This Year is Getting Worse

SOME THINGS TO READ
Amy McQuire | We Must Bear Witness to Black Deaths in Our Own Country
Ibram X. Kendi | The American Nightmare | The Atlantic
James Baldwin | How to Cool It | Esquire
Jamil Smith | American Plague | Rolling Stone
Nadia Latif and Leila Latif | We Know What it is Like to Bury a Child | The Guardian
Roxane Gay | No one is Coming to Save Us | NYTimes

SOME BOOK RECS
Bruce Pascoe | Dark Emu
Claire G Coleman | Terra Nullius
DeRay McKesson | On the Other Side of Freedom
James Baldwin | The Fire Next Time
NK Jemisin | Broken Earth Trilogy
Nnedi Okorafor | Who Fears Death
Ta-Nehisi Coates | We Were Eight Years in Power
Ta-Nehisi Coates | The Water Dancer
Tochi Onyebuchi | Riot Baby

TO READ LIST
Ijeoma Oluo | So You Want to Talk about Race
Karen Lord | Redemption in Indigo
Nalo Hopkinson | Brown Girl in the Ring
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o | Wizard of the Crow
Nicky Drayden | The Prey of the Gods
Sofia Samatar | A Stranger in Olondria

DONATIONS
Justice for David Dungay Jr [x]
Bail Funds, Mutual Aid Funds, Racial Justice Organisers [x]

Stay safe out there.

Cat Updates

year getting worse

Russ had another weigh-in and tests at the vet. His appetite's improved, enough that his meds dosage can be rejigged a little (though the vet mentioned that he'd likely be on some degree of meds for the rest of his life). Blood sugar OK given the circumstances, and he'd always have ups and downs. IBD's incurable, but can be managed. Pancreatic levels are still very high, but will hopefully come down gradually over time. Glad he doesn't appear to have a general allergy to fish, which is the only thing he's happy to eat: he's trialing a bunch of different vet diets and isn't really enthusiastic about any of them.

His energy levels have gone back up though. Hope I can still give him a long and happy life. Poor baby. Next check up's in 6 months, in November.

Things Read in May

Curiously enough, some people I knew ages ago in uni contacted my then-roommate through Goodreads, of all things. I'm glad to hear they're doing OK, all things considered. People get back in touch through all kinds of ways...

Julie C Dao | Forest of a Thousand Lanterns | Intricately written Asian high fantasy. I find books where the main character slowly becomes the villain very interesting, particularly if they do it with their eyes open. Would suit people who enjoy Imperial court dramas.

Chingiz Aitmatov | Jamila | Read for Asian Books Month, because I didn't have anything on the Central Asian Character square. Beautifully written love story told from the perspective of a child Kyrgyz artist growing up in northwestern Kyrgyzstan.

Deepa Anappara | Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line | Read for Asian Books Month: didn't have any book on the 2020 Debut Asian Author square. Author's journalism background sings out in this visceral, heartbreaking, funny, dark story about a young Indian boy living in a slum who takes it on himself (and his friends) to solve the mystery of children going missing.

Akwaeke Emezi | Pet | Highly readable YA about summoned monsters and the monsters within, and about sometimes having to take justice into your own hands.