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Best Books of the Month: May 2018

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Giveaways

Chains of Gwyndorr (The Poison Tree Path Chronicles #1)
by

Joan Campbell (Goodreads Author)

Release date: Oct 01, 2016

Enter for a chance to win a copy of Chains of Gwyndorr - a fast-paced fantasy adventure and winner of the 2017 Illumination Award.

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Format: Print book

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Availability: 1 copy available, 1170 people requesting

Giveaway dates: Apr 15 - May 30, 2018

Countries available: US, CA, and ZA

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Top Reviews This Week

Emily May's review of Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman by Lindy West

" Of all the feminist non-fiction books I've had on my to-read list, this one was calling to me the least. I'm not sure why, as I didn't even really know what it was about outside what the title told me. I had also never heard of the author before read Of all the feminist non-fiction books I've had on my to-read list, this one was calling to me the least. I'm not sure why, as I didn't even really know what it was about outside what the title told me. I had also never heard of the author before reading it (though I now realize I had actually read a couple of her articles in the past). BUT I started reading this yesterday evening and stayed up late until I'd finished it.

West has a really engaging conversational writing style. She swears, she uses funny footnotes, she admits to some of the most embarrassing things that have ever happened to her. I imagine the latter was therapeutic and, in many ways, empowering. If you admit the most humiliating things you've ever done, if you say the most creative insults about yourself before anyone else can, what has anyone got to hold over you?

“Please don’t forget: I am my body. When my body gets smaller, it is still me. When my body gets bigger, it is still me. There is not a thin woman inside me, awaiting excavation. I am one piece.”

While this sells itself as being about a "loud" woman, I'd say it's more about being a fat woman. Lindy West claims her fatness in this book, rejects condescending "kind" words like "big", and smashes all the arguments that concerned thin people come up with.

She kind of gets to the root of something I've always wondered about, which is: why do you fucking care? This can apply to a number of things. Like, okay, you think being fat is unhealthy, or you think being gay is wrong and trans people are going to hell, but... so fucking what? Mind your own damn business! I've never understood the need people feel to impose their concern on others who have never asked for it.

I also really enjoyed West's perspective on comedy and, especially, rape jokes. I'm glad she acknowledged the limitations of the "punching up" argument, and instead offered an interesting take on how a person can successfully tell a rape joke without just being a misogynistic asshole. I'm someone who feels myself getting angry when someone even says the term "rape joke" so I was surprised to find myself convinced by her argument.

Overall, this is an informative, thought-provoking and actually really FUN book. West smashes the patriarchy and fatphobia, all while telling jokes about Disney movies and pop culture. It's really effective.

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A Life in Books

Megan Whalen Turner

Thick as Thieves (The Queen's Thief, #5)

Bow down to YA royalty—Megan Whalen Turner is back with a new The Queen's Thief adventure. She shares the books that inspire her love of history and magic.

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