Book Blog: August 2023
Friends, summer is starting to draw to a close in Seattle, which is a little bittersweet because it is such a beautiful time, but is also really exciting because fall is even better!
August was a pretty blockbuster reading month with 13 books, and though I had a few false starts and stops, I had some great ones! I even spent one day off just reading and basking in the joy of words! So here are this month’s favorites for y’all…
Fiction
Sidetracked, The Fifth Woman, and One Step Behind (Henning Mankell): That’s it — I’m completely obsessed with all things Mankell, specifically the Kurt Wallander series. As I mentioned last month, if you are new to Wallander, head straight to the first book in the series, Faceless Killers. But Mankell’s books get better and better as they continue, and now that I’m through Books 5, 6, and 7, I cannot stop. I don’t want to ruin the surprise as there are changes in circumstances and characters, but if you love mystery and a bit of Swedish noir, what else do you need to pick up these books?!?
There There (Tommy Orange): There There (title seemingly taken from the quote “There is no there there”) follows more than a dozen characters who are preparing to attend the Big Oakland Powwow. Some are going to answers, some are going to try to belong, and some are going with nothing but nefarious purposes in mind. I enjoyed Orange’s writing so much because in so few pages he captures the humanity and story of each of the characters, and even though who have done distasteful things really pop in three dimensions. I did find myself using the handy character list at the beginning of the book as the pace increased towards the end. I’m looking forward to other works of fiction by Orange!
Non-Fiction
The Devil’s Highway: A True Story (Luis Alberto Urrea): This book made me break down and sob because it is horrible what is happening on the US/Mexico border and, 22 years after the death of the Yuma 14, migrants are still dying in the desert. Urrea’s book tells the story of a group of men led astray in the desert in Arizona, the wrong twists and turns leading to death for more than half of the group. The section about the six stages of death by heat made me feel physically ill — then to read of these actual men and how they died in that very way. This is such a charged topic and I felt Urrea did a good job showing a variety of perspectives, and ranges of perspectives within groups. One example that stood out was how the Border Patrol in one Arizona sector installed towers with panic buttons in the desert for lost migrants, reducing the number of (known) deaths in that sector by hundreds. In a divided political climate it is easy to blame or shame, but Urrea’s book forces you to reckon with the experience of those there. “Perhaps it’s not a region at all,” he says in the 2014 afterword of the border. “Maybe it’s just an idea nobody can agree on. A conversation that never ends. . . .”
Conspirtuality: How New Age Conspiracy Theories Became a Public Health Threat (Derek Beres, Matthew Remski, and Julian Walker): Wow, this was such a fantastic book and a wonderful encapsulation of many hours of podcasts from this fantastic trio. This book knits together several important threads that have led to the modern conspirtuality movement, a blend of conspiracy theory and spirituality that, while bubbling for some time, really came to a head in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Beres, Remski, and Walker speak not only from deep research, but through personal stories with high-control groups and surfacing the stories of others to illustrate these disturbing trends. In a post-truth era, this book helped me make sense of alternative health influencers and incorrect narratives in their current iteration. Thanks for such a comprehensive yet compact review of this important topic!
Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family (Robert Kolker): Even with all of the possible books I could read, sometimes I am pulled back to a book and decide to give it a re-read, and I’m happy to report that this book was 1000% worth it — so if you haven’t read it, it’s time to do so!
This book tells the story of the Galvin family — father Don, mother Mimi, and their 12 children (10 boys, 2 girls), half of whom are diagnosed with schizophrenia. Kolker weaves together the history of schizophrenia with the stories of the family members, both those who struggle with schizophrenia and those who carry the fear that they, or their children, will develop the disease. This book was interesting because of the complexity of the family’s story and how the author helps you understand that there are no bad people, just complex.
There you go, my friends. Remember — there is no situation that a book cannot improve. Here’s to the season of reading with blankets in front of the fire. I’m READY!
Cheers, S
