A Midsummer’s Night Dream by William Shakespeare

This month for #ShakeTheStacks Challenge I was excited to read one of William Shakespeare’s romantic comedies, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of Shakespeare’s most famous comedies, which makes sense because it is easy to understand and full of fun characters who aren’t afraid to go after what they want, even if it gets a little out of hand. The play has three casts of characters that cross paths through out the show. There are the lovers, the fairies, and the mechanicals (an acting troop). There isn’t much of a plot, mostly a lot of people running around in a forest.

My favorite part of this play are the two female lovers, Helena and Hermia. They are smart and sassy and really fun characters who drive the action of the play, without them, the plot wouldn’t exist. They’re part of a love rectangle, with shifting allegiances which makes for great fun. The young ladies are so emotional you never know what they’ll say next. In the scenes with the lovers you get a sense Shakespeare knows what its like to be a teenager in love, because the characters are so unpredictable and well written.

When it comes to the plot of A Midsummer Night’s Dream there isn’t much there. Some spells and mistaken identity, and then a wedding at the end, of course. If you don’t see the play and just read the text, it feels sort of silly. Which, I’m discovering on my journey through Shakespeare’s work, is the case with a lot of his comedies, since they are plays and are meant to be seen. In this play there is a whole section revolving around the fairy queen, Titania, falling in love with an actor, Bottom, despite the fact that he has a donkey’s head. Its really silly, but without the representation on stage you miss the whole fun of it. Reading these comedies requires more focus from the reader and a lot more imagination.

If you’re new to reading Shakespeare, I highly suggest this one. It has some really stunning writing (Titania and Oberon), both rhyming verse and prose, it has a lot of fun characters, and it has been made into a movie, so if you want to test your understanding you can watch it as well.

Next month for #ShakeTheStacks Challenge, I’ll be reading King John.

  • Paperback: 144 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin Classics; Reprint edition (August 1, 2000)
  • 4/5 stars
  • Buy A Midsummer Night’s Dream on Amazon or IndieBound

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The Stacks participates in affiliate programs. We receive a small commission when products are purchased through links on this website, and this comes at no cost to you. This in no way effects opinions on books and products reviewed here. For more information click here.

Ep. 61 The Publicizing of Books with Joseph Papa

Our guest today is Joseph Papa, author (Elizabeth Taylor, A Passion for Life), activist, and former book publicist at Harper Collins. Joseph brings his years of experience to the show to explain how book publicity works, what it is like working with celebrity authors, and how he got into the publishing industry. We also discuss Kris Jenner’s reading taste, audiobook speed, Scientology, and so much more. Trust us, this episode has it all!

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Everything we talk about on today’s episode can be found below in the show notes. If you’d like to support your local indie, you can shop through IndieBound.

Books

Everything Else

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To support The Stacks and find out more from this week’s sponsors, click here.

To contribute to The Stacks, join The Stacks Pack, and get exclusive perks, check out our Patreon page. We are beyond grateful for anything you’re able to give to support the production of this show. If you prefer to do a one time contribution go to paypal.me/thestackspod.


The Stacks participates in affiliate programs. We receive a small commission when products are purchased through links on this website, and this comes at no cost to you. This in no way effects opinions on books and products reviewed here. For more information click here.

Traci on The Feminist Book Club Podcast

I’m so excited to be a guest on The Feminist Book Club podcast. The show is hosted by the lovely Renee Powers, and is devoted to books and features conversations and interviews with feminist authors, writers, and readers.

Today on the show Renee and I are presenting our Top Five Feminist Books! The list isn’t what you’re expecting, but it is a whole lot of fun. We talk about so many amazing books by women, because I can’t be contained to only five. Get your TBRs ready.

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Apple Podcasts|The Feminist Book Club Website


The Stacks participates in affiliate programs. We receive a small commission when products are purchased through links on this website, and this comes at no cost to you. This in no way effects opinions on books and products reviewed here. For more information click here.

Beloved by Toni Morrison

Beloved is perhaps the most critically acclaimed book written by one of the most prolific and celebrated authors. It is the story of a woman, Sethe, who escaped slavery, only to be haunted by her past life both on and off the plantation. The book is parts historical fiction and part surreal ghost story. The book has been turned into a film, won a Pulitzer Prize, and continues to be assigned in schools across the country. When we talk about the “great American novel” Beloved makes the list.

There is something funny that happens to books when they’re proceeded with superlatives, they become untouchable and intimidating. A fear creeps in, that the reader won’t understand or appreciate the book, and often that can start long before the reader ever starts reading. That was the case for me when I picked up Beloved for the first time as part of The Stacks Book Club. I was so nervous and intimidated by the book and what I might think of it. Would I “get” it? Would I like it? Would I be moved as so many others had been?

The truth is, my answer was mostly, no. I didn’t really “get” it, I didn’t really like it, and while I was moved by specific scenes and passages, I wasn’t over come by this book. And the more I think about that, the more I think thats allowed.

As I read Beloved I appreciated the skill and mastery of Ms. Morrison. I was impressed by her ability to create layer after layer of meaning in her story. Her ability to write nuance is unmatched in my reading, she understanding of how pain manifests itself in people is art in itself. I read Beloved and understood what makes both Ms. Morrison and the book so great, though I personally was never personally overcome. What I’m learning, especially when it comes to great work, is that both things can be true and live together. There are both technical and emotional components to any good piece of art, and you can appreciate one even if the other doesn’t resonate. These things are not mutually exclusive.

Of all the themes in Beloved, the idea of generational trauma, is what spoke to me most. Morrison connects the years of suffering under chattel slavery to the everyday manifestations of trauma on her characters. She creates characters that are complete with confidence and crazy, which is so very human. Your heart aches for the women in this story, their fear, pain, and rage is deserved, and Morrison never lets you forget that. Weather she is recounting events from years ago or writing dialogue, the trauma in this story is never far from view. It haunts the world of the book.

The book moves between points of view and events without much set up, the years skip around, and sometimes its hard to know exactly where you are in the story. This was challenging for me to connect with, though on a second or third reading, I think this complexity would add so much to my enjoyment of the book. Like in a good scary movie or thriller, Morrison is leaving us Easter eggs to pick up on, only when we’re revisit her novel.

There is a lot to unpack and look into when talking about Beloved it is not an easy read, and the subject matter is not comfortable. This book requires a commitment of the reader. The expectation of greatness from her reader is partly what makes her books so good. Toni Morrison demands you bring your full self to her work, and that you take your time, and if you do, you might just be rewarded with a story that will stay with you for life. This book is worth you time. I can’t promise you’ll like it, but if you read it with an open mind, I think there is much to appreciate about this story.

For a more in depth conversation on Beloved, check out The Stacks Book Club episode with DaMaris B. Hill where we discuss the themes, characters, and social implications of this story.

  • Paperack: 275
  • PublisherPlume (October 1 , 1998)
  • 3/5 stars
  • Buy Beloved Amazon or IndieBound

To contribute to The Stacks, join The Stacks Pack, and get exclusive perks, check out our Patreon page (https://www.patreon.com/thestacks). We are beyond grateful for anything you’re able to give to support the production of The Stacks.

The Stacks participates in affiliate programs. We receive a small commission when products are purchased through links on this website, and this comes at no cost to you. This in no way effects opinions on books and products reviewed here. For more information click here.

Ep. 60 Beloved by Toni Morrison — The Stacks Book Club (DaMaris B. Hill)

Beloved is a classic American novel by one of the greatest novelists of our time, Toni Morrison. It is also The Stacks Book Club pick this week, and we are lucky to have author and scholar DaMaris B. Hill (A Bound Woman is a Dangerous Thing) to help us break it down. We talk about the legacy of slavery on Black Americans, how to discuss great works that we don’t personally enjoy, intimacy as it relates to insanity, and Pulitzer Prize controversy.

There are spoilers on this week’s episode.

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Everything we talk about on today’s episode can be found below in the show notes and on Bookshop.org and Amazon.

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To support The Stacks and find out more from this week’s sponsors, click here.

To contribute to The Stacks, join The Stacks Pack, and get exclusive perks, check out our Patreon page. We are beyond grateful for anything you’re able to give to support the production of this show. If you prefer to do a one time contribution go to paypal.me/thestackspod.


The Stacks participates in affiliate programs. We receive a small commission when products are purchased through links on this website, and this comes at no cost to you. This in no way effects opinions on books and products reviewed here. For more information click here.

The Short Stacks 13: Robert W. Fieseler//Tinderbox

We’re joined today by Robert W. Fieseler author of June The Stacks Book Club Pick, Tinderbox: The Untold Story of the Up Stairs Lounge Fire and the Rise of Gay Liberation. In our conversation we get to know Fieseler, how this tragic event came into his life, where he found his sources, and the toll writing about trauma can have on an author. Our conversation is spoiler free, and serves as a great introduction for our TSBC conversation on Tinderbox, that will air on June 5th.

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Everything we talk about on today’s episode can be found below in the show notes and on Bookshop.org and Amazon.

Connect with Robert: Instagram | Twitter | Website
Connect with The Stacks: Instagram | Twitter | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | Subscribe

To support The Stacks and find out more from this week’s sponsors, click here.

To contribute to The Stacks, join The Stacks Pack, and get exclusive perks, check out our Patreon page. We are beyond grateful for anything you’re able to give to support the production of this show. If you prefer to do a one time contribution go to paypal.me/thestackspod.


The Stacks participates in affiliate programs. We receive a small commission when products are purchased through links on this website, and this comes at no cost to you. This in no way effects opinions on books and products reviewed here. For more information click here.

A Bound Woman Is a Dangerous Thing: The Incarceration of African American Women from Harriet Tubman to Sandra Bland by DaMaris B. Hill

The Stacks received A Bound Woman is a Dangerous Thing from the publisher. For more information click here.

In her collection of poetry that covers the history of incarceration of Black women in America, DaMaris Hill crafts poems that highlight the pain of being a Black woman and the undeniable strength that comes along with it. She tells of some of the most famous women of the Diaspora as well as many women whose stories were nearly lost to history.

Throughout the book, Hill connects her poems to the history of the women’s lives through prose. I found these introductions to be extremely helpful in contextualizing her poetry. While I didn’t always connect with the poems, I was able to understand the stories being told which enhanced my experience. Poetry can be so personal, having the historical details allowed me to have thoughts about the work even if the poem didn’t speak to me.

Not all the women in the book are famous women. One section of A Bound Woman is a Dangerous Thing focuses on women from another book, Colored Amazons by Kali N. Gross. These women, have also been incarcerated, victimized, abused and in some cases killed, like their more famous counterparts in this book. They serve as a reminder that not only Harriet Tubman or Assata Shakur have had their humanity stolen away, but rather that their more notorious incarcerations are part of a long line of locking away Black women.

If the struggle and power of Black women interests you, this is a book for you. If you are working on reading more poetry, this is a great place to start, especially because the context Hill gives her readers allows for more understanding. Certainly parts of this book are a challenge to read, don’t shy away from that. The emotional responses are intentionally evoked by Hill. The discomfort is part of the story.

Listen to DaMaris B. Hill discuss this book, and much more on The Stacks

  • Hardcover: 192
  • PublisherBloomsbury Publishing (January 15, 2019)
  • 3/5 stars
  • Buy A Bound Woman is a Dangerous Thing Amazon or IndieBound

To contribute to The Stacks, join The Stacks Pack, and get exclusive perks, check out our Patreon page (https://www.patreon.com/thestacks). We are beyond grateful for anything you’re able to give to support the production of The Stacks.

The Stacks participates in affiliate programs. We receive a small commission when products are purchased through links on this website, and this comes at no cost to you. This in no way effects opinions on books and products reviewed here. For more information click here.

Ep 59 Chasing Perfection with DaMaris B. Hill

DaMaris B. Hill is an author and scholar, and her latest book, A Bound Woman is a Dangerous Thing, is a collection of poetry dealing with the incarceration of Black women. Today on The Stacks she talks with us about how she came to be a writer, her perfectionist spirit, and the books that have inspired her along the way.

LISTEN NOW

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Everything we talk about on today’s episode can be found below in the show notes and on Bookshop.org and Amazon.

Books

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Everything Else

Connect with DaMaris: Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Website
Connect with The Stacks: Instagram | Twitter | Shop | Patreon | Goodreads | Subscribe

To support The Stacks and find out more from this week’s sponsors, click here.

To contribute to The Stacks, join The Stacks Pack, and get exclusive perks, check out our Patreon page. We are beyond grateful for anything you’re able to give to support the production of this show. If you prefer to do a one time contribution go to paypal.me/thestackspod.


The Stacks received A Bound Woman is a Dangerous Thing from the publisher. For more information click here.

The Stacks participates in affiliate programs. We receive a small commission when products are purchased through links on this website, and this comes at no cost to you. This in no way effects opinions on books and products reviewed here. For more information click here.

The Unputdownables: Nonfiction

I have been in a sort of reading slump, and I asked followers on Instagram to help me find a book of nonfiction that is “unputdownable”. The responses were SO good that I figured I would share them with you here and turn unputdownable books into a series on The Stacks website, featuring the most readable books by genre according to you all. Welcome to The Unputdownables.

To start, I’ll share two or three of my picks that fit the category (in this case nonfiction) and then share whatever you all sent my way. If you want to have your pick included in future editions of The Unputdownables make sure you’re following The Stacks on Instagram.

Ok here are my picks for The Unputdownables Nonfiction!

John Krakauer – I recognize this isn’t a book, but every book by John Krakauer is great, and I have read all of his books. They are so engaging and well researched and deep diving. Plus he covers a huge variety of topics from Fundamental Mormons to campus rape culture to Mount Everest. If you haven’t read his books, they are a must. If I had to pick just one, it would be Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman.
Eiger Dreams | Into the Wild | Into Thin Air | Missoula | Under the Banner of Heaven | Where Men Win Glory

Jesus Land by Julia Scheeres – I rave about this memoir all the time and most people don’t know it, but trust me it is amazing. The book is about Scheeres (who is White) and her adopted brothers (who are Black) and their violent and volatile, religious family.

Columbine by Dave Cullen – Another book that I constantly talk about, and for good reason. In this book, Cullen dives deep into the most infamous American school shooting. His research is impeccable and his story telling is out of this world.


Here are a list of books submitted by you all of your favorite unputdownable non fiction titles. If the book came up multiple times I will note that by placing the number times it came up in parenthesis. If I have read the book, I will note that too, by putting the book in bold. The books are in alphabetical order by title. Ok. here is your list of total bingeable true stories as told to me by YOU.

Thats the list for our first ever Unputdownable round up of nonfiction. You can get any of these books on Amazon or IndieBound. Make sure to share which books you would add to this list in the comments. Stay tuned for the next round of Unputdownables, coming soon.


To contribute to The Stacks, join The Stacks Pack, and get exclusive perks, check out our Patreon page (https://www.patreon.com/thestacks). We are beyond grateful for anything you’re able to give to support the production of The Stacks.

The Stacks participates in affiliate programs. We receive a small commission when products are purchased through links on this website, and this comes at no cost to you. This in no way effects opinions on books and products reviewed here. For more information click here.

What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker: A Memoir in Essays by Damon Young

The Stacks received What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker from the publisher. For more information click here.

Damon Young is known for bringing his authentic voice to his work. He is funny, he is observant, he is smart, he is Pittsburgh, and he is Black. All of this can be said as well, for his new book What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker. Young takes apart his life and reconstructs the most important and formative stories, people, and ideas into essays. And instead of telling us all the whats in his life, he is clear that he wants to show us the whys. We get glimpses of what it means for Young to be alive as a Black man in America in 2019. He shares his anxieties, insecurities, victories, and tragedies with us.

There are four essays in this book that really stand out. They all engage with Young and his relationship to women in some way. Weather it be the health care system and his mother, his unconventional love story with his wife, the hopes he holds for his daughter, or his own reckoning with the kind of man he once was in the face of Rape Culture, Young is grappling with his humanity in relationship to those around him and society at large. Thus, these essays take on an urgency that isn’t found elsewhere in the book. You can sense Young’s anxiety around diving so deep, and luck for us he writes these essays anyway, because they are truly impactful.

The other essays in What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker cover a variety of topics from Black anxiety, use of “n-word”, homophobia, and gentrification. These essays are solid but don’t always strike the same thrilling balance between humor, insight, and vulnerability that are present in the above mentioned essays.

Damon Young is powerful voice in Black culture, as the co-founder of Very Smart Brothas and Senior Editor at The Root, and he is a voice that is unpretentious and relatable. He is speaking of his own experiences and observations inn this book, and because of his ability to articulate the whys behind so much of his life you leave the reading experience with a lot to digest. I don’t know that this book changes your life, but I do think it will make you stop and reflect about how you can live a little better.

We had Damon Young on The Short Stacks and he talked all about What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker and you can hear that conversation by clicking HERE. He drops so many gems throughout the episode, you won’t want to miss it.

The Short Stacks 12: Damon Young//What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker

  • Hardcover: 320
  • PublisherEcco; 1st Edition edition (March 26, 2019)
  • 3/5 stars
  • Buy What Doesn’t Kill You Makes You Blacker Amazon or IndieBound

To contribute to The Stacks, join The Stacks Pack, and get exclusive perks, check out our Patreon page (https://www.patreon.com/thestacks). We are beyond grateful for anything you’re able to give to support the production of The Stacks.

The Stacks participates in affiliate programs. We receive a small commission when products are purchased through links on this website, and this comes at no cost to you. This in no way effects opinions on books and products reviewed here. For more information click here.