Summers Are For Reading

Is it summer already? The last day of school usually signals the start of summer, but it takes my mind and body a few more weeks to make that shift. Nate sent out his summer reading list in the Takes and Typos newsletter back in May like the overachiever he is and I am now just sitting down to organize and sort through my TBR list. Surprise, surprise, we have some overlapping titles.

I like to oscillate between serious and non serious books, alternating between fiction and non fiction or even mixing up genres. For me, summer time reading means navigating between frivolity like a dramedy or romedy and trying to learn something about the world. I also make an effort to read books by women of color, queer authors, and a few titles at least a couple of young adult books to recommend to students. With all that in mind, my summer list is all over the place. I’m an avid audiobook reader in the summer as I also find myself on the road much of the time. Perhaps, you’ll find a book or two that sparks your interest. 

I started my “summer” with John Green's Everything is Tuberculosis. This was my first experience with one of his non-fiction books and it did not disappoint. In fact, I might even prefer this as it lives in that narrative nonfiction world, capturing real events and people in a compelling manner. Green promises to link everything to TB and he really does. From adirondack chairs to the desired pallor of Victorian women and bare-faced men, everything can be explained through the lens of tuberculosis. I will warn you though, you may cry. Green does this thing all great writers do–make you care about something that you may have intellectualized; a thing you feel a comfortable distance from. By focusing much of the book on Sierra Leone and a young boy named Henry, any scholarly pretense you may have started reading with is out the window. Lastly, the book leaves readers eager to learn more with an extensive list of recommendations from Greene. Reading this book with the current political climate in mind, I had an “aha” moment. Tuberculosis is curable and preventable. The United States could be part of its eradication; however, we’ve forgotten the value of soft diplomacy, gutted USAID and are pretending there won’t be any consequences. *cringe emoji*

After that, I needed something a little lighter so I read Shauna Robinson’s The Banned Bookshop. This felt like one of those Netflix Christmas movies with the racially ambiguous characters doing “norm-y” things and experiencing non-traumatic life events. A girl from a big city returns to a small town looking for meaning in her life and starts to run her friend’s book store. The town is named after some famous historical white person who, to no-one’s surprise, built their fame and wealth on the labor of women and people of color.  The main characters are black and the book is for adults so there’s a steamy scene and conversations about race and sexuality sprinkled in. On the one hand, it was a little slow. On the other hand, I think the world needs more of these “edgy” Hallmark stories.

Up next, I finally cracked open a young adult book I’d been carting round for the last year, the Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen. You’ll have to ask me in person to tell you the journey of my current mermaid fascination. The cover is stunning and pulls you right in. Bowen adeptly builds a world that links mermaids, West African folktales (specifically Nigerian water gods), and the transatlantic slave trade together in a compelling story of love, risk and courage. I typically don’t read much fantasy but this was a solid read and I’m excited to recommend it to students.

I continued on my romance binge and my growing obsession with author Sonora Reyes who we interviewed on the podcast “Ep. 190: Intersectional Story-Telling & Why Anger is Health”. The Broposal is a super sweet story of two “roommates” and best friends who wrestle with all the adulting duties of being in twenty-something but also realize they are actually in love with each other! It’s disgustingly sweet and adorable and every cutesy moment is exactly what you want it to be. There are a few steamy scenes to watch out for. 

My Libby app is working overtime and rom-coms are a quick read. In the adult contemporary romances category, I cracked open Nisha Sharma’s Dating Dr. Dil. The algorithm continues to serve me Desi-centered stories which is fine by me as they feel like more mature versions of Never Have I Ever. I’m a sucker for stories with smart, professional female protagonists who are torn between careers, personal values, and parental cultural expectations no matter how formulaic the writing. There’s a lot of haters on Good Reads, but this definitely passed the time on my flight from Abu Dhabi to Seattle.

Fam, don’t give up on me yet. Since I was about eight, I’ve loved a detective/mystery storyline. As an adult I realized I can live in two genres: the cosy mystery and crime fiction. Having worked my way through David Joy, Brian Panowich, and Jordan Harper the last few years, I’m most obsessed with the GOAT, S.A. Cosby. You’d think I was earning shares the way I rep Cosby’s work. His latest book King of Ashes dropped mid-June and I was quickly added to a Crime Noir group chat. What this man does with setting and characterization (bruh, a crematory?!) makes my AP Lit heart throb. What this man does with structure and narration is masterful (there are no unwasted details in his stories). He writes the mess out of a gun battle and I feel like I’m watching it on screen as all my senses come alive. 

Frankly, I’m sad I read the book so quickly so I could nerd out over drinks with my Tacoma friends this summer. I’m certain, I won’t read a better book this summer. But, alas, onward.

The Current TBR List

Bakari Sellers’ The Moment: Thoughts on the Race Reckoning That Wasn’t and How We All Can Move Forward. I heard a provocative interview with Sellers last year and wanted to read this book (read by the author himself). I’m curious how it holds up considering no one thought we’d have a second Trump administration. Can we actually move forward as Sellers suggests? TBD.

I cannot wait for The Last American Road Trip by Sarah Kendzior. I secretly, or not so secretly love this woman. She’s smart, witty, thoughtful, incredibly clairvoyant. Plus, she is so down-to-earth she will respond to social media interactions. I’m looking forward to seeing how she navigates a memoir while still offering political and social commentary on the US.

The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates has been on my list since it came out last year. The man can write. I’m looking forward to forming my own opinions rather than relying on the appraisals of critics.

I’m trying to work my way through How to Stand Up to a Dictator by Maria Ressa for the NerdFarm reads book club, but it’s stop and go for me.

I’m also excited to finish off my summer romance binge with something from Abby Jimenez and Jesse Q. Sutanto who have taken this genre by storm. Sutanto’s new series is up my alley mixing nosiness and detective work. I’ve only heard positive things about the Vera Wong series and I hope Sutanto will be willing to come back on the podcast this year (send thoughts and prayers).  Check out the conversation in Ep. 128: An Interview with The Writing Hippo

Let me know what you’re reading, if you’ve drank the S.A. Cosby Kool Aid and what I’m missing on this list.

Part II: It Came From Something Awful Book Review

If you missed part I, start there and read threads 1-3.

Thread 4: Patriarchy demands an active role. 

Gentlemen, I beseech you to do your part.  I'm not saying women don't have power to  make change, but in the manosphere, where women are often pushed into regressive roles, viewed primarily as  housewives and valued for their reproductive capacity to create a white ethnostate, women are sidelined in the broader conversations. 

I have used my own platform to speak about the rise of the trad wife phenomena and the role women play in fighting brainwashing (see  GOP Drama & TradWife Trauma or Tradwives Explain How Feminism Tricked You). 

Our young men need non-crazy role models. I know you don't want it to be your labor, but they're more likely to listen to you than a woman they consider physically and mentally inferior. 

Thread 5: Parenting choices matter. 

Every single one of these wild stories of a 12 or 15 year old starting, managing, and running a site begins with what's going on at home.  Consistently the story goes, a tween has unfettered and unlimited access to the internet and has now built _________ (fill-in-the-blank with whatever cesspool platform/app/program/website you would like to).  While I’m not a parent, I’ve had parents express how powerless they feel despite holding the purse strings and making the rules at home. Autonomy and independence do not take priority over red pilling. Yes, young men will make their choices and they can rebel against your strict rules, but there are concrete norms you can adhere to in our own family. Keep tabs on what your kids are playing (you're still paying for things). Put the gaming device in a public place. Engage in convos about the online communities your kid is using. Get your kid plugged into a community better aligned with values like hard work, empathy, and respect. Maybe that's church. Maybe that's sports. Maybe that's playing an instrument. To be clear, I know some amazing young men who live much of their lives online, but their kindness, compassion, and empathy started at home and continue in both the online and real worlds they exist in. 

Thread 6: Honestly it's not even about young men. 
Throughout the book, Beran drops some subtle (and not so subtle) remarks about the stifled growth of men, the childish mentality never grown out of, the immature approach to relationships, etc. 

This is the problem now. The Italian dude next to me on my flight last week was listening to Joe Rogan. I recently had a root canal and my Lebanese dentist was listening to Joe Rogan while working. Each episode of The Joe Rogan Experience gets approx 16 million downloads. Taylor Swift’s largest attendance record came in at 96 thousand while Beyonce brought in just over 240,000 fans. Clearly, Rogan is resonating with young and not-so-young men all across the globe. I don't have the time  to dig into the Andrew Tate nonsense, but the issue of the manosphere is not just an American problem. I also don't have the fortitude to lay out an argument about the rise of the right and fascist ideologies sweeping the globe (highly recommend the podcast Popular Front with Jake Hanrahan). 

All those 4chan young men may have grown up (technically), but they are still thinking and acting like children (honestly, it's an insult to children because I teach 17 yr old students who are far wiser and more savvy). Now we have 30 somethings uniting forces with 70 somethings at the junction of insecurity and toxic masculinity. That is our voting block. That just might explain the 2016 and 2024 elections.  

What Now? I don't know. 

While I don't have any background in formal trolling and I personally found my sense of self through my faith community and music, I'm old enough to have a majority of the stories in this book in my peripheral view.  

In retrospect, I saw many of the implications of the ideologies explored in this book come to life when I started teaching high school in 2006, working with young men searching for their sense of purpose and belonging . More significantly, I felt a direct impact when I became a founding member of TAN (Tacoma Against Nazis) organizing against the local Nazi affiliated tattoo parlor in my city.  I won't forget being doxxed or the fear I felt worrying that my loved ones might be targeted due to my activism. That didn’t stop me from speaking out-–and fortunately, my trollers were too stupid to realize that they didn’t have the correct info or that I was a public school teacher and many of my details were easily accessible online.

Today, I am acutely aware of the messages of hate and misogyny bombarding our young men, luring them into creepy forums, and promoting violent behavior.

At the risk of making a listicle and essentializing a complex topic, I'll end with some recommendations and a call to action. 

• Read this book. 

• Men, please step up with your colleagues, your friends, and young men around you.

• Read or listen to some of the sources I’ve embedded here.

• If you have any nephews, sons, or brothers,, please start engaging them and offering a counter to the brainwashing they are receiving from the manosphere.