Weekend Reads #121: I Love to Reread

Weekend Reads is a post in which I discuss a variety of topics and mention the books I’m currently reading. (I haven’t done it in a while but… anyway.)

For this week, I’m participating in the Let’s Talk Bookish meme hosted by Eternity Books and the Literary Lion. A discussion topic is given each week for participants to post about. This week’s topic is…

Rereading Books

How many times is enough? Why re-read at all? Is re-reading just a comforting pastime? Or is there excitement to be relived? What kind of books do you re-read? Do you ever re-read books you don’t like in hopes that it will be better the second time? Were there any books you didn’t like as a child but liked as an adult, or vice versa?

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I think anyone who knows me as a reader is aware that I love to reread books. Actually, I tend to reread so often that for a while in college, I spent my time mostly rereading books rather than discovering new authors and stories. There are many reasons why I reread, but the top ones are:

To see if I have changed

I love revisiting things I’ve consumed before to see if my opinion about them have changed. I think this is an interesting way to assess how much you have grown or in what ways your opinions and perspective of the world have developed over time. Of course, this works best if you can recall something of your reading experience and thoughts about the work when you first experienced it so you can compare the experiences after you reread.

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Weekend Reads #120: Horror Movies vs. Books — Which Is Scarier?

Weekend Reads is a post in which I discuss a variety of topics and mention the books I’m currently reading. (I haven’t done it in a while but, hey, who’s keeping track anyway?)

For this week, I’ve decided to participate in the Let’s Talk Bookish meme hosted by Eternity Books and the Literary Lion. A discussion topic is given each week for participants to post about. This week’s topic is… well, it’s last week’s topic, actually, but I was lazy on Friday and didn’t feel like posting. Anyway, the topic is

Can books be effective horror?

Some people love to be scared — others not so much. When it comes to reading do you think books can be scary? Are you less scared because there are no pictures? Do you feel other mediums such as film are more effective for horror? Have you ever been kept up at night by a book?

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I think this is an interesting topic since most people I know are inclined to say “no” in reply to this question. However, I think books can be scary. Sometimes, I think they are more frightening than what we seen in movies and TV shows.

Wyrd & Wonder 2021 | Giveaway Announcement

Hey! Guess what?! It’s time for my Wyrd & Wonder GIVEAWAY!! 😀

What’s Wyrd & Wonder? It’s a monthlong celebration in May of all things fantasy. Participants can express their love of fantasy and celebrate in any way they want. I’m mostly doing so by reading fantasy books and comics.

I’m always excited to participated in W&W; but, of course, I was as unprepared for W&W this year as I didn’t intend to be, so instead of starting this on the first of May, this GIVEAWAY will instead run from May 13–31. Anyone can submit an entry, but since it’s for W&W, those participating in the event will have an edge on entries.

!!!GIVEAWAY!!!

(Details below)

Weekend Reads #119: Why Do I Procrastinate on Books I WANT to Read

Weekend Reads is a post in which I discuss a variety of topics and mention the books I’m currently reading.

For this week, I’ve decided to participate in the Let’s Talk Bookish meme hosted by Eternity Books and Literary Lion. A discussion topic is given each week for us to post about. This week’s topic is

Putting Off Books That I Want to Read

Do you ever put off the books you actually want to be reading? What do you end up reading instead? Why do you put off the books that you would rather read for other stories? Do you treat reading books you’re excited for as a reward?

I chuckled to myself when I saw this topic because it’s something I often do. There are several reasons why I might delay reading a book, but the main ones are that I’m just too eager to read it, I’m not sure I’d like it, and I feel “pressured” to read it. Let’s briefly explore them.

I’m just too eager…

It makes sense that I delay reading books I’m not sure I’ll like or ones I’m pressured to read, but I also procrastinate on reading books that I’m eager to read, ones I know I’ll probably love. I think that’s odd. I think I’m an oddball for not immediately grabbing and reading books I’m excited about. Why do I delay on reading them?

I can’t answer the question, but a possible reason is that I probably psyched myself out getting too excited about the book and subconsciously assume that my high excitement and expectations of the book will make it a disappointing reading experience.

The books I’m eager about are the ones I’m more likely to purchase and… then forget about as they lay on my shelves collecting dust; so that’s another reason. My shelves are double- (and in some causes triple-) stacked, so if these purchased eager-to-read books somehow end up on a row that I do not see on a daily basis, then I’ll forget they’re there to read.

Weekend Reads #112: Cliches & Tropes

Weekend Reads is a weekly post in which I discuss a variety of topics and mention the books I’m currently reading.

For this week, I’ve decided to participate in the Let’s Talk Bookish meme hosted by Eternity Books and Literary Lion. A discussion topic is given each week for us to post about. This week’s topic is

Cliches and Tropes

Can cliches and tropes be done well? When is something a trope and when is it a cliche? When do you enjoy cliches or tropes, and when do you not? How much do cliches/tropes affect your overall opinion of a book?

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In my opinion, a cliché is an overused phrase or expression, and a trope is an overused theme or literary device. Off the top of my head (← cliché), here are a few examples:

Weekend Reads #111: Recent Books I DNF

Weekend Reads is a weekly post in which I discuss a variety of topics and mention the books I’m currently reading.

THIS WEEK’S TOPIC

Books I DNF

(FYI: DNF means did not finish.)

I DNF books sometimes. I don’t often talk about them, except to briefly mention them in my monthly wrap-up posts, unless I’ve already formed a strong opinion about what I read. In those cases, I’ll do the whole rate and review thing — even though I DNF’d it. I mention in the review that I didn’t finish the book so that people are aware of that fact.

I didn’t rate the books listed below. I didn’t form a strong opinion about any of them and mostly stopped reading them because the story bored me or the characters annoyed me or I just wasn’t in the mood for what was presented.

Previous DNF roundups:

• Weekend Reads #84: Recent Books I DNF
• Weekend Reads #91: Books I DNF’d in 2018

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The books

The Lost Book of Adana Moreau by Michael Zapata

Genre

Historical Fiction

Series

n/a

Pubbed

Reflecting on 2020: Life

Despite the trials and difficulties of 2020, I was lucky and had many positive moments throughout the year. The coronavirus has made the year hard on everyone, and, although my family members were able to keep their jobs and managed not to contract the virus, it made aspects of the year difficult for us too.

The biggest difficulty was being unable to physically connect with family to support them during difficult times. We had a death in the family in 2020 (unrelated to corona) that deeply affected everyone; but because the person passed in March when air travel was at a standstill and countries’ borders were closed, we were unable to travel back to Jamaica to be with family there, to emotionally support them and to be emotionally supported. We had to do it from afar, often over Zoom and WhatsApp, which weren’t often the best substitute.

The downside here is that corona kept us apart when we wanted to be closer; but, in some ways, it made us closer. Due to the death in the family and restrictions to travelling, my family began to connect more. Instead of calling each other every now and then, we formed a WhatsApp group that allowed us to quickly share news, encourage each other, and even joke around. There was a lot more chatter between us.

Weekend Reads #107: Anger

You ever feel so angry and frustrated that it’s as if the emotions are choking you? That’s how I feel. Angry, frustrated, exhausted, and powerless.

Since the beginning of this year, I’ve tried to stay on top of news and politics, but the more updates I consume, the more angry and frustrated I get. I mean… yo! Jacob Blake was shot 7 TIMES!! in his back. By the police. In front of his kids! While walking toward his SUV after trying to break up a fight. What??!!

And a White kid was going around the same area (Kenosha, Wis.) toting a big-ass gun and shooting protesters; he was able to walk by the police with his gun and go home WITHOUT getting shot by the police… or stopped by them. Apparently, he got a bottle of water from them.

This is fucking crazy world. A crazy country.

I won’t even mention what’s going on in politics regarding the antics and some of the shit said at the RNC. I just…

UGH!!!

Weekend Reads #106: On the Assumption That White Means Universal

There is an assumption in publishing (and in Hollywood, actually) that books by Black authors aren’t universal, that they won’t appeal to a wide (White) audience. I recently read two articles that touch on this topic (one on LitHub and another on Tor.com) and they reminded me of a blog post by notable sci-fi author N.K. Jemisin that I read a couple years ago on why she doesn’t want her books to be placed in the African American section of bookstores and libraries. I reread Jemisin’s blog post this morning and although it was published a decade ago, back in March 2010, it still applies today.

These days, the African American section of bookstores I visit contain sociology books and history books that pertain to Black experiences in America. No longer (it seems) is that section an amalgamation of books by Black authors no matter the genre or whether or not they are fiction or nonfiction; no longer (it seems) is it a place where all books written by Black authors are dumped. But despite this improvement, publishing still has a problem with how it promotes books by Black authors.

To me, it’s recently, within the past year or so, that publishing increased its promotion of books by Black authors somewhat. I may be wrong on the timeframe, but up until then, whenever I saw a recently published novel by a Black author, they were often pushed toward Black audiences only, unlike books by White authors that were promoted to everyone, regardless of race, because of their “wide” appeal.

Weekend Reads #105: Black Lives Matter

Weekend Reads is a weekly post in which I discuss a variety of topics and mention the books I plan to read on the weekend.

I don’t have a discussion post this week. This is just a quick chit-chat because I can hardly think straight right now. There’s so much going on at the moment. So many people are upset and in uproar. I’ve been having conversations about the current political and social climate all week that by end of the day on Thursday, my mind was so wrung out that I couldn’t think straight much less contribute well during a virtual work meeting.

Despite the corona pandemic, as a Black person, I’m happy to be alive at this time. Yes, it is a traumatic time. Yes, I’ve been anxious, depressed, confused, and angry just about everyday, but I am happy to be alive at this time to witness the movements and pushes for change to better Black lives and to see the urge for this change and support for it spread around the world, to see other nations stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement.