osprey_archer: (books)
osprey_archer ([personal profile] osprey_archer) wrote2023-05-17 07:30 am

Wednesday Reading Meme

What I’ve Just Finished Reading

Margo Jefferson’s Negroland is a memoir, mostly focused on her childhood among the Black middle class in 1950s and 60s Chicago (Jefferson was born in 1947), and the way that the Black Power movement and the feminist movement collided with the exhortations of her childhood to be always well-turned-out and courteous and to rise above racism by her manners and her excellence (which must be obvious without ever seeming show-offy).

Fascinating. Beautifully written, lots of lively and unexpected anecdotes. There’s one scene where a teenaged Jefferson is reading James Baldwin, really vibing, she’s always loved literature but here at last she feels like an insider - and then she’s reading Baldwin’s essay about Uncle Tom’s Cabin, in which he derides the book by comparing it to Little Women, one of young Jefferson’s very favorites. Not an insider here, either.

(Of special interest to some of you: there’s a longer discussion of Little Women near the end of the book, specifically focused on identity-formation as mediated through Little Women characters.)

Also Worrals Investigates. This is the final book in the Worrals series, but I’m glad I didn’t read it last, as it’s not one of the stronger books. The mystery is a bit silly and the pacing slack.

However, fans of Worrals and Frecks (and Worrals/Frecks) will be delighted to know that the story ends with no male suitors in sight. Worrals and Frecks are meeting with Air Commodore Raymond, preparing to continue their life of adventure, even though, as Frecks sighs, a life of adventure is a life with tragically few opportunities to eat cake. (Frecks is so relatable.)

“Ah well,” sighed Worrals. “It’s worth it. There’ll be plenty of time for doughnuts when we’re too old to get around.”

Finally, my Newbery book this week is Mari Sandoz’s The Horsecatcher, about a Cheyenne boy in the 1830s who decides to be a horsecatcher rather than a warrior. Really enjoyed this one! I don’t know enough about the Cheyenne to know if it’s accurate, but it feels cohesive and immersive. Also, unlike most of the other 1950s Newbery books with Indian themes, this one is not about white/Indian culture clash, but firmly planted in the Cheyenne setting. There are white people in the picture, but over there somewhere, useful purveyors of calico and gunpowder but not yet encroaching in a way that has had much impact on the traditional Cheyenne worldview.

What I’m Reading Now

Inspired by Negroland, I’m finally tackling Isabel Wilkerson’s The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration, which is about the Great Migration of African-Americans from the Jim Crow South to the North and West from 1915-1970. Right now I’m still in the pre-migration Jim Crow South section and you will be shocked to hear that it’s a real bummer.

What I Plan to Read Next

I am trying to plan ahead a bit less, actually. Follow where the whim leads me!
asakiyume: created by the ninja girl (Default)

[personal profile] asakiyume 2023-05-17 12:22 pm (UTC)(link)
When I see how much you read and how rich and wonderful your reading experiences are, I really do wonder how I fritter away my time...

The Horsecatcher makes me think about the, not debate, exactly, but conversation, these days about letting there be books about characters in some marginalized identity who are just living their lives/doing their thing.
oracne: turtle (Default)

[personal profile] oracne 2023-05-17 12:56 pm (UTC)(link)
I am pretty sure I read The Horsecatcher from the library when I was a kid and loved it.
troisoiseaux: (Default)

[personal profile] troisoiseaux 2023-05-17 02:16 pm (UTC)(link)
Margo Jefferson's book sounds really interesting! And The Warmth of Other Suns has been on my to-read list for a while.
rachelmanija: A sheep. Text: HER WOOLY ACCOMPLICE (Wooly Accomplice)

[personal profile] rachelmanija 2023-05-17 05:14 pm (UTC)(link)
Worrals and Frecks are meeting with Air Commodore Raymond, preparing to continue their life of adventure

Excellent.
regshoe: Redwing, a brown bird with a red wing patch, perched in a tree (Default)

[personal profile] regshoe 2023-05-17 06:41 pm (UTC)(link)
I read up as far as 'fans of Worrals and Frecks (and Worrals/Frecks) will be delighted to know that the story ends...' and stopped, as I would prefer to go into it without spoilers, but I am delighted to know there's something to be delighted about in the ending and look forward to learning the details :D
sholio: sun on winter trees (Default)

[personal profile] sholio 2023-05-17 07:08 pm (UTC)(link)
I read The Warmth of Other Suns a while back - though I think I stopped before the end; it's a lot of book and during that time I was starting a lot of nonfiction I didn't finish - and it was really a fascinating read. Harrowing as expected, but while I knew things were bad, obviously, there were some specific areas in which I genuinely hadn't realized how bad. One of those things was the amount of terrorism they faced trying to leave, which I hadn't realized was as vicious or organized as it was.
ethelmay: (Default)

[personal profile] ethelmay 2023-05-21 12:06 am (UTC)(link)
I remember liking The Warmth of Other Suns but thinking it could have been better constructed in some ways (I don't recall the details, but it bounced around a lot between different narratives, I think).
scioscribe: (worrals)

[personal profile] scioscribe 2023-05-17 08:15 pm (UTC)(link)
Both Negroland and The Warmth of Other Suns are so terrific. ("Some of my favorite recent nonfiction," I started to say, before double-checking and realizing that The Warmth of Other Suns came out over ten years ago and I've just lost all understanding of all time works.)

I'm sad to learn that the last Worrals book is a bit of a let-down on the plot front, but the Worrals/Frecks bit (and Frecks's line about the tragedy of too little cake) is certainly nice.