Show & Tell: My New Enemies, A Few Wins, and Free Books
Unstacked Digest for the week of November 4 - 10
This is Show & Tell where I tell you some things I loved from the week and the one thing I hated, plus round up everything else going on around these parts. The first half of Show & Tell is free to all. The adoration and hateration are for paid subscribers only.
I have no clue how to even start this. I am devastate and furious like most of you (I’d assume). I can barely even bring myself to commit to writing what happened on Tuesday, and yet, this is our new (again) reality. Trump is the president elect. What horrible, dreadful, no good news.
I am not going to point fingers and lay blame on anyone this week (I know, this is very big of me). I will blame white supremacy, sexism, and capitalism run amok all day though, because those are evergreen enemies.
I am overall sad, angry, and feeling pangs of betrayal, and I want to name that here, because I think it is important to acknowledge how we’re all feeling.
In the midst of all my election spiraling, I went to New York City to see my college friends make amazing art. This trip filled me with so much awe and joy. I say this often, but one of the great honors of my life is to know some of the most supremely talented people who are making things and shaping culture. No matter what happens I never want to take them and their work for granted. Creativity is a skill but it is also a practice, and witnessing it in action is thrilling and inspiring beyond measure. I am grateful to have had those three days with my beloveds in my favorite city.
This Week on Unstacked
To answer my own question, no, I don’t think anyone is okay.
My November book preview is here. The list is very short, but there are a few books I’m excited about this month.
I made a little nonfiction book generator, which was good fun, and if you all are into it, I think we’ll do this again.
Books I Read This Week
Twenty-Four Seconds from Now . . .: A Love Story by Jason Reynolds
This is a YA love story about a teenaged boy, Neon, who is on the brink of having sex for the first time. He has a lot of thoughts and feelings about this moment and the novel works backward from 24 seconds before to 24 months before. The book is tender and funny and sweet, like most of Reynolds’ work, but I don’t think it quite stuck the landing. I never felt fully connected to Neon or his girlfriend, Aria. I liked them very much, but that swoony feeling I often get for Reynolds’ characters never came. I think the structure might have gotten in the way of that connection. I’m so glad Twenty-Four Seconds from Now… exists, we need more books about sweet Black boys who are nervous and anxious and inexperienced.
Fave of the week!
Bad Vibes Only: (And Other Things I Bring to the Table) by Nora McInerny
A collection of essays that push back against positivity as personality and cultural identity. McInerny is really good at talking about the things that suck in a refreshing and honest way without reaching too hard for jokes or wallowing in the muck of it all. The collection is short and that works really well here, just when the book needs to end, it does. McInerny is a realist with a big heart which is a perfect combination, especially this week.
Housekeeping
Justine Kay, my pal and co-host of 2 Black Girls 1 Rose podcast came on The Stacks this week to talk about books, pop culture, and optimism. She’ll be back at the end of the month to book club Luster.
Things I Love…
Politics
This was a very bad, no good week in politics. At least on the largest of American political scales. Kamala lost the election, the Democrats lost the senate and as of this writing, it looks likely they will also lose control of the house. This fucking sucks.
I hesitate to write anything that I quote love about this week in politics. However, I think that misses some major messages that were sent in this election.
Progressive policies are popular. In many states, even in red ones, progressive policies won as propositions or ballot initiates. Abortion (fuck Florida’s little bitch ass 60% rule), raising the minimum wage, a rejection of private school vouchers, and paid sick leave, mandatory coverage for IVF, a new tax bracket for millionaires, upholding climate change regulations. This is good news. It means people like these policies when they aren’t attached to individual politicians, which is a good thing. This more than anything else from Tuesday gives me hope.
Black women are in fact electable. The US Senate will have two Black women in their ranks in 2025. That is a full doubling of the amount of Black women to ever serve in the Senate. So huge congrats to Delaware’s Lisa Blunt Rochester and Maryland’s Angela Alsobrooks.
Delaware elected Sarah McBride, who will serve as the first openly transgender person in congress!
Another historic first is Andy Kim who was elected to the Senate as the first ever Korean-American senator.
“The Black Nazi” was defeated in North Carolina, which is a win, but also says a lot about the state of things on the left, that beating a dude who is called “the Black Nazi” feels like a win and not a given.
Book News
The folks over at Haymarket Books are giving away “Ten Free EBooks for Getting Free”. The list includes some amazing titles, including one from friend of the pod, Mariame Kaba, as well as books on Palestine, Black liberation, socialism and more. All of their other EBooks are 80% off (two dollars). You have until November 15th to take advantage of this major offer.