology of papers on what INCITE! calls the Non-Profit Industrial Complex (by analogy with the military-industrial complex, the prison-industrial complex, etc.) Part of the difficulty was some of the authors' jargon, which was pretty heavy going, but mostly it was a difficult book because of the difficult but important new ideas, and the hard and painful facts. It kind of broke my belief in slow reform. Maybe temporarily, I'm not sure. It certainly made me ask myself hard questions about where I fall on the liberal/radical spectrum. The main thesis of the book as a whole is that the structure of foundations and grant-giving has changed the nature of non-profit work from revolution and radical social change for all to providing services to the disadvantaged for a regular wage. With very interesting case studies of how that's affected specific non-profits, with white women with masters degrees in social work replacing black women who've been doing this work all their lives.
42. Pauline W. Chen, Final Exam
A book about mortality and doctors' discomfort with it, by a surgeon. Pauline Chen writes a column for the New York Times. It was enjoyable and worthwhile, but pitched at the popular level, not the professional level. I kept wanting to know what she'd say if she was writing to her peers.
43. Leila Aboulela, Minaret
A book about the loss of privilege. The main character's father is a corrupt official in the Sudanese government. When he is executed in a coup, the rest of the family starts their slide downward. She finds a new foundation for her self-esteem, to replace her old, privileged self, in religion. It's also about her awful relationships with men, and to be honest I would have preferred more about her Islamic study group and life as a housekeeper to a social class you used to belong to.
44. Mumia Abu-Jamal, Live From Death Row
This book is short, easy to read, and REALLY FUCKING IMPORTANT. Read it. That is all.
45. Sapphire, Push
This has been reviewed a lot here, so I'll just say that I definitely want to read Sapphire's poetry now, and that I want to reread Push... but not yet. And I'll be reading The Color Purple later this year, and look forward to comparing the two.
46. Nnedi Okorafor, Akata Witch
I have a longer review here, so I'll just say YES, YES, YES. If you were looking for a really great YA fantasy novel about magical teenagers who go to a special school to master their magical powers, but at the same time that's the absolute last thing you want, then this book might be the solution you were looking for.
38. Benjamin Ajak, Benson Deng, Alephonsian Deng, They Poured Fire On Us From The Sky
This belongs to the Sudanese Lost Boy genre. It's a very good example of its genre. Unfortunately, I read it back in October last year and didn't review it at the time, so I don't have a lot to say about it.
39. Charles R. Saunders, Imaro
If you like old school sword and sorcery, and don't mind a whole lot of sexism with it, this is your book. I had high hopes for Imaro, because I used to read Marion Zimmer Bradley's Sword and Sorceress collections, and his Dossouye short stories in those were great. I've heard there's a Dossouye novel, maybe that's the book I was hoping for from him. I'm definitely planning to buy it and find out.
40. Sherri L. Smith, Flygirl
A whole lot of people in this community have already reviewed this, so I'll just add a couple of points. One: the cover art is fantastic. Two: for people who haven't read Flygirl already: you know those novels (Alanna by Tamora Pierce is the first one that comes to mind) where the heroine disguises herself as someone she isn't in order to get the special training she needs to do something wonderful? And she feels guilty and divided about lying to all her new friends about her real identity, and is afraid they'll reject her when they find out the truth? But when they find out, it's all okay because they knew something was different about her, but they totally accept her for who she really is? This is not that book. This is a more complex book than that.
41. INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence, The Revolution Will Not Be Funded
This book was hard. It's an anthology of papers on what INCITE! calls the Non-Profit Industrial Complex (by analogy with the military-industrial complex, the prison-industrial complex, etc.) Part of the difficulty was some of the authors' jargon, which was pretty heavy going, but mostly it was a difficult book because of the difficult but important new ideas, and the hard and painful facts. It kind of broke my belief in slow reform. Maybe temporarily, I'm not sure. It certainly made me ask myself hard questions about where I fall on the liberal/radical spectrum. The main thesis of the book as a whole is that the structure of foundations and grant-giving has changed the nature of non-profit work from revolution and radical social change for all to providing services to the disadvantaged for a regular wage. With very interesting case studies of how that's affected specific non-profits, with white women with masters degrees in social work replacing black women who've been doing this work all their lives.
42. Pauline W. Chen, Final Exam
A book about mortality and doctors' discomfort with it, by a surgeon. Pauline Chen writes a column for the New York Times. It was enjoyable and worthwhile, but pitched at the popular level, not the professional level. I kept wanting to know what she'd say if she was writing to her peers.
43. Leila Aboulela, Minaret
A book about the loss of privilege. The main character's father is a corrupt official in the Sudanese government. When he is executed in a coup, the rest of the family starts their slide downward. She finds a new foundation for her self-esteem, to replace her old, privileged self, in religion. It's also about her awful relationships with men, and to be honest I would have preferred more about her Islamic study group and life as a housekeeper to a social class you used to belong to.
44. Mumia Abu-Jamal, Live From Death Row
This book is short, easy to read, and REALLY FUCKING IMPORTANT. Read it. That is all.
45. Sapphire, Push
This has been reviewed a lot here, so I'll just say that I definitely want to read Sapphire's poetry now, and that I want to reread Push... but not yet. And I'll be reading The Color Purple later this year, and look forward to comparing the two.
46. Nnedi Okorafor, Akata Witch
I have a longer review here, so I'll just say YES, YES, YES. If you were looking for a really great YA fantasy novel about magical teenagers who go to a special school to master their magical powers, but at the same time that's the absolute last thing you want, then this book might be the solution you were looking for.
