Four Stars

Best for:
Those who like a little philosophy and exploration of life with their novels.

In a nutshell:
Nora Seed has decided to stop living. She finds herself in some sort of limbo, a library filled with alternate versions of her life not lived.

Worth quoting:
“This was it. No one needed her. She was superfluous to the universe.”

“Sometimes regrets aren’t based on fact at all. Sometimes regrets are just … a load of bullshit.”

Why I chose it:
On my first flights since the pandemic started, I wanted to something comforting and interesting to read, and so picked this up at the airport. I ended up being so nervous I just watched movies the whole time, but thought this year I should be sure to read more fiction, so finally cracked it open.

Review:
What an utterly lovely book. I have seen author Haig’s books in shops before, but didn’t realize he wrote fiction as well as non-fiction.

I thought this book would be more like The End of Days, which was one of my favorites from last year, but it wasn’t. I mean, there are some shared elements, but it’s a wholly different experience.

We learn very early on that Nora’s life is not going well. Her mum and dad are both dead, her brother seems to not speak to her, she called of a wedding two days before it was meant to happen, she’s working in a job she isn’t particularly good at, and her cat has just died. It’s too much, and she decides she is done. But in the immediate moments after she takes action, she finds herself in a giant library, filled with endless books. And a librarian who teaches her that each book is an alternate life.

So, what happens when you get to glimpse into different versions of your life? What if you’d stuck with piano and became a major star? What if you’d pursued that arts degree instead of the ‘more sensible’ law degree your parents pushed you towards? What if you’d stayed with that perfectly fine girlfriend?

There is so much to absorb in this book, but the overarching theme I’ve taken away from it is that regret isn’t — or doesn’t have to be — something that hangs over us. Sure, there might be some very specific moments of regret in anyone’s life that perhaps might have turned the tides (we all make mistakes), but who is to say that the route you might have gone down would have been any better than the one you chose instead? Moreover, what should we be focusing on in our time here? Is it regret? Is it a search for meaning? Or, at the risk of sounding like a cursive woodcutting purchased on Etsy, should we just focusing on living and loving?

Recommend to a Friend / Keep / Donate it / Toss it:
Recommend to a Friend and Donate it

Four Stars

Best for:
Anyone living in England.

In a nutshell:
Barrister Weaver provides the basics of one’s rights in England.

Worth quoting:
“If you buy something on your credit card costing more than £100 and up to £30,000, then the credit card provider is equally as liable as the supplier (seller) if something goes wrong.”

Why I chose it:
Especially in 2020 where there were worldwide protests, my partner and I (who live here on visas) weren’t entire clear what the rules were. We realized we didn’t know what most of the laws here were; this book seemed perfect to help us out.

Review:
What a gem of a book! Author Weaver started doing YouTube videos called ‘The Law in 60 Seconds’ to help him study for his law exams. Those have morphed into this book that is slightly larger than pocket-sized, though definitely could fit into a purse or backpack.

The book starts with a review of human rights, then covers a dozen areas of the law: renting, relationships, shopping, transport, healthcare, money, employment, alcohol and other drugs, the digital world, activism, on the street, and the justice system. It offers tips on what your rights are and what to do when you’re stopped by the police, or if your landlord isn’t making necessary repairs. It goes into detail about employment law, which is extremely helpful. It obviously doesn’t cover every possible scenario, but it touches on all the major ones.

I wish that more of us were encourage to know and understand our rights, In the US, I’ve wished there was a mandatory senior year course that was actual home and life economics. Not just learning to cook and sew (though that’s awesome), but learning about checking accounts, and leases, and such. I’d love to see serious exploration and discussion of rights and responsibilities covered in there as well. Not in at the high level of a traditional civics course, but a really practical level. Like, can you imagine if everyone in the US understood you don’t actually have to talk to the police, and you have a right to an attorney, and also that it’s probably a good idea to have one if you talk to the police? (Also, I learned through this book that in the UK, not talking initially and then talking later can definitely be held against you. Yikes.)

This was published this year, but unfortunately the Tory parliament here is hard at work to repeal the human rights act and implement a horrific limit on protest rights. So I’m thinking an updated version will be needed soon.

Also, can you imagine wanting to repeal HUMAN RIGHTS? Ugh, so vile.

Recommend to a Friend / Keep / Donate it / Toss it:
I’m definitely going to keep this one. And might also pick up copies for friends.

Three Stars

Best for:
Anyone who wants to learn a little bit more about modern-day terrorism and extremism.

In a nutshell:
Author Ebner adopts different identities to explore – online and in person – different extremist groups, from neo-Nazis to ‘trad wives.’

Worth quoting:
“Almost everything is gamified today, and that includes terrorism.”

Why I chose it:
It just sounded interesting.

Review:
This book is interesting and deeply disturbing, but it also feels more like it should have been a multi-part investigative magazine series in something like The Atlantic. Ebner does attempt to create a lifecycle across the stories, starting with recruitment, then socialisation, communication, networking, mobilisation, and attack. And I appreciate that she explored many different extremist groups, but I think it would have been a stronger book if there had been aspects of different groups explored in each of the areas. Instead, she does a deeper dive into different groups (two per section, with their own standalone chapters), which doesn’t help much with seeing how the connections work across the same group.

The book ends with some predictions (some of which have more or less already come true) and some suggestions on how to counteract these extremist groups. But given that this book was published just last year, it feels almost sweetly naive in some ways. Not that Ebner herself is naive, but things have gone so bad so quickly – the 6 January insurrection in the US, the vile racist and xenophobic anti-immigrant laws passing in the UK – many of her suggestions seem like too little too late.

Recommend to a Friend / Donate it / Toss it:
Donate it

Four Stars

Best for:
Fans of Seth Rogen. Fans for humorous memoirs in general.

In a nutshell:
Actor, writer, and apparently former stand-up comedian (?)

Worth quoting:
Many things, but I listened while working out so didn’t note anything down.

Why I chose it:
I find Seth Rogen generally pretty funny in general, and the fact that he — and others — were doing the reading of the book sucked me in.

Review:
I didn’t know much about Rogen when I started listening to this book. I think I first saw him in Knocked Up (I missed Freaks and Geeks originally and had to watch it once it was available on streaming), and have seen others of the movies he’s written, like Superbad and 50/50. I don’t generally have a strong opinion about him either way. Or at least, I didn’t. Now, I rather like him.

The book is a mixture of stories from his childhood and stories of his life as a successful actor and writer. And of course there is a long running theme: his use of drugs like weed and mushrooms. If one isn’t a fan of stories of drug use, this probably isn’t the right book. Rogen does however seem at least somewhat aware that he was able to get away with many of his antics because he was a white kid, and that the stories might have gone very differently for a person of color.

Things that surprised me – he started doing stand-up comedy (didn’t know) at age 12! And like, kept at it all through his teen years. Fascinating. But the stories that really were interesting to listen to include his experience with mushrooms in Amsterdam, and the whole story behind the movie The Interview, about a journalist sent to assassinate the leader of North Korea.

Rogen is a great storyteller. There’s a casual tone that feels like someone funny I know just telling a story after dinner when we’re hanging out. But what really made the book for me is the fact that he got a ton of people to read whatever wasn’t in his voice. When his wife first appears in the story, she reads her part. Jason Segel features in a discussion about a ridiculous audition for 8 Mile. Even Snoop Dogg (yes, him) makes an appearance. It breaks up what can be a challenge of audio books, and keeps the reader involved.

Recommend to a Friend / Donate it / Toss it:
Recommend to a Friend

Three Stars

Best for:
People who enjoy data visualizations. People interested in where various countries sit on different measures.

In a nutshell:
Six distinct sections provide the numbers on some of the most important and interesting measures, including wealth and poverty, rights, war and peace, health of the people and health of the planet, plus some basic demographic data.

Worth quoting:
“Many [refugees], despite their hardships, and despite all states’ legal responsibilities under the 1951 Refugee Convention, receive little of no comfort upon arrival.”

Why I chose it:
I am a sucker for quality data visualization, and for maps. Put the two together and *chef’s kiss*

Review:
This is primarily a book of maps and data, with very little narrative. And of course, the decision of what data to use, and what sources, carries with it the author’s own biases and concepts of what data matters most. So with that caveat, I’d argue that this is an interesting basic look at world data.

Some of the narrative provided – and some of the data, did cause me to raise an eyebrow. Mostly because of the lack of precision around language. For example, at one point the author states “Growing numbers of children and adolescents have mental health problems of some degree…” I’d argue that should read “have diagnosed mental health problems.” And the few pages on the ‘obesity epidemic’ start from some assumptions that I just don’t think hold.

Also, there isn’t a section looking at race and racism; there’s one page looking at genocide risk which, obviously hugely important, but nothing at all on de facto racism. In fact, and I suppose this is a bit of a necessity when putting together such a broad book, but the discussions around women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and global majority rights are really limited to proxies that look at the law, as opposed to how things work in practice. Like, the US is listed as being a functioning democracy, and technically all adults (depending on felony conviction status) have the right to vote, but we all know that ACCESS to the vote varies dramatically. Things like that aren’t captured here.

That said, if one approaches the data as a starting point, and then does their own research into the origin of the data and what might have motivated the gathering and presenting of the data in the way used, then I think this is an interesting book to flip through and the revisit when thinking about related issues.

Recommend to a Friend / Donate it / Toss it:
Not sure I’d recommend it, but I will be keeping it as a reference for myself.

Five Stars

Best for:
Everyone, but especially straight-sized individuals, and people who still hold onto ideas about weight as a proxy for health.

In a nutshell:
CN: Diets and all things weight related.

Author Gordon, who describes herself as very fat, explores all the ways in which society fails fat people, offering suggestions for body justice.

Worth quoting:
So much, but I’ll try to limit it…

“Despite a mountain of evidence linking physical and mental health to social discrimination, the conversation about fat and health stubbornly refuses to acknowledge the possible influence of stigma in determining fat people’s health.”

“What we have long considered the health conditions associated with being fat in actuality may be the effects of long-term dieting, which very fat people are pressured heavily to do.”

“We deserve a paradigm of personhood that does not make size or health a prerequisite for dignity and respect.”

“Anti-fatness isn’t about saving fat people, expressing concern for our health, or even about hurting us. Hurting us is a byproduct of reinforcing the egos of the privileged thin.”

“Like men hearing about the pervasiveness of catcalling for the first time, thin people cannot quite reconcile the differences in our daily lives.”

“The marginalization and public abuse of very fat people is so commonplace that it has become accepted, but that doesn’t make it acceptable.”

Why I chose it:
I started listening to the “Maintenance Phase” podcast, which explores all the bullshit within the Wellness and Diet industries, and is hosted by Gordon and a writer from Huff Post. I listened to a year and a half of back episodes in about a week, and when I got to the one about her book, I immediately ordered it.

Review:
I am not fat. I mean, according to the BMI (which, as Gordon clearly lays out in her book, is utter bullshit) I am a bit ‘overweight,’ but even at my heaviest I have always been able to shop in pretty much any store and know that something will fit me (except trousers, but that’s about my height). But I’ve dieted, and still find my mood impacted by the number I see on the scale.

More importantly than this, I’ve been raised in a society that seems to think that fat people don’t deserve kind or even humane treatment. A world where Courtney Cox dons a fat suit for laughs on the most popular TV show at the time. A world where the words ‘obesity epidemic’ are shared everywhere as fact without really anything to back up the reality that, even if there is an increase in obesity, there’s literally no proven way for the vast majority of people to lose weight and keep it off. A world where everyone – thin, fat, in-between – is encouraged to judge fat people and keep them ashamed and embarrassed.

Author Gordon explores all of this and much more in her book. She is what she describes as ‘very fat’, and she has experienced a life of doctors, friends, and strangers making all sorts of assumptions about her, and judgments about her life and frankly about her worth. In the book she shares her own experiences, but this isn’t a memoir. It’s a well-researched, evidence-based look at many of the different ways fat people experience discrimination at the hands of thin people, corporations, the diet industry, and society as a whole.

One area she focuses on, which I found enlightening, was the way the body positivity movement — along with other similar areas — treat the concerns fat people raise as ‘insecurities.’ ‘You just need to feel better in your skin!’ But that ignores the reality that fat people can feel as fine as they like in their skin, but that doesn’t mean a lot if they can’t buy clothes in person, or sit comfortably in a restaurant, or receive quality health care that doesn’t assumer every ailment from an ear infection to a broken bone is caused by weight.

This quote: “We deserve a paradigm of personhood that does not make size or health a prerequisite for dignity and respect,” has stuck with me. There is so much that society has decided we need to do before we are granted respect. People are MAYBE allowed to be fat, but they have to be healthy, or actively trying to become healthy. When in reality, none of that matters. People should be treated with humanity even if their BMI doesn’t fit between 18 and 25.

Recommend to a Friend / Donate it / Toss it:
Recommend to all the people

Four Stars

Best for:
Anyone who loves to travel, who loves trains, or who is interested in different perspectives on travel.

In a nutshell:
Author Rajesh and her fiance Jem take off on a 7 month trek across Europe, North America, and Asia.

Worth quoting:
“On my travels, it had become apparent that development and modernity posed a direct threat to the enjoyment of many travellers, disgruntled that the world should adapt and progress at the expense of their own pursuit of the exotic…Granted, most of us don’t travel 5,000 miles for Starbucks and KFC, but it was abhorrent to some that Chinese people might like the odd Frappuccino and some hot wings.”

“One of the greatest mistakes a traveller can make, is to believe a journey can be controlled.”

Why I chose it:
While on holiday I spotted this and it looked interesting, especially as we have mostly traveled by train lately as we’ve kept our exploration to within the UK during this part of the pandemic.

Review:
What a delightful book, and one that is a great reminder why I love to wander bookstores without a specific book in mind. I’d not heard of Rajesh before (she has a previous book – about her train travel in India), and am not sure I would have come across this book any other way, but I’m so glad I did.

Rajesh decides to take seven months and travel on 80 trains across Europe, Asia, and North America, visiting multiple countries and cities, spending countless hours on packed and empty overnight trains, and getting to know — as much as one can in a few hours — some of the different cultures she encounters. The book starts out with time spent in Europe on a EuRail pass, but most of the interesting travelling happens after they leave and move on to Russia, taking the Trans-Mongolia railway. From there they visit so many places that I didn’t even know one could go, including North Korea and Tibet. And in places like that, the focus is definitely on the cities they visit, but much of the book is focused on their time and experiences on the trains.

I also appreciate how Rajesh explores her own experiences of travel as a woman of color, as well as her observations of other travellers and tourists. I include that quote above because I thought her perspective on ‘modernization’ was interesting – this idea that people from other parts of the world want to see some version of the exotic that must fit into their preconceived notions, and are disappointed when that doesn’t come to fruition. I also loved that she didn’t talk about her visits to places where people likely lead more challenging lives than she from the perspective of making her appreciate what she has. It’s about her but not about her – she’s observing and learning, not using others on a sort of Eat Pray Love Pilgrimage.

I’ve taken a few trains for travel purposes, including within the UK, but one of my fondest memories was the overnight train from Paris to Munich that my now-husband and I took in the first year of our relationship. It was such a fun and weird adventure, and one that I’d love to replicate. I love the idea of combining transit and hotel into one to allow one to see more on their limited time off. Also, as someone who does love to travel but also cares about the environment, train travel is generally a better option than flights. I don’t think I’d want to take seven months and retrace Rajesh’s journey, but I think parts of it could be really interesting.

Recommend to a Friend / Donate it / Toss it:
Recommend to a Friend

Four Stars

Best for:
Fans of the genre.

In a nutshell:
Joy and Stan have four children, and have recently retired from running a tennis school. All of them have played tennis competitively, though none still play professionally as adults. Last year, a stranger appeared at their door, and Joy and Stan took her in. Six months later, the stranger has been gone for a bit, and Joy has gone missing.

Worth quoting:
“It happened all the time. Talented kids turned into ordinary adults.”

“The added weight of their hopes for her success was too much for her to bear.”

Why I chose it:
Wandered into the bookshop I used to visit weekly when I was working in the office and saw this was out. I usually wait for the paperback version but I needed something for the train ride I was about to take.

Review:
Moriarty has a formula: a thing has happened. We jump forward and back, slowly joining the time lines, hearing different perspectives from different characters. There is probably a twist, usually a couple, definitely a red herring or two.

This time, it worked for me.

There’s the obvious main plot, of the missing mother. Did dad kill her? Did she leave him? Did something else happen entirely? And what is the deal with the young woman they took in a few months back?

But there are also interesting character developments here, possibly more than I recall from her previous works. The children are all not just described by themselves in their own chapters, but we see how their parents and their siblings see them. The idea that parents think they still know their adult children better than the children know themselves, because they are their parents, is interesting, especially when they are so very wrong. And the dynamics between the children are fascinating as well.

I was basically sucked in from the start, and while I don’t see this one being turned into a limited series like a couple of her other books, I definitely enjoyed it.

Recommend to a Friend / Donate it / Toss it:
Donate it.