If nothing else, 2020 has been my year of more “I had no idea” reading than any other in my adult life. I’ve read fiction and nonfiction on a number of issues for years, but somehow race was never a large part of that reading. Now, like many others in this country, I’ve seen just how insidious systemic racism is in America and want a better understanding. To that end, I read A ... Read More...
Know My Name by Chanel Miller
Emily Doe was the name given to the young woman sexually assaulted by Brock Turner, a Stanford student-athlete in 2015. If that doesn’t ring a bell, this should: he was given a sentence that was offensive in its leniency, inciting an outcry around the country. Know My Name is a memoir written by Chanel Miller. She is Emily Doe and she decided it was time to own not only her ... Read More...
Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America
Last week, I left behind heavy nonfiction with Adam Rippon's memoir, Beautiful on the Outside, but today I'm back with a heavy dose of reality. Dopesick is Beth Macy’s well-researched and documented rise of opioid addiction in America. Specifically, in the Appalachians—starting with the over-prescribing of high dose Oxycontin to coal miners in the late 1990s. Macy weaves ... Read More...
The Library Book by Susan Orlean
It’s embarrassing enough to be ignorant about American history, but, as a librarian, to not know about the largest library fire in the country? I’m pretty sure my librarian membership can be revoked for that. Thankfully, Susan Orlean’s new book The Library Book not only remedies my ignorance, but is a reminder of why libraries are one of the greatest government ... Read More...
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
... Read More...
American Radical: Inside the World of an Undercover Muslim FBI Agent
Like some of the other non-fiction books I read last month (Educated, I’ll Be Gone in the Dark), American Radical by Tamer Elnoury reads like fiction. High-wire tension, thriller kind of reading. Tamer Elnoury (not his real name) is an undercover FBI agent. He was brought here from Egypt by his parents when he was a small boy. English is his first language and he speaks ... Read More...
