Tag: Books

Hanna Lee explores complexities of life as a Korean adoptee through writing

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By Sophia-Joelle McDowell

As a transracial Korean adoptee living in the midwest, Hanna Lee started writing during the rise of the pandemic when AAPI hate was high and they had a lot to process.

Lee believes writing can help people process what they’re going through, and it offers a healthy and structured way of going about this. 

The books they have written to process their own experiences have resonated with many readers. Lee spoke with us about their past and the pages they earned in the process. 

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What Your Next Read Should Be Based On Your Zodiac Sign

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By The Catcall Team

If your to-be-read (TBR) list is anywhere near as long as ours, deciding what to read next is one of life’s more difficult decisions. To make it easier on you, we decided to find some reading recommendations that are written in the stars—so you can let fate decide what pages you should devour next. Want to buy any of these books? You can shop at Catcall Reads.

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Author Alice Faye Duncan Reflects on Activist Opal Lee, Meaning of Juneteenth

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By Sophie Oswald

In 1863, the Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in the South, but the decree wasn’t fully enacted until two years later on June 19, 1865, when news reached enslaved people in Texas that they were free. 

Since, June 19, or Juneteenth, has marked celebrations of the end of slavery, but it wasn’t until last year that Juneteenth became a federal holiday through a bill signed by President Joe Biden. One of the people in the room that day was Opal Lee, the focus of Alice Faye Duncan’s newest children’s book, Opal Lee and What It Means to Be Free. 

Opal Lee, also known as the “grandmother of Juneteenth,” played a key role in making Juneteenth a federally-recognized holiday.

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Words and Whiskey Podcast Goes Full-on Romance this Valentine’s Day

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By Kelcie McKenney

Buckle up romance readers, we’ve got a Valentine’s Day treat for you.

Words and Whiskey, an intoxicating book club podcast, covers books that are worth reading and drinks that are worth drinking. Hosts Krossland Shaw and PJ Heller have been working their way through Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn as of late, but decided to spice things up with an episode covering the romance genre.

“That’s right, this week we’re tackling the ROMANCE Genre, and attacking it with as much panache as possible. Kross is joined by an incredible group of guests who really want to get your gears turning, and help you understand why the Romance Genre is as big and as important as it is.”

Those guests include a host of hard-core romance readers (including Catcall Editor-in-Chief Kelcie McKenney—hi!) who cover everything from soft and sweet YA and historical romance to, *cough*, well, monster fucking. So strap in and strip down for this two-parter romance ride (with Part 2 dropping later today!).

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Badass Literary Babes: Educated & Where the Crawdads Sing

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By Emily Park

Before the pandemic hit, I could count the number of books I read for my own enjoyment (at least since I graduated from high school in 2015) on one hand.

When I was a child, I almost always had my nose in a book. I read from the time I got home from school, to the time I fell asleep. I read up in the tree in my backyard. I read nestled in my bedroom closet. I read under the covers with a flashlight. I read under my desk at school. Book after book. 

As I grew up and got distracted by other things, I lost that hunger for books that I used to have. But over the last year, I have found it again, and I have met some inspiring, strong, badass babes among those pages—both real and fictional—I’m excited to tell you about.

In this first installment of Badass Literary Babes, I’ll introduce you to the first two babes I met when I started my rediscovery of literature last year.

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