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Kate Carter-Brown

@plainsprose

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Here are some books I read this week and mini reviews! These are all from the @aspenwords long list and I definitely loved two of the three. Lilith has been fascinating to discuss in the discord set up by @plainsprose and @lizisreading_ but definitely take care of yourself if it’s not the book for you right now.

Books I mention:
🪩A Great Country by @shilpigowda
🪩 Lilith by Eric Rickstad
🪩There is a Rio Grande in Heaven by Reuben Reyes Jr.

#booksbooksbooks #aspenwordsbookclub #aspenwordsliteraryprize #aspenwordslitprize #aspenlitprize #bookstagram #bookrecommendations #bookreview #ilovebooks

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Every year I try to read as much of the @aspenwords lit prize because I’ve found some amazing books through this prize. I can’t recommend the long list (even the past lists!) as a place to fill your TBR. This isn’t the whole list but a big pile of patiently waiting books I get to read.

This year, I’m highly enjoying being in the discord that @lizisreading_ and @plainsprose have set up and hearing other readers’ thoughts about the books!

#aspenwordsbookclub #aspenwordsliteraryprize #aspenwords #fillyourtbr #tbr #tbrpile #books #bookstagram #booksbooksbooks #awards #bookaward #bookawardsreadingchallenge #aspenlitprize

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Instead of creating another reading challenge for 2025 I jumped on the Instagram trend of finding 12 book recommendations from 12 fellow readers - but with a twist. Every novel is a classic. (Modern or otherwise.)

So why did I choose this reading challenge? Well, in early 2024 I read David Copperfield (C. Dickens) in preparation for Demon Copperhead and that ignited my desire to weave more classic literature into my overall reading habits. Also read: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Twain), Giovanni’s Room (Baldwin), The Picture of Dorian Gray (Wilde), Pride and Prejudice (J. Austen), and Anne of Green Gables (LM Montgomery) Parable of the Sower & Parable of the Talents (O. Butler) and I’m excited to keep up with this trend in 2025.

The 12 reader suggestions turned out better than I imagined, y’all. Spanning genres, genders, time periods, nationalities, and race, I am excited to read, and in a couple cases re-read, these beloved books this year.

Do you see any favorites? Tell me below!

▪️ The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton
▪️ The Dispossessed by Ursula K. LeGuin
▪️ Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
▪️ The Haunting at Hill House by Shirley Jackson
▪️ I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
▪️ If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin
▪️ Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
▪️ Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
▪️ On Beauty by Zadie Smith
▪️ One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
▪️ Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
▪️ Sula by Toni Morrison

Most, if not all are available in your local libraries so I invite you to join me in reading them in whatever order floats your boat. And thank you to the tagged bookworms for the suggestions. 🎉 Text, “twelve classic books from twelve readers”

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Thank you so much, @mamacappsreads for alerting me to the Aspen Words Book Club run by @lizisreading_ and @plainsprose !

I’m tackling this list because I loved finding books that went under the radar, at least for me.

I previously read three of the books on the list and enjoyed them. The Safekeep is going to be in my top books of the year for sure!

I am currently listening to the audio of Kingdom of No Tomorrow and the narrator (Robin MIles) is engaging and I’m hooked. Thank you Hachette Audio for an advanced copy of the audio. Review to come.

I am currently reading Fire Exit by Morgan Talty and it is so good.

Have you read any of the books on the list? What did you think of them?

#apsenwordsbookclub #madwoman #kingdomofnotomorrow #wanderingstars #thesafekeep #beforethemangoripens #agreatcountry #devilisfine #fireexit #anitademontelaughslast #thereisariograndeinheaven #theroadtothesaltsea #lilith #bookstafriends #bookreview #bookreviewer #bookseverywhere #readersofig #readersofig #readingrainbow #readersofinstagram #lovetoread #readmore #bookstagrammer#mystery #goodreads #pelotonmomsbookclub

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It’s our favorite time of year again! @plainsprose and @lizisreading_ are thrilled to host another year of #aspenwordsbookclub. The Aspen Words Literary Prize celebrates an influential work of fiction that demonstrates the transformative power of literature on thought and culture. We love this prize because it illuminates contemporary issues affecting the world in the most compelling of ways and this is exactly why we read.

Like the last three years, we will read all titles and discuss them on Discord in time for the official shortlist announcement on March 12th 2025. This longlist may seem daunting, but the longest book is only 336 pages this year, and there are truly no rules. Join for all, some, or one; we are just excited to talk about the list with a thoughtful group of readers!

Reading Schedule (book photo provided by @aspenwords):

Week One: “Wandering Stars” by Tommy Orange (315 pages)

Week Two:”Before the Mango Ripens” by Afabwaje Kurian (336 pages)

Week Three: “Anita de Monte Laughs Last” by Xochitl Gonzalez (342 pages)

Week Four:”A Great Country” by Shilpi Somaya Gowda (256 pages)

Week Five: “James” by Percival Everett (303 pages)

Week Six: “Madwoman” by Chelsea Bieker (336 pages)

Week Seven: “Devil Is Fine” by John Vercher (272 pages)

Week Eight: “Kingdom of No Tomorrow” by Fabienne Josaphat (288 pages)

Week Nine: “Sky Full of Elephants” by Cebo Campbell (304 pages)

Week Ten: “There Is a Rio Grande in Heaven” by Ruben Reyes Jr. (240 pages)

Week Eleven: “The Safekeep” by Yael van der Wouden (272 pages)

Week Twelve: “Fire Exit” by Morgan Talty (243 pages)

Week Thirteen: The Road to the Salt Sea” by Samuel Kọ́láwọlé (300 pages)

Week Fifteen: “Lilith” by Eric Rickstad (245 pages) 

Comment below or send us a DM to be added to the Discord! We’d love to read with you. Week 1 starts Monday 🎉

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𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗬𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝟭𝟬𝟬 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟮𝟭𝘀𝘁 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝘆 have been revealed. I’m feeling pretty good about my reading life as I’ve read over one third of the the finalists. I’m excited to get around to a stack of books I’ve been meaning to read. I now have a new reading project to look forward to!⁣
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How many of the final 100 made your list? Were there any surprises?⁣
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#bestbooksofthe21stcentury #best100books #newyorktimes #bestofthebest #booklists #booksiveread #booksirecommend #tbr

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🏆Mikey Predicts the Aspen 2024 Shortlist🏆

Did Mikey read all 14 books? No.
Did Mikey only read 3 in their entirety? Yes.
Will Mikey still try to predict the shortlist? OF COURSE HE WILL.

Ahem.

The Aspen shortlist was an absolute highlight of my 2023 reading list, and I was able to read some incredible works in "Blanket Dance," "Glory," "Harry Sylvester Bird," "How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water," "If I Survive You," and "Manticore." I read 9 of the 14, though I still have to read the eventual winner "Hajji Hotak."

This year...I'm not sure what happened, haha. After falling behind pretty early, I never caught up, but since I'm a data nerd, I will still try to predict!

Low score is better: a perfect would be 15 (1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5), and the "worst" would be 60 (10 + 11 + 12 + 13 + 14). Last year, I got really close and scored a 19 (I still am stunned by the "Glory" snub). If I can get this year's total under 30, it'll be miraculous, haha.

I do think I'm pretty safe on the top two: "Heaven and Earth" was incredible and deserved all the accolades in '23. While I found "Chain-Gang" a bit cacophonous in places, I suppose that was the point - and it's a story that needed to be told.

The rest is tough. The Discord chat was hopping regarding "The Laughter," and I am so glad I know *nothing* about what it's about - of all the books up there, I'm most excited to read that. "Enter Ghost" also got ample plaudits, so that feels safe. A short story collection will likely advance, and I really had nothing to go off, so it was randomness throwing two of them at positions 5 and 6.

"Let Us Descend" and "Milk and Honey" seemed to be works from two great authors whose previous works were, by and large, preferred by readers. "Questions" seems too mainstream to get there, and "Yellowface" did not work for me. I loved the first story in "Return Home," but overall commendation seemed muted after that.

Special shout-out to Aardvark for having two of these in its box! I tagged some of you who I think predicted, and if I missed you, sorry about that!

Happy reading, and may your predictions and mine both come true! (Even if that's impossible.)

Mikey

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Just under the wire, but I’ve officially finished the entire @aspenwords literary prize longlist! 🎉 This prize focuses on identifying “an influential work of fiction that illuminates a vital contemporary issue and demonstrates the transformative power of literature on thought and culture.” (AKA, my favorite genre.)

The 2024 longlist selections explored unlikeable narrators, dystopian futures, and the historical and contemporary impacts of discrimination. As a whole, I will admit I was somewhat underwhelmed by these selections... partially because I had extremely high expectations. 🫣 But the books I loved, I LOVED. This project also reinforced my general preference to avoid short stories, even if I did fall in love with one of the anthologies.

Based on the Aspen Lit Prize mission statement, my “official” short list prediction is:
- CHAIN-GANG ALL-STARS
- THE FIVE SORROWFUL MYSTERIES OF ANDY AFRICA
- LAND OF MILK AND HONEY
- ENTER GHOST
- THE LAUGHTER

However, If this was the Books On Adventures Prize, my personal selections would be:
- CHAIN-GANG ALL-STARS
- WHAT HAPPENED TO RUTHY RAMIREZ
- THE LAUGHTER
- LAND OF MILK AND HONEY
- THE PEOPLE WHO REPORT MORE STRESS

Either way, I still hope that Chain-Gang All-Stars wins it all.

This is my first year doing this, so it will be super interesting to see what gets selected. Thank you to @lizisreading_ and @plainsprose for hosting a great discord chat about these books. It’s been so interesting to see how different people connected with the reading.

#AspenWordsPrize #AspenLitPrize

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Wednesday is the day Aspen Words announces their short list for this year’s literary prize. The prize is awarded to an author whose book illuminates social issues and demonstrates the transformative power of literature. It is always difficult to narrow it down to only 5 titles. Best of luck to all these worthy authors!

Here are my predictions for this year’s short list:

Let Us Descend, Jesmyn Ward - Heartwrenching illumination of resilience and agency amidst the oppression of slavery and family separation. Interweaving scenes from Dante’s Inferno to illustrate the manner in which slavery is hell and consider the question of theodicy.

Land of Milk and Honey, C Pam Zhang - Presents a dystopian world in which climate change has devastated the food supply. A love letter to food, sensual pleasures and embracing one’s appetites.

Chain-Gang All-Stars, Nana Kwame Adejei-Brenyah - Brilliant dystopian satire, eviscerates the carceral industrial complex, entertainment sports and capitalism.

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, James McBride - With heart and humor speaks to building community across cultures and race, balancing mercy and justice, and surviving versus recovering from past trauma.

Enter Ghost, Isabella Hammand - A timely and multilayered novel about a Palestinian actress involved in a West Bank production of Hamlet. Examines one’s ambivalence towards and relationship with homeland, the violence of occupation and the transformative power of the arts.

Thank you @lizisreading_ and @plainsprose for getting us together once again this year!

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Here they are! My @aspenwords shortlist predictions! Here is the final breakdown of my 5 favorite books from the longlist.

1) Chain Gang All-Stars: Dystopian world within the context of the US prison industrial complex. This one wins it all for me. @king_nk

2) Heaven and Earth Grocery Store: a story about memorable characters overcoming all odds, and building community in unlikely people and places.
@jamesmcbrideauthor

3) The Laughter: an ode to awful protagonists who make you wonder if humans are just bad. @sonorajha1

4) The People Who Report More Stress: stories capturing life full of weird and humorous circumstances. @drovarela

5) Enter Ghost: a patronage to the arts— exploring theater in occupation. If you can pull off Hamlet in occupied Palestine, you can do anything. #isabellahammond

I loved every book on this list and found some new favorite authors. I’m excited to see the shortlist collection coming out on Tuesday!

Thank you for @lizisreading_ and @plainsprose for leading the readings at #aspenbookclub #AspenLitPrize

How about you? Did you read any of these?

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Reading through the @aspenwords longlist for the third time was incredibly eye opening and interesting as always! These are my predictions for the shortlist of this beautiful celebration of books and stories!
Thank you for organizing the book club @lizisreading_ and @plainsprose
#aspenlitprize
#bookprize #reading #read #igreads #booksbooksbooks #bookstagram #ilovebooks #fiction #bookprize

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Here it is! After a lot of deliberation I have landed on my prediction for the @aspenwords shortlist! The official list will be announced on Tuesday and I hope these are the final five.

🪩Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
🪩Enter Ghost by Isabella Hammad
🪩Witness by Jamel Brinkley
🪩Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang
🪩The People who Report More Stress by Alejandro Varela

The longlist this year was AMAZING and this was a really tough choice to narrow down. I wish I could pick 7!!

#aspenlitprize #aspenwordsprize #shortlistprediction #aspenlitprizeshortlistprediction #hardchoices #toughdecision #literaryprize #myfavoriteprize #cantwaitfortheannouncement #bookstagram #chicagobookstagram #booksbooksbooks #somanybookssolittletime #loveallthebooks #lovebooks #amazingbooks #fiction #shortstories

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