Nonfiction Reviews: Jane Austen: A Life...

 

Jane Austen: a Life by Claire Tomalin

Published: 1997

Genre: Non-fiction, history, biography

Format: Hardcover, 347 Pages, Own

Rating: 4 stars

Publisher's Summary:

At her death in 1817, Jane Austen left the world six of the most beloved novels written in English—but her shortsighted family destroyed the bulk of her letters; and if she kept any diaries, they did not survive her.  Now acclaimed biographer Claire Tomalin has filled the gaps in the record, creating a remarkably fresh and convincing portrait of the woman and the writer. 

While most Austen biographers have accepted the assertion of Jane's brother Henry that "My dear Sister's life was not a life of events," Tomalin shows that, on the contrary, Austen's brief life was fraught with upheaval.  Tomalin provides detailed and absorbing accounts of Austen's ill-fated love for a young Irishman, her frequent travels and extended visits to London, her close friendship with a worldly cousin whose French husband met his death on the guillotine, her brothers' naval service in the Napoleonic wars and in the colonies, and thus shatters the myth of Jane Austen as a sheltered and homebound spinster whose knowledge of the world was limited to the view from a Hampshire village. 

My Thoughts:

I picked this one up earlier this year after I listened to a Great Courses lecture series on Jane Austen and her world and her books. I'm so glad I did. I learned so much about her family, especially her parents and her relationship to her sister and her brothers.

Her parents sent the older children away after they were born to local poor families to take care of them until they were old enough to not be such a nuisance in the house. Tomalin speculates Jane ended up not having a great relationship with her mother due to this early arrangement.

She spends a few chapters talking about her books and how things in her life and the people in it may have influenced her writing. Having Tomalin bring it all together really astounds me at what a genius Jane Austen was. There were years where she didn't really have a home after her father died and her and Cassandra were moved around from brother to brother and their families to help take care of children, etc. Yet she still found the time even through all of that to write works of genius.

But it's a tragedy as well. After her death, many of her letters were destroyed or lost even after decades of keeping some in tact. Her niece Fanny destroyed a huge bundle of her correspondence with her brother Henry. And she died too young. 

The Self-Driven Child: the Science and Sense of Giving Your Kids More Control Over Their Lives by William Stixrud and Ned Johnson

Published: February 18, 2018

Genre: Parenting, Nonfiction

Format: Kindle, 384 pages, Own

Rating: 5 Stars

Publisher's Summary:

A few years ago, Bill Stixrud and Ned Johnson started noticing the same problem from different angles: Even high-performing kids were coming to them acutely stressed and lacking any real motivation. Many complained that they had no control over their lives. Some stumbled in high school or hit college and unraveled. Bill is a clinical neuropsychologist who helps kids gripped by anxiety or struggling to learn. Ned is a motivational coach who runs an elite tutoring service. Together they discovered that the best antidote to stress is to give kids more of a sense of control over their lives. But this doesn't mean giving up your authority as a parent. In this groundbreaking book they reveal how you can actively help your child to sculpt a brain that is resilient, stress-proof and ready to take on new challenges.

The Self-Driven Child offers a combination of cutting-edge brain science, the latest discoveries in behavioral therapy, and case studies drawn from the thousands of kids and teens Bill and Ned have helped over the years to teach you how to set your child on the real road to success. As parents, we can only drive our kids so far. At some point, they will have to take the wheel and map out their own path. But there is a lot you can do before then to help them find their passion and tackle the road ahead with courage and imagination.

My Thoughts:

Stixrud and Johnson carefully take us through each step and the science behind these steps of allowing our kids to be their own decision makers and how we as parents can be in the role of the "consultant."

There's a chapter on homework that I absolutely loved! Especially during the pandemic and homework was something that was a sore spot for awhile. But once I read this chapter I was able to sit down and talk with G and help him decide how and when he wanted to get it done. It ended up being his choice and his schedule. And the last half of the school year went was heaven. G gained a lot more confidence on how to work homework into his schedule. He also learned how to ask for help when he truly needed it and he also decided where he wanted to put his effort and which assignments weren't quite worth it compared to others.

He also talks about stress--"It's as minor as feeling unbalanced and as major as fighting for your life." Sonia Lupien from the Centre for Studies on Human Stress has an acronym to help sum up what makes life stressful--N.U.T.S. Novelty, Unpredictability, Threat to the ego, and Sense of control.

Sense of control really stuck with me. As individuals we don't have a lot of it but how is our sense of control? They say..."if you have confidence that you can impact a situation, it will be less stressful. In contrast, a low sense of control may very well be the most stressful thing in the universe." This whole book is on how we give that high sense of confidence to our kids so they can feel like they have some sense of control over how their lives will go.

This is probably the best parenting book I've read since I was pregnant or right after G was born. I highly recommend it if you're a parent, if you work with kids, if you're a human because these are skills I didn't learn as a kid either and are helping me now!

You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington by Alexis Coe

 

You Never Forget Your First: A Biography of George Washington by Alexis Coe

Published: February 4th, 2020 by Viking

Genre: Biography, Nonfiction

Format: Hardcover, 261 Pages, Library

Rating: 4 stars

Publisher's Summary:

In a genre overdue for a shakeup, Alexis Coe takes a closer look at our first—and finds he's not quite the man we remember

Young George Washington was raised by a struggling single mother, demanded military promotions, chased rich young women, caused an international incident, and never backed down—even when his dysentery got so bad he had to ride with a cushion on his saddle.

But after he married Martha, everything changed. Washington became the kind of man who named his dog Sweetlips and hated to leave home. He took up arms against the British only when there was no other way, though he lost more battles than he won. Coe focuses on his activities off the battlefield—like espionage and propaganda.

After an unlikely victory in the Revolutionary War, Washington once again shocked the world by giving up power, only to learn his compatriots wouldn't allow it. The founders pressured him into the presidency—twice. He established enduring norms but left office heartbroken over the partisan nightmare his backstabbing cabinet had created.

Back on his plantation, the man who fought for liberty finally confronted his greatest hypocrisy—what to do with the hundreds of men, women, and children he owned—before succumbing to a brutal death.

Alexis Coe combines rigorous research and unsentimental storytelling, finally separating the man from the legend.

My Thoughts:

This is definitely the biography I needed of George Washington! I've had Ron Chernow's ginormous bio on my shelf for years and have never even cracked it open. Coe brings up some issues on all these men writing the bios for Washington...his mom never gets a fair shake and apparently they are all hung up on how manly and athletic he is...she ends up calling the 'Thigh Men.' I laughed out loud! Coe has a whole chart on of some of the descriptions Chernow uses to describe Washington's mother Mary: shrewish, thwarting, stubborn, whining, crude, coarse, feisty, crusty, difficult, plain, homespun...just to name a few. In the early 19th-century Mary Washington was the epitome of motherhood itself, but historians turned on her by the late 19th-century...the narrative of Washington as a self-made man and one who thwarted his overbearing mother was the perfect story for America. Men get braver and the women around them get shrewder...

Washington also helped kickstart the French and Indian War! "If the American Revolution had not taken place, Washington would probably be remembered today as the instigator of humanity's first world war, one that last seven years." But it was the war that allowed colonists to realize their goals and values did not align anymore with the British crown.

Washington's greatness in the Revolutionary War was not his great military ability but his ability to be both a diplomat and a skilled political strategist for a fledgling government. "His ability to manage large-scale combat while also running spy rings and shadow and propaganda campaigns in enemy-occupied areas is a significant--and often overlooked--part of the Revolutionary War."

Random tidbits: He survived a ton of diseases throughout his life! He was of sturdy stock. He probably became sterile from one of his childhood diseases or was born that way. He never had any biological children and raised Martha's children from her first marriage as his own. 

He kept hoping other people and other things would hasten the end of slavery, but nothing did. He never let any of his slaves go until his death. (I now want to read more about Ona Judge and her husband and how they got away.)

Washington loved hoecakes and Coe provides a recipe for them. It was his favorite breakfast drowned in honey and butter.

Martha Washington inherited most of Washington's slaves after his death but they were to be freed upon her death if she didn't do it earlier...she lived in fear of her slaves after that and eventually out of self-preservation she freed them on December 15, 1800.

And no wooden teeth...lots of teeth shaved down from exotic animals, cows, and he even paid some of his slaves for their teeth...yikes.

And his death was pretty gruesome. He basically suffocated to death for a day from virulent bacteria that caused epiglottitis, an inflammation of the upper windpipe. Sounds like a terrible way to go.

I had a lot of fun reading this. I got to know a little more about Washington, good, bad, and the in-between. I highly recommend this one! And if I ever read Chernow's book, I'll have a bit more of a critical eye while being entertained by his manly Washington stories.

This book also completes the biography prompt from the 2021 Nonfiction Reading Challenge hosted by Book'd Out.

Nonfiction Mini Book Reviews: Stamped from the Beginning...

Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi

Published: March 8th, 2016 by Bold Type Books

Genre: Nonfiction, Antiracism, History

Format: Paperback, 592 Pages, Own

Rating: 4 stars

My Thoughts:

Ibram X. Kendi really lays out the evolution of racist ideas in the United States. He divides the book into five parts and focuses each part on five individuals who were alive during that time, or still alive as in the case of Angela Davis. And his main thesis rests on three categories of ideas and thus those that hold them: segregationists, assimilationists, and antiracists. His other thesis rests on the idea that policies were made such as slavery in order to make money and to hold power and in order to justify these policies racist ideas were sought out and incorporated into the U.S. narrative.

It's a bold book with bold ideas and leaves much to chew on and think over. Sometimes I found the sarcasm and eye-rolling mood of his book a bit off-putting but overall I enjoyed discussing and stewing over it all with my book club. It's a must-read book to gain an understanding of where racist ideas have come from and why America continues to hold them today.

How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

Published: August 13th, 2019 by One World

Genre: Nonfiction, Antiracism, Memoir

Format: Hardcover, 305 Pages, Own

Rating: 4 stars

My Thoughts:

I enjoyed Kendi's blend of his journey into his ideas of what it means to hold antiracist ideas and how that also crosses into all other aspects of social justice and intersectionality. Each chapter focuses on these ideas and how he learned about each and those that helped him along the way. He includes his own racist ideas that he grew up with and how he unlearned these ideas and how we can too.

A Velocity of Being: Letters to a Young Reader edited by Maria Popova

Published: December 14th, 2018 by Enchanted Lion Books

Genre: Nonfiction, Essays, Young Adult

Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages, Own

Rating: 5 stars

My Thoughts:

An excellent collection of letters to young readers from writers around the world. I enjoyed reading these aloud to G and giving him a bit of fire under the belly to read and write more! Also the illustrations that go with each letter are fun and whimsical. A beautiful collection and one I'll turn back to over the coming years.

1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving by Catherine O'Neill Grace and Margaret M. Bruchac 

Published: October 1st, 2004 by National Geographic Kids

Genre: Nonfiction, History, Juvenile

Format: Paperback, 48 Pages, Own

Rating: 5 stars

My Thoughts:

I really enjoyed reading this with G over the Thanksgiving break. We learned a lot about what really happened and the myths that still persist in the American psyche. We'd love to visit the live museum. So much to learn.

Autumn Light: Season of Fire and Farewells by Pico Iyer

Published: April 16th, 2019 by Knopf Publishing Group

Genre: Nonfiction, Memoir, Nature

Format: Kindle, 256 Pages, Own

Rating: 4 stars

My Thoughts:

I loved reading through Iyer's ruminations on living in Japan and his favorite season in Japan, Autumn. Fall is also my favorite time of the year and it was especially beautiful and meaningful when I lived in Japan. While I don't live there like he does I could still feel his love and fascination with Japan. He has truly beautiful insights and way to see with his words. It's the next best thing to actually being there. This is probably one I will revisit every Autumn.

Almost American Girl: An Illustrated Memoir by Robin Ha

Published: January 28th, 2020 by Balzer + Bray

Genre: Nonfiction, Memoir, Graphic Novel, Young Adult

Format: Paperback, 240 Pages, Library

Rating: 4 stars

My Thoughts:

Robin Ha's memoir of leaving Korea for America with her mother and without knowing she was permanently moving to America was heart-wrenching! She describes her childhood and how much she loved her neighborhood and her friends and to leave that all behind and not knowing when she would be able to go back was tragic. Her experience trying to fit in in Alabama and not knowing English and being bullied by students and even her own stepsister and stepcousins was also hard to read. But ultimately it's a story of finding your own and making the best of a bad situation. Highly recommended.

She Votes: How U.S. Women Won Suffrage, and What Happened After by Bridget Quinn

Published: August 11th, 2020 by Chronicle Books

Genre: Nonfiction, Feminism, History

Format: Hardcover, 240 Pages, Library

Rating: 4 stars

My Thoughts:

I enjoyed the short history chapters and mini bios of those pioneering women who helped fight for suffrage and those who continue to fight for social justice. Quinn does not paint all as saints. We hear about the racism from the frontrunner White women of the movements. I loved the chapter on Sojourner Truth. I learned that she didn't actually say "Ain't I a woman?" All the art in each chapter was beautiful and interesting. So many great tidbits in each chapter. It's a great starter on women's history in the U.S. with tons of sources to keep reading.

Mini Book Reviews: Solutions and Other Problems, Tunnel of Bones...

The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman

Published: October 10th, 2020 by Alfred A. Knopf

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

Format: Paperback, 519 Pages, Own

Rating: 4 stars

My Thoughts:

The series gets a solid 4 stars for me. But this particular book was very slow in the beginning. But it picked up halfway through and carried us on. But I'll be honest I did not like the ending as much as I was hoping. It felt like Pullman didn't quite know how to end such a grand series and world and so it just kind of felt like hmmmf. Also, the implication of how one's daemon might not change anymore was not great. He never said for everyone but that was implied. The implications of that are a bit harried and I don't think he thought much about it beyond his characters.

But despite those misgivings it's a fantastic series. So very clever, full of philosophy about life and death and religion and power and agency. It's a true classic and am so glad I read it with G. We had lots to discuss.

The Beauty in Breaking: A Memoir by Michele Harper

Published: July 7th, 2020 by Riverhead Books

Genre: Memoir, Nonfiction, Medicine

Format: Audiobook, 7 hours, 46 minutes, Library

Rating: 3.5 stars

My Thoughts:

I really liked this one. She has a very unique perspective has a Black woman physician working in emergency medicine. Her childhood was heartbreaking and her desire to heal her patients is truly inspirational. She doesn't shy away from microaggressions at work or with patients.

I also found inspirational the ways she was able to heal herself so she could go on trying to heal others. She maintained healthy boundaries with her abusive father but always with the option of healing and forgiving on her own terms.

The only thing that brought it down was the way she talked about holistic healing in conjunction with medicine. While I agree a lot that if everyone had access to basic medical care and could make a living wage with one job this would be a good way to help people manage their stress and take care of themselves. But it felt a little bit like because I can do it (meditate, yoga retreats, acupuncture, self care top priority outside of work) then anyone can. Maybe she actually wouldn't say that, I doubt she would but that is what it felt like to me. If she had talked about how these things helped her personally and kept it at that I would have found it more appealing and honest.

But overall, it's a beautiful memoir and her experiences are priceless. I also listened to the author read the book and she did great! I highly recommend the audio.

The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones

Published: July 14th, 2020 by Gallery/Saga Press

Genre: Horror

Format: Kindle, 310 Pages, Own

Rating: 4 stars

My Thoughts:

This was a trip! I loved it. The only thing I didn't love was how little I got to know some of the characters before the end. Take Lewis. I felt like he focused the most on him. And his horror story was the most twisted of all but it's only in the first half. But the ending is spot on and made everything come together. It's a gory and twisted and yet hopeful and poignant story. Even if horror isn't your thing I still feel like this is one to read. Jones an American Indian and he knows how to weave this tale that brings race, land, and colonialism all into view. 

Tunnel of Bones by Victoria Schwab

Published: September 3rd, 2019 by Scholastic Press

Genre: Horror, Juvenile Fiction

Format: Hardcover, 304 Pages, Library

Rating: 4 stars

My Thoughts:

This is the second book in the Cassidy Blake series. The first was in Edenborough, Scotland and this one is in Paris! The catacombs take front and center and are they ever creepy. Cassidy and best friend Jacob (who's a ghost) want to keep out of trouble as they tour the Catacombs but Cassidy accidentally disturbs a poltergeist, a ghost who's forgotten who he or she is. They're more powerful and you need to get them to remember who they are and how they died before you can send them on to the "light."

I loved reading about Cassidy in Paris and how she worked through the mystery of the poltergeist. It's a sad tale and we find out more about Jacob as well. Schwab always handles the tough stuff with aplomb. 

G also read this one. He couldn't remember the first one from last year so he read that one and then this one. Loved them both and can't wait til the third one comes out in March. He also hopes the next one will feature more of Grim their fluffy black cat!

Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh

Published: September 22nd, 2020 by Gallery Books

Genre: Graphic Novel, Funny, Nonfiction, Memoir

Format: Hardcover, 518 Pages, Own

Rating: 5 stars

My Thoughts:

Allie Brosh keeps it raw, real and humorous. I haven't read something that makes me so sad and happy at the same time. She writes about the death of her sister and it's truly devastating. But it's also real and vulnerable. We've all been there with those who have died before their time and we love them.

Her story about her sister and her sister's best friend is disturbing and beautiful. We get to hear about the Hammer Guy next door and how she takes revenge! And guided meditation and the employees at the grocery store will never be the same for me again!

If you loved her first one you'll love this one. And if you haven't read Hyperbole and a Half go get it now and then this one. You're welcome.

Mini Book Reviews: Non-fiction: Too Much and Never Enough, The Dream of Reason, When Stars Are Scattered

Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man by Mary L.  Trump

Published: July 14th, 2020 by Simon & Schuster

Genre: Nonfiction, Memoir, Psychology

Format: Kindle, 236 Pages, Own

Rating: 3.5 stars

My Thoughts:

I really liked Mary Trump's analysis and her interactions with her uncle through her young years. But it wasn't as well-written as I would have liked. She repeats a lot of the same ideas throughout. I feel like it could've been an ever shorter book. But overall, I found her insights and her own interactions and that of her mother and father ever more disturbing. This is not a well family. And who Trump is and how he's become this way is more disturbing that I could imagine. It's definitely an important book to read and understand where we are today.

The Dream of Reason: A History of Western Philosophy from the Greeks to the Renaissance by Anthony Gottlieb

Published: August 30th, 2016 by W.W. Norton Company

Genre: Nonfiction, History, Philosophy

Format: Paperback, 512 Pages, Own

Rating: 4 stars

My Thoughts:

Anthony Gottlieb takes us on a journey of Western philosophy from the Greeks all the way to the Renaissance. He's a great writer and most of the chapters were humorous and down-to-earth in layman's terms. I was fascinated how he brought their ideas and how others through time have morphed their ideas into their own. I never knew how it was quite done and his book allowed me to see those changes and ideas come together. Fascinating stuff. My friend and I had a great time reading this one together and discussing all the ideas. So if you are interested even a little bit in philosophy, I highly recommend Gottlieb's series. We'll be on to the next one soon.

When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed

Published: April 14th, 2020 by Dial Books

Genre: Nonfiction, Juvenile, Memoir, Graphic Novel

Format: Paperback, 264 Pages, Library

Rating: 5 stars

My Thoughts:

Omar lives with his little brother Hassan and his guardian Fatuma in a refugee camp in Kenya. They had to flee Somalia after war broke out and his father was killed and they were separated from their mother. He goes into great detail about the struggles of daily life in the camp. From waiting in long lines for water every day to taking care of his brother with disabilities. It's hot and food is on short supply. They can't leave the camps because they are not Kenyan citizens and they can't return home because they'll be killed.

He eventually attends school, meets friends, stays true to his faith, and keeps hope alive that him and his brother will be able to relocate to the United States and find their mother. It takes a village and many other kids and teachers, a UN worker, especially, help along the way.

It's just heartbreaking. People are born, growup, and can die in a refugee camp. Eventually he and Hassan are relocated to Arizona and he's able to get help for Hassan and go to college. But so many don't get to.

Mini Book Reviews: New Kid, A Wolf Called Wonder

New Kid by Jerry Craft

Published: February 5th, 2019 by Quill Tree Books

Genre: Graphic Novel, Coming-of-age

Format: Hardcover, 256 Pages, Library

Rating: 5 stars

My Thoughts:

Middle Schooler Jordan Banks just wants to go to art school but instead his parents send him to a prestigious private school so he can get the best education possible. But he soon realizes there aren't a lot of kids who look like him.

Jerry Craft writes a beautiful and funny story. Jordan experiences tiny racist moments from people who would call him a friend to teachers he should feel safe with. One annoying kid is always asking inappropriate things about his home life like if his dad's in prison or about drugs in his neighborhood. One teacher keeps calling another Black kid in class another name; someone who attended a previous year and she had a hard time with him. She ends up expecting him to do worse in class and behave badly. 

He expertly crafts classism in here as well as it comes up whether there are people there at the school who have financial aid and scholarships. Does the teacher handle that information well? And what about expectations from other Black teachers at the school? Do they expect more or worse of other Black students at the school?

It's all handled with thought and humor. My son and I both read this separately and had great conversations. I think this is a must-read for anyone in middle school and their parents. Overall, it's a fantastic story that talks about the many experiences Black kids and kids of color experience in schools with a White majority.

Guts by Reina Telgemeier

Published: September 17th, 2019 by Scholastic

Genre: Graphic Novel, Coming-of-age, Memoir

Format: Paperback, 144 Pages, Own

Rating: 4 stars

My Thoughts:

Raina Telgemeier writes a mini memoir about her anxiety in middle school. The way she is able to bring the issue to the forefront with humor and realness is a compliment to her fantastic writing skills that speak to both adults and kids. My son loves every one of her books and this one was no different. We both struggle with anxiety and recognized many of the same things she writes about. Great job to Telgemeier for being open about her experiences and helping kids and adults alike grappling with stress and anxiety. This makes it a lot easier to talk about and get more people talking about it.

The Earth Under Sky Bear's Feet by Joseph Bruchac

Published: September 28th, 1988 by Puffin Books

Genre: Poetry

Format: Paperback, 32 Pages, Own

Rating: 5 stars

My Thoughts:

The poems are beautiful and the illustrations are too. Bruchac introduces various Native American poems from many Nations through a story of Sky Bear. My son and I both loved it.

A Wolf Called Wander by Rosanne Parry

Published: May 7th, 2019 by Greenwillow Books

Genre: Historical Fiction, Nature

Format: Kindle, 243 Pages, Own

Rating: 5 stars

My Thoughts:

This book is based on the travels of an actual wolf in Oregon, OR-7, who left his pack and traveled from his home more than a thousand miles through eastern and southern Oregon and up through northern California. Parry has created a beautiful and empathic journey for us to take with Swift/Wander. What does a wolf think about a road with cars on it that speed so quickly or about men with guns? What is the relationship between crows and wolves? What makes mountains to enticing for wolf packs? Her world-building is phenomenal. We see and hear and taste Swift/Wander meander and survive through deserts and hills and forests and even a fire. One truly feels like they're a wolf wandering for survival and trying to find a new place to call home. I can't recommend this book enough. This is one I read out loud with my son.

Mini Book Reviews: Nonfiction: Freedom Is a Constant Struggle, Invincible Microbe, Spillover...

Here's the nonfiction I've read over the last couple of months...

Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement by Angela Y. Davis

Published: August 17th, 2015 by Haymarket Books

Genre: Nonfiction, Essays, Memoir

Format: Audible, 5 Hours and 47 minutes, Own

Rating: 4 stars

Publisher's Summary:

In these newly collected essays, interviews, and speeches, world-renowned activist and scholar Angela Y. Davis illuminates the connections between struggles against state violence and oppression throughout history and around the world.

Reflecting on the importance of black feminism, intersectionality, and prison abolitionism for today's struggles, Davis discusses the legacies of previous liberation struggles, from the Black Freedom Movement to the South African anti-Apartheid movement. She highlights connections and analyzes today's struggles against state terror, from Ferguson to Palestine.

Facing a world of outrageous injustice, Davis challenges us to imagine and build the movement for human liberation. And in doing so, she reminds us that "Freedom is a constant struggle."

My Thoughts:

Excellent. I loved listening to Ms. Davis. I saw her do a lecture/Q&A at a local university a few years ago when this came out. I loved hearing her story. We have a long way to go. The main thing I got besides freedom is a constant struggle, was how we need to understand the global perspective and how it all affects us. Global movements are our movements. Our circle of empathy needs to stretch globally.

My only complaint with the audio book version is it was hard to follow Ms. Davis in the interview transcripts. She read both the interviewer and herself and it was very difficult to figure out who and what while listening.

And there is nuance with the Israeli and Palestinian conflict that she didn't discuss. But I understand that wasn't the focus of the essay or speech she used.

Overall, a fantastic collection of her thoughts and ideas. She's very inspiring.

Invincible Microbe: Tuberculosis and the Never-ending Search for a Cure by Jim Murphy

Published: July 12th, 2012 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Genre: Nonfiction, Science, History, Medicine

Format: Paperback, 160 Pages, Own

Rating: 4 stars

Publisher's Summary:

This is the story of a killer that has been striking people down for thousands of years: tuberculosis. After centuries of ineffective treatments, the microorganism that causes TB was identified, and the cure was thought to be within reach—but drug-resistant varieties continue to plague and panic the human race.

The “biography” of this deadly germ, an account of the diagnosis, treatment, and “cure” of the disease over time,and the social history of an illness that could strike anywhere but was most prevalent among the poor are woven together in an engrossing, carefully researched narrative. Bibliography, source notes, index.

My Thoughts:

I read this out loud with G. I wanted to learn with him more about germs and how tuberculosis was brought under control with antibiotics. But I did not know that tuberculosis was still a force to be reckoned with. There are super resistant strains that need to be killed with ever-more powerful antibiotics. It's a devastating disease. It was a great summary for kids and teens and people in general who don't know a lot about tuberculosis and its lasting devastation.

Spillover: Animal Infections and the Human Pandemic by David Quammen

Published: September 24th, 2012 by W.W. Norton Company

Genre: Nonfiction, Science, Medicine

Format: Kindle, 592 Pages, Own

Rating: 5 stars

Publisher's Summary:

Ebola, SARS, Hendra, AIDS, and countless other deadly viruses all have one thing in common: the bugs that transmit these diseases all originate in wild animals and pass to humans by a process called spillover. In this gripping account, David Quammen takes the reader along on this astonishing quest to learn how, where from, and why these diseases emerge and asks the terrifying question: What might the next big one be? 

My Thoughts:

Well, we know what the next one is... a coronavirus SARS-COV-2 and its disease Covid-19. He talks about SARS in the early portions of the book. I actually started this one the weekend we started quarantining. Talk about surreal.

Quammen is a fantastic science writer. He actually travels around the world and talks to the scientists and epidemiologists involved with each of these diseases. He talks about his experiences and uses those to talk about the topic at-hand. I learned so much about AIDS and HIV and where it probably first made spillover in the early 1900s and where and why.

"Zoonosis is an animal infection transmissible to humans. Pondering them as a group tends to reaffirm the old Darwinian truth (the darkest of his truths, well known and persistently forgotten) that humanity is a kind of animal, inextricably connected with other animals: in origin and in descent, in sickness and in health."

"Make no mistake, they are connected, these disease outbreaks coming one after another. And they are not simply happening to us; they represent the unintended results of things we are doing. They reflect the convergence of two forms of crisis on our planet... first crisis is ecological, the second is medical.

Human-caused ecological pressures and disruptions are bringing animal pathogens ever more into contact with human populations, while human technology and behavior are spreading those pathogens ever more widely and quickly."

The rest of the book delves into detail how and why we are doing this and how we are our own worst enemies if we don't do more to change our ways.

Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How it Changed the World by Laura Spinney

Published: June 1st, 2017 by PublicAffairs

Genre: Nonfiction, Science, Medicine, History

Format: Paperback, 352 Pages, Own

Rating: 4 stars

Publisher's Summary:

In 1918, the Italian-Americans of New York, the Yupik of Alaska and the Persians of Mashed had almost nothing in common except for a virus--one that triggered the worst pandemic of modern times and had a decisive effect on the history of the twentieth century.
The Spanish flu of 1918-1920 was one of the greatest human disasters of all time. It infected a third of the people on Earth--from the poorest immigrants of New York City to the king of Spain, Franz Kafka, Mahatma Gandhi and Woodrow Wilson. But despite a death toll of between 50 and 100 million people, it exists in our memory as an afterthought to World War I.
In this gripping narrative history, Laura Spinney traces the overlooked pandemic to reveal how the virus travelled across the globe, exposing mankind's vulnerability and putting our ingenuity to the test. As socially significant as both world wars, the Spanish flu dramatically disrupted--and often permanently altered--global politics, race relations and family structures, while spurring innovation in medicine, religion and the arts. It was partly responsible, Spinney argues, for pushing India to independence, South Africa to apartheid and Switzerland to the brink of civil war. It also created the true "lost generation." Drawing on the latest research in history, virology, epidemiology, psychology and economics, Pale Rider masterfully recounts the little-known catastrophe that forever changed humanity.

My Thoughts:

This just touches on the history of the Spanish Flu through various parts around the world that dealt with it. We get the U.S., the frontlines of war in France, China, Brazil, etc. She talks about three or four possible scenarios of where the spillover happened and how it could have spread and why. The last section focuses on how it changed the world culturally. How did artists and writers and architects change after surviving and experiencing this devastating pandemic?

It's very short on the ground. It doesn't focus on any one country but just small parts everywhere. But I appreciated the jump from place to place and a story or two to humanize it. There are so many books on the Spanish Flu that I'm sure I'll find one to go into more detail.

Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold History of English by John McWhorter

Published: October 1st, 2008 by Gotham Books

Genre: Nonfiction, Language, History

Format: Kindle, 230 Pages, Own

Rating: 4 stars

Publisher's Summary:

A survey of the quirks and quandaries of the English language, focusing on our strange and wonderful grammar

Why do we say "I am reading a catalog" instead of "I read a catalog"? Why do we say "do" at all? Is the way we speak a reflection of our cultural values? Delving into these provocative topics and more, Our Magnificent Bastard Language distills hundreds of years of fascinating lore into one lively history.

Covering such turning points as the little-known Celtic and Welsh influences on English, the impact of the Viking raids and the Norman Conquest, and the Germanic invasions that started it all during the fifth century ad, John McWhorter narrates this colorful evolution with vigor. Drawing on revolutionary genetic and linguistic research as well as a cache of remarkable trivia about the origins of English words and syntax patterns, Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue ultimately demonstrates the arbitrary, maddening nature of English--and its ironic simplicity due to its role as a streamlined lingua franca during the early formation of Britain. This is the book that language aficionados worldwide have been waiting for (and no, it's not a sin to end a sentence with a preposition). 

My Thoughts:

I am a huge fan of John McWhorter. I've read one of his books before this and I've enjoyed his Great Courses series on all-things linguistics. I got my Bachelor's in Linguistics so I love me some language stuff. I've taken two courses on English language history and his two main ideas he focuses on in this book, I'd never ever heard before! He blew my mind. Things that were weird about English now kind of make sense. I recommend reading this with another book on the history of English, one that gives a more detailed history and then his book just adds another layer.

He also has such a dry and funny humor; he just made me laugh out loud a few times. He's got dad jokes all throughout....

Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators by Ronan Farrow

Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators by Ronan Farrow

Published: October 15th, 2019 by Little, Brown and Company

Genre: Investigative Journalism, Nonfiction, Memoir

Format: Hardcover, 448 Pages, Library

Rating: 5 stars

Publisher's Summary:

In a dramatic account of violence and espionage, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Ronan Farrow exposes serial abusers and a cabal of powerful interests hell-bent on covering up the truth, at any cost.

In 2017, a routine network television investigation led Ronan Farrow to a story only whispered about: one of Hollywood's most powerful producers was a predator, protected by fear, wealth, and a conspiracy of silence. As Farrow drew closer to the truth, shadowy operatives, from high-priced lawyers to elite war-hardened spies, mounted a secret campaign of intimidation, threatening his career, following his every move and weaponizing an account of abuse in his own family. 

All the while, Farrow and his producer faced a degree of resistance that could not be explained - until now. And a trail of clues revealed corruption and cover-ups from Hollywood to Washington, and beyond. 

This is the untold story of the exotic tactics of surveillance and intimidation deployed by wealthy and connected men to threaten journalists, evade accountability and silence victims of abuse - and it's the story of the women who risked everything to expose the truth and spark a global movement.

Both a spy thriller and a meticulous work of investigative journalism, Catch and Kill breaks devastating new stories about the rampant abuse of power - and sheds far-reaching light on investigations that shook the culture.

My Thoughts:

I was riveted. Disturbed. Horrified. I cried. Just when you think the world isn't as bad as you think it is... no, it's worse. Thank the gods there are humans who are willing to risk everything to bring into light this awful darkness.

And now I know how there are still executives and people running all the companies that are still protecting predators and committing predatory acts themselves.

This is an important book. I'm thankful Ronan and his associates are putting themselves out there to get these stories into the light.

And if you're wondering about the title... catch and kill refers to what the tabloids do to stories. They are paid by people like Weinstein or Trump to get the stories from the accusors with the stories to tell. They pay them and make them sign NDA's and then they effectively kill the stories. And they can't talk about them later when they don't come to light because of the NDAs. So they catch and kill. Awful. Farrow talks about how connected people are and how they are willing to overlook and protect in order to keep going in their business or to have a future in a different industry.

It's an eye-opening look at how journalists and reporters and the news and magazines that employ them are in jeopardy. Many are being threatened and stalked. This all amounts to killing our democracy when we do not have freedom of the press. One of the spies that contributed to the story is an immigrant from Eastern Europe and knew the value of freedom of the press and was horrified when he was employed to stalk and harass journalists. He came from state-controlled press and news and knew he had to come forward to keep America's press and media as free as possible.

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

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In the Dream House: A Memoir by Carmen Maria Machado

Published: November 5th, 2019 by Graywolf Press

Genre: Memoir, Non-fiction

Format: Hardcover, 272 Pages, Library

Rating: 4 stars

Publisher's Summary:

For years Carmen Maria Machado has struggled to articulate her experiences in an abusive same-sex relationship. In this extraordinarily candid and radically inventive memoir, Machado tackles a dark and difficult subject with wit, inventiveness and an inquiring spirit, as she uses a series of narrative tropes—including classic horror themes—to create an entirely unique piece of work which is destined to become an instant classic.

My Thoughts:

Machado has created something beautiful, haunting, and unusual. She hauntingly describes her abusive relationship. We are thrown into the haunted "dream house" with her. Her chapters are short and she uses each one to brilliant effect. One chapter uses a Choose Your Own Adventure to see if she does something different in her interactions with her partner. It's truly horrifying.

She describes the art of the memoir as "...an act of resurrection. Memoirists re-create the past, reconstruct dialogue. They summon meaning from events have long been dormant. They braid the clays of memory and essay and fact and perception together, smash into a ball, roll them flat. They manipulate time; resuscitate the dead. They put themselves, and others, into necessary context." She uses all of these devices in each essay, laying bare her expertise, her heart, and her anguish.

A lot of her essays focus on the dearth of resources and first-hand accounts of abuse within lesbian relationships. The stereotypes have been two women together are a utopia! There's nothing wrong here, move along. She describes how being a minority, one has to be twice as good, work twice as hard to be seen as human. But this is a disservice since that means people will have a hard time believing the abuse and recognizing it when it happens. "It's not being radical to point out that people on the fringe have to be better than people in the mainstream, that they have twice as much to prove. In trying to get people to see your humanity, you reveal just that: your humanity.

I'm not queer, I've never been in an abusive relationship, nor experienced abuse in the way that she has and yet Machado writes in such a way to make you experience and feel what she's been through. She makes you care and makes you see how we're all human. Her memoir is one I've never quite experienced before.

I'll end with this quote:

"...our bodies are ecosystems, and they shed and replace and repair until we die. And when we die, our bodies feed the hungry earth, our cells becoming part of other cells, and in the world of the living, where we used to be, people kiss and hold hands and fall in love and fuck and laugh and cry and hurt others and nurse broken hearts and start wars and pull sleeping children out of car seats and shout at each other. If you could harness that energy--that constant, roving hunger--you could do wonders with it. You push the earth inch by inch through the cosmos until it collided heart-first with the sun."

*Linking up with Non-fiction Friday

Mini Book Reviews: Non-fiction Edition

Letters from an Astrophysicist by Neil deGrasse Tyson

Published: October 8th, 2019 by W.W. Norton Company

Genre: Nonfiction, Essays, Memoir/biography

Format: Audiobook, 5 hours, 35 minutes, Own

Rating: 5 stars

Publisher's Summary:

The natural follow-up to the phenomenal bestseller Astrophysics for People in a Hurry.

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson has attracted one of the world’s largest online followings with his fascinating, widely accessible insights into science and our universe. Now, Tyson invites us to go behind the scenes of his public fame by unveiling his candid correspondence with people across the globe who have sought him out in search of answers. In this hand-picked collection of one hundred letters, Tyson draws upon cosmic perspectives to address a vast array of questions about science, faith, philosophy, life, and of course, Pluto. His succinct, opinionated, passionate, and often funny responses reflect his popularity and standing as a leading educator.

Tyson’s 2017 bestseller Astrophysics for People in a Hurry offered more than one million readers an insightful and accessible understanding of the universe. Now, revealing Tyson’s most candid and heartfelt writing yet, Letters from an Astrophysicist introduces us to a newly personal dimension of Tyson’s quest to understand our place in the cosmos.

My Thoughts:

I enjoyed this one so much, I listened to it twice. The second time was with the family while driving up and back from Boise over New Year's. Neil deGrasse Tyson narrates his own book and it's just lovely. He breaks up the letters into categories, and they span all the way back before 9/11 to a year or two ago. His letter to his father and his description of his experience of 9/11 while in New York were especially touching. His love of science and people is inspiring and one I will probably listen to yearly!

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Avoiding Clickbait by Kristin Thiel

Published: January 15th, 2019 by Cavendish Square Company

Genre: Nonfiction, Juvenile, Critical Thinking

Format: Hardback, 64 pages, Library

Rating: 4 stars

Publisher's Summary:

As digital natives attempt to navigate news sources, media literacy is more important than ever. Understanding who is behind different forms of clickbait like posts, articles, and ads, and the motivation behind this content, is a critical part of distinguishing reputable sources of information from distorted or false information. This must-have volume examines the roots of modern clickbait in the sensationalism of yellow journalism, while guiding readers through the process of recognizing clickbait and reacting to it in savvy ways.

My Thoughts:

I read this one aloud with G. We were able to talk about online safety and how to spot clickbait and why it happens. They go into a bit about the psychology behind it and why it happens. There is a whole series devoted to media literacy and we are on the second book. It's a great series for kids and has lots of resources to check out and learn more as well.

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Bomb: The Race to Build--And Steal--the World's Most Dangerous Weapon by Steve Sheinkin

Published: September 4th, 2012 by Flash Point

Genre: Nonfiction, Young Adult, History

Format: Hardback, 266 pages, Library

Rating: 4 stars

Publisher's Summary:

In December of 1938, a chemist in a German laboratory made a shocking discovery: When placed next to radioactive material, a Uranium atom split in two. That simple discovery launched a scientific race that spanned 3 continents. In Great Britain and the United States, Soviet spies worked their way into the scientific community; in Norway, a commando force slipped behind enemy lines to attack German heavy-water manufacturing; and deep in the desert, one brilliant group of scientists was hidden away at a remote site at Los Alamos. This is the story of the plotting, the risk-taking, the deceit, and genius that created the world's most formidable weapon. This is the story of the atomic bomb.

Bomb is a 2012 National Book Awards finalist for Young People's Literature.
Bomb is a 2012 Washington Post Best Kids Books of the Year title.

Bomb is a 2013 Newbery Honor book.

My Thoughts:

I read this for Battle of the Books for G's school. I was thoroughly engaged! I enjoy getting my history from middle grade and young adult books. They know how to get the best stories and to tell the facts in an interesting way.

I had no idea about how the Russians stole the plans for the atomic bomb. We learned why people got involved with the bomb project and how the Germans were sabotaged so they couldn't make the bomb first. So many fascinating tidbits. There are some great photos inside too.

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Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death by Caitlin Doughty

Published: September 10th, 2019 by W.W. Norton Company

Genre: Nonfiction, Science, Essays, Biology

Format: Kindle, 222 pages, Own

Rating: 5 stars

Publisher's Summary:

Best-selling author and mortician Caitlin Doughty answers real questions from kids about death, dead bodies, and decomposition.

Every day, funeral director Caitlin Doughty receives dozens of questions about death. What would happen to an astronaut’s body if it were pushed out of a space shuttle? Do people poop when they die? Can Grandma have a Viking funeral?

In Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs?, Doughty blends her mortician’s knowledge of the body and the intriguing history behind common misconceptions about corpses to offer factual, hilarious, and candid answers to thirty-five distinctive questions posed by her youngest fans. In her inimitable voice, Doughty details lore and science of what happens to, and inside, our bodies after we die. Why do corpses groan? What causes bodies to turn colors during decomposition? And why do hair and nails appear longer after death? Readers will learn the best soil for mummifying your body, whether you can preserve your best friend’s skull as a keepsake, and what happens when you die on a plane. Beautifully illustrated by Dianné Ruz, Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? shows us that death is science and art, and only by asking questions can we begin to embrace it.

My Thoughts:

I read this one aloud with G last month. It was a hoot. It does go into some technical detail about the processes of death. Putrefaction. Can you put your parents' skull on your desk after they die? What about the cat?! Will she eat my eyeballs? The questions are fun and Ms. Doughty answers with clarity and humor. There are even fun illustrations throughout each chapter. This was definitely one of my favorite science books last year and one of my faves reading with G.

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Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed by Lori Gottlieb

Published: April 2nd, 2019 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Genre: Nonfiction, Memoir, Self-help

Format: Kindle, 432 pages, Own

Rating: 5 stars

Publisher's Summary:

From a New York Times best-selling author, psychotherapist, and national advice columnist, a hilarious, thought-provoking, and surprising new book that takes us behind the scenes of a therapist's world--where her patients are looking for answers (and so is she).

One day, Lori Gottlieb is a therapist who helps patients in her Los Angeles practice. The next, a crisis causes her world to come crashing down. Enter Wendell, the quirky but seasoned therapist in whose office she suddenly lands. With his balding head, cardigan, and khakis, he seems to have come straight from Therapist Central Casting. Yet he will turn out to be anything but.

As Gottlieb explores the inner chambers of her patients' lives -- a self-absorbed Hollywood producer, a young newlywed diagnosed with a terminal illness, a senior citizen threatening to end her life on her birthday if nothing gets better, and a twenty-something who can't stop hooking up with the wrong guys -- she finds that the questions they are struggling with are the very ones she is now bringing to Wendell.

With startling wisdom and humor, Gottlieb invites us into her world as both clinician and patient, examining the truths and fictions we tell ourselves and others as we teeter on the tightrope between love and desire, meaning and mortality, guilt and redemption, terror and courage, hope and change.

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone is revolutionary in its candor, offering a deeply personal yet universal tour of our hearts and minds and providing the rarest of gifts: a boldly revealing portrait of what it means to be human, and a disarmingly funny and illuminating account of our own mysterious lives and our power to transform them.

My Thoughts:

I loved getting inside a therapist's head. What's the training? How can I use this in my own life? How can I use this with my own therapist?! I loved how she intertwined her story, along with her own therapist, and the stories of her clients. So much info and things to think about. This is one I'll be returning to. I also want to know which show her client wrote for! OMG! It's killing me.

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They Called Us Enemy by George Takei, Justing Eisinger, and Steve Scott 

Published: July 16th, 2019 by Top Shelf Productions

Genre: Nonfiction, Memoir, History, Graphic Novel

Format: Kindle, 208 pages, Own

Rating: 5 stars

Publisher's Summary:

A graphic memoir recounting actor/author/activist George Takei's childhood imprisoned within American concentration camps during World War II. Experience the forces that shaped an American icon -- and America itself.

Long before George Takei braved new frontiers in Star Trek, he woke up as a four-year-old boy to find his own birth country at war with his father's -- and their entire family forced from their home into an uncertain future.

In 1942, at the order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, every person of Japanese descent on the west coast was rounded up and shipped to one of ten "relocation centers," hundreds or thousands of miles from home, where they would be held for years under armed guard.

They Called Us Enemy is Takei's firsthand account of those years behind barbed wire, the joys and terrors of growing up under legalized racism, his mother's hard choices, his father's faith in democracy, and the way those experiences planted the seeds for his astonishing future.

My Thoughts:

This was such a beautiful book. Gorgeously illustrated and written. George Takei knocks it out of the park with his graphic memoir. I read this one aloud with G as well over the holidays. He couldn't get enough of it and we read it until it was done over the course of just a few nights. I felt it was important to talk about the illegal detainment of Japanese Americans during the Second World War. And having a first-hand experience to read and talk about made it powerful. This should be a must-read in schools.