Another book report. I keep feeling overwhelmed by my lending shelf on Libby, yet when I look back, I am consuming on average 2-3 books per week, so I shouldn't complain. Lest you be envious, understand that this represents 60 years of pent up desire to curl up with a good book all day long. And I pair that with a lifelong-learning desire, which I feed by reading books about interesting people, interesting ideas, and interesting futures. Now that I'm on audio books, and retired, and doing things that can coexist with listening to books, I am finally getting my fill.
My latest indulgences are:
- Fatty Fatty Boom Boom by Rabia Chaudry, a memoir about a Pakistani American woman, dealing with the prejudices of others with regards to being brown, overweight, and female, while living at various times in rural America, urban America, and Pakistan. She writes passionately about food, to the point where my mouth was often watering, and I swear I gained two pounds just listening to the book.
- Mindful of Race by Ruth King. This started out slow, but then got very pointed and enlightening. (Well, she is a Buddhist, so she's doing her job as a bodhisattva!) One key idea is that the predominant society (in America, generally Caucasian) sees people as individuals, whereas minority groups (such as Blacks or those identifying as Queer) see themselves as part of a group, and when one member of that group is attacked, the whole group feels threatened. Thus, a well meaning person in the dominant culture can't say "I don't see color" or "Not all whites" or "Not all men" as a ticket to get out of the responsibility for the injustices and racism that are ongoing today, and the repercussions of such activities from the past. We who are white or white-passing got where we are on the backs of others, whether we know it or not, and if we do nothing about it, we are racist. (If we do a lot about it, we are probably still racist because we can do harm without even knowing we are doing it.) It gives me a lot to think about, and the tools to do something about it. (Like strongly encouraging everyone to read this book.)
-The Brilliant Death by A.R. Capetta. This is a YA fantasy set in psuedo-medieval-Italy, with stregas (witches) and the usual going to the capital, passing a trial, falling in love, etc. type adventure. There's also lots to do with gender identity, but I won't spoil it for you. It's light, and entertaining.
- Decolonizing Wellness by Dalia Kinsey. A short book with a BIPOC and LGBTQ take on health, nutrition, racism, and body positivity. It helped me to see things more inclusively.
- The President's Brain is Missing by John Scalzi. A hilarious short story. What would you do if the President's brain went missing and nobody noticed?
I've also downloaded a few interviews with the authors I've been reading, at the Professional Book Nerds podcast
https://professionalbooknerds.com/, which give insight into their thought processes, and alas, yet more book recommendations that I will never be able to get thru. But I'll try.
In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. ~ Albert Camus
edit *I take that back.. it was a .99 book.
When I began reading it wasn't really my cup o' tea and wasn't sure I was going to finish the very long book but now I'm curious how to interpret the ending. It was also a BBC 7 part series several years ago.
