1. Mr. Penumbra from Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore 2. Liesel from The Book Thief 3. Anne from Diary of Anne Frank (I realize she’s not exactly a “character” but she loved words) 4. Alison Bechdel from Fun Home (also not exactly a character but she’s on the list anyway) 5. Piper Kerman from Orange is…
What it is: Blues People by Amiri Baraka (Leroi Jones) details the history of blues, jazz, and other African-derived musical genres. He describes how culture and music affect each other, and the history of race relations in the United States via the interaction between African-influenced and European-influenced music. What I liked about it: Baraka does an excellent job of…
What it is: Gang Leader for a Day by Sudhir Venkatesh is an inside look at gang life in the Chicago housing projects, particularly the activity of the Black Kings at the Robert Taylor Homes during the early 1990s. Venkatesh spent years in and around the complex, collecting data and anecdotes for his graduate work in sociology. He…
What it is: The Disaster Artist by Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell is a behind-the-scenes account the astonishingly awful cult classic The Room. It tells everything a fan of the movie would want to know, from anecdotes from filming to how it ultimately rose to fame. Much of the novel is devoted to debunking the myths behind the…
New year, new reading list. This year, after reading a post at Cynk’s blog, I’m taking on the Read Harder Challenge. I’ve committed to completing 24 book-related challenges. Gamification of personal goals is a huge motivator for me, and even though I didn’t meet my Goodreads goal of 30 books in 2014, I’m setting that same goal…
Victim to Charm 