Welcome to Litsy!

This really captured so much, but also really paralleled in so many ways what our country is going through now (again). The elation I felt and HOPE when Obama won; the absolute terror when Trump won and then won again. Excellent read. So much packed into these pages.

Absolutely couldn‘t put down this compelling graphic memoir. And I generally don‘t stick with a memoir through the whole book but this one is 💯

This graphic memoir was phenomenal! 😍

I love the art style, I love the story, and I love that Mira Jacob shared this with the world. It's a very personal look into families and politics during the Trump era.

Highly recommend. 💚

This beautiful graphic memoir depicts the author's journey through difficult, honest conversations with her son about race and racism.

Heartfelt & hilarious. Graphic novel depicting tough conversations with drawings of flat, expressionless faces. Blank stare in face of bigotry, misunderstanding. Absorption/refusal. Dissonance. Emotion in language, not image. Motherhood, daughterhood, interracial families, dating, marriage, identity, professional success. Section on 9/11 so evocative of that time of loss & confusion. Open w/ her own biases. ???s asked & answered. Intimate. 2019

I read this for work as it‘s one of the Top 11 for the 2023 One Maryland One Book program. I‘m so glad I did! It‘s a graphic memoir that depicts the author‘s journey in having complicated conversations about race & racism in America with her young son who is of mixed race. It‘s a great read & highly recommend it! Note for younger readers: there is one scene of full frontal nudity & the F word is used sparingly throughout.

#12booksof2022

January was a very good reading month for me, both in quality and quantity. My favorite book of the month, and will most likely be my favorite book of the year, was the graphic memoir, Good Talk by Mira Jacob. Close runners up were I Capture the Castle and In Waves.

I don't read a lot of graphic novels, but this memoir proved perfect for a Friday night. (Back to work means I am pooped by the end of the week. 🥱) I appreciated this smart, honest, at times funny, at other times uncomfortable exploration of growing up & living as a POC in the US. The format took a heavy topic and made it easy to read and entertaining while somehow not sacrificing the complexity. Really well done! 👍

Mira Jacob writes about what it is like to be brown (for her, Indian with darker skin than her other family members) in the America post 9/11 up through Trump's election win. Not only that but married to a Jewish (white) man whose parents refuse to see the harm in voting for Trump, and mother of a young mixed race boy with Questions. ↘️

Library haul!

Two for foster son, one for April Sword and Laser, one I've been meaning to read forever, one for #readingenvyrussia non-fiction quarter, and one Booker International longlist title that followed me home.

A very strong start to the year!
5 were on my TBR
2 were my #roll100 reads
1 was my #bookspin
1 was #authoramonth

#nywd

This is only the second graphic novel I‘ve read. Once again I‘m amazed that the message is as strong, if not stronger, than a ‘written‘ book.

The author is the daughter of Indian immigrants to the US; the book is a series of conversations from the time of 9/11 to the Trump era, with friends, family and with her son as he tries to understand racism.

I can‘t help but wonder what her in-laws thought of their portrayal in the book!

I‘m enjoying my current read, Pigs in Heaven, but I keep looking longingly at my #librarystack 😍

I think part of the reason this struck a cord with me is because I‘m raising two sons, one of which is about the age of the boy in this graphic novel about race.
#12Booksof2021

A solid meditation on racism and some of its daily effects. Interesting art style. #wgwordsearch 22 words found for 220 pts. #TBRread 15 pts #dashingDecember #adventathon #thefestivereadathon #averymerrybingo #averymerryreadathon #wintercosy #bookspinbingo #Christmasmyway 8 readathons*2 hrs*10=160 pts

396 pts #wintergames #teamgamesleighers @StayCurious

I loved this a lot. Really interesting art style, and such a powerful memoir and analysis of race, identity, family, politics and how they all intertwine, joyfully and painfully.

#NFN Don't forget to get your points in for the last week! I'll be sending emails.out tomorrow tonight after work.
#NonFictionNovember #NonFicNov #NFN21

This memoir was excellent, heartbreaking as the author learns about her self and our country as drastic changes occur around her as a person of color. Phenomenal! Excellent, Superb. Heartbreaking. #NFN #NonFictionNovember #NFN21

Started this book today. And just received my first Christmas swap #CreepyChristmas @teebe

My kind of kid…ask ALL the questions.

Good Talk is a graphic memoir centered on Mira Jacob‘s conversations with the people close to her, especially her son. I loved his inquisitiveness and imagination. The conversations are so real and provide an interesting structure for her experiences #ContainsPhotos #Booked2021

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ½ • While I know this is a memoir, it felt so much more personal than most — us readers are so lucky that Mira shared these experiences.

I just want to leave this here because it‘s my most favorite panel in the whole book. Love this kid‘s imagination so much! 😂💙

Recommended by several members of my book club, #LitsyATXReadersSociety or #LARS for short. It was also my pick for our January theme, “Read previously for LARS by another member.” I loved the openly curious and innocent questions of the author‘s young mixed-race son about race, religion, and culture. 🔸 #januaryreads2021

This is a powerful read—called a “memoir in conversations”, the author uses talks with her son about race as a jumping-off point into remembered conversations from childhood & the more recent past. There are also some hilarious moments with her son, and profound & thought-provoking observations on her experiences as an Indian American, esp. in the aftermath of 9/11 & during 45‘s campaign. Thank you @MeganAnn for another great #NewYearWhoDis pick!

Ohh my goodness allllll the heart eyes! 😍
I‘ve been hearing about this book for years and it really is as fabulous as everyone says. A biographical graphic novel from Mira, an Indian American who has conversations with her young son, but also looks back at conversations from the past to build her life‘s story. Excellent images and amazing storytelling with touching conversations about race, politics and the vexing realities of America.

🤣 Started this one this morning—so good! It‘s both funny and thought-provoking... and I will probably finish it today! This is my third read for #NewYearWhoDis.

Bath time! 🛁 📚

I loved the unique art style of this graphic novel and I think it lends itself well to the difficult topics that Jacob‘s discusses. Really well done. 4⭐️

#currentlyreading #graphicnovel
I‘ve seen this book discussed so many times and have never had a chance to borrow it. Finally, I purchased it for our library. 📚

“Every door I get through, this guy is always on the other side. Patting himself on the back for being open-minded while making sure I scrub myself before I enter.”

Rereading this for a book group meeting.
Still makes me laugh out loud.

(Remind me never to recommend a book again: I hate worrying about if everyone liked it)

One of my top nonfiction books of the year, Jacob looks at the difficulties of raising a brown child right now. The book has a nonlinear timeline encompassing her parents meeting in India, moving to Albuquerque, and her childhood there. She examines the role race played in friendships and relationships. She has conversations with her son about the racist comments Trump makes and why her husband‘s parents chose to vote for him. #graphicmemoir

Best nonfiction of each month of the year #challengeaccepted @Cinfhen

January-> April
May -> August
September-> December?

@kaysworld1 some months had multiple 5⭐️ nonfiction books, but please feel free to choose among these, too, if you‘re interested. 👍🏻 I read a lot of nonfiction!

I could‘ve read this book quickly, if I wanted to. I probably could‘ve knocked it over in a single afternoon. But I took my time, in an effort to really, truly, fully appreciate its content, and the generosity of Jacob in sharing it with us (and by “us”, I mean “me”). If all graphic novels are as good as Good Talk, consider me a convert. Full review here: https://keepingupwiththepenguins.com/good-talk-mira-jacob/ #GraphicNovels #MustRead

I am a bit torn as to which is my favorite September read. I loved A Thousand Ships, it was literary, and wonderfully crafted, and I loved Good Talk which had art I have never seen, and was very on point talking about growing up in the US through the 80-00's Many of the little stories had me feeling all the feels. This was a good reading month, got many on my old 2015 TRB off the list and enjoyed most of these #monthlyroundup

By Mira Jacob (via IG)

Wow this is fantastic. Not only is the layout different then most graphic novels, but the storyline is also well done.
A little bit funny, sad parts, parts to connect with, and think over.

What 6 year old now days wouldn't want to be The Sixth Jackson 😹

I listened to an interview with Mira Jacob on NPR and ordered this not knowing it was a GN, much less how creativity it was laid out.

#3books #ivereadinaday @OriginalCyn620 @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Mira in conversation. This was brilliant.

#GoodTalk
#UpperValleyBooks
#StillQueer

I‘ve been trying to read more about race, as a lot of us have. This one is a graphic non fiction memoir and I loved it. I picked it up and just stayed where I was until it was finished. It is beautiful visually, it‘s complex and it makes you think without feeling like school. The conversations the author has with her son made my heart ache and made me hopeful at the same time. Get the book 😍 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I'm kidding myself I can stay awake despite the time difference to hear Mira Jacobs talk about her amazing book.

"Good Talk recounts the conversations between Mira and her son, both before and following the 2016 election. Mira will be joined in conversation by Still Queer co-curators Alexander Chee and Dustin Schell."

https://www.crowdcast.io/e/stillqueer-mirajacob/

I loved the style of this important graphic novel. I know this book is available in audio, but do yourself a favor and read an ebook or physical copy. It turned a little too political for me towards the end, but it is funny and touching. Book 71 4⭐️

I finished Good Talk by Mira Jacob today. I enjoyed this story and loved how it was illustrated. 👍👍

I have never yelled so much at people who cannot hear me while listening to an audiobook before (due to the incredibly racist things people were saying to/about the author/POC in general). This was brilliantly written and produced, and discusses several nuances of race and relationships. I highly recommend it.

I 👏🏼LOVED 👏🏼THIS👏🏼!!! I‘ve seen so much about this on bookstagram but honestly was not expecting how good this is!! I can‘t even find words for how good this is.