Good morning, friends!
Somehow, May has already come and gone, and it’s time for a quick look back at what I’ve read this month.
Below, we have… a few common threads/coincidences I noticed between books; interesting and/or entertaining links I’ve accumulated since the last time we chatted; and the full list of books with real-time reviews. As always, linked titles will take you to my notes!
What did the literary gods of May hold for you?
Cheers,
Maya
Some coincidences
- Strange Harvests and Nose Dive both talking about guano and civets
- Talk of the Australian dreamtime in The Spell of the Sensuous and The City We Became
- A character in Mona discussing how he had invented a language to communicate with his deaf-mute father, just after coming across the story game Sign in which you do the same
- The line in Waking Lions that the “molecules of smell stimulate the olfactory epithelium, which sends urgent signals to the amygdala and the cerebral cortex…” as I read about all the molecules of smell in Nose Dive.
- On gray area between truth and lies, and when the ends justify the means:
- In Waking Lions: “You never really read people’s coffee grounds, you read their eyes, their body language, the way they ask the question. But if you tell them that, they’ll feel naked, which is not pleasant for anyone and also not polite…”
- And in To Be Honest, Levit bc on’s grappling with this theme as the driving force of his memoir.
- Derrida and On Grammatology cropping up in a bedroom in my house, The Spell of the Sensuous, The Marriage Plot, and an article from Psyche within a day.
Links
Serious things
- How Parking Destroys Cities: “Because parking requirements make driving less expensive and development more so, cities get more driving, less housing, and less of everything that makes urbanity worthwhile.”
- All those “imperfect produce” services are solving a problem that doesn’t exist, and are profit-oriented approaches that overshadow better solutions… “Most ‘ugly’ produce gets turned into soups, sauces, salsa, jam, ice cream, etc. You think that stuff gets made from the pretty fruit & veggies?! jeebus, think about it for a minute.”
- What’s in a name? Ponderings on what it means when we refer to female artists by their first or last (and maiden or married) names… “Yes, it’s hard to have a name when you’re a woman. But it shouldn’t have to be.”
- An eye-opening profile of a group of elite Ethiopian athletes in the Bronx, whose running are their lifelines to escaping persecution back home. A reminder that the world is a tough place to be in.
Fun things
- Learn ASL fingerspelling with this super cool, machine-learning powered game.
- The collection of photos of disguised cell towers you never knew you needed to see (via kottke.org)
- Stumbled back upon this awesome post on baby name trends— so curious about the “why” behind some of these patterns!
- Plane Industries makes furniture from retired airplane parts. It’s crazy expensive, and looks really, really cool.
- A thread of cool maps that will blow your mind, or at least give you some new fun facts to share (via Laura Olin). While you’re in a geographic mood, place a droplet of water anywhere in the US and watch it make its way to the ocean (thanks, Dad!).
May 2020 books
- Such a Fun Age — Kiley Reid
- Listened to this one— very timely, somewhat relatable, and the funny kind of satirical, addressing the real issues with an approachable humor. The plot gets surprisingly complex and intriguing, building tension and suspense as we learn of the unexpected connections between our characters’ lives, and have an omniscient view of the colliding motivations, backstories, and conspiratorial plans they make. Plus, the little girl is so freaking adorable!
- A very interesting exploration of the “mistaking servants for friends” dynamic explored in Billionaire Wilderness, from both sides of the relationship; and also the urge of the wealthy to be seen as “normal,” and accepted by the working class.
- What It’s Like to Be a Bird — David Allen Sibley
- A true celebration of the bird, in all of its elements, as individuals and collectives, and the beautiful nature of evolution. Also reads like an endless list of fun facts, which personally brings me lots of joy.
- The Soul of a Woman — Isabel Allende
- A bold, searing treatise on what it means to be a woman in the world. Allende’s language is direct, simple, and powerful, conveying honesty and confidence in her message; she seamlessly weaves together historical, anecdotal, and personal stories to present a unified narrative. I haven’t yet read any of Allende’s work, but I certainly will, now. Brings to mind Mary Beard’s Women and Power, too.
This is what women want: to be safe, to be valued, to live in peace, to have their own resources, to be connected, to have control over their bodies and lives, and above all, to be loved.
- The Biggest Bluff — Maria Konnikova
- A psychologist/journalist dives into the world of poker to understand how skill, chance, and the illusion of control influence our decision-making. In taking us readers along with her in discovering the workings of poker, Konnikova tells a compelling story, and the integration with her research expertise brings it to another level. “Participatory journalism,” I learn that it’s called— my favorite genre!
This book isn’t about how to play poker. It’s about how to play the world.
- Strange Harvests — Edward Posnett
- The (hi)story of seven objects valued by humans which have origins that are uniquely not destroyed or damaged during their harvest. I appreciate how deeply Posnett injects his own experience into the narrative, and how he continually draws connections between the different objects and their histories. A fascinating exploration of how we relate to and value the natural world.
- The Dutch House — Ann Patchett
- Audiobook, read by Tom Hanks. This has been on my list for awhile, both because it’s been recommended widely and because I like Ann Patchett, but it started off slowly, and I didn’t immediately connect with any of the characters. However, they grew on me through the first third, until without realizing it, I cared a lot about the bond of sibling-hoof between Danny and Maeve, and didn’t mind hearing more about the seemingly plotless recounting of their childhood. However, the story dragged on about twice as long as it needed to, and I listened to the second half waiting for it to be over.
- Random description I really liked: “the felted sky, about to burst open…”
- Infinite Country — Patricia Engel
- Starts off in the middle of things like many a novella does, and I was cautiously intrigued. Engels writes with a quiet truth of the decisions of love, family, country, and survival faced by a young couple navigating life between Colombia and the States. Through her humble language, she brings a clarity to the humanity and human faces behind the much-touted “crisis at the border.” Recalls the emotional intensity and empathy of The Undocumented Americans (whose author, in fact, wrote a beautiful review of the book!)
- And this final sentence:
And maybe there is no nation or citizenry; they’re just territories mapped in place of family, in place of love, the infinite country.
- The Spymaster of Baghdad — Margaret Coker
- The conventional narrative of the recent wars in Iraq against Al Qaeda and the Islamic State, comprise powerful accounts of military units and political maneuvering. What is left largely untouched, purposefully or not, and despite its increasing significance, Coker proposes, is the role of the intelligence world. Here, she tells the stories of human intelligence missions that, in their success, have been left out of the history books. In revealing the untold work and sacrifices of the Iraqi people, Coker successfully begins to “recalibrate” the narrative of the war on terror. Tragic, infuriating, and necessary.
- Some notable themes: the stark contrast between the raw anarchy following the US invasion of Iraq and the small town American politicians attempting to shape the foreign society; the failure of the CIA to gather intelligence on the networks of Sunni terrorists because of a focus in hunting down nonexistent stockpiles of WMDs; the tragedy to individual lives caused by a lack of effort by Americans to have any cultural awareness of where they were operating.
- The Age of Wood* — Roland Ennos
- The thesis of this book—that the material of wood has been a major driver in the course of human history history—seems a little quirky at first. But Ennos wastes no time in making his serious case, explaining how many of the traits that make us uniquely human were adaptations to arboreal living. His deep, multidisciplinary explanations span from the cellular composition of wood to the political message of the Boston Tea Party, along with his obvious passion and curiosity for the topics make reading this book a fascinating, informative, and just plain cool experience. Got a little less cohesive in the later chapters, but still worth it!
- I never thought some of the MechE classes I took would be relevant, but it was really cool to see some of those minutiae about the atomic structure of ceramics and metals put into their human context— how certain traits conferred important qualities or affected how the materials were used and processed in Mesolithic times
- Nose Dive — Harold McGee
- I am a little bit scared to “dive” into this encyclopedic account of all the smells in the world, but there’s no time like the present.
- Another fun refresher on basic science classes I took long ago, this time starting with chemistry! If we learned the subjects in contexts like this, they’d be so much more exciting.
- McGee guides us on olfactory tours through virtual farmers’ markets and gardens teeming with the world’s plants, spices, fruits, herbs, and more in such vivid terms— and the cataloging descriptions are broken up nicely with the occasional anecdote or fun fact about how this strawberry got its name, or how to best use mint in a cocktail. A delight to read.
- To Be Honest — Michael Leviton
- Narrated by the author! Leviton tells us— honestly— of his “Honest Days,” his first three decades or so of life in which he didn’t filter the truth. Leviton’s self-deprecation is balanced well by a sense of acceptance about motivation of his past actions— he may have done some shitty things and doesn’t make any excuses for it, but he conveys well that he was making the choices he felt were best given the principles by which he was raised. The sense of reflection he infuses into his stories also gives the book a narrative arc that is often missing from memoirs, building suspense as to when and how his shift from complete honesty will come about.
- This memoir read (listened?) like an anthropological study of human interaction from the point of view of some human alien, if that makes any sense, and it worked for me.
- Can’t Even — Anne Helen Petersen
- This book is everything I never knew I needed to put words to. Petersen analyzes and contextualizes the forces that dominated my high school and college years, whether personally or by observation: the compulsion to work, guilt over rest, constant push to become a “walking college resume,” the need to have a cool job you were so passionate about, the idea that college was the answer to security… It’s fascinating to learn about the political and economic measures that fostered these themes that feel so individual.
- Mona — Pola Oloixarac, transl. by Adam Morris
- Two pages in, and I’m struck by the self-aware references to the workaholic culture I just read about in Can’t Even, which immediately piques my interest. What is Oloixarac’s take on the matter going to be, particularly from a non-American perspective? What additional insights or questions will this fictional portrayal raise on the subject? Must read on.
- I’m on page seven, and this is fantastic. Our protagonist Mona is curating her identity to the best of her ability… ethnicity? Incan. Oh, could she have thought of some minor physical disability to throw in there?
- Well, it got really weird, really fast. Not my favorite, I’ll leave it at that.
- The Spell of the Sensuous — David Abram
- So very philosophy. Abram proposes that we are only human when considered in the context of all that which is not human, and that returning focus to our direct, sensory experiences of the world is essential to making the most of all that technology has to offer (or something like that). He explicates how the rise of phonetic language contributed to the fracture between humans and the natural world, and leaves us with the poetic mission to “write language back into the landscape.” The book often delved into philosophy far beyond my ability to understand it, but returned to the core message often enough that I could follow it through to the end— and some beautiful, resonating gems of quotes, particularly in the coda, made the trek worth it.
- Waking Lions — Ayelet Gunnar-Goshen, transl. by Sondra Silverston
- One of those novels that starts as a collision of characters whose lives are slowly, so satisfyingly woven into a cohesive fabric of a story. Originally written in Hebrew and set in Israel, the unique setting was a strong visual for me in comparison to the usual American suburbs, but the plot tackles universal themes of ethics, race, and human connection with thoughtful, sometimes brutal, and always honest directness.
- What does it mean for a doctor to be coerced into saving lives?
- The Marriage Plot — Jeffery Eugenides
- Lightly satirical, low-stress, and somewhat dull— a nice mental break, albeit peppered with commentary on Derrida. Just… went on for waaaaay too long.
- The City We Became — N. K. Jemisin
- Jemisin is once again unparalleled in her world-building prowess, infusing modern day New York City with a seemingly timeless mythology. I thoroughly appreciate how rapidly she introduces us to this alternate reality and the cast of characters that inhabit it— I was immediately captivated. And the continued juxtaposition of the present-day setting with the ancient motif of embodied land allow Jemisin to convey unique, clever perspectives on many contemporary culture issues.
- Important reminder: “Countless living beings have been enslaved so you could have honey in your tea.”
- Also, kinda gave me Avengers vibes by the end, with a ragtag team of heroes trying to New York City/the world against some superpowers from the multiverse, portals opening to other worlds… yeah, very much so.
- Having and Being Had — Eula Bliss
- Musings on consumption, told through the lens of furniture shopping, and more generally on capitalism as it intersects with individual. Unusual, occasionally weirdly fascinating, and sometimes melodramatic.
- Who knew that IKEA is the third largest consumer of lumber in the world!?
- Tomboy — Lisa Selin Davis
- On the origins of the “hyper-gendered childhood,” how the notion of “tomboys” fits in, and who the children labelled/identifying as such grow up to be. Davis gets into the weeds of what exactly the titular term has entailed over time, grappling with shifting concepts of “feminine” and “masculine,” and how it has related to race, sexuality, feminism, and more. She looks at the forces behind the shifting associations of, say, girls and dresses (or, at other times, boys and dresses), culminating in the extreme hyper-gendering of today— and parses out it’s learned, asymmetric nature. Ultimately, perhaps it’s time to retire the word “tomboy,” with all its associated gender stereotypes, altogether— to promote more freedom, more flexibility, more opportunity.