Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge discussion

Here we are again!  Heading into autumn!!  In the US, Sept 15th through Oct 15th is Hispanic Heritage Month. I start tracking my HHM reading on Sept 1st because it's just easier for me to line things up that way. Who else is planning to read something especially for this US Cultural Appreciation Month?! 

And by the way, if anyone wants to add any other cultural appreciation months to the mix in the future, go for it!!  I'm maxed out on my cultural appreciation month directed reading with Feb, March, May, June, Sept, and upcoming November (Native American heritage), but I know in the past we have missed out on:  Irish-American month (March), Deaf history month (Mar/Apr), Poetry month (April), Autism Awareness month (Apr), Jewish American month (May), Mental Health Awareness month (May), Italian American month (October), spooky reads month (October), and more!   If one or more of these campaigns is near and dear to your heart, spread the love and suggest some books for that month.   You don't have to be an admin to start posts here, and in fact I am not the person who started this CAM reading tradition here, I just grabbed the idea from other members and ran with it.

I have a massive backlog of books I've been wanting to read this year, I'll never have time to get to all of them, so I'm keeping it light for my heritage month reading for the rest of the year. 

Books I have on deck:
Poetry:
The Hurting Kind: Poems by Ada Limon - Limon's new book that I pre-ordered!  She is my favorite living poet and I'm very excited to read this.
Human Nature poems by Gary Soto.
A Tongue in the Mouth of the Dying by Laurie Ann Guerrero

Novels:
The Devil Takes You Home by Gabino Iglesias - this hold just came in, so I might have to get started on this one a bit BEFORE September.  Like, tomorrow.
Sanctuary by Paola Mendoza - I've been meaning to read this book since last year, so when this year's list came out, I KNEW this would be my book by a Latinx author.
Twice a Quinceañera by Yamile Saied Méndez- I don't know much about this, but it looks fun.
The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia - I've got this audiobook on hold but it may not come in by the end of the month.


Non-fiction:
Crying in the Bathroom: A Memoir by Erika L. Sánchez - this looked good, so I added it to my TBR, but - being honest with myself - I'm probably not going to get to it this month.

And for two years now I've been trying to read
Inventing Latinos: A New Story of American Racism by Laura E. Gómez - so maybe this will finally be the year.  I started it when it first came out, it was great!  then I never had time to finish it.



DUOLOGIES
I still have not read a duology for this year's Challenge, so I thought I'd see if I can find an interesting duology by a Latinx author.  Obviously I'm only interested in completed duologies, since I need to read both this year.  Here are some possibilities that I found - looks like mostly YA & middle grade fantasy - OPINIONS WELCOME!   I've sorted this list more or less in order of my interest level.
Diamond City / Shadow City by Francesca Flores
All These Monsters / All These Warriors by Amy Tintera
Lobizona / Cazadora by Romina Garber
The Last 8 / The First 7 by Laura Pohl
We Set the Dark on Fire / We Unleash the Merciless Storm by Tehlor Kay Mejia
Dragonblood Ring / Blazewrath Games by Amparo Ortiz
The Cassandra Curse / Muse Squad: The Mystery of the Tenth by Chantel Acevedo
Pilar Ramirez and the Escape from Zafa / Pilar Ramirez and the Curse of San Zenon by Julian Randall

I don't have any specific titles in mind, but I'm definitely looking forward to reading more from Adam Silvera, Quiara Alegría Hudes, Aiden Thomas, Isabel Allende, Daniel José Older, and finally reading something from Anna-Marie McLemore.

I ended up DNFing Certain Dark Things a year or so ago but I haven't given up on Silvia Moreno-Garcia yet!

Other possibilities include The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, Simple Dreams: A Musical Memoir, and Rita Moreno: A Memoir.

Ashley Marie wrote: "I don't have any specific titles in mind, but I'm definitely looking forward to reading more from Adam Silvera, Quiara Alegría Hudes, Aiden Thomas.


I have had a so-so reaction to Silvia Moreno-Garcia's books, too. I'm giving her a third try when my audiobook hold of "Moreau" finally comes in.


I LOVED I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter. That was an easy five stars from me.

I am so ready for HHM! I've got two rows of a cart full of books.

While I'm not sure what exactly I'll be reading from it these are what I have so far. A lot of them I got from my local indie bookstore:

Poetry/Anthology:

The Latino Reader: An American Literary Tradition from 1542 to the Present

Five Decades: Poems 1925-1970

*****

General:

Thirty Talks Weird Love

*****

History:

Conquistadores: A New History of Spanish Discovery and Conquest

El Norte: The Epic and Forgotten Story of Hispanic North America

Our America: A Hispanic History of the United States

Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America

Educating the Enemy: Teaching Nazis and Mexicans in the Cold War Borderlands

*****

(Side note, Suicide Prevention Month is in September so I have a book to read for that month. ;^) )

I've got Olga Dies Dreaming and The Inheritance of Orquídea Divina on hold at the library, so maybe September will be good timing for those.

I have not yet read anything by Isabel Allende or Elizabeth Acevedo, so I'll try for that.

I have been learning Spanish for nearly 200 days now, and I want to try to read something in Spanish like a short story or a children's book. A bit daunting, but I've got to try sometime.

Teri wrote: "I have not yet read anything by Isabel Allende or Elizabeth Acevedo, so I'll try for that.

I have been learning Spanish for nearly 200 days now, and I want to try to read something in Spanish lik..."

Nice. Growing up, you'd think I would fit the mold of learning Spanish because I'm half-Hispanic. I never could pick up the language though. I understand the basics but not enough to communicate. And when people look at me they automatically assume I speak it. Other times they don't though because I look more Native American than Hispanic (biracial here).

Still, when people, strangers talk to me or ask me questions, I look at them with a far-off stare because I don't know what they're talking about. I just pick up minor words in what they're saying but not enough to fully grasp what they're talking about.

My parents could not decide on which dialect to teach me, my mom having grown up with more formal and traditional Spanish, and my dad having more slang Spanish. So I just never learned correctly.

Sometimes books at bookstores just kind of speak to you, you know, even if you have no idea what the book is about.

I noticed this book yesterday, The Mexican American Experience in Texas: Citizenship, Segregation, and the Struggle for Equality and it just caught my eye. It's a history of Mexican Americans as well as written by a BIPOC author.

Given that Hispanic Heritage Month starts next week I figured this would be the perfect pick up. Looking forward to starting this one.

I attempted an Adam Silvera audiobook this morning and wasn't feeling it, then stumbled upon Eduardo Galeano's final piece, Hunter of Stories. Galeano has been on my radar for several years thanks to his incomparable Open Veins of Latin America (which I still need to get back to and finish), but I wasn't aware that he wrote fiction as well as nonfiction.

I've felt a vague pull toward poetry lately, which doesn't happen often, and Hunter of Stories fits that bill for me: tiny vignettes and micro-stories written in just a few lines. The audiobook I found is beautifully read by Jordi Caballero, although I'm considering finding a print or ebook version to read along and fully immerse myself. Thank you, book gods, you knew exactly what I needed today.

Ashley Marie wrote: Galeano has been on my radar for several years thanks to his incomparable Open Veins of Latin America (which I still need to get back to and finish)

How is Open Veins? I've had it in my home library for a long while and always tell myself I'll get to it but I haven't. Hopefully I can for HHM.

Ron wrote: "How is Open Veins? I've had it in my home library for a long while and always tell myself I'll get to it but I haven't. Hopefully I can for HHM."

I made my first attempt on it last summer, and unfortunately only made it through 60 pages before I got distracted, but I promise I was riveted. I think I need to just buy a copy so I don't have to worry about library return times and can read it slowly.

More than halfway through the month (couldn't they have made it a regular month period), I've only read Cemetery Boys. But starting a couple others tonight.

I realized I haven't posted for this month yet!
I've read Tell Me How It Ends: An Essay in Forty Questions, When I Was Puerto Rican and Lost Children Archive, all of which I thought gave interesting perspectives.

I'm currently reading I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter.

I plan to read Ordinary Girls and My Time Among the Whites: Notes from an Unfinished Education.

Maybe next year I'll finally get to the book I've had on hold at the library for three years now! Unfortunately, by this time of the year, I just really want to finish up my reading challenges and don't feel I have the bandwidth to read those not planned for any of those.

Because for some reason I want my cultural appreciation months to be a MONTH, I started on Sept 1st.

I've read:

Novels:
The Devil Takes You Home by Gabino Iglesias (I actually started this in August!) - I almost loved this, but not quite.

The Regional Office is Under Attack! by Manuel Gonzales - this SEEMED like it was gong to be great, but it never got there. I probably should have DNF'ed this, but I held out hope until the end that it would become awesome.

Sanctuary by Paola Mendoza - I enjoyed this near-future YA dystopian novel, this was my Latinx novel for the Challenge.


And I DNF'ed:
Chilling Effect by Valerie Valdes - this was trying too hard to be funny and sweet; it might appeal to fans of Becky Chambers.

Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia meh, not my thing


Poetry:
The Hurting Kind: Poems by Ada Limon - another five star collection from Limon.

A Tongue in the Mouth of the Dying by Laurie Ann Guerrero - I didn't love this collection; one review said these poems put earth in your veins, and in a weird way that is accurate, but that is not what I want from poetry.


And I'm currently reading:
Human Nature poems by Gary Soto

All These Monsters by Amy Tintera - book 1 of my duology for the Challenge. This is SOLIDLY YA, and I'm enjoying it a lot. Except, the monsters are called "scrabs" and my brain can't handle that word, it keeps changing it to: crabs, scarabs, scuds, or scabs.

My final reading for the month:

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez
She Persisted: Sonia Sotomayor by Meg Medina
Mi Familia Calaca / My Skeleton Family by Cynthia Weill (childrens in Spanish and English)

I feel pretty good about my reading, and I learned a lot of things I did not know about what matters to people who have different life experiences of my own - which is the point of this type of reading. Maybe next year I'll get to The House of the Spirits.