New (to me) Books I’m Excited About

So, I posted a while ago about books that I was excited to read – namely two books I pre-ordered (something I rarely do).  Now that it’s the end of May, both books should be arriving at my door soon!

Lately I’ve been on a bit of a buying spree, so I’m not pre-ordering any more books, but there are a few books that I’m excited about.  Most are new or recent releases, but a few are new-to-me.  Two I already own (so you can look for reviews later this summer).

The first book is neither new nor new-to-me, it’s just that I finally feel up to reading it.  Several local libraries have copies of The New Jim Crow, but I was able to find a used copy to keep on the free shelf.  I’ve heard from so many reviewers that this is a very good book, but also a difficult topic, so I’ve waited to start it.  However, this summer I plan to finally read it.  I watched 13th on Netflix (had to break it down into ten-minute chunks) and feel ready to tackle this topic.

Becoming Ms. Burton by Susan Burton and Cari Lynn.

On that note, another book I want very much to read is Becoming Ms. Burton.  It’s a story of tragedy, drug abuse, rehabilitation, and activism, that looks at many of the same issues as The New Jim Crow, but I think approaches it from a more personal standpoint.

I’m going to wait until after I’ve finished The New Jim Crow to try this one.  Also, with a little bit of time after the release date, I might try to get it from the library.  We’ll see.

Apparently The Right to Be Cold was chosen for something called Canada Reads (usually made up of fiction) and I’ve seen enough reviews to be intrigued.  This is a book I purchased on my latest book binge and am excited to read.  The reviews tell me that it gets somewhat boring in the middle, so I have plenty of other books to give me a break.  This is the first adult non-fiction book I’ve chosen for my #100indigenousbooks challenge.

The Lesser Blessed by Richard Van Camp.

Speaking of #100indigenousbooks, I’ve also gotten excited over The Lesser Blessed by Richard Van Camp lately.  After realizing most of Van Camp’s graphic novels are going to be difficult for me to source, I’ve decided to try one of his novels and this amnesia story caught my eye.  But it’ll have to wait until I’ve finished with some of the books I already own!

I’ve been following Philip Nel off and on for a while now, and find it interesting that he’s turning slightly from his usual subject (academic writings about Dr. Seuss) with a book addressing racism in children’s literature.  Of course, people of color and indigenous people have long been aware of the disparity, but it’ll be interesting to see Nel’s take on it given that he’s a straight white male, but not exactly in line with the establishment.  Apparently he’s taken criticism from the public (as most of the ideas in this book were first published online) to heart – I’m curious about the finished work.