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2024 Gift Ideas: Banned Books

 in Banned Book / Books by

With the holiday season rapidly approaching, you may be beginning, or struggling, to get gifts. With this year being a huge dumpster fire, and next year not looking tons better, why not use this time to get the best of both worlds – books and knowledge!

Banned books are such an appropriate gift this season and are both a way to read the books to see why they are banned, or quietly give to THAT family member. There are so many good books to choose from.

I’ve collected a few of the strong classics, as well as a few of the top banned books from this year, that I would recommend checking out. I haven’t read them all yet but am working my way through.

This is a great economical choice and I mean who doesn’t love getting books?

Welcome To Dystopia: Time To Learn 1

 in Banned Book / Books by

We’re just going to start with the fact that books are political. They always have been. Authors like George Orwell, Ray Bradbury…stories like Harry Potter, Star Wars – they all have political undertones and messages. Every book is political or political adjacent. The big bad authoritarian ruler dragon evil creature thing trying to subjugate the people and the people rise up.

So now that that is out of the way, books, bookstagram, reading, literature – IT IS POLITICAL. And I sure as heck am going to be political here.

If you don’t like that then you are welcome to your opinion and you are welcome to close this tab or unfollow. I’ll be soooooo devastated. 

And no, I will not be demure, quiet, classy, or whatever you want to say. Gloves are off and this is survival time.

So, for those of you who are promoting love, acceptance, human rights, dignity, critical thinking and everything that goes with it, this is your safe space. If you don’t, then frankly you’re not welcome here.

But, maybe you can learn a thing or two if you read a thing or two.

I want to list some books that you should read, if you have not, to pick up on those political messages, to see where the United States of America may be heading….to really open your eyes.

And don’t skim these books. Read them, take notes, really digest what they are getting at because your survival, analysis and forward planning may depend on it. Read them, gift them to the younger generation to read.

 

 

 

And these books are just the start. There’s also tons of movies – Star Wars, Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Firefly, V is for Vendetta,

 

NaNoWriMo and AI Controversy

 in Books / NaNoWriMo by

Recently you may have been hearing some rumblings about NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and their stance on AI. Let me tell you, it is absolutely not a good look. This is definitely not the first time that they have had controversy in the past but this is just the newest one on a topic which a lot of book people, and the creative community in general, has a very strong stance on.

Essentially, NaNoWriMo has said that you can use AI to write. Which is one thing, but how they have worded it is another. According to their website:

“We believe that to categorically condemn AI would be to ignore classist and ableist issues surrounding the use of the technology, and that questions around the use of AI tie to questions around privilege.

  • Classism. Not all writers have the financial ability to hire humans to help at certain phases of their writing. For some writers, the decision to use AI is a practical, not an ideological, one. The financial ability to engage a human for feedback and review assumes a level of privilege that not all community members possess.

  • Ableism. Not all brains have same abilities and not all writers function at the same level of education or proficiency in the language in which they are writing. Some brains and ability levels require outside help or accommodations to achieve certain goals. The notion that all writers “should“ be able to perform certain functions independently or is a position that we disagree with wholeheartedly. There is a wealth of reasons why individuals can’t “see” the issues in their writing without help.

  • General Access Issues. All of these considerations exist within a larger system in which writers don’t always have equal access to resources along the chain. For example, underrepresented minorities are less likely to be offered traditional publishing contracts, which places some, by default, into the indie author space, which inequitably creates upfront cost burdens that authors who do not suffer from systemic discrimination may have to incur. “

Their wording is one of the large things that is rubbing people the wrong way. The creative community does not like AI and to then say that people who don’t like people to use AI are classist and ableist is a pretty extreme statement.

Writing has always been relatively restricted in a way – back in the day you had to be able to have had the education to actually write, and had the access to someone who would publish your work. Both of these things are technically still true but there have been tons of advancements. For those with physical challenges, there are plenty of softwares out there to help you write and get your story to the page.

AI does not help you write.

It generates content for you based on prompts that you put in. And what it spits out is based on data from others – some of that data being taken from others without their consent. Therefore it raises questions about copyright infringement. But that’s a whole other can of worms.

Also using an AI to edit your work, or whatever they are trying to get at in the first bullet, is just the reality of being a writer. By allowing people to use AI’s to edit your work, or generate your art, that means other people who do those jobs will be put in difficult situations. I’m not saying the writing field is fair, but by allowing someone to use it for certain things that puts the hardship on someone else. It just passes the buck.

In another blog post on NaNoWriMo’s website they were compiling ways to help you when you are stuck and in a rut. They wrote:

“3. Use AI

It’s the first NaNo event since Chat GPT opened to the public and countless AI tools are popping up. AI can be a great way to brainstorm and spark inspiration.

As writers, we often get hung up on finding the perfect way to say something. But you don’t need to let one sentence slow down your writing flow.

Rephrase by ProWritingAid is a brand-new feature meant for writers like you. You can highlight any sentence, click Rephrase, and generate a new sentence. Shorten or lengthen a sentence, change the tone to formal or informal, or add sensory detail.

Here’s a boring sentence I wrote: “Quinn entered the dark and cold forest.”

And here’s a sentence Rephrase gave me: “Quinn shivered as he stepped into the cold, dark forest, the air thick with the scent of damp earth.”

I can build off that! Now I’m more excited to write this scene that was feeling bland.

Sign up for ProWritingAid to get access to Rephrase and more than 20 in-depth writing reports.”

It’s one thing to use a thesaurus for another word but it’s a completely different thing to have an AI write your entire sentence.

I want to read a book written by a person, NOT an AI.

The allowance of AI in writing is a dangerous slope. As NaNoWriMo is a place that many people of many ages join in on, and people do actually work to get their books published, it is opening a can of worms for the future of writing.

Do you want to read a book written by AI?

Turn Right at Machu Picchu: Rediscovering the Lost City One Step at a Time by Mark Adams [Book Review]

 in Book Reviews / Books by

Summary

“In 1911, Hiram Bingham III climbed into the Andes Mountains of Peru and “discovered” Machu Picchu. While history has recast Bingham as a villain who stole both priceless artifacts and credit for finding the great archeological site, Mark Adams set out to retrace the explorer’s perilous path in search of the truth—except he’d written about adventure far more than he’d actually lived it. In fact, he’d never even slept in a tent.

Turn Right at Machu Picchu is Adams’ fascinating and funny account of his journey through some of the world’s most majestic, historic, and remote landscapes guided only by a hard-as-nails Australian survivalist and one nagging question: Just what was Machu Picchu?”

-From Amazon.com

Review

I absolutely devoured this book to be honest with you. Once I sat down and really started to get into it I read it within a day or so! I was wholeheartedly captured by the story, the images and the history that was put across in this book.

This is the type of book that really takes you away to what the author is writing about. It is non-fiction and historical, so it does jump a little bit between the history of Bingham and then the author, Mark, and his adventures.  However, because of the kind of story I had to keep reminding myself that it was non-fiction. I was continually impressed at the levels of efforts that Mark went to to get to Machu Picchu, the more difficult route that he took and how he managed to survive it. It really made me realize that while I am adventurous, I am not an adventurer because some of the stuff he went through seemed so incredibly daunting! But was impressed, thoroughly.

I was really drawn into the local Peruvians and the impressiveness of the guides. I have always loved watching traveling shows and seeing guides at places where, to be frank, the white man shows up and just to see stuff and has no idea how difficult it is. Like you see those guides in Nepal carry all that stuff, this was a similar mood! The locals make these treks look so easy, they risk their lives and are just awe-inspiring with what they do. And what their lives are like. So I loved how they had a decently large spot in this book.

Honestly, I can’t really say too much about the book without spoiling bits of it as each page and section was an experience – from the deciding to go on this trip by Mark to the conclusion, it was such a wonderful ride. I loved every moment of it, I really learnt way more about Machu Picchu than I ever thought I would, and this is a book that I am so glad I got to read. Clearly I need to read some more books of this nature as I continually enjoy them.

Also who knew that Hiram Bingham III inspired Indiana Jones?? You learn something new every day!

I would give this book a solid 4/5!

Happy Reading!

Saturday Night Ghost Club by Craig Davidson [Book Review]

 in Book Reviews by

 

 

Summary

“Growing up in 1980s Niagara Falls – a seedy but magical, slightly haunted place – Jake Baker spends most of his time with his uncle Calvin, a kind but eccentric enthusiast of occult artifacts and conspiracy theories. The summer Jake turns twelve, he befriends a pair of siblings new to town, and so Calvin decides to initiate them all into the “Saturday Night Ghost Club.” But as the summer goes on, what begins as a seemingly light-hearted project may ultimately uncover more than any of its members had imagined. With the alternating warmth and sadness of the best coming-of-age stories, The Saturday Night Ghost Club is a note-perfect novel that poignantly examines the haunting mutability of memory and storytelling, as well as the experiences that form the people we become, and establishes Craig Davidson as a remarkable literary talent.”

-From Amazon.com

Review

I absolutely picked up this book from impulse while wandering around my library. Initially I thought it was going to be a completely different kind of book, based on the title. The title indicated it would be more ghosty and so I thought it was going to be a spooky-ish read, but while it had some vibes of that, that was really not the message of the book. But wow, was it good.

The story essentially followed these children and their Uncle through ghost stories and visiting all these strange ‘haunted’ locations in the town. It was about halfway through, closer to three quarters, that I started to realize there was more here than I realized. Some things that the Uncle was saying, and how the author described his reactions, indicated there was something more. I’m not going to spoil it at all, but I was not ready for the ultimate message.

The ultimate message was that some ghosts are kind of good and fears as a child are absolutely not the same as fears as an adult. The ending absolutely had me in tears. Big time.

Because it is one of those books that you have to read it to get it, I can’t really spoil much about the story itself. However, the writing was simple. It was just over 200 pages and I sat down and read it in about 2.5 hours one afternoon sitting outside. It was a wonderful little atmospheric read, giving Stranger Things vibes to the town, the main characters and the time period. While the writing style, and character development, wasn’t massive or anything to write home about, the story is what had the book be really entertaining. It was kind of a curveball at the end I didn’t entirely see coming and it was incredibly emotional, at least to me.

This would be a great beach read or a palette cleanser book – something short, easy to digest and get through in a timely manner.

I would give this a solid 5/5 for the message and maybe a 4/5 for the writing style and such. But I do recommend it!

Happy Reading!