Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio by Derf Backderf

I began reading the ebook edition of Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio by Derf Backderf on May 4th, which coincidentally marked the 56th anniversary of the Kent State Massacre. 

Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio by Derf Backderf is a work of nonfiction, written in graphic form, which I thoroughly enjoyed reading, because it contains visual imagery along with written details about the Kent State Massacre. This gives readers the perfect overview regarding the events leading up to the Kent State Massacre, the event itself, and the eventual aftermath without giving overwhelming amounts of information to the reader to absorb and digest.

The artwork and writing are both well done for Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio by Derf Backderf. Kudos to Derf Backderf for all of his thorough research into the Kent State Massacre, which he details at the end of his book along with copious footnotes. 

Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio by Derf Backderf is riveting for history buffs wanting to learn more about the details of the Kent State Massacre and 

My favorite quote from Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio by Derf Backderf is: "No shooter, official, or politician is held accountable for the Kent State shootings." I found this deplorable. Four unarmed students died and nine unarmed students were seriously injured by the National Guard during the Kent State Massacre. These deaths and injuries should have never happened based on what I read in this book. Derf Backderf's book describes the epic f*uk up on the part of the politicians, military, other government entities for their part in the Kent State Massacre.

Below is the publisher's summary for Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio by Derf Backderf:

"Derf Backderf takes us back to the age of the Vietnam War, Richard Nixon, Woodstock, and the Cold War and explores, in words and images, a scene of tragedy: the campus of Kent State University, where National Guard Troops attacked unarmed protestors and killed four students (Allison Beth Krause, age 19, Jeffrey Glenn Miller, age 20, Sandra Lee Scheuer, age 20, and William Knox Schroeder, age 19).

On May 4, 1970, the Ohio National Guard gunned down unarmed college students protesting the Vietnam War at Kent State University. In a deadly barrage of 67 shots, four students were killed and nine shot and wounded. It was the day America turned guns on its own children—a shocking event burned into our national memory.

The fatal shootings triggered immediate and massive outrage on campuses around the country. More than four million students participated in organized walkouts at hundreds of universities, colleges, and high schools, the largest student strike in the history of the United States at that time. It was a day that shocked the nation and helped turn the tide of public opinion against America’s war in Vietnam.

A few days prior, 10-year-old Derf Backderf saw those same guardsmen patrolling his nearby hometown, sent in by the governor to crush a trucker strike.

Using the journalism skills he employed on My Friend Dahmer and Trashed, Backderf has conducted extensive interviews and research to explore the lives of these four young people and the events of those four days in May, when the country seemed on the brink of tearing apart.

Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio is a moving and troubling story about the bitter price of dissent—as relevant today as it was in 1970."

I am giving Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio by Derf Backderf a rating of 4.5 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

A Push to Ban Roald Dahl's, The Twits

 

Ugh, book banning seems to be at an all time high these days. It seems like one hears about book banning quite frequently on the news.

Recently, I watched the above video and learned that The Twits by Roald Dahl has been called out by an Australian academic. The Australian academic noted in the above video says The Twits encourages misogyny and anti-beard bias!!

I have not read The Twits, but have read other novels by Roald Dahl and enjoyed them.

I question whether The Twits truly encourages misogyny and anti-beard bias.

Reading Quote of the Day!!

 

I wonder how true this statistic is? I'm not sure where the information came from, but I would be curious to know if readers of books really do live longer than non-readers..

Sour Candy by Kealan Patrick Burke

 

Sour Candy by Kealan Patrick Burke has been on my radar for awhile. I hadn't added this horror novella to my reading wishlist or anything and didn't have any plans to read actually.

However, I was looking for a quick read and had stumbled upon Sour Candy by Kealan Patrick Burke while scrolling around on Hoopla. After reading the publisher's summary and discovering that the audio edition of Sour Candy was 2 hours, 36 minutes in length, I figured why not make this my next read? After all, Sour Candy sounded like an interesting read.

Well, Sour Candy is definitely an interesting read. It's a work of contemporary fiction with a focus on horror and suspense. The author is good at building suspense and creating a slow, but steady pace for this novella. I found myself hooked immediately while reading the first chapter and wanted to see where this book lead me.

For the full storyline, read the publisher's summary below. For me, Sour Candy is all about whether the main character, Phil Pendleton, is sane or mental ill. Did he really have an otherworldly/paranormal experience that lead to his demise or was he dealing with mental health issues? The ending makes it look like the events that occurred weren't all in Phil's head, but really did happen.

If you've read Sour Candy by Kealan Patrick Burke, I'd be curious to read your thoughts about this novella.

Lastly, it's worth noting that I listened to the unabridged audio version of Sour Candy by Kealan Patrick Burke, which was wonderfully narrated by Andrew Gibson.

Below id the publisher's summary for Sour Candy by Kealan Patrick Burke:

At first glance, Phil Pendleton and his son Adam are just an ordinary father and son, no different from any other. They take walks in the park together, visit county fairs, museums, and zoos, and eat together overlooking the lake. Some might say the father is a little too accommodating given the lack of discipline when the child loses his temper in public. Some might say he spoils his son by allowing him to eat candy whenever he wants and set his own bedtimes. Some might say that such leniency is starting to take its toll on the father, given how his health has declined.

What no one knows is that Phil is a prisoner, and that up until a few weeks ago and a chance encounter at a grocery store, he had never seen the child before in his life.

I am giving Sour Candy by Kealan Patrick Burke a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

Bookish Quote of the Day!!

 

Happy Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month!!

Each year during the month of May is Asian American Pacific Islander  Heritage Month!

Do you enjoy themed reading? In other words, do you read books for for AAPI Heritage Month that are written by AAPI writers? If so, check out the list below!

Below are five books I've read and reviewed that I highly recommend reading during AAPI Heritage Month. Click on the links below to read my review for each book.

1. Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu

2. Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen by Jose Antonio Vargas

3. The Color of Air by Gail Tsukiyama

4. They Called Us Enemy by George Takei

5. The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar

Below are five books I've been meaning to read by AAPI writers.

1. The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston

2. How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C Pam Zhang

3. Year of the Tiger by Alice Wong

4. No-No Boy by John Okada

5. Farewell to Manzanar by Jeanne Toyo Wakatsuki Houston and
James D. Houston

Have you read any of the above books? Are there AAPI books you'd recommend I read that aren't on this list?

Dear Dad: Growing Up with a Parent in Prison—and How We Stayed Connected by Jay Jay Patton

 

I randomly found the ebook edition for Dear Dad: Growing Up with a Parent in Prison—and How We Stayed Connected by Jay Jay Patton while searching Hoopla's comic book offerings. The title and topic caught my attention right away. I have never had a parent incarcerated in prison. So, the thought of how an incarcerated parent stays in touch with their children (or vice versa) while serving time in prison never crossed my mind.

I wanted to learn more about this topic, so I decided to read Dear Dad: Growing Up with a Parent in Prison—and How We Stayed Connected by Jay Jay Patton. I'm so glad that I did. I started and finished reading Dear Dad in one day as it is a quick read due to it being written in comic book form. Dear Dad is a work of nonfiction and is also a memoir. 

Jay Jay Patton writes about life without having a father around for a number of years during her childhood due to the fact that her father was serving time in prison. They stayed in touch via letters. Jay Jay's father learns computer coding while in prison. Once released from prison, Jay Jay and her family move back in together with her father as a family unit. It's then Jay Jay's father begins to work as a computer coder. Jay Jay herself is smart in both math and science like her father. Jay Jay eventually learns coding herself from her father and the two of them create an app to help connect children with their incarcerated parents. This way, families can stay in touch with the parent who is serving time in prison.

I like this book and how Jay Jay and her father stay connected while he was in prison through letter writing. I also liked how they bonded afterwards through computer coding when Jay Jay's father was released from prison. They used their computer coding skills to create an app to help others stay more easily connected with their children  when a parent (or parents) are in prison. However, Dear Dad isn't perfect. I felt like there were gaps in the timeframe or things that would have been relevant information to share about Jay Jay's life. Plus, the artwork was good, but not great.

Below is the publisher's summary for Dear Dad: Growing Up with a Parent in Prison—and How We Stayed Connected by Jay Jay Patton from the Goodreads website:

As far back as nine-year-old Jay Jay Patton can remember, her dad, Antoine, has been in prison. Growing up in Buffalo, New York with her mom and younger brother, she's only visited him twice. Instead the two have sent each other numerous letters. Jay Jay's letters can take weeks or months to reach her dad, and some never even get delivered. What's it going to be like having Dad home?

This powerful coming-of-age sequential-art memoir shows Jay Jay Patton's life of growing up with a dad in and out of prison. The experience led her and her dad to develop a powerful father-daughter bond and create Photo Patch, a life-changing application that connects children to incarcerated parents.

I am giving Dear Dad: Growing Up with a Parent in Prison—and How We Stayed Connected by Jay Jay Patton a rating of 3.5 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

Bookish Quote of the Day!!!

 

Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?: Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death by Caitlin Doughty

 

I listened to Caitlin Doughty's nonfiction book titled, Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory back in 2023. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory as Caitlin Doughty recounts her journey as a mortician. I also enjoyed the fact that Caitlin Doughty narrated her book as well.

With that said, I wanted to read, or rather listen to in this case, another work of nonfiction written by Caitlin Doughty. So, I couldn't resist listening to Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?: Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death, which is also narrated by the author.

I don't know how Caitlin Doughty does it, but she makes learning unique facts about death fun! I learned a lot of new things about death that I didn't know before by listening to Caitlin Doughty answer 35 questions posed to her by youngsters. Each of the questions were for the most part unique and so were the answers given.

Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?: Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death by Caitlin Doughty is a quick read, which was right up my alley. I liked the bite sized chunks of information that were presented by the author. It made learning about death feel less morbid if that's possible.

Below is the publisher's summary for Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?: Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death by Caitlin Doughty from the Goodreads website:

Every day, funeral director Caitlin Doughty receives dozens of questions about death. What would happen to an astronaut’s body if it were pushed out of a space shuttle? Do people poop when they die? Can Grandma have a Viking funeral?

In the tradition of Randall Munroe’s What If ?, Doughty’s new book, Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?, blends her scientific understanding of the body and the intriguing history behind common misconceptions about corpses to offer factual, hilarious, and candid answers to thirty-five urgent questions posed by her youngest fans. Readers will learn what happens if you die on an airplane, the best soil for mummifying your dog, and whether or not you can preserve your friend’s skull as a keepsake.

I am giving Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?: Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death by Caitlin Doughty a rating of 4 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!

Atlanta "Library Dads" Build Community to Help Their Kids Fall In Love With Reading!

 

I loved watching this short, YouTube video about dads building a community to support each other in building strong readers and literacy in their children.

I come from a generation where the only time men helped with anything educational was when it came to math and science. Otherwise, it was always left up to the women to do these things.

I'm glad to see a shift in participation when it comes to men helping their children learn to read.