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#SundaySixStack

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History

Kindred

March
March
March
History

March

  • James Baldwin was a Black gay man and brilliant writer who lived a too-short life (1924 to 1987) and would no doubt be discouraged (and other stronger words) by how hard it still is to be Black and gay in the U.S. in 2020. I’ve read 10 of his books (he’s one of my favorite authors), but this is my first book of poetry of his (does he have others?). It’s a slim volume that packs a very powerful punch, as does all of his writing. // Okay, so I should have read the back cover first: “The haunting lyricism and telling power of his prose is everywhere evident in Jimmy’s Blues, Baldwin’s ONLY COLLECTION of poetry. Sometimes quiet and reflective, sometimes humorous, ranging over extremes of love and hatred, often bitter and violent, but also warm and deeply, compassionately human, his poems echo many of the themes of his novels and essays.” (This is truth.) “Baldwin’s language is deceptively simple—this poetry is easily understood. But the emotions behind the words go to the core of not only the poet’s soul, but of America’s. Readers of Baldwin’s works will see him here in a new light—and in an old.” (This is seriously some of the best back cover copy I’ve ever read.) // Here’s an excerpt from the first poem in the book, entitled Staggerlee Wonders: / “Yes. But let us put it in another, / less theological way: / though theology has absolutely nothing to do / with what I am trying to say. / But the moment God is mentioned / theology is summoned / to buttress or demolish belief: / an exercise which renders belief irrelevant / and adds to the despair of Fifth Avenue / on any afternoon, / the people moving, / homeless, through the city, / praying to find sanctuary before the sky / and the towers come tumbling down, / before the earth opens, as it does in Superman. / They know that no one will appear / to turn back time, / they know it, just as they know / that the earth has opened before and will open again, just as they know / that their empire is falling, is doomed, / nothing can hold it up, nothing. / We are not talking about belief. // #Pride2020 #JamesBaldwin
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  • Happy Pride Month! I’ll be posting a book every day by a queer BIPOC, and I’m super excited about the ones I’ve already read. So good! I’m sad about all the Pride events being canceled (I had hoped to go to my first one this year now that we’re back in the States) and want to support the LGBTQ+ community however I can. Buying books and sharing them is one way we can do that. // “Michael has never shied away from discussing his struggles with debt, but in I Don’t Want to Die Poor, he reveals the extent to which it has an impact on every facet of his life—how he dates; how he seeks medical care (or in some cases, is unable to); how he wrestles with the question of whether or not he should have chosen a more financially secure path; and finally, how he has dealt with his “dream” turning into an ongoing nightmare as he realizes one bad decision could unravel all that he’s earned. You know, actual ‘economic anxiety.’” (Amazon) // I love @kieselaymon’s blurb on the back of the book: “I Don’t Want to Die Poor is somehow funnier, darker, and actually more incredibly well written than I Can’t Date Jesus. And I have no clue how Arceneaux managed to do that. This book is further proof that Michael should replace Ben Carson as director of HUD.” (I second that motion.) // My favorite chapters of the book were the three at the end: Mama’s Boy, To Freedom, and I Don’t Want to Die Poor. He’s brilliant and funny but also soberingly honest: “We still live in a culture that demonizes people for not having money, like there’s something wrong with them. I have carried so much shame with me for so long. I have never wanted to talk about it.” (226) // I hope this book is wildly successful and Michael can pay back his school loans in full. And I hope we elect a Democratic president this year who adopts Elizabeth Warren’s free college/debt forgiveness plan. @youngsinick #michaelarceneaux #Pride2020
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  • Happy Sunday! Happy Last Day of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month! Today’s stack is made up of books by Asian/Asian American women that are pretty and great. And pretty great. The books, I mean. (Although the authors themselves are also pretty and great. And pretty great.) // I read and posted all these over the past 2+ years, but they deserve a repost. Which is why I started #SundaySixStack last spring. Sooooo many great (and pretty) books that I want to share over and over again. // From top to bottom: Cilla Lee-Jenkins Future Author Extraordinaire (@susanmtan); Parenting Forward (@cindybrandt); Raise Your Voice (@mskathykhang); Outside the Lines (@mkimkort); Amina’s Voice (@henakhanbooks); and Rescuing Jesus (@deborahjianlee). Have you read any of these? I’ll share my reviews of each one in my stories. // Photo props = recycled sari flower garland crafted in Bangladesh from @tenthousandvillages // See you tomorrow for the first day of Pride Month and Caribbean Heritage Month! #susanmtan #cindywangbrandt #miheekimkort #kathykhang #henakhan #deborahjianlee #aapiheritagemonth #prettygreatfinds
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  • Next-to-last day of AAPI Heritage Month! One last Sunday Six Stack tomorrow, then Pride Month! (with a dash of Caribbean heritage) // My 3-year-old niece, Ruby (my book-reviewing niece Mia’s littlest sister), is not refusing to smile because she doesn’t like this book. She’s refusing to smile because I interrupted reading time for a photo. Our family lived with Ruby’s for seven weeks when we first moved back to the States from Cambodia in March, and we read about a thousand books (give or take). Now we’re backyard neighbors, but we still have book time most days. “After Ruby finish dinner, Marla read bookies!” It’s not so much of a request as a demand, and I always comply. // “Harpreet Singh has a different color for every mood and occasion, from pink for dancing to bhangra beats to red for courage. He especially takes care with his patka—his turban—smoothing it out and making sure it always matches his outfit. But when Harpreet’s mom finds a new job in a snowy city and they have to move, all he wants is to be invisible. Will he ever feel a happy sunny yellow again?” (inside book jacket) // This is a really sweet book, and I love love love all the colorful illustrations. And I enjoyed learning more about patkas and sikhism from the note at the end from Simran Jeet Singh, a scholar and professor of Sikhism: “Guru Nanak founded the Sikh religion about 500 years ago in the Punjab region of South Asia. He believed in one God who lives in everyone and everything, and that all Sikhs should practice core values like service, justice, and love. The Sikh turban represents a commitment to living these values… The specific turban that Harpreet wears, called a patka, is a common style for young boys… Turbans remind Sikhs that everyone is equal and important.” #supriyakelkar #aapiheritagemonth
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  • What a powerful and important book. The NY Times Book Review on the front cover says, “Sweeping… comprehensive… fascinating.” Yes yes YES. It took me most of the month to get through it, but it was so worth it. I knew a lot of the history already (and NOT because I learned it in school, but because I learned it in the past few years), but there was SO much I didn’t know. AND it was so helpful to see it all together in one place and make sense of how it all fits together. // I have a lot of Asian/Asian American friends who are really special to me, and I want to understand more of their/our history. Waaay back in 1997, I did my student teaching at an international school in Okinawa, Japan and still stay in touch with several of my students. Took our first trip to Cambodia in 2010 and lived there from 2015-2020. Met a community of Khmer-Americans in Ohio in 2014 who became friends. I have friends in several Asian countries and have met a lot of Asian American authors and activists online. // And I’m going to be a mother-in-law to an amazing Khmer man soon (fingers crossed for the embassy reopening so they can reschedule their visa interview and get home) who will be Khmer-American once he’s lived here long enough to become a U.S. citizen. // “They are adoptees, refugees, immigrants, naturalized citizens, undocumented immigrants, and U.S.-born Americans. They symbolize stories of American success and privilege as well as struggle and poverty. As diverse as they are, they are part of a larger Asian American community that—through its complexity—uniquely captures the story of America. Theirs is a history of immigrant dreams, American realities, and global connections that has helped to make the United States what it is today. And as the fastest growing group in the country, Asian Americans are also helping to create the nation that we’ll be in the future.” (402) // HIGHLY recommend this book. Should be required reading in schools. #erikalee #aapiheritagemonth
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  • NOTE: Honoring my commitment to Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month with #GeorgeFloyd and #BlackLivesMatter on my mind. See my stories for some practical ways we white folks can fight racism. ❤️ // If I haven’t said it already, my niece Mia saved my bookstagram butt this month. On February 1, 2019, I set a goal of posting every single day for a year. When I got to February 1, 2020, I didn’t want to stop. But I’ve been soooo much busier since we moved back to the States, and I can’t keep up. Mia read eight books for me this month for AAPI Heritage Month. This is the last one. THANK YOU, MIA!! // The Year of the Book is all about friendship, and that can be hard. Anna tries and tries to find a real friend, because she doesn’t think the friend she has is really her friend. Books and art, two of my favorite things, in one book. This book made me happy in so many ways, in hilarity, in friendship, and in family. One book, one very good read. Anna doesn’t know who her real friend is, and that’s tough for anyone. Please, please read this five star book! // Books and art are two of my favorite things too. I took this photo with my Mrs. Which Funko Pop, because one of Anna’s favorite books in The Year of the Book is A Wrinkle in Time. Thanks for all your great reviews, Mia! #andreacheng #aapiheritagemonth
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  • This book was so much fun. My third book this month by a Pacific Islander (the author is from Tahiti). I wish I would have had this book while we still lived in Cambodia. I could have photographed it in a beautiful frangipani tree. Also, it’s $1.99 for Kindle right now. // “Her name is Materena Mahi, and she’s the best listener in Tahiti. Materena starts her new job as a professional cleaner at the same time she becomes the mother of her beautiful baby girl. Leilani is a challenge almost from the start, posing questions (‘Why doesn’t it snow in Tahiti?’) that seem to Materena not worth wondering about. What matters to Materena is passing along her own special wisdom: (‘Always keep a breadfruit tree in your backyard. That way you’ll never go hungry.’ ‘To get rid of unwanted guests without hurting their feelings, broom around their feet.’ ‘Avoid foreigners at all costs. Foreigners eat raw fish with salad dressing.’) Everyone around Materena seems to admire her cleverness and generosity, her appreciation of Tahitian tradition—everyone except perhaps Leilani, who has her own ideas about love, family, and island ways.” (back cover) // The book was really good, and I loved the conversation with the author at the end. Her mom left school at age 14 to become a cleaner just like Materena. The broom in the photo is from Cambodia, and I wonder if it’s similar to the ones Materena sweeps with in Tahiti. #celestinevaite #aapiheritagemonth
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  • I read my first Alvin Ho book last year and totally fell in love with this kid. He’s such a great character. Lenore Look is brilliant. I sent several Alvin Ho books out in the little care packages I made for some kiddos who don’t have access to books right now. My niece Mia (10) reviewed this one for me. I’m not sure how a book about death and funerals is funny, but Mia says it is, and I believe her. Here’s Mia! // Alvin Ho, scared of death and funerals is hilarious, and I laughed through the whole book. Alvin won’t speak up, and that’s gonna lead to a whole world of trouble. A funeral, mistaken as his Grandpa's! So when a memorial service is planned for his (still alive) Grandpa! Finally, with terror and worry, Alvin goes to the funeral. A funny, enjoyable story! Please read this story! // Thanks, Mia! #alvinho #lenorelook #aapiheritagemonth
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  • I’ve said it before, I’ll keep on saying it: I love immigrant stories. Immigrants and refugees are some of the bravest, most amazing people I’ve ever met. // Inside book jacket: “Jimmy O. Yang is a stand-up comedian, film and TV actor and fan favorite as the character Jian Yang from the popular HBO series Silicon Valley. In How to American, he shares his story of growing up as a Chinese immigrant who pursued a Hollywood career against the wishes of his parents: Yang arrived in Los Angeles from Hong Kong at age 13, learned English by watching BET's Rap City for three hours a day, and worked as a strip club DJ while pursuing his comedy career. He chronicles a near-deportation episode during a college trip to Tijuana to finally becoming a proud US citizen 10 years later. Featuring those and many other hilarious stories while sharing some hard-earned lessons, How to American mocks stereotypes while offering tongue-in-cheek advice on pursuing the American dreams of fame, fortune, and strippers.” // I’ve never seen Silicon Valley, so the movie Crazy Rich Asians was my introduction to Jimmy O. Yang, who played the obnoxious Bernard Tai brilliantly. // From the section called How to Handle Racist Hecklers: “The crowd ate it up like it was orange chicken with a side of chow mein. I went on to have one of my best sets yet. I didn’t get paid a single penny that night, but I did score a six-pack of Bud Light. There were no rules in stand-up. It was the opposite of college; it was all the creative freedom I had ever wanted. I lived and breathed stand-up, and all I could think about was how to improve my bits. It made me forget I was a total disappointment to my dad.” (105-106) // #jimmyoyang #aapiheritagemonth
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  • Happy Sunday! I mentioned way back on Day 1 of AAPI Heritage Month that I wanted to read more books by Pacific Islanders this year. Last year I squeaked in on May 31 with a Hawaaian author. This year I started the month with a Hawaiian author, but only got two more PI authors read. So, here’s my half-read #SundaySixStack of Pacific Islander authors, and I’m going to try to get to the others soon. I also got two on Kindle Unlimited: My Urohs by Emelihter Kihleng and Daughters of the Stone by Dahlma Llanos-Figueroa. // From top to bottom: Where We Once Belonged (#siafigiel); Tales of the Tikongs (#epelihauofa); This is Paradise (#kristianahahakauwila); Song of the Exile (#kianadavenport); Frangipani (#celestinevaite); and Nuanua: Pacific Writing in English Since 1980 (edited by #albertwendt). // Have a book by a Pacific Islander to recommend? #aapiheritagemonth
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  • My 17yo daughter (the one who doesn’t do book reviews but reads voraciously) read this book and had one word to describe it: weird. She was not wrong. But since I DO write book reviews, I’ll elaborate. It was also powerful and heartbreaking and confusing and breathtaking. And, at the end of it, I wasn’t exactly sure what had just happened. It was pretty wow. And beautifully written. // Inside book jacket: “Every day Grace hears a train whistle blowing. But the train never arrives. The train never arrives. The train never arrives. And then it does. Grace King is independent. She is smart. She is rational. She is strong. She is not her mother. She will never be her mother. She can NEVER be her mother. But something is emerging in Grace. Something alarming. Something destructive. Something… far too familiar. In The Place Between Breaths, An Na takes you on a spiral of delusion and DNA that is heartbreaking yet hopeful, that will leave you questioning what reality truly is.” (YES to that last sentence.) // The book begins like this: “There are many versions of a story. Many sides and lenses that can distort, change, illuminate what is seen and unseen. What is heard and unheard. What is felt and unfelt. In the end, truth is but a facet of a diamond, a spark of ray from the sun, a forget-me-not flower seen from the eyes of a bee. What lives and breathes as reality is a perception, so who is to say what is possible and impossible? (1) // As a mom to more than one kiddo who has had mental health struggles, I feel like it gave me a lot of insight into what it’s like for someone with mental illness. It’s a quick read, and I’d like to read it again sometime to see if I can put more pieces together. #aapiheritagemonth
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  • Now that my niece, Mia, and I are backyard neighbors, it’s super easy to share books with each other. I went on an online book-buying spree as soon as we got to the States two months ago and got a lot of middle grade books for Mia to review for me. Most of them I’m keeping on my shelf here at my house, but a few of them Mia has asked if she could keep on hers. ALL THAT TO SAY that this book is one of them. So you know it’s really good. Here’s Mia with her review! // Dear World, a Syrian girl’s story of war and plea for peace, is an outstanding story of a real girl in a real war. Danger enters Bana Alabed’s childhood, bombs fall, up to 10 on bad days. Her family runs to the basement to stay safe. When they come up they don’t know who has died and who are hurt. Trama fills this young girl’s life, and people are dying left and right. What to do? Will her own family members die traumatic deaths? Will her family of five live through the war to the end? Can they escape the daily bombs crashing buildings and killing people? Too many questions, and all Bana wants is her home the way it used to be. When she went swimming and played on the playground. When she had no fear of death and bombs because no one bothered telling a three-year-old about death. But whether Bana, a seven-year-old girl, wants it or not, she will understand death in a way only people who suffered war will understand. Awesome, amazing, touching story! A must read for sure. // Thanks, Mia! That book sounds really powerful. Photo backdrop: hot mats made from recycled saris by @tenthousandvillages. #banaalabed #aapiheritagemonth
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  • I really enjoyed this book. Thank you, @randomhouse, for the gifted copy. It’s not my normal genre (I don’t even know what to call it—tech lit?), but it was really good. Kevin Nguyen is pretty brilliant. // The advance praise on the back cover is written by several authors who are also brilliant: Tommy Orange, Celeste Ng, Viet Thanh Nguyen, R.O. Kwon. // “Lucas and Margo are fed up. Margo is a brilliant programmer tired of being talked over as the company’s sole black employee, and while Lucas is one of many Asians at the firm, he’s nearly invisible as a low-paid customer service rep. Together, they decide to steal their tech startup’s user database in an attempt at revenge. The heist takes a sudden turn when Margo dies in a car accident, and Lucas is left reeling, wondering what to do with their secret—and wondering whether her death really was an accident. When Lucas hacks into Margo’s computer looking for answers, he is drawn into her private online life and realizes just how little he knew about his best friend.” (inside book jacket) // “In the office, I am assumed to be industrious, efficient, quiet—like the engine of a Prius, humming along. The strangest part of being Asian in America is that you never have to prove how hardworking you are. People just assume you were born with a great work ethic, or that your stoic, disciplinarian parents beat it into you at a young age. But the truth was that I was quiet those weeks after Margo died because I was hungover at my desk.” (51) // I’m glad I stepped outside my normal read zone and tried this one. It’s good. #kevinnguyen #randomhouse #aapiheritagemonth
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  • This is the second Jasmine Toguchi I’ve featured here. They’re really sweet books. My 10yo niece, Mia, reviewed this one for me (and the other one too). Here’s Mia! // Jasmine Toguchi Drummer Girl is an awesome read. Jasmine’s school is having a talent show, and she can’t think of any talents that she has! But watch out… make way for… the best drumming that school’s ever seen! Jasmine is ready to be fierce, and to do her best. But the loud-mouth Maddie is ruining Jasmine’s hope to do well. Practice makes perfect, and so Jasmine practices and practices. Please read and READ this amazing book! // Thank you, Mia! Any Jasmine Toguchi fans out there? #jasminetoguchi #debbimichikoflorence #aapiheritagemonth
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  • How had I not heard of the hilarious and brilliant Zarqa Nawaz? (Has anyone watched her hit TV show, Little Mosque on the Prairie?) I loved this book. I’ve learned so much from my Muslim friends, so a lot of her experiences were at least a little bit familiar to me. // “Zarqa Nawaz has always straddled two cultures. She’s just as likely to be agonizing over which sparkly earrings will ‘pimp out’ her hijab as to be flirting with the Walmart meat manager in a futile attempt to secure halal chicken the day before Eid. From explaining to the plumber why the toilet must be within arm’s reach of the water tap (hint: it involves a watering can and a Muslim obsession with cleanliness ‘down there’) to urging the electrician to play an eye-height electrical socket for her father-in-law’s epilepsy-inducing light-up picture of the Kaaba, Zarqa paints a hilarious portrait of growing up in a household where, according to her father, the Quran says it’s okay to eat at McDonald’s—but only if you order the McFish.” (back cover) // Soooo many great stories in this book. One of my favorites is when she’s in charge of the mosque potluck. “I had decided not to leave the food up to chance, and sent out an announcement dividing the food based on last name, just to make it easy.” She asked the first half of the alphabet to bring dessert and the second half to bring a main dish. When the tables are overflowing with every kind of dessert—and only dessert—her friend says to her, “You realize that the majority of Muslim last names fall into the first half of the alphabet, right? Ahmed, Abdullah, Ali…” (4) No, that had not occurred to her. Ha! // She makes serious situations super funny, and her irreverence might make you squirm, but I highly recommend this book. #zarqanawaz #aapiheritagemonth
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  • I loved this book. It’s for 8-year-olds, not 44-year-olds, but I loved it. The characters, the dialogue, the plot, all the illustrations, the humor. So so good. (And I got this gorgeous hardcover for a great deal from @bookoutlet.) I’ve had a hard time finding middle grade books by AAPI authors that have a boy protagonist (I think my short list consists of books by @erinentrada, @jackcheng, @lenorelook, @henakhan, and now @kevintsang). If you know of any more, please let me know! // “On a class trip to the aquarium, certified ghost hunter Sam Wu encounters something even scarier than ghosts: Crazy Charlie, a giant shark, who TOTALLY tries to eat him. Sam has no intentions of taking any more chances with these people-eating creatures. But then his classmates Regina and Ralph announce they’re having a birthday bash . . . on the BEACH! Can Sam overcome his terror of becoming shark bait?” (Amazon) // One of my favorite parts: When Sam’s Na-Na grills squid when his two friends are over, and he’s nervous that they’ll think it’s weird. “Ever since Zoe and Bernard came over to my house for dinner, tried my favorite dish [roast duck and turnip cake], and liked it, they’ve been better about trying new food. But I can understand why they thought the squid looked weird. It did still have tentacles.” (90) But they like it! I love squid too. We ate it a lot in Cambodia. They also try, and like, prawn crackers, which we also ate a lot of in Cambodia. Yum. // Chapter 8 is called Quarantine, which was super timely. // The illustrations and design are AWESOME. Thank you to my animal-loving nephew, Owen (7), for the shark props. HIGHLY recommend the Sam Wu series. #kevintsang #aapiheritagemonthcelebration
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