Book Report

 

 Emergent Strategy by adrienne maree brown -  A good book for organizers with lots of innovative strategy and ideas. It’s centered around the notion that complex systems and patterns arise from a series of relatively simple interactions. It’s an over-simplification but basically the idea is that how you and I live in the world can make real changes. I have….lots more to say about some of the things in this book that I loved and some of the things I didn’t love, but IDK. Maybe a topic for another time. Grade: 6

 

In Memoriam by Alice Winn – I was very glad to read this! Solid historical fiction centered around a male/male couple. I recently read some good books along those lines by KJ Charles, but her stories have a supernatural element. This one is straight-forward history, taking place during WWI. The two main characters meet at an elite British school, each one feels something for the other but is afraid to tell him, and it soon becomes clear that they are both going to need to fight in the war. The first 20 pages or so were a bit rocky but then the story takes off. Well done all around! Grade: 8

 

Z is for Zachariah by Richard C. O’Brien – I first read this book when I was a teenager, and recently I came across a mention that it was made into a movie. I recalled that I had the book it but I didn’t remember too many details, so I decided to re-read it. A nuclear war has taken place, but a teenage girl is living alone in a valley that escaped the fallout. And then one day, a man in a radiation suit reaches the valley and our narrator’s life will never be the same. The last 50 pages or so are definitely page-turners. Grade: 7

 

The Naked Don’t Fear the Water by Matthieu Aikins – The author is a journalist who wants to see what life is like for Afghans to try to emigrate to Europe. He is helped by the fact that although his own heritage is Japanese and European, he looks strikingly Afghan (there’s even a picture on the back cover to prove it). He joins his Afghan friend Omar and the two of them try to illegally leave Afghanistan. This book is completely fascinating. A look at the life of refugees and smugglers, of refugee camps on Lesbos and escape plans and prisons and world politics. I had to admire the way Aikins spends years with Omar and their fellow travelers, determined to journey with them and see what their world is like. Grade: 8

 

They Called Us Enemy by George Takei - A graphic memoir, mostly about the famous Star Trek actor’s time in a WWII Japanese internment camp, where he spent about four years as a child along with his parents and two siblings. It was really good, with sharp, sad images and “just enough” prose. It did leave me wanting a bit more about Takei’s life afterwards, though he does give a few glimpses. I read it on the plane to Savannah, and it can be easily read in a sitting or two. Grade: 8

 

Moving Forward: A Story of Hope, Hard Work, and the Promise of America by Karine Jean-Pierre - I must once more shout out to Little Free Libraries, as I found this book in one. I’d never heard of it and it was never on my ‘to read’ list, and that’s a pity because….it’s totally my kind of book! This is a memoir by the Haitian-American political activist and commentator (who also happens to be a lesbian). It’s never boring. I think what I was struck most by this book is the fact that Jean-Pierre‘s childhood was not exactly terrible but she did face a ton of difficulties and challenges. She always struggles and fights back. She talks about hitting her 20s and having no idea what to do in life, but falling into politics after completing her Master’s. She has run political campaigns, led activist groups like Wal-Mart Watch, worked with the ACLU, worked in the Obama and Biden White Houses, and has been a commentator on CNN and MSNBC. (And on Fox. She said they are desperate for Democrats and she doesn’t mind going in there as the lone Democrat on occasion. She also said their people put way way more makeup on her than CNN and MSNBC’s people – but they don’t touch her hair as they have no idea what to do with Black hair). I can never pinpoint what makes a memoir “great” but this one had everything I wanted: someone who has led a kinda-remarkable life, really, and just laying it all out there. Grade: 8