Between the World and Me
Ta-Nehisi Coates
Random House
Nonfiction, Essays/Memoir/Sociology
****+ (Good/Great)
DESCRIPTION: In a series of essays written for his son, award-winning writer Ta-Nehisi Coates reflects on the long, complicated history of race and his own unfinished journey to understand what it means to be Black in America.
REVIEW: If there's one thing recent events/backslides in national policy in 2025 have driven home with the force of the Chicxulub dinosaur-killer asteroid, it's a need to confront the ongoing cost of racism in regards to... well, pretty much everything in the modern world, particularly the "Western" modern world, because what looked to many of us like progress was just more wallpaper plastered over the gaping cracks and toxic mold devouring our collective house. (And, yes, as a straight white woman I had an unearned luxury of ignorance for far too long.) By tying lessons and lives and events from history into his own life and ever-evolving understanding, Coates presents a gripping, often cutting narrative. To ask if there's hope for a race-free future is to ask the wrong question, another wallpaper-over-the-mold question that tries to handwave away the hard, individual and institutional self-examination and systemic changes that would be required to begin to reach such a place. There is anger, there is despair, there is even bewilderment, but also a certain determination (it would be wrong to really call it optimism or hope, especially not in the flowery bright-sider way those words are too often used). These are not always easy essays to read (or listen to, as this was another audiobook - as a side note, the author does a great job narrating, which is not something I can say for all authors, but I digress), but they are needed essays.
You Might Also Enjoy:
Why Does Everything Have to Be About Race? (Keith Boykin) - My Review
All Blood Runs Red (Phil Keith with Tom Clavin) - My Review
How to Be an Antiracist (Ibram X. Kendi) - My Review
Showing posts with label essays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label essays. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 9, 2025
Friday, December 13, 2024
Let This Radicalize You (Kelly Hayes and Mariame Kaba)
Let This Radicalize You: Organizing and the Revolution of Reciprocal Care (Abolitionist Papers)
Kelly Hayes and Mariame Kaba
Haymarket Books
Nonfiction, Essays/History/Politics
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: It's no secret that we're living in turbulent times. The rolling back of rights, the gutting of environmental regulations just as climate change approaches a dangerous tipping point, the removal of any and all guardrails on greed, the rise of state violence, the stripping of viable venues and options for protest and dissent... not just in America, but around the world, it seems that cruelty, regression, greed, and authoritarianism are on the rise. But giving up has never been an option. In this book, two experienced leaders and organizers explore how to effectively resist in a time that seems openly hostile to resistance.
REVIEW: Since November this year (2024), I've been struggling to find anything resembling hope for the future of the country I live in and coming up with little to nothing, not helped by the fact that I'm not in a position to do much, if anything, about any of the innumerable dangers looming in the new year and beyond (dangers that are already here in some form or another). Don't give up, fight back, is the rallying cry on social media and elsewhere. Where? How? I ask, only to be told once more that if I don't do something and just give up They win. I was hoping this title would help answer those questions, or at least give me some ideas... or hope. Did it manage any of that? A little.
From the outset, it's clear that this book isn't quite targeting me. It's targeting current and would-be leaders and activists, offering advice not just on how to effectively recruit and organize people but on how to avoid burnout, mission creep, losing focus, and other risks, as well as some advice on dealing with the inevitable pushback one will encounter when challenging the status quo, legal and otherwise. A fair bit of word count is devoted to the importance of community and mutual support, not just for political or activism purposes but basic life needs. A vital community, one not reliant on social media (which is useful, to be sure, but, as has been illustrated all too clearly with "X" and others, not something one can rely on for privacy or even safe and neutral discussion), is the essential heart of any remotely successful activism group. The authors address the need to learn social skills and patient listening (skills that have fallen out of common practice in today's age of instant digital gratification and intentionally fractured attention spans), finding ways to meet people where they are and seek common cause for mutual benefit. They also emphasize the need to avoid the creep of dread and cynicism that can paralyze us and end resistance before it begins, essentially complying in advance. That's one heck of an ask, especially in 2024, but necessary just for basic survival.
For people better positioned to start or join activism and resistance efforts, this book offers plenty of information and moral support, plus appendices with practical links (such as how to deal with chemical weapons that police commonly unleash on rallies, and how to resist unlawful law enforcement action). That person may not be me for various reasons of life circumstances (plus me being me; there's a reason the number one advice I was given growing up was that the best way I could help was to stay out of the way, as I'm both congenitally invisible and basically useless), but it was still interesting to get an inside look at how more effective people can rally and organize and, every once in a while, actually succeed. That's hopeful, at least.
You Might Also Enjoy:
I'm Not Dying With You Tonight (Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal) - My Review
What Unites Us (Dan Rather and Elias Kirshner) - My Review
The Hate U Give (Angie Thomas) - My Review
Kelly Hayes and Mariame Kaba
Haymarket Books
Nonfiction, Essays/History/Politics
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: It's no secret that we're living in turbulent times. The rolling back of rights, the gutting of environmental regulations just as climate change approaches a dangerous tipping point, the removal of any and all guardrails on greed, the rise of state violence, the stripping of viable venues and options for protest and dissent... not just in America, but around the world, it seems that cruelty, regression, greed, and authoritarianism are on the rise. But giving up has never been an option. In this book, two experienced leaders and organizers explore how to effectively resist in a time that seems openly hostile to resistance.
REVIEW: Since November this year (2024), I've been struggling to find anything resembling hope for the future of the country I live in and coming up with little to nothing, not helped by the fact that I'm not in a position to do much, if anything, about any of the innumerable dangers looming in the new year and beyond (dangers that are already here in some form or another). Don't give up, fight back, is the rallying cry on social media and elsewhere. Where? How? I ask, only to be told once more that if I don't do something and just give up They win. I was hoping this title would help answer those questions, or at least give me some ideas... or hope. Did it manage any of that? A little.
From the outset, it's clear that this book isn't quite targeting me. It's targeting current and would-be leaders and activists, offering advice not just on how to effectively recruit and organize people but on how to avoid burnout, mission creep, losing focus, and other risks, as well as some advice on dealing with the inevitable pushback one will encounter when challenging the status quo, legal and otherwise. A fair bit of word count is devoted to the importance of community and mutual support, not just for political or activism purposes but basic life needs. A vital community, one not reliant on social media (which is useful, to be sure, but, as has been illustrated all too clearly with "X" and others, not something one can rely on for privacy or even safe and neutral discussion), is the essential heart of any remotely successful activism group. The authors address the need to learn social skills and patient listening (skills that have fallen out of common practice in today's age of instant digital gratification and intentionally fractured attention spans), finding ways to meet people where they are and seek common cause for mutual benefit. They also emphasize the need to avoid the creep of dread and cynicism that can paralyze us and end resistance before it begins, essentially complying in advance. That's one heck of an ask, especially in 2024, but necessary just for basic survival.
For people better positioned to start or join activism and resistance efforts, this book offers plenty of information and moral support, plus appendices with practical links (such as how to deal with chemical weapons that police commonly unleash on rallies, and how to resist unlawful law enforcement action). That person may not be me for various reasons of life circumstances (plus me being me; there's a reason the number one advice I was given growing up was that the best way I could help was to stay out of the way, as I'm both congenitally invisible and basically useless), but it was still interesting to get an inside look at how more effective people can rally and organize and, every once in a while, actually succeed. That's hopeful, at least.
You Might Also Enjoy:
I'm Not Dying With You Tonight (Kimberly Jones and Gilly Segal) - My Review
What Unites Us (Dan Rather and Elias Kirshner) - My Review
The Hate U Give (Angie Thomas) - My Review
Friday, January 19, 2024
The View from the Cheap Seats (Neil Gaiman)
The View from the Cheap Seats: Selected Nonfiction
Neil Gaiman
Harper Audio
Nonfiction, Essays/Media Reference/Memoirs
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: This collection of Neil Gaiman's writings covers a variety of topics, from the state of comic books and graphic novels as art and literary forms through reflections on his life and career to interviews, book forewords and afterwords, and more.
REVIEW: Though I find Gaiman's fiction a bit hit-and-miss, I can always appreciate what he's doing and how he's doing it, and one can't help but stand in awe of a career like his. Much like his fiction, these articles and essays and reflections can be a little hit-and-miss. Some loses context by being, well, out of context: material meant for inclusion in album liner notes can't help feeling a little lost without the album backing it up, and some of the minutiae of industry talk (especially the comic book industry) is lost on someone who only occasionally delves into graphic novels. (One of the coldest shoulders I ever got in a retail store was in a comic book shop, and so many of the popular titles seem to gatekeep themselves by being part of decades-long intertwined arcs and histories and traditions and so forth anyway in ways that can discourage newcomers from even trying to start - I'm lookin' at you, too, Sandman - so I never really felt welcome in that crowd. Yes, I'm officially too much of a social misfit to read comic books. But I digress...) Still, even when discussing stuff I wasn't familiar with, Gaiman manages to be interesting. Plus he's still one of the better audiobook narrators out there; I never have to crank my earbuds up to pain-inducing volumes just to understand what he's saying. The tone of the articles varies, some being lighter and some darker, some fairly focused and others ranging further afield, some short and some long, but few outstayed their welcome. All in all, it made for interesting listening.
You Might Also Enjoy:
The Salmon of Doubt (Douglas Adams) - My Review
Never Say You Can't Survive (Charlie Jane Anders) - My Review
Fragile Things (Neil Gaiman) - My Review
Neil Gaiman
Harper Audio
Nonfiction, Essays/Media Reference/Memoirs
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: This collection of Neil Gaiman's writings covers a variety of topics, from the state of comic books and graphic novels as art and literary forms through reflections on his life and career to interviews, book forewords and afterwords, and more.
REVIEW: Though I find Gaiman's fiction a bit hit-and-miss, I can always appreciate what he's doing and how he's doing it, and one can't help but stand in awe of a career like his. Much like his fiction, these articles and essays and reflections can be a little hit-and-miss. Some loses context by being, well, out of context: material meant for inclusion in album liner notes can't help feeling a little lost without the album backing it up, and some of the minutiae of industry talk (especially the comic book industry) is lost on someone who only occasionally delves into graphic novels. (One of the coldest shoulders I ever got in a retail store was in a comic book shop, and so many of the popular titles seem to gatekeep themselves by being part of decades-long intertwined arcs and histories and traditions and so forth anyway in ways that can discourage newcomers from even trying to start - I'm lookin' at you, too, Sandman - so I never really felt welcome in that crowd. Yes, I'm officially too much of a social misfit to read comic books. But I digress...) Still, even when discussing stuff I wasn't familiar with, Gaiman manages to be interesting. Plus he's still one of the better audiobook narrators out there; I never have to crank my earbuds up to pain-inducing volumes just to understand what he's saying. The tone of the articles varies, some being lighter and some darker, some fairly focused and others ranging further afield, some short and some long, but few outstayed their welcome. All in all, it made for interesting listening.
You Might Also Enjoy:
The Salmon of Doubt (Douglas Adams) - My Review
Never Say You Can't Survive (Charlie Jane Anders) - My Review
Fragile Things (Neil Gaiman) - My Review
Friday, April 28, 2023
Never Say You Can't Survive (Charlie Jane Anders)
Never Say You Can't Survive
Charlie Jane Anders
Tordotcom
Nonfiction, Essays/Memoirs/Writing
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: These are trying times, no doubt about it. For many, the very foundations of our reality and the most basic things we have taken for granted have been snatched away, twisted beyond recognition or just plain smashed to pieces. It's tempting to just give up, to decide that there's no point in even trying to do something so seemingly frivolous as write or create. That, argues author Charlie Jane Anders, is precisely what one shouldn't do. This collection of essays covers a range of topics, from basic writing advice to using despair and anger to fuel creativity to understanding that creating escapes from reality and visions of other possible worlds is anything but a waste of time, even in times like these.
REVIEW: I've only read a few of Anders's works; while I like the ideas she explores, I find the stories themselves a bit hit-and-miss for my tastes. That said, I rather enjoyed this collection of essays about keeping the will to write alive even when so much is going so very, very wrong in the world. The writing advice itself is not altogether different from stuff I've picked up elsewhere, if delivered with solid style. The rest, particularly on perseverance though trying and dangerous times and learning to value one's own creativity even when the world at large diminishes it, is fresh and timely and well written (or spoken, as I listened to the audiobook version).
You Might Also Enjoy:
The Art of War for Writers (James Scott Bell) - My Review
Write Good or Die (Scott Nicholson, editor) - My Review
Wonderbook (Jeff Vandermeer) - My Review
Charlie Jane Anders
Tordotcom
Nonfiction, Essays/Memoirs/Writing
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: These are trying times, no doubt about it. For many, the very foundations of our reality and the most basic things we have taken for granted have been snatched away, twisted beyond recognition or just plain smashed to pieces. It's tempting to just give up, to decide that there's no point in even trying to do something so seemingly frivolous as write or create. That, argues author Charlie Jane Anders, is precisely what one shouldn't do. This collection of essays covers a range of topics, from basic writing advice to using despair and anger to fuel creativity to understanding that creating escapes from reality and visions of other possible worlds is anything but a waste of time, even in times like these.
REVIEW: I've only read a few of Anders's works; while I like the ideas she explores, I find the stories themselves a bit hit-and-miss for my tastes. That said, I rather enjoyed this collection of essays about keeping the will to write alive even when so much is going so very, very wrong in the world. The writing advice itself is not altogether different from stuff I've picked up elsewhere, if delivered with solid style. The rest, particularly on perseverance though trying and dangerous times and learning to value one's own creativity even when the world at large diminishes it, is fresh and timely and well written (or spoken, as I listened to the audiobook version).
You Might Also Enjoy:
The Art of War for Writers (James Scott Bell) - My Review
Write Good or Die (Scott Nicholson, editor) - My Review
Wonderbook (Jeff Vandermeer) - My Review
Wednesday, September 26, 2018
What Unites Us (Dan Rather and Elliot Kirschner)
What Unites Us
Dan Rather and Elliot Kirschner
Algonquin Books
Nonfiction, Autobiography/Essays/Politics
****+ (Good/Great)
DESCRIPTION: Since its founding, America has been a land of many faiths and ideas, of diverse people and diverse viewpoints, of conflicts and cooperation. In recent years, our nation has been tested in ways it rarely, if ever, has encountered - ways that could permanently alter, perhaps end, the great American experiment. Noted reporter Dan Rather reflects on eight decades of life and six decades of journalism in a series of essays exploring the country he loves and how it has dealt with its own shifting self-image, not to mention how it arrived at the current murky crossroads where it now stands.
REVIEW: Like many Americans, I've spent the last few years struggling to understand what is happening to my country, how things could veer so rapidly off course because of the whims of the few and the apathy of the many. Rather, too, seems to be struggling, though his reflections offer some thin hope for the future as he discusses conflicts the country has weathered before. He draws from the experiences of his long life and notable career to explore many aspects of patriotism as it used to be, as it should be - aspects that stand in sharp contrast to the toxic brand of nationalism being bandied about in the name of "patriotism" today. From a childhood in Houston to the halls of power in Washington, from years of war and scandal to years of peace and prosperity, from personal failures to personal triumphs, Rather paints a picture of troubling trends with long roots in our often-whitewashed (in many ways) past, yet with glimmers of hope around the edges. I do hope his ultimate optimism proves prophetic, though I can't help look at the overall trend and seemingly-deliberate sabotage of key aspects of our historical resiliency - our crumbling educational system, the increasing and overwhelming voice of money over people in government, the assault on science and the very existence of facts, demonization of diversity, and more - and wonder if this appeal to our better selves is ultimately too little, too late.
(Incidentally, for those none of you keeping track, by my calculations this is my 1500th "live" review. Technically, I've written more, but I was set back when I culled reviews of no-longer-available books.)
You Might Also Enjoy:
10% Happier (Dan Harris) - My Review
Fool Me Twice: Fighting the Assault on Science in America (Shawn Lawrence Otto) - My Review
The Rights of Man (Thomas Paine) - My Review
Dan Rather and Elliot Kirschner
Algonquin Books
Nonfiction, Autobiography/Essays/Politics
****+ (Good/Great)
DESCRIPTION: Since its founding, America has been a land of many faiths and ideas, of diverse people and diverse viewpoints, of conflicts and cooperation. In recent years, our nation has been tested in ways it rarely, if ever, has encountered - ways that could permanently alter, perhaps end, the great American experiment. Noted reporter Dan Rather reflects on eight decades of life and six decades of journalism in a series of essays exploring the country he loves and how it has dealt with its own shifting self-image, not to mention how it arrived at the current murky crossroads where it now stands.
REVIEW: Like many Americans, I've spent the last few years struggling to understand what is happening to my country, how things could veer so rapidly off course because of the whims of the few and the apathy of the many. Rather, too, seems to be struggling, though his reflections offer some thin hope for the future as he discusses conflicts the country has weathered before. He draws from the experiences of his long life and notable career to explore many aspects of patriotism as it used to be, as it should be - aspects that stand in sharp contrast to the toxic brand of nationalism being bandied about in the name of "patriotism" today. From a childhood in Houston to the halls of power in Washington, from years of war and scandal to years of peace and prosperity, from personal failures to personal triumphs, Rather paints a picture of troubling trends with long roots in our often-whitewashed (in many ways) past, yet with glimmers of hope around the edges. I do hope his ultimate optimism proves prophetic, though I can't help look at the overall trend and seemingly-deliberate sabotage of key aspects of our historical resiliency - our crumbling educational system, the increasing and overwhelming voice of money over people in government, the assault on science and the very existence of facts, demonization of diversity, and more - and wonder if this appeal to our better selves is ultimately too little, too late.
(Incidentally, for those none of you keeping track, by my calculations this is my 1500th "live" review. Technically, I've written more, but I was set back when I culled reviews of no-longer-available books.)
You Might Also Enjoy:
10% Happier (Dan Harris) - My Review
Fool Me Twice: Fighting the Assault on Science in America (Shawn Lawrence Otto) - My Review
The Rights of Man (Thomas Paine) - My Review
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