Sense of Shelf

Hi friends. Thanks for joining me in another meeting of our Banned Book Club. In this meeting I will discuss Gender Queer by Maya Kobabe. This wasn't one of my favorite banned books, but a great story none the less. Diverse voices are important to literature and our world as a whole, so I fully support this book and hope more people will read it. 

Hi friends. This one took a while because spoiler, I didn't care for volume 5. But here are volumes 5 and 6 combined. Just some quick chats about the two volumes. Neil Gaiman is a master story teller and this series is spectacular. Shout out to Okie Bookcast podcast. Listen to the book news segment for exciting news about the host, my friend J Hall.  

What's better than an episode with my humble opinions about one book? Probably a lot of things, but for the sake of this caption, the answer is an episode with my humble opinions about TWO books!! Insert DJ horn noise here. I talk about Wakanda Forever by one of my favorite authors Nnedi Okorafor and I talk about Babel by R.F. Kuang....finallly. 

I finally found the energy and drive to come back. Thank you for your patience. I read and review the wonderful collection of short stories The Memory Librarian by Janelle Monáe and other authors. This book has so much queer love and representation it is only a matter of time before someone tries to ban it. It is a great book though with some lovely stories and characters. 

The newest installment tackles All American Boys by Jason Reynolds and Brandon Kiely. This is an important story about police brutality and its' effects on a community. It is told as 2 stories in one from the point of view of the victim, a black teenage boy, and the other from a witness, a white teenage boy that attends the same school as the victim. It is an important story, and Jason Reynolds voice is one that I will always say needs to be heard.  

So I went about this strangely. I started by planning to read, review, and publish an episode for each volume. I changed my mind and just saved each review to publish as this longer episode. I also only wrote a script for volumes 1-3. Volumes 4 and 5 I recorded live with no notes or script. I tend to ramble. Regardless, I loved this series and am excited to see what happens in future issues. So please enjoy my review(s) of the first 5 volumes, the only ones published right now, of Something is Killing the Children, by James Tynion IV. 

I read the fantastic book Binti The Complete Trilogy. It is a series of novellas by Nnedi Okorafor all compiled into one book now. Listen to me rave about this imaginative, emotional, suspenseful, riveting set of stories. I truly loved this book and will definitely be reading more of this author's work. 

It's been a few weeks since I've discussed The Sandman, but here are my thoughts on Volume 4. Long story short, I really loved it. It's got some great stories and the scenes with The Endless are delightful. 

This book, So You Want To Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo, was recommended to me by the wonderful Red Dove Podcast. Their show is a must listen and this book is a must read. This is a how to guide for helping to combat racism and micro aggressions and have meaningful conversations about the topic. I also discuss a troubling incident that happened with my family and I and ignorant racist people. 

I had to wait a couple weeks to get this from my library, but it was worth the wait. I highly recommend this wonderful book. It is a sweeping novel about the ups and downs of decades long friendship. Please do yourself a favor and read this. 

Hey friends. I was lucky enough to talk with author and illustrator Ryan Estrada. I've been releasing episodes about banned books called Banned Book Club, it is currently Banned Book Week, and him and his wife wrote a fantastic graphic novel titled Banned Book Club. Did I say banned book enough? Their book is based on his wife, Kim Hyun Sook's, real experiences with banned books in South Korea in the early 80's. I loved this book and am honored that Ryan was willing to talk to me for a little while. He also gives us top secret information about his upcoming releases. Ok, not really top secret, he was more than willing to share the info. 

I read and loved They Called Us Enemy by George Takei. Here is my review that was not asked for but I recorded anyways. This book has been challenged in at least one town in Pennsylvania so I'm counting it for Banned Book Club!! Go to the websites linked below for ideas, resources, and information about fighting book banning.

I read this delightful book that was banned for being educational. No that is not a typo. This fantastic little instruction manual for either coming to terms with your own sexuality or learning more about what a loved one is going through is great. Written by Juno Dawson, I recommend it to anyone looking to be a better ally to the Queer community. 

On this episode of Banned Book Club I hide from The Mechanical Hound and talk to you about The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas. This book was incredible and so important for teenagers in today's society. Have a listen and go out immediately to get your hands on a copy and read it. 

I have the privilege of speaking with Justine AP Louis in this episode. She is the author of wonderful children's books that she writes to bring the Haitian culture to children and families. Some of you know I have a strong connection to Haitian culture, so this was a great joy for me. Justine is also the founder of VivLiv Books, her publishing company. Which she uses as a way to help get other underrepresented authors and cultures published. 

I finally read and now will discuss this legendary work written by Neil Gaiman, and illustrated by Sam Kieth, Mike Dringenberg, and Malcolm Jones III. I’m so excited to finally do this. I genuinely loved this book even though Gaiman feels the series starts off awkwardly. 

This is a very special episode of Banned Book Club. Jay, host of one of my favorite shows The Okie Bookcast, joins me to discuss Maus. The story as a whole, our love for the story, and the recent challenges to the book.  

In this episode I review Lawn Boy by Jonathan Evison. I’ll be honest, there are things about this book I did not care for. With that being said, it still should not be banned. Don’t ban books and silence voices!

My first graphic novel review!! I discuss Death Deluxe Edition by Neil Gaiman. It is not a standalone story or volume in a series, but a compilation of stories featuring the Death character from his very popular The Sandman series. 

I have the esteemed pleasure of talking with Stacy Padula. She is an author, publisher, and tutor. Stacy was named “Top Inspirational Author of the Year” for 2022 by the International Association of Top Professionals (New York, NY). In June of 2021, she was broadcast on the famous Reuters Building in Times Square as “Empowered Woman of the Year.” Her “Gripped” book series is currently being adapted for TV by Emmy-winning producer Mark Blutman. (from Stacy's website) Listen to a delightful conversation with someone I've known a long time and find her work at the links below.