Reading Wednesday: Can you tell I was on vacation?

[laceblade]

• What are you currently reading?
The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson - I'm reading this for beer_marmalade & also because lots of my friends have been talking it up.
I'm not really a huge fan, I guess. This seems to be a book where the worldbuilding is way better than the writing. Unlike many sf/f fans, I don't really give a fuck about worldbuilding, so that on its own is not enough for me.


• What did you recently finish reading?
Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer - It's been a long-ass time since I've read non-fiction. I saw this in a used bookstore & then checked it out from the library.
This book is about two fundamentalist Mormons who murdered their sister-in-law & her infant daughter in the 1980s. It's about the polygamist fundamentalist sect of Mormonism. It's also about the history of mainstream Mormonism & the violence that's always been a part of it.
Growing up, one of my best friends 5th through 10th grade was Mormon, & was one of the guy friends in our friend-group. So I've been interested in Mormonism for a while & am pretty familiar with its sanitized history.
This book presents a lot of events I was not previously aware of, including the Mountain Meadows Massacre.
In addition to pointing out how young & coerced a lot of people's plural wives have been - from Joseph Smith's to those living in these communities today - the book also focuses on the nature of belief, in people truly believing/knowing they are communicating with God & fulfilling his commands - even when they seem absurd to regular people (i.e., killing your infant niece).
Sometimes grotesque but also fascinating.
I'm sure millions of people feel the same way about Catholicism. Like, I still find the whole "golden plates" premise & Joseph Smith himself absurd, but I'm sure many feel the same way about transubstantiation.
Anyway, I feel like I'm not doing a great job with this review, but I loved this book & might look into reading more by Krakauer.

Shugo Chara! vols. 5-6 - Currently filing this under "okay but not great."
I love Amu's wardrobe (she is the protagonist). The premise of this series is that she feels like she can't be her "true self." She has mini-characters who hatch from eggs & can transform her into truer versions of herself (via henshin).
She hangs out with other members of her school who have this ability, too.
Amu gets a fourth egg with an X on it, which is later revealed to be a diamond. It doesn't reveal an aspect of Amu's true self right away because she's "down."
During the triumphant scene in which this x-egg finally changes into Diamond, Amu says, "I do feel frustrated. There's no one who would feel happy when they lose. Of course I'll feel frustrated if I lose. But losing...getting hurting is not the end of it. If I have the will to try harder the next time...I'll get stronger when I get hurt. People who know loss should be able to shine, too. I still don't know what the real me is like. I might be someone who is wishy-washy. But...I believe in it. I believe in the sparkles inside of me."
MAHOU SHOUJO MANGA, HOW YOU SPEAK TO ME WITH YOUR NONSENSICAL PEP TALKS. That's what I'm here for, & that's what I got :D

Basara vols. 2-6 - I am still SO PLEASED with this series, omg it just fantastic.


• What do you think you’ll read next?
More Basara, more Shugo Chara, & more of the other manga I've got checked out from the library ^_^
It'd be nice to read more non-fiction, too.

Comments

[starlady]

I read Into Thin Air a while back and really liked it--I imagine it'd be a bit different than this one, since Krakauer was himself a participant in those events. My sister also loves Into the Wild like burning.

[oyceter]

I believe in the sparkles inside of me.

BEST!

The only Krakauer I've read is Into Thin Air, about the Mt. Everest climbing disaster. I vaguely remember wishing he had addressed more of the weirdness between the usually rich climbers and the sherpas who lead them, but it's a fast, fun read. Er, if you think reading about people freezing to death is fun.

[meganbmoore]

Re: Nonfiction: Feelings on memoirs? If you like them, I rec "Call the Midwife" by Jennifer Worth (some cringeworthy privilege at times, though I suspect more out of nostalgia than actual ignorance...I read her second memoir over the weekend and it's considerably more consciously aware, and some graphic descriptions of childbirth, but very enjoyable.) "Outwitting the Gestapo" by Lucie Aubrac (Member of the French Resistance who uses her pregnancy to stage a jailbreak and rescue her Jewish husband. SHE IS AMAZEBALLS.) and "Cybill Disobedience" by Cybill Shepherd (It's actually a bit odd and off at times and I kind of think she wanted to write one memoir but instead ended up writing the one she realized the masses would be more interested in reading, but very interesting from the perspective of being expected to live to cater to the male gaze, and the treatment of "difficult" actresses.)

BASARA JUST GETS BETTER.

ETA: Oh, also, you should read the Heian diaries, if you haven't.