Katie
Excellent books for folks interested in viruses, pandemics, or anyone looking to push themselves into reading more nonfiction about science. Highly readable (even through the science-y parts!) and an enjoyable look into how animal viruses cause illness and disease in humans. Not as much of a downer as you might think! Towards the end, though, reading about the Next Big One had a bit of a sense of doom, but ends on a note that we can trust scientists are on the case. Great read!
So much more than your typical zombie and/or apocalypse novel! Creepy, surprising, detailed and utterly enjoyable. I listened on audiobook and become engrossed in this “post breakdown” version of England, which is an excellent mix of science fiction and heartfelt oratory on humanity. A must read for literally anyone!
When I was in college, I took a course on political violence. For our unit on genocide, we discussed the Khmer Rouge takeover of Cambodia and the over 2 million people they killed, all in the name of creating an agrarian society. We also watched the movie made shortly after the end of the war, “The Killing Fields.” This film was devastating and deeply effecting, and I have thought of it often in the several years since. It is what made me want to read this book, which has been equally if not more devastating and effecting. It's a beautifully written memoir from the perspective of the author as she was when the Khmer Rouge takeover and genocide occurred - a young child. Reading the events in her youthful voice made them all the more real to me, and even those not familiar with the war in Cambodia or the violence that happened there will both enjoy this book, be educated by it, and not be able to forget it. Highly recommended.
This book was so wonderful! Reading Steinem's stories of the road were amazing, but it's also a story of her journey to intersectional feminism that captivated me the most. She credits most of what she's learned to her experiences on the road and from her experiences with people different from her, and how she worked with those people to advance the causes she cares about. This book is a must read for feminists, those who may be afraid to use that term to describe themselves, and those who want to learn more. Steinem will show you the way.
Cheryl Strayed's beautiful prose and wise advice were so enjoyable to read. Many stories spoke to me personally, whether or I'd lived something similar, and I found her advice to be so accepting and nonjudgemental, but also helpful and realistic and exactly what her readers needed to hear. I dog eared several pages of stories I want to return to. I hope she publishes another collection!
Such an amazing book. Historical nonfiction that reads like narrative, with a wonderfully compelling story. From the foreign service politics, to the constant tension in Berlin during the early Third Reich, to getting caught up in Martha's romantic affairs, I couldn't get enough. Larson captures the time, place, and feeling of 1933-34 Berlin and America's place in it so well I was transported. I will absolutely be reading more of his work in the future! If you're at all interested in Nazi Germany, World War II, historical fiction or nonfiction, or just a good story well written, this book will please you.
