Andrea Elliott joins us to discuss her investigative reporting career and her Pulitzer Prize winning book Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City. We go over how this remarkable story came to be, and how it shifted from what Andrea first anticipated. We also get into what can and should change about the ethics of journalism, and the challenge of protecting children from themselves in the media.
The Stacks Book Club selection for September isThe Treesby Percival Everett.We will discuss the book on September 28th with Lisa Lucas.
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We’re joined today by novelist and essayist Ingrid Rojas Contreras, whose new book The Man Who Could Move Clouds combines memoir with rich storytelling and an excavation of family and Colombian history. We discuss magical realism as a nonfiction genre, why it’s useful to believe in ghosts, and ask the question, what responsibility do we owe to our pasts?
The Stacks Book Club selection for August isHow to Write an Autobiographical Novelby Alexander Chee.We will discuss the book on August 31st with Ingrid Rojas Contreras.
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. If you prefer to support the show with 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.
Today we’re joined by Julissa Arce, author, and education and immigration activist. On this episode we have a conversation around Julissa’s third book, You Sound Like a White Girl: A Case for Rejecting Assimilation. We talk about the myths around U.S. citizenship, colorism in Latine communities, plus the histories that the Black-white binary excludes.
The Stacks Book Club selection for March isA Mercyby Toni Morrison we will discuss the book on March 30th with Imani Perry.
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To contribute to The Stacks, join The Stacks Pack, and get exclusive perks, check out our Patreon page. If you prefer to support the show with 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.
Arianna Davis is the debut author of What Would Frida Do?: A Guide to Living Boldly, and the digital director at Oprahmag.com. Today we discuss how Arianna got her creative juices flowing, what she hopes readers will take away from her book, and of course, Oprah!
The Stacks Book Club selection for December isCitizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine, we will discuss the book with Darnell Moore on December 30th.
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. If you prefer to support the show with 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.
Today for The Stacks Book Club we are discussing The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio. Our guest is the reader behind the bookish Instagram account Lupita Reads, Lupita Aquino. Our conversation looks at the ways undocumented people have been treated as a monolith, the concept of “objective journalism”, and how this book has created a space for more undocumented folks to feel seen and heard. There are no spoilers in this episode.
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.
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.
Karla Cornejo Villavicencio is the author of The Stacks Book Club selection for September, The Undocumented Americans. On today’s episode we get a deeper (and spoiler free) look at the book, and why Karla felt compelled to tell these stories now. We also discuss the audience Karla had in mind while writing, her ideal writing set up, and why describing women of color as “strong” is a form of erasure.
The Stacks Book Club selection for September isThe Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicencio, we will discuss the book with Lupita Aquino on September 30th.
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.
Our selection for The Stacks Book Club in September is The Undocumented Americans by Karla Cornejo Villavicenio. A work of nonfiction that chronicles the lives of Villavicencio and other undocumented immigrants in The United States. The book is a mix of reportage and memoir and is an intimate look at what it means to live in America without documentation. The Undocumented Americans looks beyond the border stories and DREAMer narratives we are often inundated with, and instead tells stories of people whose lives are often politicized and overlooked. The book avoids cliche and instead brings nuance and humanity to Villavicencio’s subjects.
We will be discussing The Undocumented Americans on the podcast on Wednesday, September 30th, and you can find out who our guest will be by listening to the podcast on September 2nd. If you’d like even more discussion around the book consider joining The Stacks Pack on Patreon and participating in The Stacks’ monthly virtual book club.
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. For more information click here.
I am over here reeling, because the end of November means we’re almost at the end of the year, where has the time gone? I read seven books this month, and they were, for the most part, pretty good books. Nothing out of this world, but nothing terrible. My standout was my re-read of Tell Me How it Endsby Valeria Luiselli, if you haven’t read this one you should, you really should. Below you can see mini-reviews of everything I read in November.
November by the Numbers
Total Books Read: 7 Audiobooks: 0 Five Star Reads: 1 Unread Shelf: 0 Books Acquired: 15
By Women Authors: 6 By Authors of Color: 3 By Queer Authors: 0 Nonfiction Reads: 5 Published in 2019: 3
The Stacks received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. For more information click here. (Photo: amazon.com)
A data driven look at the questions of parenting. Emily Oster uses studies to help parents answer questions about breastfedding, day care, screen time, and more. It is a rational way to think about decision making, especially the kind that can feel very emotional.
I really enjoyed reading this book. The first half was particularly interesting as the topics tackled and the data provided really showed clear benefits and risks with certain parenting behavior (co-sleeping, breastfeeding etc). I loved how Oster reminds her reader that they need to look at what works best for their life, and I found that to be applicable even for things outside of parenting. If you are a parent of small children (or expecting), this book might be really helpful to remind you that you’re in control and your happiness matters.
Three Stars | Penguin Press | April 23, 2019 | 352 Pages | Hardcover | Purchase on IndieBound
Girl Boner is a podcast, a book, a general vibe, and a guide to sexual empowerment. McLaughlin uses the pages of this book to talk about all kinds of sex and how people who identify as women can embrace their sexuality without shame or fear.
I found this book to be inclusive in the best possible ways. I loved reading stories of sex workers along side the stories of women unhappy in their marriages next to advice on sex positions. McLaughlin makes a point of embracing the many forms of gender and sexual expression including trauma and mental health. She teaches her readers a lot along the way, though the book feels long winded in some sections. Girl Boner is sex positivity at its most accessible and basic, and that kind of writing around sex is rare, even in 2019. This one is refreshing and worth your time (and all you male identifying folks, there is something in here for you too).
Three Stars | Amberjack Publishing | August 7, 2018 | 368 Pages | Hardcover | Purchase on IndieBound
Much Ado About Nothing is a romantic comedy with a darker side, as most of Shakespeare’s comedies tend to be. It is a fun play if you want it to be, but it can also be troubling. I enjoyed reading this one, though I thought the plot was a little sparse overall.
The idea of female reputation and purity is a huge theme throughout and feels relevant today. The way the women are discussed and shamed throughout the book felt like any given day on twitter. I was also shocked how little the main love interests, Beatrice and Benedick, actually interact with one another. All in all this was a fun little read though I imagine it will also be easily forgotten.
Three Stars | Pelican Shakespeare | September 1, 1999 | 98 Pages | Paperback | Purchase on IndieBound
A powerful and emotional look at unaccompanied children coming to America. The book is short and so well crafted you leave it feeling full, if not sliightly devasted for hte plight of these children.
Luiselli is brilliant in how she tells this story, weaving together the children’s experiences with her own as their interpreter. She also layers the policy and politics in The United States that have landed us in this crisis. I can not recommend this book more highly, now more than ever.
Five Stars | Coffee House Press | April 4, 2017 | 128 Pages | Paperback | Purchase on IndieBound We discussTell Me How It Endson The Stacks Book Club, you can hear that conversation by clicking HERE.
My first experience in romance, aside from Fifty Shades of Grey, and I didn’t hate it. I actually rather enjoyed reading a book that felt like an escape from all the news and terrible things that happen in the world. That is not to say this book didn’t have some pretty toxic masculinity and a glaring lack of diversity. It just didn’t feel like watching an impeachment hearing, so it was a welcome relief.
The book is fun even though the plot is very thin and the characters are tropes. The sex is not gratuitous, its also not that frequent. I enjoyed the book and would consider reading more romance, because the experience of fully checking out while reading was enjoyable, even if the content was just okay.
Three Stars | William Morrow Paperbacks | August 6, 2016 | 384 Pages | Paperback | Purchase on IndieBound
The Stacks received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. For more information click here. (Photo: amazon.com)
A comedic memoir about migrating from Iraq as a child and growing up different in America. Salman explores her childhood culture clashes, finding feminism, and eventually her struggles as an adult with love and life. It’s a book about where you fit in.
This is a fun one. The tone is very sarcastic and casual, and the pages are adorned with an abundance of footnotes chiming in with jokes and asides. Though there was some serious stuff in the book as well. Overall, I would’ve liked more reflection on her growth, as the book reads as a bunch of antidotal stories versus a clear narrative of who Salman is now. It felt at times as if she was holding back or worried about saying too much, or disrupting the conventionally accepted idea of a model immigrant.
Two Stars | Skyhorse Publishing | March 5, 2019 | 288 Pages | Paperback | Purchase on IndieBound Hear our conversation with Ayser Salman on The Stacks HERE.
The Stacks received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. For more information click here. (Photo: amazon.com)
A collection of essays about what its like to be alive, and young, and female, in America in 2019. This book is super specific and in that it feels extremely relevant to this exact moment in time. It is a time capsule of what it feels like to be a millennial.
Tolentino is a great writer, though some of the essays feel can read as slightly over worked and tedious, and her arguments have dexterity. She opens up conversations on difficult women, marriage, optimization, and scammers in a way only a person of this moment could. She understand the levels and layers to these nuanced topics and works her way through, bringing us along with her. I didn’t love all the essays (the first few felt particularly slow to me), but by the end I was all in on Tolentio and Trick Mirror.
Four Stars | Random House | August 6, 2019 | 320 Pages | Hardcover | Purchase on IndieBound
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.
Today on The Stacks Book Club we discuss Tell Me How It Endsby Valeria Luiselli, a book that looks at the immigration crisis at the US/Mexico border for the children who make the journey unaccompanied. Our guest Ayser Salman (The Wrong End of the Table) joins the show to talk about empathy, the language around immigration, and what we can do to help. There are no spoilers on this episode.
Everything we talk about on today’s episode can be found below in the show notes and on Bookshop.org and Amazon.
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.
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.
October was my best reading month so far in 2019. Not only did I read the most books I’ve read in a month (eleven), but I also had the most five star reads (three). I did have a few two star reads, which is never fun, but you can’t win them all. The stand outs this month were Look Both Ways by Jason Reynolds, Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson, and Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat. Read below for mini-reviews of everything I read in October.
October by the Numbers
Total Books Read: 11 Audiobooks: 2 Five Star Reads: 3 Unread Shelf: 1 Books Acquired: 26
By Women Authors: 5 By Authors of Color: 10 By Queer Authors: 2 Nonfiction Reads: 3 Published in 2019: 6
The story of August, a twelve year old Black girl navigating a new life in Brooklyn. She moves north, with her father and brother, after her mother’s death. It’s the story of August growing up, finding new friends, and creating space her own space in the world.
This book is the best coming of age story I’ve ever read. She nails what it feels like to be Black and young and fearless and terrified and longing and female and free. Woodson understands what it means to be searching and to be found. The complexities of getting older are handled with care but without any sense of preciousness. And she does all of this in less than 200 pages. That kind of brevity is rare, and a sign of true mastery.
The love between August and her three friends speaks powerfully to beauty of Black female friendships. At times it took my breath away. There is an ease to Woodson’s writing that makes these young women come to life wholly and authentically. She doesn’t attempt to smooth over the traumas or stifle the triumphs Instead there is a reality filled with pain and heartbreak, and with so much joy.
The Stacks received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. For more information click here. (Photo: amazon.com)
Two pregnant women living in a secret maternity home in Los Angeles decide to escape north to San Francisco and raise their children free of constraint and expectation of their Chinese families in this novel.
First off, Hua is a really beautiful writer, she balances her sentences between art and information in a way that is enjoyable to read. The truth is, I just couldn’t connect with the story. I liked the lead characters and the plot moved, but nothing grabbed me. I didn’t feel that I had a stake in what happened to the people in this story one way or the other. I did listen to this book on audio, and its possible that the narrator was what didn’t work for me. All of this is to say, if you like novels about unconventional women who blaze their own trails, this might be a book for you.
Two Stars | Random House Audio | August 14, 2018 | 10 Hours 54 Minutes | Paperback | Purchase on IndieBound
In this lightly satirical novel we follow our narrator as tries to get back his Black card, that’s been revoked. If you’re looking for comparison, this book felt like the mixed kids version of the TV show Atlanta. It’s funny, a little surreal, and sometimes felt smarter/more clever than me.
Overall I liked it. Terry is clearly a creative thinker and grappling with what it is to be mixed, and how that relates to both Blackness and Whiteness, and why that matters. I love seeing stories told about being more than one thing when it comes to race and ethnicity, because there are so many of us mixed kids out there (not just Black and White, but all sorts of combinations).
Three Stars | Catapult | August 13, 2019 |272 Pages | Hardcover | Purchase on IndieBound Hear our conversation with Chris L. Terry on The Stacks HERE.
Henry V, a play you might not know, but you’ve probably heard a few famous lines from. “Once more into the breach, dear friends, once more” “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers” The play follows Henry, the new king, as he grapples with the responsibility of going to war, and what that says about him as a leader and as a man.
While I’m pretty over stories about Kings contemplating and ultimately going to war, I did get a lot out of this play. Henry has some wonderful speeches and meditates on some pretty heady stuff. This play got me thinking a lot about the responsibility of our leaders to the people versus the well being of the nation versus their own lust for power and legacy. It asks questions of who has blood on their hands? Is it the soldiers or the king that sends them to war? It all feels topical given what is going on in the world.
As a reader I loved reading the monologues from King Henry, but other parts fell flat, like the comedic bar scenes. There’s also a pretty spectacular courting scene in the play’s final act that shows how lacking in humanity our king is when he’s faced with courting (or conquering) a woman.
Three Stars | Pelican Shakespeare | September 1, 1999 | 121 Pages | Paperback | Purchase on IndieBound
The Stacks received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. For more information click here. (Photo: amazon.com)
A collection of short stories of middle school kids walking home from school. The stories are all unique and individual, but they intersect with the other stories in one way or another. It is a beautiful book about the few minutes a day kids are left unsupervised and get to experience the world on their own.
Something that Jason Reynolds is able to do with Look Both Ways is see the humanity in his characters. These kids have all had experiences that have shaped them, some more traumatic than others, but he finds a way to present this without making the kids their trauma. The characters are full of life and joy and they are impossible to forget. Its also worth noting, Reynolds can write! His prose are rich without being over worked. He doesn’t preach to his audience, he sees his reader and shares with them. As someone who doesn’t read YA or middle grade books, Look Both Ways was a welcome surprise that brought me to life as a reader and reminded me of goodness. It is a favorite read of 2019 for sure!
Five Stars | Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books | October 8, 2019 | 208 Pages | Hardcover | Purchase on IndieBound
Shea Serrano is hilarious and so smart. In his book Movies (and Other Things) he asks questions about movies and then answers them. It sounds like a pretty straight forward concept, but the genius in Shea Serrano is that he finds new and exciting ways to look at movies and the world. He opens up the conversation around movies so that you feel like you’re debating with your friend, and challenging yourself to see movies differently.
This book is laugh out loud funny. Not just the ideas behind it, but there are sentences that are so accurate you can’t help but laugh. Its not all funny (mostly it is) there is a little more going on in this one, for instance, the chapter on Selena talks about what it means to be Mexican American and the struggles of being two things at once. Of course, Serrano infuses his signature voice and his humor, but its more than that, trust me.
The only complaint I have about this book is that if you don’t know the movies or the genre, it can be a little harder to engage with certain chapters. Gangster movies aren’t my thing, so I felt a little lost when looking at the quintessential gangster movie scenes. Overall, if you like movies, you’ll get a kick out of this book.
Four Stars | Twelve Books | October 8, 2019 | 256 Pages | Hardcover | Purchase on IndieBound
The story of the Han family and their Chinese restaurant, The Beijing Duck House. When there is a fire that sets the restaurant a blaze the world of the Han family and their employees is shaken up and we’re left to sort the pieces.
This one wasn’t for me. It was too long and felt repetitive. I wasn’t excited by the characters or the plot, but rather felt like I was just going through the motions to get to the end of the book. There were some cute moments, and one scene at the end that was wonderful, but overall this wasn’t something that I enjoyed reading. I do think, however, this books would make a fantastic movie, in fact the whole time I was reading it I was wishing the movie already existed. The nuances of family drama might translate better to the screen, and certainly the food would be more appetizing that way.
The Stacks received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. For more information click here. (Photo: amazon.com)
The story of one Black family through time and place. We start in 2001 at 16 year old Melody’s coming of age ceremony and then unwrap the layers that make her family fragmented, strong, unique, and whole.
Woodson understands and articulates what it means to be Black and female in America, and this book puts her ability on display. She captures the delicious subtleties of life. In Red at the Bone we see class and race and gender norms and sexuality and so much humanity, and we get to see it all through the beautiful prose of Woodson. Woodson who is a master of brevity that lands a punch. I’m not sure this specific story will stick with me in five years, but I know that the feeling of reading Jacqueline Woodson will never fade.
Four Stars | Riverhead Books | September 17, 2019 | 208 Pages | Hardcover | Purchase on IndieBound
We don’t normally read and review cookbooks around here, but we also are willing to try anything once, and I’m so glad we did. Salt, Fat, Acid, Heatis a cookbook about the elements that make up everything we eat. Nosrat breaks it all down in the first 200 pages of the book, explaining each element and how to use it, and then give us 200+ pages of basic recipes to practice our skills.
This book is simply fantastic! I like to cook, but often feel I don’t know how to without detailed instructions. I find myself glued to my recipes and in a mild state of anxiety when trying something new. This book gives anyone the tools to make choices about how to cook and how to improvise. Its empowering. I would be remiss not to mentions the gorgeous illustrations from Wendy McNaughton. I can honestly say this is one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever owned.
Three Stars | Houghton Mifflin Harcourt | October 22, 2019 | 480 Pages | Hardcover | Purchase on IndieBound We discussSalt, Fat, Acid, Heaton The Stacks Book Club, you can hear that conversation by clicking HERE.
A look at why humans are so bad at understanding and engaging with “strangers”. This book is deeply flawed and highly problematic. I found the arguments made to be harmful and irresponsible. In the past I’ve considered myself a Gladwell fan (I’ve read all his books and listened to his podcast) but this book feels like he’s reached his own tipping point, it is Gladwell for Gladwell’s sake.
One glaring is that there is no clear definition of the word “stranger”. We’re led through stories of people meeting for the first time and then of colleagues who’ve worked together for decades, and both are treated the same, we’re told they’re strangers. That can’t be.
Gladwell is a gifted storyteller (which is made all the more clear through his fantastic narration of the audiobook) and is known for making compelling arguments. Our understanding of who he is helps as he shifts from interesting scientific studies to unsubstantiated claims without batting an eye. He is riding on intellectual credit, but the arguments are weak at best when we look at them more deeply.
The most offensive piece of this book is his unwillingness to take power, sexism, and racism into account when discussing people and events like Larry Nassar, The Stanford Rape Case, and Sandra Bland. Instead of discussing racism and race he opts to discuss “misunderstanding”. Instead of discussing the power dynamics of sexual assault he expounds the harms of binge drinking, but nothing of misogyny. It’s a big mess, and he should’ve done better.
The book feels like an attempt to be both relevant and placate people who are tired of “identity politics”. He moves from one hot button issue to the next without any subtlety or nuance. He is name dropping iconic incidents to insure buzz for the book, instead of crafting compelling arguments that stand up to scrutiny. This book was enraging and irresponsible.
Two Stars | Hachette Audio | September 10, 2019 | 8 Hours 42 Minutes | Hardcover | Purchase on IndieBound
This satirical novel takes place in the near-future American South where Black people are caged in ghettos, and there are experimental treatments that will “demelanize” the black out of people (if you can afford it). It is in this world, where we find our narrator, a Black man, his White wife, and his mixed son.
More than anything else, while reading this book I kept thinking to myself, “Maurice Carlos Ruffin” is a smart person. His writing left me feeling taken care of, and I trusted that he had put thought into this world. That’s not to say that I always felt connected, or that I liked everything in this book, or that I didn’t think it could be cut down by at least 70 pages. I felt those things, and that I was reading the words of a smart and thoughtful author. My biggest issue with the book is that I wanted more world building. I wanted to know how America got to where it was when the reader shows up. I felt there were details missing that I wanted to know. Overall the book is thought provoking and examines race in a way that we so rarely see in literature these days.
Three Stars | One World | January 29, 2019 | 336 Pages | Hardcover | Purchase on IndieBound We discussWe Cast a Shadowon The Stacks Book Club, you can hear that conversation by clicking HERE.You can also hear author, Maurice Carlos Ruffin on The Short Stacks 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.