Category: Blog

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Blog Nonfiction Social Justice

The End of Bias: A Beginning

by Jessica Nordell, Book 62 of 2021

This book is packed full of insightful examples of how bias seeps into day to day encounters with profound impacts ranging from the expected (police violence) to more subtle (gendering in preschool classrooms). There are a lot of great actionable takeaways for organizations and leaders who want to improve the environments they influence. For my local friends, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Nordell was raised in Green Bay and many of her examples resonated personally. 

Bonus: The audiobook is read by the author and I could not help but laugh at the thinly veiled disdain she apparently still holds for the late Justice Antonin Scalia. 

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ALC.

Recommended for: those interested in creating a more just society.


Content Warnings: Racism, Sexism, Violence, Police Violence

Categories
Blog Fiction

Light from Uncommon Stars

Written by Ryka Aoki, Book 61 of 2021

Shizuka watched Lan and Thought of all the immigrant mothers in their neighborhoods. She thought of all those who had braved leaky boats, smugglers, and pirates to deliver their families from Vietnam. Then spent the rest of their lives never leaving Monterey Park.

Ryka Aoki, “Light from Uncommon Stars”

This book is a lot. It has deals with demons, a transgender protagonist, sentient AI, space travel, and LOTS of classical music. I can see how some people will LOVE this story but for me it felt like it took on a little too much at times. That being said there is a lot to love; tons of badass women, a doughnut shop, great narration, and lots of warmth and humor to balance the gravity of the conflicts. Ultimately its message is about what makes a life worth living and that is something I can get behind. 

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ALC. 

Recommended for: those interested in LGBTQ+ Representation, Science Fiction, and want something with substance but not too heavy.

Content Warnings: Transphobia, Familial Abuse, Racism, Violence, Sexual Abuse, Mental health, Self Harm 

Categories
Blog Fiction

Strange Beasts of China

written by Yan Ge, Book 57 of 2021

“The more resilient life is, the more you want to destroy it.” 

Yan Ge, “Strange Beasts of China”

I did not want to stop listening to this book, and I was listening to it on vacation so that means something. The unnamed narrator is a strangely likable loner with a few very dysfunctional relationships, who (literally) stumbles her way through improbable interactions with “beasts” of all kinds. Felt a bit like a stranger, darker version of Harry Potter if it had been set in China with a disoriented adult woman as its center. I’m not going to lie, I’m not sure I totally understood what was going on at times but I enjoyed it all the same. The stories can be quite dark, so I probably would only recommend this for mature readers and listeners.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ALC. 

Recommended for: those looking for something truly unusual. 


Content Warnings: Violence, Suicide, Death, Alcohol/Drug Use/Abuse, Family Separation

Categories
Blog Fiction

All the Water I’ve Seen Is Running

written by Elias Rodriques, book 50 of 2021

This book stirred up a feeling of general uneasiness in me. I don’t know if it’s because the coastal Florida beaches of its setting are places I’ve vacationed, my own complex feelings about high school, or the novel’s challenging subject matter. The story is centered on the return of Daniel, the main character, to his hometown to visit his high school friends in the aftermath of his first love’s unexpected death. In between accounts of his visits, Rodriques also covers Daniel’s family’s complex interracial history, slavery, racism, and religion.The story itself is layered and compelling but perhaps a little too ambitious and left me wishing it would have had a little less breadth and more depth. 

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ALC. 

Recommended for: those interested in stories that are focused on intersectional identities 

Categories: Fiction, Multiple Narrators, Coming of Age

Content Warnings: Homophobia, Racism, Violence, Death, Alcohol/Drug Use 

Categories
Blog Nonfiction

Living in Data

Citizen’s Guide to a Better Information Future

written by Jer Thorp, Book 49 of 2021

“The lesson that I had learned was one that has guided my approach to solving data problems for the last decade; to treat the data and the systems it lived in not as an abstraction, but as a real thing with particular properties, and to work to understand these unique conditions as deeply as I can. I learned other things from the project too, about paying careful attention to what is missing in data.”

Jer Thorp “Living in Data”

I truly enjoyed this nonfiction work detailing the pitfalls of modern data collection and sharing. I’ve already thought of several ways to apply some of Thorp’s ideas to my work in public health and I found his examples very engaging and useful. We are all subject to data collection and this work raises some very important and timely questions about who creates it, who views it, and who benefits. 

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ALC. 

Recommended for: folks who work with data collection and visualization, anyone who wants to be a better informed consumer of information. 

Content Warnings: Privacy, colonization, climate change, racism 

Categories
Blog Fiction

Night Came with Many Stars

Book 48, 2021- Night Came with Many Stars by Simon Van Booy

“I mean the thing that makes family. Not blood but the certainty that you’re never going to be lonesome. That all the joy and all the suffering that we get in life is something that will always be shared.”

Simon Van Booy “Night Came with Many Stars”

This was an unexpected hit for me. I’d read great reviews of Van Booy’s other works but I tend to turn away from family dramas and I wasn’t sure I’d be engaged by this one. One of the most beautiful elements of this book is the recognition of the importance of families of birth and those made by choice and circumstance. I also appreciated that the story covers many of the darker elements of family life in a way that is surprisingly gentle and humanizing. I fell in love with many of the characters over the course of the novel and was sad to have to say goodbye in the final moments of audio. Would highly recommend this novel and especially the audio version. 

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ALC. 

Recommended for: those who love stories told over multiple generations, those who enjoy stories of non-traditional families, and those who like to ponder the human condition. 

Content Warnings: Abuse, Sexual Assault, Abortion, Drugs, Addiction, Death, Violence, Incarceration

Categories
Blog Fiction

The Love Songs of W.E.B DuBois

written by Honoree Fanonne Jeffers, book 46 of 2021

Even in a place of sorrow time passes. Even in a place of joy. Do not assume that either keeps life from continuing. For there are children everywhere. And children are life for they keep their mother’s beauty.

The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois – Honoree Fanonne Jeffers

This book is a true undertaking. When I received the advanced listening copy from the publisher I was shocked to see that the listening time was over one whole day of audio. It was worth it. The narrative covers the perspective and history of many of the ancestors of the main character, Ailey Pearl Garfield. The story unfolds in a back and forth pull between the past and present in a way kept the story from losing steam. Oddly, even though I didn’t love any of the characters on their own, I grew quite attached to their combination as an entire family. I would highly recommend this book for its skilled, nuanced, and loving depiction of the bonds of family over time and all manners of adversity.

The narration was also extremely well done and maintained my attention. I loved the Black and Southern dialogue and felt engrossed in the particular people and places.

Recommended for: those interested in the long arc of history, family dramas, historical fiction, or black stories.

Categories: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Social Commentary, Multiple Narrators, Coming of Age


Content Warnings: Violence, Rape, Slavery, Drug Use, Addiction, Death of a Parent, Violence, Displacement

Categories
Blog Fiction

The World Gives Way

Written by Marissa Levien, Book 45 of 2021

“One thing that is true about humanity there will always be those who push the limits of stability and survival just to say they can. They scale the unscalable mountains. They dive to the impenetrable depths. They love the unlovable person. They will live in the unlivable desert.”

Marissa Levien,
“The World Gives Way“

Without giving anything away, “The World Gives Way” describes the intersection of the lives of two strangers at the end of the world. Overall I really enjoyed this book. The characters’ plight forced me to think about what truly matters and consider the implications of the destruction of the vulnerable environment that we all live in. One thing I really enjoyed about this book was the cinematic descriptions. I could clearly visualize this as a film or tv series. I know it’s a trope that “The book was better” when talking about adaptations but in this case, I would likely disagree. As a person who primarily reads for character depth, I was disappointed in the predictability and lack of nuance the characters displayed but was compelled to the end by the engaging plot.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ALC. 

Recommended for: Folks who favor stories of world building, science fiction fans. 

Content Warnings: Apocalypse, Slavery, Fatalism, Drugs, Addiction, Death of a Parent, Violence, Displacement

Categories
Blog Fiction

The Chosen and the Beautiful

written by Nghi Vo, book 43 of 2021

For him, the world was always ending. For him it was always a wreck and a ruin and he had no idea why the rest of us weren’t screaming.

Nghi Vo- The Chosen and the Beautiful

I wanted to love this story but instead I think I “fell in like” with it. There are some really great parts to it: Jordan Baker as an immigrant “oddity” among the glamour of 1920’s New York, the social commentary around immigration and sexual politics, the fact that the main character’s magical talent is presented as the least interesting thing about her. But I felt like it teased a lot of potentials that weren’t fulfilled and dragged a bit in the middle. Nghi Vo is incredibly talented and I almost wish this wasn’t a retelling of The Great Gatsby at all and instead an entirely original story so that she could have dove more into the Jordan Baker’s past and future. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for future works from Vo and I’m looking forward to something fully original.

I felt like this was a solid 3 star listen up until the ending (which I really loved and won’t spoil!) so I’d say it’s at least a 3.5.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ALC.

Recommended for: anyone who looking for more queer love stories, 1920’s enthusiasts, or fun twists on classic works.

Content Warnings: Racism, Infidelity, Xenophobia, Deportation, Sexism, Homophobia, Abortion, Death, Self Harm.

Categories
Blog Nonfiction

Somebody’s Daughter

written by Ashley C. Ford, narrated by the author – book 42 of 2021

I was nothing and nobody cared what happened to nothing and everything happened to girls who were nothing.

Ashley C. Ford

This raw and vulnerable memoir by Ashley C. Ford challenges the traditional expectations of what families owe each other. Ford was raised primarily by her mother and grandmother after her father’s incarceration as a young child. Her tenuous relationship with her mother is highlighted in contrast to her conflicted feelings about her devoted but isolated father. Ford does not shy away from discussing the difficult parts of her childhood and adolescence and left me in awe of her resilience. She unwaveringly explores the feelings of shame and uncertainty inherent in childhood and their long lasting effects. As an adult that works in health and human services, I found this to be a moving example of the tangible consequences trauma can have. I would highly recommend the audiobook as it is read by the author and includes an excellent conversation between Ashley C. Ford and fellow author Clint Smith that adds another layer of complexity and a new lens through which to view Ford’s story. Smith’s book, “How the Word is Passed” is also expected out on June 1, 2021.

Recommended for: lovers of memoirs, adults working in social or human services work, anyone who wants to experience a glimmer of the human experience from Ford’s perspective.

Content Warnings: Physical and sexual violence, abuse, rape, parent/child conflict

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for early access to this very moving audiobook!