Book #20: Stolen

Our first translated book.

UPDATE on 12/4/23: Virtual and in-person meetings are moving to January 21 (virtual) and January 22 (in-person at Greedy Reads’ Remington store). Links to registration and calendar holds have been updated below. Thank you book clubbers and Greedy Reads for your flexibility and understanding!

Hi friends! We had some wonderful discussions this past week about Ducks and I’m excited to dig into our last read of the year with you. I’ve been working on our list for 2024 and I think it’s pretty much set. More soon!

Our next book is Stolen by Ann-Helén Laestadius. Here in the U.S. and Canada, when we think of indigenous voices we first think of our own first peoples who lived on this continent before the arrival of European colonization and genocide. We’ve read some of their stories (and will read more!), but I’m eager to include indigenous voices from other parts of the world. Stolen is our first translated book, written by a Swedish author of Sámi and Tornedalian descent. It’s a novel about Sámi reindeer herders through the lens of a crime thriller, based on actual events. It’s also being made into a Netflix film, to be released in 2024! I’m personally quite interested in learning more about and from indigenous Arctic communities who are increasingly at risk from resource extraction, melting ice, and the many forces of climate change, a big reason why this read make its way onto our list for this year.

Book club dates: 1/21 (virtual) and 1/22 (in-person) - *UPDATED*

You have two opportunities for meeting up. First, we’ll meet on Sunday, January 21 at 1 PM on Google Meets:

Second, if you live in or near Baltimore, join us at Greedy Reads' Remington location on Monday, December 11 at 7pm EST. If you plan to join us in-person, please register in advance. 

Thank you for your flexibility and understanding with our change of plans! I had unexpected work trips (plural) come up in December, and then we’re up against the holidays. Late January is the best weekend for myself and Greedy Reads to reschedule.

For continued reading, please check out I Will Live for Both of Us: A History of Colonialism, Uranium Mining, and Inuit Resistance by Joan Scottie and Warren Bernauer, The Reindeer People: Living with Animals and Spirits in Siberia by Piers Vitebsky, Life in the City of Dirty Water: A Memoir of Healing by Clayton Thomas-Muller, and Me Tomorrow: Indigenous Views on the Future, edited by Drew Hayden Taylor. Also, anything by Louise Erdrich.