GSLIS 739: Rad American Women A-Z: Author and Publisher Analysis

Schatz, K., & Klein, S. M. (2015). Rad American women A-Z. San Francisco: City Lights Books.

In this post, I will be looking at the author, Kate Schatz, as well as the publisher, City Lights Books, to see how their credentials influence the book’s creation, as well as how credible the book is as a factual nonfiction material.

Author: Kate Schatz

When looking at a nonfiction book, looking into the author of the piece is a good insight into how credible the material within will be. The author of the book, Kate Schatz, is a writer, activist, public speaker, and educator, as well as the co-founder of Solidarity Sundays, a nationwide network of feminist activist groups (Kate Schatz Bio). She has been an educator for over fifteen years, teaching Women’s Studies, Literature, and Creative Writing at UC Santa Cruz, San Jose State, Rhode Island College, and Brown University (Bio). She is the former Chair of the School of Literary Arts at Oakland School for the Arts, where she taught high schoolers fiction, poetry, and journalism (Bio). This background as an educator ensures that she is adept at and thorough in her research. In addition, her experience in working with all ages helped her writing present information in a way that is factual and can be easily understood by readers of all ages. Her background in political organizing, as the founder of Solidarity Sundays, a nationwide network of over 200 feminist activist groups who meet monthly to take coordinated non-violent political action, cements her reasons for creating this book, and provides a large network for her to tap into in order to provide resources for readers.

Publisher: City Lights Books, located in San Francisco, CA

When publishing the book, Schatz and Klein wanted to find a local indie publisher who would “would “respect the ideology and politics of the project,” because the book was different from many children’s titles (Gross, December 2015). Founded in 1955, City Lights Books is not afraid of materials that are progressive and boundary pushing; known as a defender of free speech, this legacy includes Howl and Other Poems by Allen Ginsberg, a book which put the then-new publishing company “at the center of an obscenity trial” (Gross, December 2015). As a company, City Lights prides itself on publishing “cutting-edge fiction, poetry, memoirs, literary translations and books on vital social and political issues” (Publishing, n.d.). Their history makes them a perfect choice for the publishers of this book, as their credentials as proponents of freedom of speech and boundary pushing make them unafraid to try something new.

 

References

Publishing. (n.d.) Retrieved from: http://www.citylights.com/publishing/

About Kate + Miriam. (n.d.) Retrieved from: http://www.radgirlscan.com/about-the-rad-women-books/about-kate-miriam/

 

Gross, A. (December 18, 2015). City Lights Publisher Shines On. Publishers Weekly. Retrieved from: https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/69012-city-lights-publishers-shines-on.html

GSLIS 767: Book Review: A Thousand Beginnings and Endings

Edited by Ellen Oh and Elise Chapman

Greenwillow Books

ISBN 9780062671158

Ages 14-18

328 Pages

In this short story anthology, fifteen bestselling and acclaimed authors reimagine the folklore and mythology of East and South Asia, transforming them into a wide range of genres, from fantasy to science fiction to contemporary, from romance to tales of revenge. At the end of each story, the author writes about the myth, folk tale, or legend that it was based on, and their own experiences or feelings about that story. Compiled by We Need Diverse Books’s Ellen Oh and Elsie Chapman, the authors included in this collection are: Renee Ahdieh, Sona Charaipotra, Preeti Chhibber, Roshani Chokshi, Aliette de Bodard, Melissa de la Cruz, Julie Kagawa, Rahul Kanakia, Lori M. Lee, E. C. Myers, Cindy Pon, Aisha Saeed, Shveta Thakrar, and Alyssa Wong.

The first thing that attracted me to this anthology was the cover. It is gorgeously rendered and I had to take it off the shelf before it got lost in my ever-growing TBR list. Of the stories, I would have to say that Alyssa Wong’s Olivia’s Table was my favorite. Beautifully written, this haunting story is based on the Chinese Hungry Ghost festivals. I like the way that Wong tackles identity issues of being mixed race, and being part of a diaspora. Overall, this is a fantastic anthology. If you like fantasy, short stories, myths, legends, and folktales, this is the book for you.

GSLIS 767: Book Review: Sweet

By Emmy Laybourne

Feiwel & Friends

ISBN 9781250055194

Ages 14-18

304 Pages

Told from the perspectives of normal teen girl Laurel and celebrity Tom Forelli, the celebrity-filled Cruise to Lose is where new diet sweetener Solu will be released. Solu promises to drop five percent of a person’s body weight in just days, which could solve the world’s obesity problem. But as the week-long cruise goes on, the passengers start acting stranger and stranger – and suddenly this trip of a lifetime goes tragically, horrifyingly wrong.

I generally steer clear from horror; it gives me nightmares. Sweet, however, was a gift from a friend, so when trying to pick a book for this week, I decided to give it a shot. This book is definitely giving me nightmares, but I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the story. The book was an interesting take on diet culture, and the way that it effects the lives of men and women. The book’s villain was a bit of a caricature and a little over-the-top in terms of evilness and sheer malice. The multiple perspectives between Laurel and Tom worked well, and I enjoyed Laurel’s body positivity, which was sharply contrasted by her friend Viv, and even Tom’s views on body image. The book does get a bit gore-y, so would not be good for the squeamish. For those looking for a good thrill, this is definitely a great read.