Show & Tell: Zohran Wins, His Haters...Flee?
Unstacked Digest for the week of June 23 -29
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 am back in LA from my trip. It was a blast. I am also very glad to be home and to know my kids are reporting to camp today. It’s a holiday week, but I’m still dropping my regularly scheduled reading wrap-up mini-pod on Friday. Does America even deserve a holiday at this point?
Just a quick housekeeping moment. In July I am doing an Ask Me Anything all around nonfiction for The Nonfiction Files. So please drop your questions here.
This Week in The Stacks
I have been gone and trying hard not to work too much, which means not very much shameless self-promotion1. But, I would love for you to check out all the things you’ve missed over the last week or two.
Thanks to this newsletter we’re making soft serve and rainbow sprinkles *a thing* this summer.
Ceara O’Sullivan came back on the podcast to talk about The Art Thief by Michael Finkel for The Stacks Book Club. We get into crime, punishment, and the story behind this wild story. Virtual book club for this book will be on Tuesday July 1st, if you’re not part of The Stacks Pack you should join now so you don’t miss it.
I wrote about the July books I am most looking forward to, and this list has a little bit of range, if I do say so myself.
Books I Read This Week
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
A prequel to The Hunger Games series in which we get the backstory to President Snow. I know a lot of people hated this book, I am not one of those people. I love a villain origin story. I love a prequel. I love Suzanne Collins. This book is for me. I think Collins did a great job showing us the world of The Hunger Games before we knew it; the early games, the Capitol perspective, and of course, Coriolanus Snow. For my Shakespeare nerds she is doing what you think she is doing with that character name choice (and there are other nuggets along the way). The way she develops Coryo into a villain as she simultaneously matures the games is so smart. The debates around government, punishment, and control, also brilliant. There were some pacing issues (the book is very long) as well as some loose ends that I need tidied up. I’m hopeful we get more of Coriolanus’ story in the future. I would be fully locked in.
Hunchback by Saou Ichikawa translated by Polly Barton
Shaka was born with a congenital muscle disorder, and relies on an electric wheelchair to move and a ventilator to breathe; her mind knows no bounds. Okay, this little novella is sexy and fucked up. It grabs you by the throat from jump and then the ending clamps down. I loved the originality and uniqueness. Oh, and an unlikable woman protagonist concerned with money, sex, power, and privilege? Hell yes. In 90 pages Ichikawa manages to do so much to her story and her reader.
Nazi Billionaires: The Dark History of Germany's Wealthiest Dynasties by David de Jong
An incredible investigation into Germany’s wealthiest tycoons and how they were able to make billions through the help of the Nazi’s and the exploitation of labor in World War II, and then how the American’s let them get away with it. This is an incredibly impressive work of research and history. The detail and clear story telling bring to life the corruption and manipulation of what happened in Germany as well as the changing business and political landscape from the 1930s to the present. I had no idea about so much of what is in this book. I kept having to pause my audiobook to rewind to make sure I heard things correctly because they seemed too hard to believe. And, not to be too extreme, but what happened in 1930’s Germany with these companies and businessmen seems to be clearly inline with what I’m seeing happen now in the United States. I am very grateful Patrick Radden Keefe2 put this one on my radar.
Fave of the week!
Housekeeping
In July I am planning an “Ask Me Anything” post for The Nonfiction Files. To do that, I need you to, you guessed it, ask me anything about nonfiction reading and books.
I’ll be chatting with Morgan Pager for her debut novel,The Art of Vanishing, on July 14th at Skylight Books.
On July 16th, I’ll be back at Skylight Books for an event with Zan Romanoff and her newest romance novel, Square Waves. It is part of the Big Fan universe, which I loved, which is to say, I am very excited about this one.
And in August, my girl, Cleyvis Natera will be in LA for an event for her new nove lThe Grand Paloma Resort at Reparations Club on August 28th.
Also, looking ahead, I will be back at the Mississippi Book Festival in September. Its a great festival and I’d love to see you on September 13th.
Things I Love…
Politics
I got to be in New York for Zohran Mamdani’s historic primary win for Mayor of NYC. What a great moment for progressives and for grassroots organizing. I am so excited for him, the city, and the potential this has for other extremely Blue cities and states to tip the scales toward people first policies. I don’t know if this will work everywhere, especially places that are more purple, but in Dem strongholds, we have to try.
Books
This is tied to the above. And, you’re getting a sorta hate with this one, because Zibby Owens had a full flame out over Zohran’s win. Showing us how deeply racist and Islamophobic this whole election has been and will continue to be. However, in making herself the main character of this election, she exposed herself to be a hypocritical, self-serving, fearmonger. And that, I love to see!
Lest you forget, last year after Trump was reelected, she posted this.
The one thing? “Our love of books will always unites us.” So obviously I assumed she’d be keeping that same energy when the candidate that her daddy3 wasn’t pumping money into won. Right? Because, at least, we still have the books?
So, imagine my surprise when I saw her post the below picture from the NY Post with the words “‘Time to Flee?’” in giant bold text.
She has since changed the photo on her IG post, to the below. But the comments remain. And boy howdy are the comments a flaming trash heap. Well, at least the comments I can still see, since she appears to delete comments that are dissenting, unflattering, or call her out. That is how she rolls.
First and foremost, her asking if it is time for Jews to “flee” New York. After a primary? Be serious, I beg of you. But also her language is inflammatory as hell. I mean just look at this comment4.
Kristallnacht?!?!?!? For those who don’t know Kristallnacht, aka The Night of Broken Glass, was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazis in 1938 that left 91 people dead5, and destroyed over a thousand synagogues and places of worship, over 7,000 businesses, and saw the arrest of over 30,000 Jews.
After writing that out, it does sound eerily similar to the primary last Tuesday. Hard not to draw those lines.
It is clear that Zibby and her fans have decided that no matter what is true in this moment, their “fear” should be prioritized. This is absolute delusion. Mostly, what I am about to say should go without saying but, in a moment where a peaceful election is being compared to one of the most infamous nights of Nazi violence and terror, we gotta say the obvious stuff out loud.
First and foremost, and this can not be overstated, there is a real and active genocide happening in Gaza right now. There are people who are actually in danger right now, many who have been injured and have lost loved ones, communities, and worlds. Not one of those people is Zibby Owens in her Upper East Side home. Let us never forget what is going on here. Who is in danger. Who is living in fear. And who is being harmed at the hands of Israel, The United States, and their allies.