So it's not really required reading (heavens knows, I have enough of that as a university student), but a weekly feature where I share the love by showcasing posts that I have read that inspired me/made me laugh/were thought provoking, etc. I also do a weekly recap to reflect on my bookish week.
Mental Floss has a post on 19 Fun Facts About Children’s Books Spotted at the Library. I didn't know a lot of these. My fave? The facts about Alice in Wonderland being banned in China because it has talking animals (apparently, that's an "insult to the human race") and the various names Nancy Drew was almost called. I can't imagine Nancy Drew as anyone else, haha!
OK, now I feel like the next few posts could just be named bookish feminist posts... actually, I could probably rename Required Reading something similar, LOL!
Women Are F*cking Badass (via Cuddlebuggary, one of my new favourite blogs!) is an excellent post on the importance of depicting female characters as being just as badass as those with superpowers. Also? There are awesome (and quite hilarious) pictures to accompany and further illustrate Kat's point.
I still have yet to read Divergent although I own it (I know, I know!), but I really enjoyed this interview with author Veronica Roth (via La Times Blog) where she talks a little about feminism in YA lit. I really like her having female characters whose strength isn't limited (or defined) by their physical abilities. I also was really interested in her discussion of how perfectionism has affected her life.
Siobhan Vivian is another YA author whose talking about feminism in relation to her latest book, The List, which deals with beauty norms as an anonymous list is released each year at Mount Washington that ranks girls from ugly to pretty. I wasn't interested in this book too much before, but after I read this interview (via Teen Librarian's Toolbox - whose had a bunch of great posts these past few weeks!), I'm sold on it! I can't wait to read it.
Race in YA lit has been, thankfully, being discussed quite a bit recently in the blog-o-sphere. Uncovering YA Covers: 2011 (via Kate Hart) breaks down cover trends by colour scheme, gender, race, and theme. Of all the books included in Hart's study (and there were quite a lot!), NINTY PERCENT of YA book covers featured a white model! The following two posts really help contextualize the white-washing of YA covers, and the lack of characters of color:
Siobhan Vivian is another YA author whose talking about feminism in relation to her latest book, The List, which deals with beauty norms as an anonymous list is released each year at Mount Washington that ranks girls from ugly to pretty. I wasn't interested in this book too much before, but after I read this interview (via Teen Librarian's Toolbox - whose had a bunch of great posts these past few weeks!), I'm sold on it! I can't wait to read it.
Race in YA lit has been, thankfully, being discussed quite a bit recently in the blog-o-sphere. Uncovering YA Covers: 2011 (via Kate Hart) breaks down cover trends by colour scheme, gender, race, and theme. Of all the books included in Hart's study (and there were quite a lot!), NINTY PERCENT of YA book covers featured a white model! The following two posts really help contextualize the white-washing of YA covers, and the lack of characters of color:
- Race in YA Lit: Wake Up & Smell the Coffee-Colored Skin, White Authors! (via author Sarah Hockler) provides great advice to authors for how to (and how NOT to) create diverse characters. While I don't agree with everything she says, Hockler provides a great starting point and does make some good arguments, such as...
- "Diversity in fiction isn’t about tokenism, filling up imaginary “affirmative fiction” quotas, or embarking on a PC quest to be “inclusive.” It’s about respecting our readers.
- YA, the Mass Media, and White America: What’s Wrong, Why It’s Wrong, and How to Fix It (via Book Brats) is a great post overall, providing River's perspective (she self-identifies as a minority) and discusses the issue and white privilege in a very readable way, and provides tons of great examples!
Did you read an awesome bookish post or stumble across a super cool book related website? Leave a comment with the link so we can spread the love!
Or did you reply on one of the posts I linked to? Let me know so I can read it!
So your links show that gender and race issues are definitely an interest of yours. High five! Me too! Lol. They're actually what I frequently end up writing on academically as well, so I love it when related posts pop up around the blogosphere!
ReplyDeleteGreat links this week! I've been especially interested in racial issues in YA, ever since I stumbled on the controversy over Rue's casting in the Hunger Games. I had never realised the extent to which main stream media whitewashes!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely fantastic post! I love it! So much awesomeness gathered in one, comprehensive post :) Thank you so much for putting this together, I am definitely going to check out all the post you mentioned here. I can't think of anything to add to your list at the moment, although if I actually sat down and search my memory, I would probably be able to name at least a dozen of them! Great job, Rachelia, honey!
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