My January 2017 Diverse-a-thon TBR

So, I just found out that this is going on a couple nights ago. That means I'm a little late to the party. It also means that if I want to get involved there isn't a second to spare. Anyway, here are the books I'd like to read between now and the 29th. Let's see if we can make this happen...

Sofia Khan Is Not Obliged
by Ayisha Malik

"Brilliant idea! Excellent! Muslim dating? Well, I had no idea you were allowed to date.' Then he leaned towards me and looked at me sympathetically. 'Are your parents quite disappointed?'

Unlucky in love once again after her possible-marriage-partner-to-be proves a little too close to his parents, Sofia Khan is ready to renounce men for good. Or at least she was, until her boss persuades her to write a tell-all expose about the Muslim dating scene.

As her woes become her work, Sofia must lean on the support of her brilliant friends, baffled colleagues and baffling parents as she goes in search of stories for her book. In amongst the marriage-crazy relatives, racist tube passengers and decidedly odd online daters, could there be a a lingering possibility that she might just be falling in love . . . ?

Sofia Khan is not Obliged is the hilarious and authentic debut novel by Ayisha Malik."

Reading On: Kindle

Length: 456 pages

Current Progress: 48%

Why I Picked This: As far as I can recall, I've never read about a Muslim main character. So as a romance addict and writer, the premise of someone writing a Muslim dating book set in the framework of women's fiction / chick lit caught my interest. Upon trying the sample I knew I had to keep going since Sofia's voice is hilarious and vibrant and the storytelling overall has completely sucked me into her world. 

The Underground Railroad

by Colson Whitehead

Cora is a slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia. Life is hellish for all the slaves but especially bad for Cora; an outcast even among her fellow Africans, she is coming into womanhood - where even greater pain awaits. When Caesar, a recent arrival from Virginia, tells her about the Underground Railroad, they decide to take a terrifying risk and escape. Matters do not go as planned and, though they manage to find a station and head north, they are being hunted.

In Whitehead's ingenious conception, the Underground Railroad is no mere metaphor - engineers and conductors operate a secret network of tracks and tunnels beneath the Southern soil. Cora and Caesar's first stop is South Carolina, in a city that initially seems like a haven - but the city's placid surface masks an insidious scheme designed for its black denizens. Even worse: Ridgeway, the relentless slave catcher, is close on their heels. Forced to flee again, Cora embarks on a harrowing flight, state by state, seeking true freedom.

As Whitehead brilliantly re-creates the unique terrors for black people in the pre-Civil War era, his narrative seamlessly weaves the saga of America from the brutal importation of Africans to the unfulfilled promises of the present day. The Underground Railroad is at once a kinetic adventure tale of one woman's ferocious will to escape the horrors of bondage and a shattering, powerful meditation on the history we all share.

Reading On: Audible / kindle (haven't decided yet)

Length: 306 pages

Current Progress: %

Why I Picked This: This is the DiverseAThon group read, so of course I want to make sure I am ready for the discussion about it on Saturday. Going in I am interested but apprehensive. Topics like this tend to make me want to throw things because I cannot wrap my head around the levels of cruelty people are able and willing to carry out against each other.

Bad Feminist
by Roxane Gay

Pink is my favorite color. I used to say my favorite color was black to be cool, but it is pink—all shades of pink. If I have an accessory, it is probably pink. I read Vogue, and I’m not doing it ironically, though it might seem that way. I once live-tweeted the September issue.

In these funny and insightful essays, Roxane Gay takes us through the journey of her evolution as a woman of color while also taking readers on a ride through culture of the last few years and commenting on the state of feminism today. The portrait that emerges is not only one of an incredibly insightful woman continually growing to understand herself and our society, but also one of our culture.

Bad Feminist is a sharp, funny, and spot-on look at the ways in which the culture we consume becomes who we are, and an inspiring call-to-arms of all the ways we still need to do better.

Reading On: Kindle / Audible

Length: 320 pages

Current Progress: %

Why I Picked This: I have very mixed feelings about Feminism and what it stands for. I am generally not one to call myself a Feminist, because there is a lot of baggage, unrealistic expectations and bullshit that tend to come along with the title. However, I went and listened to Roxane on several YouTube videos and I think I will enjoy her book whether or not I end up fully agreeing with everything she says. Plus, this will kickstart one of my goals for 2017, which is to read one non-fiction book each month. 

Are you taking part in DiverseAThon? What's on your TBR this week? I'd love to know!