BioKIT Fourth quarter

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BioKIT Fourth quarter

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1MarthaJeanne
Editat: set. 21, 2015, 2:03 am

October - Afro-Americans

November - Literary Autobiography

December - Civil Rights

I'll be reading Pops : a life of Louis Armstrong in October.
In November I've got I. Asimov lined up. (Love that title!)
And for December The rebellious life of Mrs. Rosa Parks

The Biography group read is I know why the caged bird sings. Our discussion leader is klarusu. I enjoyed this when I read is 2 1/2 years ago, but I won't be rereading it.

2LibraryCin
set. 21, 2015, 2:29 am

Ha! That's for starting the thread! I wasn't even thinking when I posted over there. I just looked for the most recent BioKIT thread!

So, reposting:

I think I've picked out something for October:
Nine Lives: Death and Life in New Orleans by Dan Baum

3LibraryCin
set. 21, 2015, 2:30 am

I read the Angelou... earlier this year, I think. I have to admit I wasn't that excited about it, though. It was the audio, so that may have made a difference.

4MarthaJeanne
set. 21, 2015, 2:39 am

I continued with her autobiography through several volumes until I had to return the book to the library before going on holiday. When I got back I realized that I wasn't really interested in continuing. Five was enough.

5LibraryCin
set. 21, 2015, 1:15 pm

>4 MarthaJeanne: Wow! I hadn't realized there were that many!!!

6MarthaJeanne
set. 21, 2015, 1:31 pm

7LibraryCin
set. 21, 2015, 4:19 pm

>6 MarthaJeanne: I guess it just continues as she gets older, then?

8MarthaJeanne
set. 21, 2015, 6:20 pm

Pretty much as I remember. But unless there is something in the pipeline now, that will be all.

9Kristelh
set. 21, 2015, 8:49 pm

Can a novelized autobiography count? I was thinking of X: a novel by Ilyasah Shabazz, daughter of Malcolm X.

10LibraryCin
oct. 4, 2015, 4:05 pm

Nine Lives: Mystery, Magic, Death and Life in New Orleans / Dan Baum
3.5 stars

The author is a journalist who was in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, where he met some interesting people... people he later decided to write about. This tells the stories of nine different residents of New Orleans, starting in the 1960s and continues through and past Katrina to 2007. Some of the people include: a police officer, a doctor/coroner, a high school band teacher, a pregnant teenage girl who really wanted to go to college, a man who grew up in and stayed in the poor Lower Ninth Ward, a transgender woman, and more.

Like with short stories, I found some of the people's stories more interesting than others. It was a bit tricky to follow at first, as it went in chronological order, so it switched back and forth between all the people, plus it moved forward, sometimes years at a time, when it came back to someone we'd previously read about. Probably no surprise that I found it picked up with the hurricane about half way through the book – in some cases, I found myself more interested in some of the characters whom I hadn't been as interested in previously. Overall, though, I'm rating this “good”.

11MarthaJeanne
Editat: oct. 11, 2015, 4:38 pm

The group read threads for I know why the caged bird sings have been started.

General http://www.librarything.com/topic/197957

Book discussion with spoilers http://www.librarything.com/topic/197958

12LibraryCin
oct. 17, 2015, 5:40 pm

Was there a particular meaning behind "literary" autobiography? Are we thinking an autobiography of/by an author. Hmmm, let me go see...

13LibraryCin
oct. 17, 2015, 5:43 pm

Ok, The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath is tagged "fiction", but also "autobiography" and "autobiographical fiction".

Any thoughts on using this one?

14LibraryCin
oct. 17, 2015, 5:44 pm

>9 Kristelh: Ha! I see Kristel also asked about a novelized autobiography...

15MarthaJeanne
oct. 25, 2015, 4:55 pm

I just finished Pops : a life of Louis Armstrong. Now I need to see who recommended it a year ago and say thank you.

16LibraryCin
nov. 14, 2015, 9:03 pm

Well, I did end up reading The Bell Jar for this. Apparently it's considered autobiographical fiction, so close... :-)

The Bell Jar / Sylvia Plath
3 stars

Esther is a college student, there on a scholarship. While there, she dates a few different guys, and later ends up with depression and in a hospital in the psychiatric ward after attempting suicide.

It was ok. It kept my interest, but I found Esther really odd and didn't find myself caring all that much what happened to her. Some parts I found difficult to figure out what was happening, as it was kind of vague at times.

17MarthaJeanne
nov. 30, 2015, 8:44 am

I managed to finish I. Asimov in November. This was well worth reading.

18LibraryCin
des. 12, 2015, 10:39 pm

December: Civil Rights

The Freedom Summer Murders / Don Mitchell
4 stars

In 1964, two young white men (civil rights workers), headed down to Mississippi from New York to help register black people to vote. Andy Goodwin and Mickey Schwerner, along with a 21-year old black man, James Chaney, were murdered by local KKK (including local law enforcement). It made headlines throughout the U.S.

It's scary to read about the kinds of things that were happening in the South at the time; apparently Mississippi was the worst place to be. At the same time, it's heartwarming to read about the civil rights workers who went there, knowing what it might be like and that they were putting their lives at risk, to do the right thing. If they were all black men, it would never have made headlines like it did. It took years to bring some of the men who committed the murders to justice. This book also looked at little bit at the lives of the three men, in general, and what brought them to where they were. As this book is apparently marketed toward young adults, it was a quick read and it was populated with many photos of the people involved, their families, and the events.

19MarthaJeanne
des. 30, 2015, 7:15 am

20LibraryCin
des. 30, 2015, 4:01 pm

>19 MarthaJeanne: Nice choice! I bet that was interesting!

21MarthaJeanne
Editat: des. 30, 2015, 4:05 pm

I've also got a biography ready to read. A good deal longer. I hadn't realized that she had been active in the civil rights movement before that incident.

Don't think I'll finish the other book this year.

22Dejah_Thoris
des. 30, 2015, 5:06 pm

I really enjoyed reading Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice, a YA biography by Philip M. Hoose. As a teenager in Montgomery, AL, Colvin spontaneously refused to give up her seat on a bus and was arrested months before Parks. Supported by local Civil Rights leaders, she plead not guilty, which was apparently a first for Montgomery. It's argued that her spur of the moment decision motivated the 'adults' in the movement to carefully orchestrate Parks' refusal and arrest and the subsequent Bus Boycott. Colvin was one of the four parties in the Federal lawsuit that actually struck down segregation on Montgomery buses. Colvin certainly deserves more recognition for her courageous choices. Fascinating.

23MarthaJeanne
des. 30, 2015, 6:26 pm

Her case was discussed in Parks' book.

24MarthaJeanne
gen. 9, 2016, 5:26 pm

The rebellious life of Mrs. Rosa Parks. Very interesting. A good combination with Rosa Parks : My Story

(Better late than never.)