I love books. Stories, really, but particularly in written form. I don’t know why I have such a preference for reading over watching or hearing, but I do. (My hierarchy is probably reading > hearing > watching, when it comes to fiction.)

Every now and again, a particular story comes along that really moves me. And Octavia Butler’s Kindred is one of them.

This is an old book. Thirty-five years old. It appears it’s been chosen as a school text for many of the years it’s been around. Still, I’d never read it or heard of Butler until this year. And based on what I heard of her, I bought every work of hers I could get my hands on at Powell’s in May.

I haven’t read them all, though I’m working on it. I started with Kindred based on the recommendation of the “shelf writing” at Powell’s. I’m very glad I did. It was powerful.

The story centers on Dana, an African-American woman moving into a new home with her husband in 1976. As she is turning 26, she is unexpectedly dragged to another place and rescues a drowning child. Once the child is safe, she is returned to her home with her husband. Unfortunately for them, this is only the first time. She is repeatedly transported to this area to save this same child. Eventually, she realizes she is being pulled through space and time to Maryland in the 1800s. Her stays become longer and more traumatic. Eventually, she questions if she’ll ever return to 1976.

It’s a painful and educational read. I probably learned more about specific aspects of American slavery from this book than I did in history classes in school. This may be a failing of my schooling, may be the result of not having lived in the south, or it may be a failing of schooling in general. I don’t know.

It’s also a fabulous story. It’s gripping and sweet at times. I had a hard time putting it down. This is why I want to share it. So, I’m running a giveaway. Starting 6:00am CDT 4 July 2014, and running through 12:01 pm CDT, 11 July, 2014, if you’d like a copy of this book, please reply to this post. I’m happy to purchase either Kindle edition or paperback, so please let me know which one you’d like. One comment per person to enter, and limited to the US.

I scheduled this giveaway to start on the holiday, “Independence Day,” for a variety of reasons. Partially, just because I’ve only recently finished it. But partially because, I felt that as we Americans celebrate this holiday, a quiet reminder of painful parts of what this nation was built on is probably no bad thing.

This post is not sponsored by anyone. I am purchasing this book myself, because I truly enjoyed it. The Kindred link above, however, is an affiliate link for Amazon. If you click through and purchase something, I will get a tiny portion of the proceeds, and your purchase price isn’t impacted. Thanks!