Four Stars

Best for:
Anyone interested in pursuing a serious yoga practice.

In a nutshell:
Iyengar provides a summary of the history of yoga, beyond what many folks consider when attending yoga classes or watching videos.

Worth quoting:
“The study of Yoga is not like work for a diploma or a university degree by someone desiring favourable results in a stipulated time.”

Why I chose it:
Part of my goal for 2021 is to live more of the life that I want, and building a consistent yoga practice is high on that list.

Review:
This is an interesting book. I’ve always known yoga is not just breathing and stretching, but based more in a broader way of living. As a white woman raised in the US, most of my exposure to yoga has been through Lululemon view. A way to stretch and build strength and relieve stress, without really looking at where yoga comes from. I’ve been in classes where there’s some lip service paid to it, but nothing more.

Obviously, one isn’t going to understand an entire cultural concept like yoga from reading one book. But this is a good starting place. It discusses the connection between what is going on with the body and what is going on in the mind. I’ll need to read it over a few times to understand it better, but again, a good place to start.

After the introduction, Iyengar offers instructions and photos of over 200 poses, which are quite easy to follow. He then has put together three ‘courses,’ spreading across 300 weeks (yes, you read that right). Today I started with course one, which lasts about 32 weeks. It’s been seven or eight years since I regularly practiced yoga, and I can feel it, but I can also see how this is going to work, and I’m excited about it.

Videos are definitely an easy way to start learning yoga, and I don’t think a book can fully replace that for more visual learners, but I do think this book is a great place to start.

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Three Stars

Best for:
Big fans of Michelle Buteau

In a nutshell:
Author and Comedian Michelle Buteau provides a look into her life, sharing both the highs and the lows. CN for miscarriage.

Worth quoting:
N/A (Audio book)

Why I chose it:
I very much enjoyed Buteau in Always Be My Maybe. I’ve recently watched her Netflix special, which also got me chuckling.

Review:
I’m struggling a bit with this review. There are parts of this book that I really loved. She tells a great story, she’s relatable even though she and I don’t have loads in common, and she’s open and honest. There are parts of this book that had me laughing a lot, and parts where I teared up. There are the expected stories about life as a stand-up comedian, and the unexpected honesty about working in a newsroom in NYC on 9/11, and her experiences with miscarriages and surrogacy.

I think my rating is based more on the delivery of the audiobook. It was a bit jarring. I’m used to her style of stand-up and speaking, but there was an unevenness to it all that felt like perhaps she hadn’t read her words out loud before recording. I don’t know. I think for once, I’d say I bet the paper version of the book is better.

On the positive end, the book is filled with a lot of motivating words that don’t feel forced. There’s an almost infectious confidence that comes from Buteau, which I appreciated.

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Donate it.

Three Stars

Best for:
Those interested in learning about different lives

In a nutshell:
Author Margaret Powell shares stories from her life working as a Kitchen Maid in England.

Worth quoting:
“I couldn’t help thinking of my poor father and mother at home. All they had was toast. And all this food going up to them, who never worked. I just couldn’t help thinking of the unfairness of life.”

Why I chose it:
I picked this up at a charity book sale at work just before lock down, then rescued it from my desk in September. It just looked interesting.

Review:
I was looking to learn something about a life that was different from mine, and boy did I find it here. The author starts out sharing what she and her siblings did for fun, but soon switches over to her work life. And it wasn’t just soon in the sense of the book, it was soon in the sense of her life. At 13 she earned a small scholarship and wanted to work to be a teacher, but that would have meant her parents would have had to continue paying for her schooling until she was 18, and that just wasn’t an option. So instead she went to work as a domestic worker in a house at the age of 13.

THIRTEEN. Ack. That’s so young. She lived in the home where she worked with the other domestic workers, so she was not only working but living on her own at an age when I was still in middle school. And she was working HARD. She’d get 4-10pm off one weeknight and one weekend evening each week. Not even a full day off. She’d be up at 5:30 to do tasks, and not be done until 8 or 9 at night. And she was doing hard labour – lots of cleaning and polishing and washing, and this was the 1920s, so she was doing this without the vast majority of conveniences we use when doing similar work.

In addition to the hard work, what she shared about the relationship between the staff and the families in the home was not unbelievable, but was so just … gross. Only one of the many families she worked for seemed to really treat the staff well. One yelled at her for handing the lady of the house something directly, with her hand, as opposed to using a tray to do it. As though the family member couldn’t bear to touch someone so low. I’d love to think times have changed, but considering how poorly people treat people who work in the service industry, I don’t think it’s that different. The location of the disdain has changed, but not the feelings of superiority.

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Donate it.

4 Stars

Best for:
Anyone looking for a little focus going into 2021, but who wants to avoid the pitfalls of setting New Year’s Resolutions.

In a nutshell:
Coaches Barker and Pavitt of Project Love have put together questions to explore to look at how the past years has gone and what you’d like to have in the coming year.

Worth quoting:
Never choose a focus for your year because you think you should or because you think it sounds good.

Why I chose it:
It was part of a book subscription box, though if I’d seen it in a book shop (remember those? Ugh, I miss browsing) I’d probably have picked it up.

Review:
I enjoyed this one a lot. I’ve had some book/journal hybrids before, and sometimes struggled with the questions. But the way this one is laid out made it easy to reflect on 2020 (mostly but not a total dumpster fire) before then moving on to look forward. It asks the reader to think about the things that we are grateful for, the things that have made us happy, the things that are important to us. It then asks the reader to think a bit about what they hope for five years from now. That can be a challenge and I think isn’t always effective, but I found it helpful.

Then, the reader is asked to think about 2021 and to set a focus for it. Instead of listing five or 10 resolutions, the reader is to think about an overall focus, and live intentionally within that focus. Basically, one is looking to make a year something. It can be something one wants more of in their life, or an intention, or a big change, or maybe something else. From there, the reader is asked to explore things that one could do to make the year fit that focus. Then, as an added bit, we are asked to pick three things we can do in the first quarter of the year that we will commit to doing by the end of March. The book includes check-ins and space to do that with each quarter of the year, so the reader can re-focus on what they want their year to be.

For me, I’ve decided 2021 will be my year of authenticity. Not in a jackass ‘take me or leave me’ sort of way, but more about doing things perhaps I’ve shied away from because of how others might think of me, or pursuing the interests I have and speaking up more on the values I hold. One of my first actions is to try to build an authentic yoga practice, one that is culturally appreciative, not appropriative; another is doing something to support the social justice issues that matter to me every single day.

2020 was rough. 2021 isn’t going to be much different, at least at the start. But there’s some hope to be had, and I’m taking what I’ve learned this year into 2021.

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Four Stars

Best for:
People interested in checking out some of the lesser known parts of London.

In a nutshell:
Part of the Unusual Guide series, this book provides information on hidden away or unusual gems spread across London.

Worth quoting:
Nothing specific, though there is a slight undertone of snark within the book that made it less austere than the usual travel guide.

Why I chose it:
I believe I spotted this in a tiny bookshop in Camden Market well over a year ago, assuming I’d use it as a guide to little day trips. Then, you know, 2020 happened.

Review:
This is not a typical guidebook – it doesn’t feature hotels or restaurants or really even any pubs. It’s just about places and spaces that one should know about in London.

It is divided by neighborhood, so if one were so inclined, one could pick a few to explore on a specific day, all within some walking distance from a central starting point. Each sight takes up about two pages of the book – one with a photo, the rest with a description. And as necessary, each listing includes an address, closest transport, website, admission and general hours (though obviously those may have changed).

In looking through the nearly 400 pages (so probably around 175-ish sites), I’ve been to a few, and heard of a few more, but overall the majority are not the common items. They are at times, however, connected to things one may have heard of. For example, Tower Bridge (what people often think is London Bridge) is a popular tourist site. But what the guide suggests in getting access to the giant cavern below where the space for the cantilever bit of the drawbridge go when it’s open.

Of the sites, well over two dozen are ones that I’ve now marked down and will plan to visit once things settle down a bit. And a fair number are outdoors, so if I can get there on bike or foot, I could see visiting them even now.

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Four Stars

Best for:
Those looking for some insight into the pandemic from the perspective of a health care worker.

In a nutshell:
Dr Dominic Pimenta, a cardiac registrar, tells the story of his experience working in hospital during the first wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic while starting up the HEROES charity to support healthcare workers.

Worth quoting:
N/A (Audio book)

Why I chose it:
I’ve followed Dr Pimenta on Twitter, and he’s shared some strong words about the UK Government’s failures during this response. Plus, as someone with a public health preparedness background, I wanted a bit more insight into whether it has been as bad as I think. (Spoiler: It’s worse.)

Review:
It’s hard to do a retrospective of a pandemic that is still very much widespread in many parts of the world, but this book does a great job of laying out how utterly wrong the UK government got in during the first wave, and pointing what will need to happen to avoid these failures going forward.

Dr Pimenta was working in cardiology earlier this year, eventually being transfered to provide support in intensive care units treating patients with COVID-19. In this book, after providing a bit of a biography, he shares his experience – day by day at the start, then week by week. He expresses his incredulity at how slowly the UK Government reacted despite evidence of what was happening in Italy. The UK was one of the last European country to lock down, likely costing thousands of lives. They also had policies like refusing to test people without travel history even after there was community spread.

But more than that, the UK government was responsible for so many cuts to the NHS over the years that it was just not resourced to respond to this pandemic. Two years ago there were as many as 100,000 unfilled posts. Hospitals were running at 95% capacity according to Dr Pimento, which meant very little wiggle room for something like this disease outbreak. Yes, it is great to have national healthcare (the US is still an utter shit show when it comes to health care), but one must actually FUND that healthcare to ensure it serves all who need it.

Dr Pimento also shares how he and his wife, who is also a doctor, and some friends and family decided they needed to do something, so they started the HEROES charity (now called Help Them Help Us: https://www.helpthemhelpus.co.uk/) to raise money to get PPE and other support, such as food delivery and mental health care for NHS workers. Something the government should have been handling, but yet again, a failure.

The book was hard to listen to at times, as all of this is so fresh, but it wasn’t as emotionally draining as it could have been. Two bits stand out as memorable: the detailed description of all the medical support needed for one ICU patient, and the first death from the disease that Dr Pimento is present for.

The audio book features a Q&A with the author at the end of every chapter, with Dr Pimenta being asked one or two questions relevant to what we’ve previously learned. I found that to be really helpful, especially as I often had the same question that was asked.

The second UK lock down is set to end in a few days. There are vaccines that are close to being available. But the UK government is still failing, making decisions based not on the science or what’s best for public health, but on their fears about the economy or worries about ruining Christmas. (Frankly, I think killing my relatives because we got to mix households over Christmas is a bigger way to ruin it than requiring we open gifts via Zoom, but then again I’m not Prime Minister so what do I know). It’s clear during this second wave that Boris and his friends just haven’t learned from the first wave, and that’s so deeply disappointing.

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Four Stars

Best for: Fans of Rachel Bloom, fans of comedic but heartfelt autobiographies

In a nutshell: Actor / Singer / Writer Rachel Bloom shares stories from growing up, dealing with bullies, creating her career, and just living her life.

Worth quoting:
Loads, but I listened to the audio version while running, so couldn’t exactly take notes.

Why I chose it:
I loved Crazy-Ex Girlfriend. I thought it was interesting and funny and I was genuinely blown away by the team’s ability to write multiple musical numbers every week. Plus that cover? As someone raised on Baby-Sitters Club and Sweet Valley High books, that cover spoke to me on a deep level.

Review:
Warning: There isn’t a ton in here about Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, so if you were hoping to get the inside details on how the show worked, you’ll be disappointed. But I think given that her involvement in that show was one of the reasons I considered the book, and I still ended up giving it five stars should speak to how engaging the stories she chooses to tell are.

Bloom’s book is open and vulnerable without it feeling fake or affected. She shared things from her childhood that people who are more concerned about appearances might skip over, but that give the reader a genuine belly laugh. I guffawed multiple times, but I also teared up. It’s a genuinely entertaining read.

I also cannot recommend the audio version highly enough. She includes little updates that aren’t in the printed version to clarify things, she’s great at describing anything that would be a picture or photo in the book. But the best part is there’s a musical in the middle. Like, a 10-minute musical, with songs and music and shit. I’m not sure how that comes across in the print version (maybe there’s a link to it on youtube or something?), but it was an utter delight to experience in audio form. Ah, I’ve missed her bizarre and relatable content.

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Keep it

Three Stars

Best for:
Those looking for a well-written story where the person who is screwing up as they grow is a young woman, not a young man.

In a nutshell:
Our nameless (why are these women always without names) main character is just out of university, a writer, and living in Australia, where the world around her is slowly dying from climate change, while she both moves further away from her dreams and sets new ones to focus on.

Worth quoting:
“I thought being hurt would give my life an interesting kind of texture.”
“At that point in my life, I don’t think that I had considered that anybody but myself had the capacity to feel things with any real integrity.”

Why I chose it:
This was the other book in the Books That Matter subscription I received.

Review:
Hmmm.

First off, this book is filled with really lovely, evocative language. I could picture both the things taking place in the present of the book, as well as the history she describes throughout, of the search hundreds of years ago for an ‘inland sea’ in Australia. That made the book interesting to read, and it definitely kept me thinking throughout.

I also appreciate the main idea of the book – someone who is adrift, figuring things out, living a fairly ordinary life against a backdrop of a world that is literally burning down. There’s an interesting dichotomy there. How does one move forward, make choices, experience life, when all around is fire and heat waves and earthquakes? It’s especially relevant now, as I sit in the second lockdown of the year, wondering how to move forward in life when there is literally a pandemic swirling about.

But I don’t think book connected with me in the way perhaps it has with others. Now that I’m done, it reminds me a bit of My Year of Rest and Relaxation, which I did not like. There’s such a specific feeling evoked by that kind of harm one causes to one’s self. And I don’t mean that in a judgmental way, I just don’t find that … interesting, as a subject of literature. At least, not as it was presented in this book. And I know that so much of what we’ve been taught as ‘great’ literature is men being self-indulgent and messy and harmful in their self-exploration, so I suppose yay, now women authors get to do the same? I don’t know.

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Three Stars

Best for:
Those who like to collect books of speeches.

In a nutshell:
Collection of Thunberg’s speeches, delivered throughout 2018 and 2019

Worth quoting:
“You can’t simply make up your own facts, just because you don’t like what you hear.”
“Every time we make a decision we should ask ourselves: how will this decision affect that [emission] curve?”

Why I chose it:
I recently subscribed to the Books That Matter box, and this was included in November’s delivery.

Review:
How does one review a collection of speeches by a child? It seems … odd to do so. Instead, I want to talk about what I read in these speeches, and the overall issue of climate change and activism. However, I will say that these speeches are nearly identical in content, and are basically understandably angry and frustrated calls to action.

Action that isn’t happening.

Thunberg talks a lot about how she does not like hearing from adults and politicians that people like her give them hope. And she’s right – it’s absurd to look to children to fix things we as adults have broken, to look for them for hope, when there are people in power nodding along to her speeches who could actually, y’know, do something. At the same time, it’s really impressive how so many younger people aren’t waiting until they’re older to speak up about the things that matter to them.

And also … I’m old enough to be Thunberg’s mother, and I don’t have any more of a clue how to fix things, nor do I find myself in a position of power. Shit, I just voted in an election where 70 million people thought it’d be cool to keep a racist bigot sexual assaulting asshole in office, and where one elderly turtle can hold up economic assistance for 350 million people. How DOES someone make a difference in these systems?

Climate change is one of those issues where on an individual level there are obviously loads of things we can do (not eat meat, not consume dairy, not take flights, etc.), but corporations continue to produce the carbon on such a massive scale. There’s obviously a need for collective action – and Thunberg’s school strike has turned into something like that – but I also think it’s hard when what some people see as the biggest emergency of our life time is competing with other emergencies that might seem more immediate to a lot of people.

Like I said. Frustrating.

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Four Stars

Best for:
Football (soccer) fans; people who like awesome people.

In a nutshell:
One of the world’s best professional footballers shares her story of growing up, becoming a star, and speaking out about things that matter.

Worth quoting:
“In a country of 330 million people, only 23 women get to make a living the way we do, and you need to be a gladiator just to get on the team.”

Why I chose it:
I love football. I am a US Women’s National Team and Reign supporter. Pinoe is one of my favorite players. Like, this book was always something I was going to read.

Review:
I love soccer. I play it competitively in a grassroots league here in England, and I watch it. The NWSL team I support is the Reign, where Rapinoe plays. I’ve been in the stands as the US Women’s National Team won two world cups (in 2015 in Canada, and last year in France). I’m not a fan who can spout off stats, but I am a fan who loves watching the game.

Even people in the US who don’t follow soccer have probably heard of Megan Rapinoe. In last years’ World Cup, she won the award from most goals, as well as player of the tournament. But before that, people may remember her as being one of the first athletes to kneel in solidarity with the protests that Colin Kaepernick started, during the US national anthem. She is outspoken, and has taken to using the platform she has to promote other voices.

The book is a quick, easy read. She shares some insight into her time on the US team, but also her time growing up. Her childhood is surprisingly normal in many ways, and she’s relatable. She’s honest about where she has to improve and clear about where she excels – not just in soccer, but in life. She’s also inspiring as hell, being one of the first out professional female athletes. She’s helped lead the way for pay parity for women in the lawsuit against US soccer that she and four teammates filed. I remember being in the stands last year, as the US women won, and we all started chanting ‘Equal Pay.’ Shitty that such chants are still needed, but amazing that more people are recognizing the absurdity of pay inequality across gender and race these days.

The theme that runs through the aptly named book is basically that we all just have this life. What are we really doing with it? Are we speaking out in defense of our beliefs? In support of others? Are we doing what we think is right? After reading this, I feel reinvigorated. The writing is fun and feels free and open. I’m sure she held some things back, but it didn’t read like that. It read like a cool person telling some cool stories.

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