Risikat reads and reads and reads

The pandemic rages on, the country feels upside down, and I am antsier than ever for things to be different. What's the remedy to this nervous energy? Books, of course! Here are some of my recent faves: 

The Poet X, by Elizabeth Acevedo

​The three words that came to mind as I read this book: Symbolic, nascent, lyrical. It reminded me of Junot Diaz and Edwidge Danticat's work, but with a youthful spin. 
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"I have no more poems. My mind blanks. A roar tears from my mouth. 'Burn it! Burn it. This is where the poems are,' I say, thumping a fist against my chest. 'Will you burn me? Will you burn me, too? You would burn me, wouldn't you, if you could?'"

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Slapstick or Lonesome No More! by Kurt Vonnegut
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This was one of my favorite books as a teenager and boy, does it still hold up! Read this if you enjoy sardonic sci-fi with a hefty dose of philosophical inquiry. 

"The blacksmith was told that 'Sooners' were human beings, too, no better or worse than 'Hoosiers', who were people from Indiana. And the old man who had moved that I be allowed to speak later on got up and said this: "Young man, you're no better than the Albania Influenza or The Green Death, if you can kill for joy'.

I was impressed. I realized that nations could never acknowledge their own wars as tragedies, but that families not only could but had to. Bully for them!"

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Bonjour, Tristesse by Francoise Sagan

This little book was seen as provocative and maybe even a little obscene when it came out in the 50's. I have to agree. It's a tart little masterpiece!

"I felt proud of myself: I had sized up Elsa, found her weak spot, and carefully aimed my words. For the first time in my life I had known the intense pleasure of analyzing another person, manipulating that person toward my own ends. It was a new experience; in the past I had always been too impulsive, and whenever I had come close to understanding someone, it had been pure accident. Now I had caught a sudden glimpse of the marvelous mechanism of human reflexes, and the power that lies in the spoken word. I felt sorry that I had come to it through lies."

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Becoming, by Michelle Obama

I listened to this on Audiobook while baking endless loaves of bread. Hearing Michelle Obama's story in her own words (and voice!) made things come alive in the best way. 

"Together, the three of them (dubbed by my larger team "The Trifecta") gave me the confidence I needed to step out in public each day, all of us knowing that a slipup would lead to a flurry of ridicule and nasty comments. I never expected to be someone who hired others to maintain my image, and at first the idea was discomfiting. But I quickly found out a truth that no one talks about: Today, virtually every woman in public life - politicians, celebrities, you name it - has some version of Meredith, Johnny, and Carl. It's all but a requirement, a built-in fee for our societal double standard."

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Children of Blood and Bone, by Tomi Adeyemi

This book is superb! It should be made into a movie. The action, world-building, and suspense were mesmerizing. 

"Afraid. I am always afraid. It's a truth I locked away years ago, a fact I fought hard to overcome. Because when it hits, I'm paralyzed. I can't breathe. I can't talk. All at once, I crumple to the ground, clasping my palm over my mouth to stifle the sobs. It doesn't matter how strong I get, how much power my magic wields. They will always hate me in this world. I will always be afraid."