stormkeeper_lovedoris

I just did a book report! So here's another. The past week or so, I haven't written much fanfic, so I have read a lot of books. All non-fiction this time, but I currently am reading a really good novel so that'll be on the next one. And all of these books were fantastic....

Guest House for Young Widows: Among the Women of ISIS by Azadeh Moaveni – I went into this book not expecting to enjoy it that much. Let’s admit it: books about the Middle East can be depressing and infuriating, and sometimes filled with an endless stream of religious and ethnic tensions going back centuries that are hard for a Westerner to grasp. But this book was remarkable. I couldn’t put it down. The author profiles 13 women who did the unthinkable: joined ISIS. Their stories are so diverse and enthralling. Some grew up in Syria in poverty and without a way out. Some grew up in England or Germany but had terrible or just frustrating home lives that they sought to escape. The author herself says at the end of the day, no one fully knows why people join terrorist sects, and so there are no easy answers here. The author captures the complexity of these women’s lives and backgrounds, and presents just enough of the historical and cultural backdrop that each story is grounded. Grade: 8

12 Steps to Changing Yourself and the World: An Abolitionist’s Handbook by Patrisse Cullors – The author is one of the founders of BLM and a prison abolitionist. This book is an activist survival kit. Cullors gives all sorts of tips and ideas and strategies for taking care of yourself so you can bring about the world you want to see. From learning how to have courageous conversations to tapping into your imagination and creativity to building community. It’s all in here, and any organizer could benefit from this book. Grade: 8

You Can’t Be Serious by Kal Penn – WOW! I knew I wanted to read this book as soon as I heard of it. I’d learned that the actor Kal Penn (from Harold and Kumar, House, and Designated Survivor) had also worked in the Obama White House and recently come out as gay, so yeah I was on board. And I read the book in just about two days. There were so many aspects of it that I loved. He talked about his struggles as an Indian-American actor. (He gets an agent to review his auditions. The agent says his acting truly is great, but that Penn will never land anything other than one or two gigs playing taxi drivers, and so the agent can’t waste his time with a client like that). He talked about volunteering for Obama in 2008, even going so far as to spend months in Iowa campaigning. And then he later lands a job and works at the actual White House. I did want more about his coming out though. He drops about two quick mentions in earlier chapters that he’s into guys, and later on he gives us a whole chapter on his fiancé Josh and how they met (and how Josh got him into….NASCAR. Of all things). But we never do get Kal’s experience coming out, like to himself or to his family or the broader world. I would’ve really liked that. In any case, the book was still wonderful. Grade: 8

Wine to Water by Doc Hendley – The author grew up in North Carolina and is a self-described redneck bartender. He’s pretty directionless in his life until he reads some articles and gets the idea to host fundraisers to support clean water in Sudan. Hendley teams up with a nonprofit (a Christian Evangelical one, but he doesn’t focus too much on that aspect of the organization). He soon is on an airplane to Darfur, working with survivors of the brutal Janjaweed, repairing wells, and nearly getting killed more than once. One thing I liked about the book was the author grappling with how to make a difference. Like he’s had to bargain with Janjaweed warlords, he has seen wells that he repaired get blown up a month later – I liked reading his candid struggle with how one person and one organization tries to improve the world but often feels like 'one step forward, two steps back'. Is there a bit of a ‘white savior’ complex going on here and would I probably find plenty to disagree with Hendley on? Yes. But I gotta admire his work, and his story is compelling too. Grade: 7

Cuz: An American Tragedy by Danielle Allen – The author looks back at her cousin Michael’s death. He was arrested at age 15 for an attempted carjacking, tried as an adult, served 11 years, and was dead within three years of his release. I mentioned that one day Doris looked at what I was reading and said, “Not another North Korea!” I guess one could look at my books and say “Not another prison industrial complex!” But regardless of the fact that I’ve read a lot on this topic, this book was intriguing. I was sucked into Michael’s life as well as the recent history that I wish every American knew of – the prison machine which began growing like a monster in the 1970s and has eaten up Black and brown lives ever since. (Never forget that the US houses about 5% of the world’s population – but 20% of its prisoners). Grade: 8

Another book report already? Unfortunately it means I haven't written a lot of fanfic in the past 2 weeks. But at least these books were good!

Agatha of Little Neon by Claire Luchette – I need to find the right words to describe this novel. Quirky. Sweet. Sad. Insightful. Real. Poignant. Filled with little details and moments that show that all the characters are fully-realized. The story takes place in modern times, and Agatha is a nun in a small order. The Catholic church is facing serious financial woes, and the woman who is like their Mother Superior is getting old and moving to a retirement home where they can take more care of her. So Agatha and her three sisters take a position at a live-in rehab place. Agatha is also asked to teach geometry at a local all-girls’ school, and she starts learning more about herself and realizing she has changed. Lovely, easy read and I think the book will stay with me for a bit. Grade: 8

Carville’s Cure: Leprosy, Stigma, and the Fight for Justice by Pam Fessler – I’ve never thought much about the topic of leprosy before. I remember it mentioned in the Bible a lot, and as a kid I once asked a teacher about it and she said the disease was pretty much eliminated in modern times. It is now called Hansen’s disease (and needless to say, the term ‘leper’ is not cool and not to be used). This book is a very intriguing, well-documented history of a place in Louisiana where many people with the diseases were taken to against their will and warehoused for the rest of their lives. It starts out as a horrible, run-down institution, but it gradually improves. The Catholic nuns who run it get better at treating people with the disease, and the conditions improve somewhat, and it becomes like a family for many. People of all races lived and worked together here at a time when that was very uncommon. This was the best sort of journalistic book; the author tells the stories of individuals who were touched by Hansen’s and how they were treated by society at large. She’s a great storyteller who has documented and researched everything. Grade: 7

Wake: The Hidden History of Women-Led Slave Results by Rebecca Bell. Illustrated by Hugo Martinez. – This is a graphic memoir. The author researches woman-led slave revolts, not an easy undertaking as so much of the history is buried. She visits libraries from New York to London to try to get her hands on tidbits of information. Like this company in England, which is still in business today, profited from the slave trade so she tries to get at their records – but is thwarted. She also covers how mentally agonizing it is to research this, being the descendant herself of enslaved people. And she imagines the stories of these fighters, best as she can. Fascinating note: slave ships that had more women on them had more revolts than those that had fewer. Sad topic but well done here. Grade: 8

A Song of Flight by Juliet Marillier – This is the third and last book in a series by the historical fantasy writer who I love. I won’t go into the details since I’ve gushed about this author enough already in here! And this one is overall similar in theme to her others (taking place in ancient Ireland…there are beings that we might call ‘fey’ who interact with the main characters, though they never dominate events, there is action and mystery and romance). I am sad that the series is over. In fact, this trilogy is actually a continuation of another trilogy she wrote (two of the major characters are children of the main characters from the last one…..Oh man I’ve gotten attached to these people!!) Extra shout-out for there being a same-sex couple in this book. The author hinted back in the first book that these two were more than friends, and confirmed it here – though they didn’t get much “camera time” here, they did still play a good role. And I always say this but Juliet Marillier is in her 70’s and I just hope she keeps writing (if she wants to!) Grade: 8

Just Ash by Sol Santana – This was a great, fast-paced novel taking place in modern times. Ash is intersex and identifies as male. His parents are jerks who don’t accept him, especially now that he’s started to menstruate and grow breasts. A quick, gripping read by an author who is also intersex. Grade: 7

I haven't posted in almost a month? And my last report was another book report? Probably wouldn't hurt if I did a non-book report post at some point. But here's the usual...

Also - interesting - some of the lowest overall grades I've given in a while.

Feeding the Soul by Tabitha Brown – Basically I’d sum this one up with “I love you Tabitha, but your book is meh.” Tabitha Brown is someone I follow on social media; she posts vegan recipes and words of wisdom and inspiration, and has always seemed like a lovely person. So I knew I’d read her book as soon as it dropped. Sorry to say that the book isn’t much more than platitudes about continuing to follow your dreams and not paying attention to haters – nothing all that new or useful. I sure wanted to like it though! Grade: 4

Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good written and compiled by adrienne maree brown – This is an interesting one to describe! First, I will cheat by taking a few lines from the book’s own back cover to describe the book. “How do we make social justice the most pleasurable human experience? How can we awaken within ourselves desires that make it impossible to settle for anything less than a fulfilling life? Editor adrienne maree brown finds the answer in something she calls “pleasure activism,” a politics of healing and happiness that explodes the dour myth that changing the world is just another form of work.” I give brown credit –I’ve never really read a book like this one before and it’s innovative. It’s also such an expansive topic that one book can’t really capture. Unfortunately, despite how brown defines pleasure at the outset, most of the essays and examples do revolve around sex. I wanted more of the tie-in to activism, to the healing and world-changing I was promised. J The book is a mix of essays and interviews, and I didn’t read every word of this book; a lot of it didn’t resonate with me. I didn’t have much interest on the section on drug use as a form of pleasure, but then the interview with someone struggling with cancer and all the side-effects of her treatments and how is she to experience pleasure now – that was illuminating. But many of the interviews just went on too long. The short essays on topics from porn to consent, along with ideas at the end for improving your own experiences, were good. So yeah, the book is pretty uneven in terms of quality. I guess at the end of the day I’d say that the book is….a good start to a conversation that needs to be had. Grade: 5

This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer – This is the 3^rd book in a series….you know the drill, an asteroid hits the moon, floods and volcanoes happen everywhere, everything goes to shit. I appreciated that in this book the characters from the first two come together (previously their storylines had been separate). There’s plenty to not like in this series too (sloppy writing, questions on how realistic any of this is, etc) but there is a 4^th book in the series and I’m engaged enough that I guess I’ll read it. Grade: 5

Beyond the Last Village by Alan Rabinowitz – The author is a specialist in wildlife conservation, and in the 1990s he goes to some of the most remote areas of Burma (Myanmar) to learn about its wildlife. I love reading stories of how people get to really remote places and such, and this aspect did not disappoint here. He also included enough interesting details about his personal life, his team and the people he meets along the way. Grade: 6

Stars Between the Sun and Moon by Lucia Jang – Doris looked at this book on the sofa and sighed, “Not another North Korea.” So yes, this is a memoir from a woman who grew up in North Korea, travelled to and from China many times just to get food during North Korea’s famine in the 1990s, was imprisoned several times, and eventually makes it to Mongolia and then Canada. It is true…many North Korean memoirs are the same story of deprivation and lack of human rights over and over again. But as always, I was glued to the page and could only marvel at the things people endure and survive. Grade: 7