#people of the book

[nehardeia]

a brief history of a literary nature

the Jewish people: minds their own business following the laws of their book

Babylon: ugh they're so annoying let's get rid of those guys *conquers the Jews and exiles them to Babylon*

the Jewish people: *writes a few more books about the exile, starts holding public readings every week to keep them fresh*

Rome: oh we do not like these book people let's oppress them

the Jewish people: *sets up academies to study the books. many students now have them fully memorized*

Rome: shoot this is getting out of hand we gotta do something about this, ok we shall Destroy their cultural center and scatter them across the empire

the Jewish people: *hurriedly transcribes decades of academic discussions. there are now 63 more books.*

Medieval Europe: this is getting to be a real problem, if you see jews kick them out so they go away

the Jewish people: *spreads across the entirety of Europe and writes hundreds more books, now in a multitude of different languages*

Various Nations of the World: shoot shoot shoot that did not go well ok we can do this guys we can do this just keep attacking them

the Jewish people: *writes tens of thousands of more books* *builds study halls and education centers and JCCs* *establishes Jewish publishing houses for the purpose of...you guessed it*

the Rest of the World, appalled: dear god who ARE you people why aRE YOU LIKE THIS

the Jewish people: *quietly reading in their libraries enjoying their books*

(somewhere in there....

Haman: gosh i hate the jews and their books i know i'll mobilize the entire kingdom to attack them

the Jews: *fight back, win, and write a book about it*)

#...ok fine I lied Jewish books are rarely studied QUIETLY #there's just too much to argue and debate about #judaism #tanach #gemara #talmud #jewish history #books #people of the book

[theinquisitxor]

JOMP Book Photo Challenge

June 2nd: Currently Reading

#jompbpc #justonemorepage #people of the book #geraldine brooks #currently reading #bookblr #my post

[whilereadingandwalking]

Horse by Geraldine Brooks tells the story of Lexington, one of the greatest racehorses of all time, and his beloved companion and groom Jarret, an enslaved boy whose life revolves around his horse and their connection. In a parallel storyline, art historian Theo and Smithsonian scientist and osteologist Jess each uncover relics of equine history, and come together in their efforts to solve the mysteries behind their origins. 

Brooks first set out to write about a racehorse in a moment in time, and very quickly discovered that the history of race in America was impossible to entangle from the history of horse-racing. In the antebellum South, white owners raked in money as Black men trained and groomed their horses, or did the work that funded the purchasing of new prospects. Even today, the sport continues to be a predominantly rich, white, elitist game that depends on the labor of people of color and privileges profit over the well-being of the amazing thoroughbreds. Brooks buries herself in those truths. With her parallel storylines, she shows Theo struggling against racism and systemic disdain in academia, elitist equine sports, and everyday life. The connections drawn are tied not just through the objects that last through time, but by the issues that remain embedded in the day-to-day of the United States. Lexington and Jarret's connection will appeal to all horse-lovers, and Lexington's true-to-life history and love of racing will appeal to fans of the sport. The outrages Jarret suffers in his goal to stay with Lexington throughout his career continue to sting off the page. While Jarret is fictionalized, so much around him is not, and Brooks's research is extensive and exceptional, allowing her to paint an astonishing view into the history of horse-racing and its recovered relics, making fictionalized sense of a couple of fascinating mysteries. It's a well-written, touching historical fiction, and if some of the turns are predictable, it's only because we know our country's past and present too well.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Horse is out on June 14 from Viking. 

CW slavery, family separation, racist violence, racism and microaggressions, disordered eating, use of the n-word, lynching threat, police brutality/shooting.

#horse #geraldine brooks #historical fiction #march #people of the book #bookstagram #bookish love #my book reviews

[justalittlebluetiefling]

#i don't believe that people for serious reasons sort their books any way but by author #and then obviously by release date/series within that #i am being told that i am being JUDGY #also if you sort your books any other way HOW DO YOU FIND THEM #i really need to know #polls #can't believe i forgot to include genre in here

[angelicgarnet]

the way people online talk about autism is getting really weird, like do they know that neurotypicals still have interests? that someone being passionate about a hobby doesn't mean they're autistic? you guys know that right

#woof #like self diagnosis is one thing #but saying someone is autistic because they talk about a specific hobby a lot is weird (and waters down the actual definition of autism) #and its no different than saying someone has ocd bc they organize their books alpabetically #or saying someone has ADHD because they got distracted by something #and people who aren't even autistic are honestly getting way too comfortable with autism jokes

[adriles]

they are Cancelling me for dealing with my grief as best i can . also for the vicious war Crimes

#book 24 #the conversation between the gods at the beginning there is just this #greatest hits #all i say is vicious war crimes in a vague way #and you all start frothing at the mouth like rabid dogs #a lot of yall get the memo with the blorbo tags but also. seeing quite a few strange pulls #not exactly war crimes but Ok #sometimes normal vicious crimes can just be normal vicious crimes ok guys #can yall stop tagging this as israel u guys r fucking weird…. #if u see this and think it is a joke about actual fucking horrific war crimes and ethnic cleansing. u may be fucked up in the head #please be normal #will people stop commenting on this please. none of yall r funny

[endusviolence]

Rowling isn't denying holocaust. She just pointed out that burning of transgender health books is a lie as that form of cosmetic surgery didn't exist. But of course you knew that already, didn't you?

I was thinking I'd probably see one of you! You're wrong :) Let's review the history a bit, shall we?

In this case, what we're talking about is the Institut für Sexualwissenschaft, or in English, The Institute of Sexology. This Institute was founded and headed by a gay Jewish sexologist named Magnus Hirschfeld. It was founded in July of 1919 as the first sexology research clinic in the world, and was run as a private, non-profit clinic. Hirschfeld and the researchers who worked there would give out consultations, medical advice, and even treatments for free to their poorer clientele, as well as give thousands of lectures and build a unique library full of books on gender, sexuality, and eroticism. Of course, being a gay man, Hirschfeld focused a lot on the gay community and proving that homosexuality was natural and could not be "cured".

Hirschfeld was unique in his time because he believed that nobody's gender was either one or the other. Rather, he contended that everyone is a mixture of both male and female, with every individual having their own unique mix of traits.

This leads into the Institute's work with transgender patients. Hirschfeld was actually the one to coin the term "transsexual" in 1923, though this word didn't become popular phrasing until 30 years later when Harry Benjamin began expanding his research (I'll just be shortening it to trans for this brief overview.) For the Institute, their revolutionary work with gay men eventually began to attract other members of the LGBTA+, including of course trans people.

Contrary to what Anon says, sex reassignment surgery was first tested in 1912. It'd already being used on humans throughout Europe during the 1920's by the time a doctor at the Institute named Ludwig Levy-Lenz began performing it on patients in 1931. Hirschfeld was at first opposed, but he came around quickly because it lowered the rate of suicide among their trans patients. Not only was reassignment performed at the Institute, but both facial feminization and facial masculization surgery were also done.

The Institute employed some of these patients, gave them therapy to help with other issues, even gave some of the mentioned surgeries for free to this who could not afford it! They spoke out on their behalf to the public, even getting Berlin police to help them create "transvestite passes" to allow people to dress however they wanted without the threat of being arrested. They worked together to fight the law, including trying to strike down Paragraph 175, which made it illegal to be homosexual. The picture below is from their holiday party, Magnus Hirschfeld being the gentleman on the right with the fabulous mustache. Many of the other people in this photo are transgender.

[Image ID: A black and white photo of a group of people. Some are smiling at the camera, others have serious expressions. Either way, they all seem to be happy. On the right side, an older gentleman in glasses- Magnus Hirschfeld- is sitting. He has short hair and a bushy mustache. He is resting one hand on the shoulder of the person in front of him. His other hand is being held by a person to his left. Another person to his right is holding his shoulder.]

There was always push back against the Institute, especially from conservatives who saw all of this as a bad thing. But conservatism can't stop progress without destroying it. They weren't willing to go that far for a good while. It all ended in March of 1933, when a new Chancellor was elected. The Nazis did not like homosexuals for several reasons. Chief among them, we break the boundaries of "normal" society. Shortly after the election, on May 6th, the book burnings began. The Jewish, gay, and obviously liberal Magnus Hirschfeld and his library of boundary-breaking literature was one of the very first targets. Thankfully, Hirschfeld was spared by virtue of being in Paris at the time (he would die in 1935, before the Nazis were able to invade France). His library wasn't so lucky.

This famous picture of the book burnings was taken after the Institute of Sexology had been raided. That's their books. Literature on so much about sexuality, eroticism, and gender, yes including their new work on trans people. This is the trans community's Alexandria. We're incredibly lucky that enough of it survived for Harry Benjamin and everyone who came after him was able to build on the Institute's work.

[Image ID: A black and white photo of the May Nazi book burning of the Institute of Sexology's library. A soldier, back facing the camera, is throwing a stack of books into the fire. In the background of the right side, a crowd is watching.]

As the Holocaust went on, the homosexuals of Germany became a targeted group. This did include transgender people, no matter what you say. To deny this reality is Holocaust denial. JK Rowling and everyone else who tries to pretend like this isn't reality is participating in that evil. You're agreeing with the Nazis.

But of course, you knew that already, didn't you?

Edit: Added image IDs. I apologize to those using screen readers for forgetting them. Please reblog this version instead.

#transgender #trans history #transsexual #transphobia #Magnus Hirschfeld #holocaust #holocaust denial #book burning #j.k. rowling #jk rowling #just in case you missed what i mean by all this: go fuck yourself anon :) #trans people have always existed #and we will always exist #if you really wanna pick a fight with me over well-documented history then you better bring in some sources to back your shit #queer history #queer #lgbt+ #lgbta+ #lgbt #lgbt history #edit: i finally got around to those damn image IDs. i am so very sorry for totally forgetting that's my bimbo moment of the month #also real quick i thought about adding an image of the actual building but the only one i can find has a Nazi parade in front of it #it was taken the day of the book burning raid and honestly if i were to include it then i'd add it to the first few paragraphs #and i think the story's better told when you uphold the hope Magnus Hirschfeld and all the researchers he worked with had #also keeps being brought up: yes Hirschfeld was a eugenicist. it was a popular belief set that was only discredited after WW2 #Hirschfeld died in 1935. he literally didn't live long enough to see science turn against those beliefs and practices #considering how he changed his mind on transitions i like to think he would've changed his mind on eugenics too if he'd lived

[soliusss]

Funniest thing I’ve seen on tiktok are those sigma male boys getting mad that American psycho was written by a gay man and going “well I like fight club better” buddy I’ve got some world ending devastating news for you

#I don’t like fight club #but other people do #gay people on their way to write some of the most relevant popular influencial literature of the 90s #solius posting #this shit also kills me because both of those books have. OVERT homosexual themes and moments

[nedlittle]

it drives me bonkers the way people don't know how to read classic books in context anymore. i just read a review of the picture of dorian gray that said "it pains me that the homosexual subtext is just that, a subtext, rather than a fully explored part of the narrative." and now i fully want to put my head through a table. first of all, we are so lucky in the 21st century to have an entire category of books that are able to loudly and lovingly declare their queerness that we've become blind to the idea that queerness can exist in a different language than our contemporary mode of communication. second it IS a fully explored part of the narrative! dorian gray IS a textually queer story, even removed from the context of its writing. it's the story of toxic queer relationships and attraction and dangerous scandals and the intertwining of late 19th century "uranianism" and misogyny. second of all, i'm sorry that oscar wilde didn't include 15k words of graphic gay sex with ao3-style tags in his 1890 novel that was literally used to convict him of indecent behaviour. get well soon, i guess...

#the picture of dorian gray #lit #this is a pointless text post #guess what i read for the first time in the year of our lord 2023 #and yes this is a real review on storygraph that i took a screenshot of. you people are so stupid god bless #girl he literally censored it himself did your edition have 0 introduction or background at all #greatest (s)hits #book discourse

[oifaaa]

Fun new game I'm playing while watching the new Percy Jackson show called "Was this actually different in the books or is my memory just shit"

#percy jackson #pjo #just with small things like #wasnt it a thing in the books #that all the gods children had designated tables #and its one of the ways you could tell the hermes cabin was over crowded #bc there was hardly any space at the table #i could always just reread the book again to see #but im busy enough rn #so hopefully one of you lovely people will tell me #oifaaaposts

[jupiterlandings]

“How is 12 year old Annabeth head of the Athena cabin??”

1. Demi gods have the life expectancy of a lemming.

2. Gifted kids often burn out by age 16 & I doubt any of the Athena teens have the energy or desire to argue with their little sister who willingly takes care of all the family paperwork.

#ramblings #percy jackson #pjo #OMG PEOPLE THIS IS A JOKE I KNOW SHE WAS THERE THE LONGEST #ITS STILL P WILD TO HAVE A 12 YEAR OLD IN CHARGE OF ALL HER SIBLINGS CALM DOWN PLS #I READ THE BOOKS I DID MY TIME LET ME JOKE ABOUT THIS

[bloodbending]

someone please help me find that quote about how someone was overwhelmed with the weight of the world and their problems when they were physically alone, but that weight felt like nothing in the presence of a friend and good conversation

#i CANT FIND IT #i don’t even remember if it was from a book or what #edit: #greatest hits #i did not expect this to get notes i genuinely just couldn’t find this excerpt #im so glad so many people resonate

[reallybadblackoutpoems]

animal farm (1945) - george orwell

"womp womp"

#if saying womp womp is a disease #i am uncurable #i have to one up all the other people in my film classes lol #i am in a pretentious off every day #am very into german expressionism rn #and always #anyway #blackout poetry #blackout poem #author #book #poetry

[lucidloving]

Ruth Madievsky, All-Night Pharmacy // Suzanne Scanlon, Promising Young Women // Robin Roe, A List of Cages // Hayao Miyazaki, Kiki's Delivery Service // Susan Sontag, As Consciousness is Harnessed to Flesh: Journals and Notebooks, 1964-1980 // D. H. Lawrence, The Plumbed Serpent // Jennifer S. Cheng, "So We Must Meet Apart" // Haruki Murakami, Sputnik Sweetheart // Alice Oseman, Radio Silence // Franz Kafka, Letters to Felice

#theme: being bad at people #web weaving #poetry #prose #aesthetic #webs #web weave #prose poetry #literature #book quotes #novels #books #novel quotes #quotes #words #writing #excerpt #inspo #poem #compilation #parallels #the human experience #art #ghibli #hayao miyazaki #kiki's delivery service #d h lawrence #haruki murakami

[qupritsuvwix]

#islam #people of the book #ottoman empire

[teaboot]

When I was a kid, I regularly lost reading privileges for "having an attitude" and "acting out".

It wasn't as simple as being told not to read during other activities- one of the first times it happened, I remember being six years old, watching my stepfather pull fistfuls of books off my bookshelf and throw them to the floor in a heaping mess while I cried and asked him to stop.

It was weird. Every other adult I knew described me as exceptionally well-behaved, but at home, it was the opposite, and it was blamed on "learning bad habits from that shit you're reading".

Because I couldn't read at home, I spent all my free time at school in the library, reading with my friends.

When I grew up and moved away, I realized that my family life was toxic and abusive, and the "attitudes" I was being punished for were standing up for myself, standing up for my younger siblings, and resisting actual, real-life psychological abuse. Because I'd learned from what I'd read that my family wasn't normal, not like my parents said it was, and in my stories, the heroes were the people who spoke out when it was hard to.

It is insane to me that there are students right now who can't access books. It is insane that books are being outlawed. It is perverse that we are stealing away an entire generation's ability to contextualize their lives, to learn about the world around them, to develop critical thinking skills and express themselves and feel connected to the world or escape from it, whatever and whenever and however they need.

That is not how you raise a compassionate, thoughtful, powerful society.

That's how you process cattle.

It's fucking disgusting.

#I know this is old news but Jesus #Every day I hear more about school book bans and I feels less real #Restriction of information is restriction of freedom #People need stories #Even bad stories #Even tragic or problematic ones #We need to set purity culture on fire I'm not kidding #Abuse mention #Abuse tw