Three Stars

Best for: Fans of graphic novels in the Marvel universe.

In a nutshell: I’m not entirely sure what is going on.

Line that sticks with me: N/A

Why I chose it: We are in the midst of a huge book purge because it costs an absurd amount of money to ship books overseas, and this one from my partner’s pile caught my eye.

Review: I think this is a situation where I needed to have more background to fully understand what was going on. I felt like I was dropped into the middle of a story that everyone else already knew. Like, starting on book three of Harry Potter without having read the first two. It’d be confusing, right? That’s how this felt, although this is the first book.

Despite having trouble understanding exactly what was going on, I still enjoyed reading it. There were interesting characters, and the story’s ending definitely made me interested enough to seek out book two when I have the chance.

This is also the 104th book I’ve read this year. I kind of can’t believe it. I’m going to do a wrap-up post about my reading over on my own website (askmusings.com) sometime in the next couple of days if you want to check that out. It was fun to set such a big goal and reach it primarily with non-fiction books (although I did have a few novels and graphic novels in there as well). I think I only did maybe one audio book this year too. Which isn’t to say that reading 104 audio books would have been any less of an achievement; it just wasn’t my focus this year.

However, I did notice that setting such a high goal meant that some longer, more involved books went unread. There’s a 500+ page book on the problems of policing that I want to dive into, for example, but every time I looked at it, I thought about my reading goal. And that’s probably not how this all should go down. So next year, it’s back to the regular 52-book cannonball read for me.

Three Stars

Best for: Fans of the experiential non-fiction genre. (I don’t know if that’s actually a thing; it’s just what I call books based on people doing something and then writing about it. Like Morgan Spurlock’s SuperSize Me, but in book form.)

In a nutshell: Author Jacobs decides to explore the connection between all of us, via our ancestors.

Line that sticks with me: “You want to be a Steve Jobs? You want to be an Albert Einstein? Don’t ever confuse that with being a good family man, or a good human being.”

Why I chose it: I’ve read his other books and enjoyed them.

Review: You might be familiar with Mr. Jacobs’s other work. He’s the guy who read the encyclopedia Britannica, who spent a year living by different commands from the Bible, and who tried all sorts of different ways to live his healthiest life. In this book, he decides to throw the world’s largest family reunion, based on the idea that we are all family.

He comes onto this plan when he is contacted by someone who claims to be his eighth cousin. Which, if I understand correctly, means they share the same great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandparents. The full premise is, if you go back far enough, we all have the same initial great x whatever grandparents. But even without going back that far, you can find relatives that you can actually trace your connection to.

Why does this matter? Because, according to Mr. Jacobs’s hopes, perhaps if we think of the stranger in front of us as a possible relative, we’ll be kinder to them. And not just on an individual level, but on a larger philosophical level.

The book itself is a fun, pretty quick read. If you like his previous work, this won’t disappoint you.

Four Stars

Best for: Those looking for a compelling memoir. Those interested in learning more about South Africa.

In a nutshell: Comedian Trevor Noah shares stories from his life growing up in South Africa.

Line that sticks with me: “People say all the time that they’d do anything for the people they love. But would you really? Would you do anything? Would you give everything?” (p279)

Why I chose it: My sister gave this to my partner as a Christmas gift. I took it to read before he could start it. Sorry not sorry.

Review: I’m not a Trevor Noah fan. Not in an ‘I dislike him’ sort of way. I just am not familiar with much of his work. I enjoyed The Daily Show when Jon Stewart hosted, but I didn’t watch much of it during the last couple years of his tenure, and when Mr. Noah took over, I didn’t have any way to record the show, so I don’t believe I’ve ever seen him host it. I recall he got some shit for some older jokes when he was hired (something about his perspective on being Black in the US is very different given his South African roots).

With that in mind, I was a bit skeptical of this book and had avoided it even though memoirs by comedians are kind of my thing. But when it basically dropped into my lap, I started reading. I started reading it yesterday and finished it today. Less than 24 hours. Granted, I actually had some down time in which to read it (thank you, last day of an eight day, five stop road trip), but it was also simply a compelling story.

I know very little about South Africa beyond the basics that are taught in the US public schools I attended: there was apartheid (which isn’t ever really explained), and then Nelson Mandela and then everything was mostly fine. Like I said, I know very little, and that little isn’t even accurate. This book, in addition to providing the story of Mr. Noah’s life, provides some history of South Africa and apartheid. Which makes sense, given the title: “Born a Crime.” Trevor’s parents were not legally allowed to have sex (his dad is white, his mom is black). That’s intense.

Some of the stories in the book are light; some are quite intense. One bit of warning: if you’re looking for anything related to the start of his career in comedy, wait for (the presumedly forthcoming) next memoir. There is one line in the whole book that even hints that he ended up in a career in comedy. Which, fine with me, as the story he did choose to tell stands on its own.

Five Stars

Best for: Anyone who wants to be reminded of what it’s like to have a compassionate, intelligent person as US President.

In a nutshell: Official White House Photographer Pete Souza shares a history of the Obama Presidency in photos and text.

Line that sticks with me: The very last photo, of President Obama looking at the White House from Executive (formerly Marine) One, made me tear up.

Why I chose it: My stepmother-in-law gifted my husband and I this massive book for Christmas. We’re moving overseas in less than two weeks but I don’t even care that we now have an extra five pounds to pack.

Review: Sigh. I know that President Obama was not perfect. He made some decisions that I disagree with. He was not as progressive as I would have likes. But damn, I strongly believe that he was — and is — a very good human being. A kind person. A loving parent and partner. An intelligent person interested in doing good things.

These are qualities that I believe are missing from the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. And while that man does appear in two photos near the very end, the rest of this 350 page book documents — mostly in photos but also in words — what life is like for an active, engaged President. Specifically, what life was like for President Obama.

From extraordinarily challenging times like responding to the Sandy Hook massacre, to goofing off with his daughters or staffers’ children, this book captures it all. And yet you know it also shows just a small bit of what those eight years were like.

As I have said (probably more than necessary), we move to London in just a couple of weeks. This book will be coming with us. When I read about the latest thing the current President has done to harm the US, I’ll look back at this book and remember that we had someone who cared, and it is possible that we will have someone who cares again.

Five Stars

Best for: People who enjoy words. People interested in how language use has changed since the internet.

In a nutshell: Buzzfeed Copy Chief shares her perspective on language use for online writing.

Line that sticks with me: “Shakespeare used the singular they, as did a gaggle of other writers, including Jane Austen and Geoffrey Chaucer, as long ago as the 1300s. This is not a new trend, people!” (p 219)

Why I chose it: I love words and writing.

Review: A couple of years ago you might recall seeing stories about the “style guide for the internet.” Ms. Favilla was responsible for that, as she compiles and updates the BuzzFeed style guide. And while it only technically covers copy written for BuzzFeed, what it includes has likely been adopted by many writers of online content.

Ms. Favilla is a fun, talented writer. She makes topics that might be dry in less talented hand interesting and lively. Her perspective is that language is alive, and that to better communicate with each other we should be adapting to those changes. Some such changes will be obvious to you, but others might not be as apparent until you think about them. She has a great section on writing about sensitive topics “How to Not Be a Jerk,” which only has one area that I would disagree with – she says one should say “people with disabilities,” and I know there is disagreement in disability communities about whether that or “disabled person” is preferable.

The book doesn’t just cover traditional language; it also discusses emoticons, emojis, and words that may or may not be ‘real.’ You know, the things that make up the internet.

While Ms. Favilla and I disagree strongly on the pronunciation of .gif (PEANUT BUTTER VERSION FOR THE WIN), I’m hard pressed to find anything else of major contention. While the book is long and not quite a quick read, it’s definitely worth it. It will be on my shelf as a reference for years to come.

4 Stars

Best for: Those looking for some inspiration in a variety of voices.

In a nutshell: Leading feminist writers from diverse backgrounds share their thoughts on different aspects of what the election of Trump means.

Line that sticks with me: I’m writing this while on vacation, so I don’t have my book with me. But I underlined a ton and will be keeping the book to reread some essays.

Why I chose it: I saw authors I admire (Rebecca Skolnit! Jessica Valenti! Samantha Irby!)

Review: It’s impressive to pull together this many essays from so many great writers so quickly after the shit show that was the 2016 election. The authors look at a variety of issues, including moving to a red state, the failure of white women, the exclusion of trans women, the role of class, how black women were included in the Clinton campaign, and more.

My least favorite essay was probably from Sarah Jaffe – it seemed a bit off tonally and felt a little Bernie Bro-y to me. I think I get what she was going for, but the execution didn’t work for me. Meanwhile, Samantha Irby’s article about moving to be with her wife and not being entirely sure how engaged she wanted to be in figuring out what the white people she encountered thought of her was a great read.

I also enjoyed the final essay of the book, by Nicole Chung. The holidays are here, and I’m about to spend a week with some folks who may not have voted for Trump, but who tend to agree with a lot of his policies. Ms Chung looks at the obligations we have to talk to those who feel that way.

Even with the one essay that I wasn’t a huge fan of (and it wasn’t bad, I just didn’t enjoy it), I still highly recommend this essay collection, especially if you need a reminder that things didn’t just get bad on November 9, 2016 or if you need to some inspiration to keep fighting the good fight.

2 Stars

Best for: No one

In a nutshell: Adviser to tech folks (I think) attempts to turn what must have started as a TED talk into a book.

Line that sticks with me: N/A

Why I chose it: I saw some tips from it in a magazine I was reading and it sounded cool. Lesson learned.

Review: This is a pretty short book, so I read it in a couple of evenings. Last night I was about 75% through and I said to my husband “What’s the music that builds and builds but never pays off? Is that EDM? Because this book is the EDM of books.”

Seriously, there is so much build up and explaining of why our brains might be easily distracted, and how that is keeping us from being happy, but she doesn’t ever get to the point. She doesn’t land the plane. I’m sold! I believe you that distractions and technology can have negative impacts and disconnect us from loved ones (although for some people it makes connection better): so what do you think I should do about it?

I don’t know. I’m not sure if the author knows. There are a lot of colorful pages with quotes from wise people, but other than reconnecting with loved ones, there’s no THERE there. And there are certainly no happiness hacks.

Four Stars

Best for: People who are moving to the UK

In a nutshell: Twenty chapters of tips broken down by broad area of interest, like finance, accommodation, transportation, and health.

Line that sticks with me: N/A

Why I chose it: My partner and I (and our two cats) are moving to London in just under a month, and I’m still looking into things.

Review: I found this book to be more helpful than the other book I picked up on the topic. Part of that may be because it is focused on moving to the UK in general (not London specifically), and so half the book was not taken up with a focus on just a few London boroughs. However, I’d still like to find a book that focuses just on tips and information in different neighborhoods. I just ordered the Not for Tourists 2018 edition for London, which should meet that need.

But back to this book. I enjoyed some of the sections a great deal, especially the part about health care. I have had so much dental work done that I’m a bit nervous about leaving my dentist, so it was good to learn a bit more about what that will look like.

A couple of parts that were frustrating – one unavoidable, one less so. The section on moving pets was not fully accurate, as we now have to pay VAT when bringing in animals. But that changed in April, so I understand that it wouldn’t make it into the book. The other part was the sport section. The bit on football (the sport I’m most familiar with, so the other sections may also have had this problem) made no mention of the women’s league. Granted, in the US I’m used to the women’s national team being VASTLY superior to the men’s national team, so I expect the women’s league to be mentioned. But come on – are we really still pretending that women aren’t professional athletes?

Three Stars

Best for: People moving to London.

In a nutshell: Tips for moving to London.

Line that sticks with me: None that aren’t just good tips for me to know.

Why I chose it: BECAUSE I’M MOVING TO LONDON!

Review: I bought this book a few weeks ago, and finished it at least a week ago. But we were waiting to announce this beyond some close friends until our visas came through, so this review has been embargoed until now.

We’re moving as part of my partner getting a new job, so a few of the items in here aren’t our problem (they’re handling the visa, for example). But the tips on rentals, taxes, phone companies, and transportation are all fantastic. I lived in London for a year previously, but it was for graduate school, so a few things were handled: I had housing all lined up, and had a student loan to cover most of my expenses. I even somehow convinced someone at the mobile phone company to give me a monthly account instead of requiring I do pay-as-you-go.

Because the one thing that will be the most challenging is that we have no credit history in London. Landlords will need to trust that the letter from my partner’s new employer means we are trustworthy with a lease (and also, they’ll need to accept our two cats). We may have to do pay-as-you-go. It could take a long time to get a proper bank account.

I think the biggest bummer for me with this book is that they only focus on a handful of boroughs when providing living advice, none of which are ones we are planning to live in. So fully half of the book isn’t so applicable.

Three Stars

Best for: Those who enjoy trivia about cities, or like learning more about London.

In a nutshell: Historian provides a hodge podge of fun facts and bios of important people, organizations, and shops in London history, from literally hundreds of thousands of years ago through the 20th century.

Line that sticks with me: “Turning carpentry into philosophy, he had made his own coffin, which he knelt in nightly to pray.” p114

Why I chose it: I lived in London a few years ago, and love the city. This little book caught my eye.

Review: This is a fun little book. It’s clearly well-researched, with some randomness thrown in. It is organized by era, but it sometimes jumps around outside of the time frame if the topic connects across, say, medieval and Tudor times.

It’s only about 200 pages long, and a pretty quick read. I found the section on the East India Company a bit questionable – Mr. Latham addresses the issues of colonialism and racism, but suggests they really started after the EIC shut down. I’m not that familiar with that time period, but that seems … suspect.

The earlier parts of the book didn’t draw me in quickly, although there were definitely fun nuggets in there. But the later parts, where perhaps there was more information available to choose from, kept me interested.

My favorite part is the section on bookshops of London. I mean, I love a good bookshop, and this section was like a dream. I’m excited to get back to London to check out the stores that are still in business.

There was one thing I thought was kind of odd. I realize the subheading is “A Curious History of London,” so perhaps Mr. Latham wanted to stay away from common knowledge, but there was nothing about the great fire of 1666. That seems like a pretty big part of the history of the city to not be able to find a curious fact about.