#Literary Diversity

[haveacupofjohanny]

Uplifting Indie Authors: Why Supporting Small Voices Matters

Supporting indie authors means championing diverse voices and fresh stories! 📚 Let’s uplift small voices and make a big impact. #IndieAuthors #DiverseBooks #SupportIndieWriters #HaveACupOfJohanny

In a world dominated by big publishing houses and blockbuster bestsellers, it’s easy to overlook the vibrant world of indie authors. These writers, often working outside the traditional publishing system, bring fresh perspectives and stories that challenge the status quo. Supporting indie authors isn’t just about buying a book—it’s about uplifting small voices and contributing to a richer, more…

[arf5506]

I hate the hypocresy on the concept of booktok!

It's supposed to be about promoting books and sharing reads but it's just the same 15 books over and over again! It's just about popular books and all written by people from USA, Britain or Canada.

I'm sorry but that's not representative of anything. Of course I enjoy international books and the hunger games is one of my favourite sagas. But half of what I read is local product which is incredible and really needs to be promoted. And so I get the feeling that people don't post other books and Booktok is just about buying the popular books and not about promoting literary diversity and books who are from other places in the world.

[ancientroyalblood]

Exploring Different Genres: Writing Beyond Your Comfort Zone

Stepping beyond the confines of familiar genres is akin to embarking on an exhilarating expedition into uncharted territory. This exploration unravels the virtues of venturing into diverse literary landscapes, urging writers to push boundaries and embrace the creative challenge. Understanding Genre Diversity: Begin by discussing the richness and diversity across various literary genres—ranging…

[gabibookworm]

Happy book birthday to this week’s new releases! 📚

[crumblinggothicarchitecture]

Listen I’m enjoying East of Eden for all the Biblical allusion and its meditation on trauma, grief, and the impact trauma has on communities

But I think Steinbeck’s misogyny and racism is so overwhelming that it’s almost impossible to take his other comments on society seriously

Because if he’s so blind to his own internal prejudice- how much can I possibly trust his judgment on biblical interpretation and the truth of American community consciousness during the 19th-20th century?

Anyway, for commentary on the life in the American West, and the impact war, famine, and diversity had on creating the collective identity of the American people, during the 19th and 20th centuries, seek authors like:

Gertrude Stein, Willa Cather, Edith Warton, Zora Neel Hurston, Rebecca Harding Davis, Alice Walker, Susan Glaspell, Marianne Moore, Sandra Cisneros, Elizabeth Cook-Lynn, Joy Harjo, N. Scott Momaday, Lanston Hughes,

(and SO MANY MORE)

All of these authors deal with the subjects (to various degrees) of class vs individualism, American emergent Identity issues, industrialism, tradition vs modernism, and multiculturalism in the West in ways that are much more nuanced than anything Steinbeck ever wrote.

Some of them wrote with clear Christian overtones- some with indigenous religiosity and recrimination of internalize colonialist attitude existing within pop-christian thought, and some of them are pure modernist empiricists. And I love the diversity of thought extant within these works- much more interesting than painting with broad generalization and assuming all of American history to revolve around the same conceptual points modern evangelist's decree.

We are a nation built on diversity- of people, of thought, and of place. I'll accept no other definition of what it means to be USamerican.

At this point, I'm pretty sure Steinbeck was just projecting his own hatred of women, and processing his divorce, throughout the entirety of East of Eden- like the book gets so close to interesting biblical allusion overlay onto familial interdependent dynamic and mediation on the nature of evil - but then his work devolves into racism and misogyny diminishing the impact of these really interesting themes.

BOOO!

Why do I have to read this. I hate the so-called Literary Canon.

So sick of the fact that I have to read the work of every white American man ever- for the purpose of my degree program's culminative exam- yet many of the women authors, indigenous authors, or multiethnic authors will not be on my exam.

IDK bro- I'm feeling a type of way about it today.

[lunastationquarterly]

I'm beginning to gather resources on resiliency, staying hopeful, continuing to do good work (especially creative work), and good leadership during turbulent times, etc.

I'd love to hear of any books you all have found useful in navigating uncertainty and the world we seem to be hurtling towards.

Around the bulk of the pandemic, books related to these topics began coming out. While I've gathered a few organically, it feels like time to seek these books out more intentionally, to build a library of works that I can dip into in the coming years when I need solace, advice, wisdom, & courage.

Here are a few of my own suggestions:

"Never Say You Can't Survive" by Charlie Jane Anders

"Notes on Hope" by Anne Lamott

"Wintering" by Katherine May

"Phosphorescence" by Julia Bard

"Resilience" by Harvard Business Review

"The Wave in the Mind" by Ursula K Le Guin

[ya-world-challenge]

A Long Way From Douala (🇨🇲 Cameroon)

[image1: book cover: a young Black man wears a traditional fabric wrapped around him that matches the fabric hanging behind him. A soccer ball is tucked under his arm; image2: a map showing Cameroon, tucked under Nigeria and Chad; image3: a street in Douala, Cameroon, lined with cars, palms, and residential houses]

A Long Way From Douala

Author: Max Lobe

World challenge read for 🇨🇲 Cameroon

Review

Seventeen-year-old Jean and his childhood friend, the older Simon, go on a journey across Cameroon to track down Jean's runaway older brother Roger, who has set off on the track to migrate to Europe (not surprising, considering their mother's abuse of him).

This was a short, pretty lighthearted novel that ends rather abruptly. The author's goal seems to be to show off local quirks on a road trip across the country—buying grilled caterpillars at a bus stop, riding the world's deadliest road for accidents, the stark difference in culture between the Christian south and the Muslim north.

While the queerness is mostly limited to longing looks at Simon's body, and I found the narration somewhat stilted, there are plenty of amusing moments and interesting setting to make the book enjoyable.

★ ★ ★    3 stars

Genres: #literary #contemporary #adventure

Other reps: #gay #christian

[have-you-heard-of]

Have You Heard Of?

“A man who would be intimidated by me is exactly the kind of man I would have no interest in.”

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie b.September 15, 1977

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is an award-winning author and an influential advocate of feminism. She has captivated people worldwide with her powerful storytelling and her outspoken campaign for gender equality. She was born in Enugu, Nigeria, and was raised in an academic environment that surely nurtured her passion for writing. As one of six siblings she grew up in the university town of Nsukka, her Mother was the first female registrar at University of Masuka and her father was Nigeria's first professor of statistics, and later became Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the same university. She attributes her success in part to her parents for, encouraging her self-confidence and being supportive by always showing that they had confidence in her. She began studying medicine and pharmacy at the university school her parents worked at; though, writing seems to have called to her, as she also edited the magazine created by the medical students. She left her medical studies after a year and a half when at nineteen she gained a scholarship to Eastern Connecticut State University in America, where she graduated summa cum laude (with highest honours) with a degree in communication and political science and continued her passion for writing by producing articles for the university journal. She went on to gain her master’s degree in creative writing from Johns Hopkins University, become a Hodder Fellow at Princeton University, earned an MA in African Studies from Yale University, and she was awarded a fellowship by the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University. During this time, she has released numerous novels, including A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions. She holds strong feelings regarding gender equality and is proud of her femininity, taking pleasure in fashion whilst grappling with the knowledge that she will be judged for the way she chooses to dress. Her belief is that you should be happy to be who you are, without being forced into a mould society has decided fits your gender. Refusing to conform to a female academic stereotype, she loves make-up and has been the face of Boots No7 cosmetics. Now married with a daughter, she splits her time between Nigeria, where she teaches writing workshops, and the United States. All in all, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a world-renowned writer, acclaimed academic, fashion icon, beauty queen and a feminist warrior we all should have heard of.

“If you criticise X in women but do not criticise X in men, then you do not have a problem with X, you have a problem with women.”

Books and Novels

Notable Awards and Honors

35 awards, 21 are literary awards, including: Future… Award (Young Person of the Year category), 2008 Global Hope Coalition's Thought Leadership Award, 2018 Action Against Hunger Humanitarian Award, 2018 UN Foundation Global Leadership Award, 2019 Africa Freedom Prize 2020 Business Insider Africa Awards, 'Creative Leader of the Year', 12 April 2022 Influential people lists including: The New Yorker's '20 Under 40', 2010 '100 Most Influential Africans 2013', New African '100 Most Influential People' by Time Magazine, 2015 Fortune Magazine's List of 50 World Leaders, 2017 'World's Most Inspiring People in 2019' by OOOM Magazine Forbes Africa's '100 Icons from Africa', 2021 'Changemakers: 100 Nigerians Leading Transformational Change', 2022

“Teach her to reject likeability. Her job is not to make herself likeable, her job is to be her full self, a self that is honest and aware of the equal humanity of other people.”

Trivia

Her childhood home was one formerly occupied by the Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe

Beyoncé's song, "Flawless," features excerpts from Adichie's TED Talk.

Adichie thought she had invented purple hibiscus & was shocked to receive a call from her editor telling her they existed in America!

[mccoppinscrapyard]

Read in 2023 (4/?)

Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez

❝ You must remember, mijo, even people who were once your sails can become your anchors. ❞

[rachel-sylvan-author]

"The House on Mango Street" by Sandra Cisneros

Thank you @bumble_reads for the recommendation! ❤️

[titlishu]

Allow me to elucidate my stance, if I may. It has come to my attention that my communication with you has been the source of my continual exasperation, and I find it most disheartening that my messages have not been sufficiently comprehensible. I would like to clarify that I am an upright individual, a man, who conducts himself in a respectable and decorous manner. Therefore, I posit that it is within my purview to rebuff individuals who require a correction in their behavior. The ability to assert oneself as an grown adult is indeed a show of strength, and I embrace this attribute. I acknowledge your complimentary remark on my humor, albeit unintentional, and request that you kindly refrain from presuming that as a trait of mine, outland-ishu!

me when i type the bad essay i wrote into an ai to make me sound smarter

[blueheartbookclub]

"Whimsical Wonders: Navigating the Uncharted Realms of Imagination in H. G. Wells' 'Thirty Strange Stories'"

H. G. Wells, renowned for his pioneering works in science fiction, extends an invitation to the peculiar corners of his creative mind with "Thirty Strange Stories." This collection, published in [year], is a compendium of tales that transcends the conventional boundaries of storytelling. The title alone suggests a literary odyssey into the extraordinary, and Wells does not disappoint, offering readers a kaleidoscopic array of narratives that blur the lines between the plausible and the fantastical.

The stories within this collection showcase Wells' remarkable ability to traverse genres and themes. From the whimsically speculative to the hauntingly macabre, each tale is a testament to Wells' mastery of the short story form. The title acts as a portal, beckoning readers into a realm where the ordinary becomes extraordinary, and the mundane is transformed into the extraordinary. As the pages turn, readers are transported from the familiar to the uncharted territories of Wells' vivid imagination.

One of the distinguishing features of "Thirty Strange Stories" is Wells' uncanny knack for blending scientific speculation with elements of the supernatural. In tales such as [specific story], he weaves together speculative concepts with a keen understanding of human nature, creating narratives that are both intellectually stimulating and emotionally resonant. The title serves as a teaser, enticing readers with the promise of the strange and the unexplored.

Wells' narrative finesse is particularly evident in his characterizations. Whether introducing eccentric inventors, time travelers, or ordinary individuals thrust into extraordinary circumstances, Wells crafts characters that linger in the reader's imagination. The title "Thirty Strange Stories" acts as a tantalizing preview, hinting at the diverse cast of characters that populate this literary menagerie.

Furthermore, the thematic breadth of the collection is striking. Wells tackles societal issues, philosophical quandaries, and the profound mysteries of existence within the framework of speculative fiction. The title encapsulates the overarching theme of the uncanny, suggesting a journey through narratives that challenge the boundaries of reality and the limitations of human understanding.

As readers delve into the pages of "Thirty Strange Stories," they encounter a tapestry of ideas that reflect Wells' fascination with the unknown. The title becomes a guide through this labyrinth of narratives, promising unexpected twists, intellectual delights, and moments of sheer astonishment. From the first story to the thirtieth, Wells maintains a grip on the reader's attention, orchestrating a symphony of strangeness that resonates long after the final page is turned.

In conclusion, "Thirty Strange Stories" by H. G. Wells is a testament to the author's unparalleled imagination and narrative prowess. The title serves as a thematic overture, encapsulating the essence of a collection that transcends the boundaries of conventional storytelling. Wells' ability to seamlessly blend the ordinary with the extraordinary, the scientific with the supernatural, makes this anthology a captivating journey into the uncharted realms of the human imagination. As readers embark on this literary odyssey, the title becomes a whispered promise of strange wonders waiting to be discovered within the pages of Wells' extraordinary tales.

"Thirty Strange Stories." by H. G. Wells is available in Amazon in paperback 14.99$ and hardcover 22.99$ editions.

Number of pages: 407

Language: English

Rating: 9/10                                           

Link of the book!

Review By: King's Cat

[booksandteaandstuff]

It is difficult to understand the universe if you only study one planet.

Miyamoto Musashi, The Book of Five Rings

https://bookshop.org/a/12010/9781590302484

[dhampiravidi]

a pet peeve for lead women in YA…the arts (hot take)!

I’m tired of the lead woman in just about EVERY YA NOVEL having some AMAZING talent that’s arts-related. I have nothing against the arts. I write, sing, and read daily. I don’t draw anymore, but I admire people who still do. ANYWAY:

Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games): she can sing & apparently she’s great at it.

Lucy Gray Baird (The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes): her culture revolves around songs, so she sings.

Hermione Granger (Harry Potter): reads a shit ton of books (her “light reading” is several thick novels).

Clary Fray (Shadowhunter Chronicles): she does lifelike sketches & considers art school. Her mom sells her own paintings.

Feyre Archeron (ACOTAR): she paints.

I’ll stop the list there bc 1) I got no sleep last night & 2) you get my point. I’m just saying—I could be wrong, but it feels like there’s this belief (maybe due to Disney Princess movies?) that a woman can’t be pretty or amazing w/o excelling & loving the arts. She can. She can also like less-popularized artsy hobbies (photography, scrapbooking, writing music, making pottery, etc.) OR EVEN like things that aren’t artsy (hiking, fishing, cooking, surfing, playing chess).

Diversity includes more than just people of different races, ethnicities, and religions (though I will say that racism, classism & discrimination based on religion is pretty widespread & fucked up).

[sammydem0n64]

DORIAN TOOK HIS WHIMSY AWAY :((

[lunastationquarterly]

It's probably a good time to remind y'all that we have zero ads, no paywall, and all our digital issues are DRM-free when you buy direct from us or our friends at Weightless Books.

Your support, via buying issues or joining our Patreon, keeps the lights on.