Books I'm Thankful for in 2017

This Thursday, November 23, is our American Thanksgiving.  Originally designated as a feast shared by the British colonists and the indigenous peoples, it's become a day for us as individuals to reflect on those things we're thankful for in our own lives.  In 2017, with so much horror and disaster in the world, this is no easy task.  Human rights around the world are in jeopardy, wars are dividing loved ones, and natural disasters are remaking the face of the world.

While they won't accomplish physical needs like restoring electricity or bringing clean water, books can help.  They can change hearts and minds, encourage empathy, and bring us closer together.  That's why I'm thankful for books in 2017.  In particular, I'm thankful for fiction, non-fiction, and poetry.  I've selected three books that encapsulate my reading life this year, all of which I read for the first time in 2017.

Thankful for Fiction

Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte

While most people read Jane Eyre in their childhood years, I came to it as an adult.  Charlotte's nineteenth century novel reads as surprisingly feminist for the time, and is as relevant today as it was when it was first published.  Jane's story of growth and staying true to herself amidst the horribleness of her step-mother and step-sisters, the brutal school where she is sent to be educated, the family she and her time spent at Thornfield Hall and with the Rivers' clan made an impression on me.  So much so that Jane Eyre has acquired a place amidst my Favorite Books of All Time.

Thankful for Non-Fiction

Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi

This amazing work of scholarship (which the author told me took him 3 years just to do the research!) has won just about every award out there.  In order to fully tell the story of racist ideas in America, Kendi chose to focus on five specific individuals whose lifespans extended across major points in America's history - Puritan minister Cotton Mather, US President Thomas Jefferson, abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, scholar W.E.B. DuBois, and activist Angela Y. Davis.  He demonstrates how and why racist ideas were created, how they have proliferated and mutated over time, and how they continue to exist today.  To better understand the world we're living in, especially as Americans, we should all read this incredible book.

Thankful for Poetry

My Mother Was a Freedom Fighter, by Aja Monet

2016 was the beginning of my re-discovery of poetry, and it has continued into this year.  While I've read some incredible poetry collections so far in 2017, the one that stands out as one I'm especially thankful for is Aja Monet's My Mother Was a Freedom Fighter.  The way she employs language to tell stories of women - Palestinian, American, enslaved...all women - will leave you gobsmacked.  There's so much passion, fury, wonderment, and insight shining through each poem that you might find yourself swept up in emotion.  I certainly did.  If you'd like a taste of her work, check out this video of her reading the title poem in the collection.  I'm thankful and grateful for this magnum opus.


I'm giving thanks and raising a glass to books, and to these three in particular.  There'll be no post this Thursday, so I hope everyone who's celebrating enjoys their Thanksgiving!



Librorum annis,

A Toast to Beaujolais Nouveau 2017 - Books and Wine

Today, November 16, is Beaujolais Nouveau Day!  Under French law, the third Thursday in November is the day that the first wine of the 2017 vintage, made in the Beaujolais region of France, may be released for sale.  This wine is extremely young, with the Gamay grapes often having been picked only weeks beforehand.  As a result, the flavors are extremely light bodied and fruit-forward, sometimes with an earthiness that makes them special.

In celebration of this special day, I wanted to share some of my absolute favorite books featuring wine.  All of these picks are non-fiction, so if you're participating in the #NonFictionNovember2017 challenge, consider picking up one (or more!) of these.

The Widow Clicquot: The Story of a Champagne Empire and the Woman Who Ruled It, by Tilar J. Mazzo - This is a biography of both the well-known French champagne producer Clicquot and the woman who oversaw its growth, Barbe-Nicole  Clicquot Ponsardin.  Barbe-Nicole's husband died when she was only 27, leaving the Veuve (widow) Clicquot to take the helm of his industry, in the wake of the French Revolution and when the Napoleonic Code made it clear that a woman's place was in the home.

Pairing: A glass of something bubbly, preferably Clicquot if it's in your budget.

To Cork or Not To Cork, by George M. Taber - Did you know that there's controversy around the material used to stopper wine bottles?  Cork is the traditional material you encounter at the top of an unopened bottle of wine, but modern winemakers are sometimes using other goods, like screwtop lids, plastic stoppers, and even glass.  George Taber takes readers through a deep dive into these three materials, and the reasons they might be used, and why.

Pairing: Any bottle stoppered with cork, plastic, glass, or screwtop

Cork Dork: A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me How to Live for Taste, by Bianca Bosker - Have you noticed that wine books tend to have really long titles?  Bosker was working as a tech editor for an online news site, and decided to quit her job to focus on wine.  She begins this new life in the bottom of the barrel (pun intended!) as a cellar rat in a fine-dining restaurant, and works her way through many different areas of the wine world.  Throughout the work, she meets some really interesting people, hones her tasting skills, and prepares to take the Court of Master Sommeliers Certified Sommelier Exam.  While maybe a little overwhelming for a wine newbie, it's compulsively readable and absolutely fascinating.

Pairing: As many different wines as you (and, even better, a group of friends) can get, to do a blind tasting together.  Bonus points if the bottles are covered in aluminum foil or knee socks, so you get the true Bosker experience.

Exploring Wine, by Steven Kolpan, Brian H. Smith, Michael A. Weiss - So you've read Cork Dork and now want to increase your own wine knowledge?  Then this is the book for you!  It's the textbook that wine and beverage students use at the Culinary Institute of America, so you know that it's well-researched and comprehensive. You will go in-depth into the details of wine growing, grape variety profiles, wine regions around the world, information on some individual wineries, wines, tasting notes, proper cellaring, serving, etc.  The book is 800 pages long, so it's perhaps NOT something you'd read from cover to cover, but it's so full of interesting information and photos that you may not want to put it down.

Pairing: Literally any wine, because it'll be in the book somewhere.

Judgment of Paris: California vs. France and the Historic 1976 Paris Tasting That Revolutionized Wine, by George M. Taber - Man, George Taber writes so well about wine!  This time, he focuses on a blind tasting that took place between wines from well-established French wineries and wines from the at-the-time nascent California wine industry.  Steven Spurrier was a British wine merchant, working in Paris, who sold only French wines.  He organized the tasting event as a publicity occasion, fully expecting the prestigious wine tasters to find the French wines superior.  However, the results, and their implications for the wine industry as a whole, were shocking to say the least.

Pairing: French Red Bordeaux/Napa Valley Cabernet, French White Burgundy/Napa Valley Chardonnay




Whether you're a wine aficionado or just curious, I hope that you'll find something interesting to pick up from this list.  I have absolutely loved each and every book here, and come back to them often.  Happy Beaujolais Nouveau day!

Cheers!  Librorum annis,

Nonfiction November - A Hopeful TBR

Nonfiction November has become a bit of an annual tradition in the bookish internet.  Every November, readers are encouraged to focus a little more on the nonfiction genre than they might otherwise do.  If you read no nonfiction books at all, consider setting a goal to read just one.  If you're a fan of the genre, expand your reading a little.  It's fun because nonfiction can be really great, and alliteration is awesome.

For the third year in a row, Nonfiction November is being hosted by Booktubers Olive and Gemma.  To encourage reading, they have selected four one-word challenges during the month.  Readers can interpret these words however they choose, and then read a nonfiction book that relates to the word in some way.  This year, the challenge words are:

1. Home
2. Substance
3. Love
4. Scholarship

As I'm a casual reader of the genre, I'm going to attempt to read four nonfiction books this month - one for each challenge.  If I'm able to fit in more, then I'll try to do so.  Last year, I challenged myself to read only nonfiction books in November, and although it was a lot of fun, I don't know that I'm up for repeating that extensive of a self-imposed challenge again this year.  Partly because my life is really busy right now, and I tend to want to curl up for hours with a nonfiction book.  Partly because I'm reading a lot more poetry now, and I honestly don't think I could go an entire month without reading at least one poetry collection.  With this in mind, here are a few contenders for each of the four challenges:

Home

Patience and Fortitude: Power, Real Estate, and The Fight to Save a Public Library by Scott Sherman - As a library lover living in a country currently being headed by a real estate tycoon, I'm particularly interested in this true story of saving a public library from developers who are only interested in turning a profit.

Consider the Fork: A History of How We Cook and Eat by Bee Wilson - As an amateur home cook, baker, and food-lover, I'm really interested in learning more about cooking and food traditions.  I'm hoping that this book will give me some new insights into this area.

Substance

The Book of Tea by Okakura Kakuzo - I'm an avid tea drinker (iced in the summer and hot in the autumn/winter) and am interested in learning more about this caffeinated substance.

The Origin of Others by Toni Morrison - A very substantive collection, pulled from the author's recent lectures at Harvard University, regarding race, society, and culture.

Love

Scratch: Writers, Money, and the Art of Making a Living, edited by Manjula Martin - Being an author isn't necessarily the ticket to a life full of comfort and riches, as told by the contributing writers in this essay collection.  It requires that you love what you do.

Devotion: Why I Write, by Patti Smith - I absolutely love everything Patti Smith does: Art, music, writing, photography, etc.  This is her latest essay, examining why it is that she takes to the written word for expression.  I can't wait to dive into this!

Scholarship

Seeing Power: Art and Activism in the Twenty-First Century, by Nato Thompson - A very readable work of scholarship, exploring the place that art has in the political work in our modern era.

Cork Dork: A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Who Taught Me How to Live for Taste, by Bianca Bosker (ebook) - An investigative journalistic book written as the result of a deep dive into the world of wine and those who love it.  I'm a bit of a wine enthusiast already, so I'm curious to see what effect this scholarship has on my appreciation of the drink.


If you're participating in Nonfiction November, I hope you've got some exciting books lined up on your TBR! 



Librorum annis,

My Brand of Patriotism

Tomorrow, July 4th, is the 241st anniversary of the founding of America as a sovereign nation.  It's a time for barbecues, fireworks, parades, and other happy gatherings.  Last year, my partner and I had some friends and family over for the afternoon, ate a lot of food, played lawn games, enjoyed a campfire, and overall had a lovely time.  Our neighbors, always happy to play with mild explosives, set off so many fireworks that the sky was quite literally aglow.  There was such a sense of happiness and contentment...

Cut to this year.  The mood is very different, for all the reasons.  There will still be barbecues, parades, and my neighbors will still light up the sky.  But my sense of America and what it represents has changed. For me, and the people closest to me, it feels as though there is little reason to be celebratory; there is less of which to be proud.  The face of this country is so altered, and I wonder what those revolutionary patriots would think of the current assaults to democracy and their founding principles.

It's with this thought in mind, and the fact that I'm a naturally bookish person, that I decided to think about this July 4th holiday in terms of the kind of patriotism that is so necessary right now.  That is, fighting for the principles that, when adopted, can make America great in the future - social justice, equal rights, education, tolerance, empathy, love.  With this in mind, here are a few books that I've been reading, and would recommend for those of you who, like me, crave progressive patriotism in these dark times.

Activism and Advocacy

What We Do Now: Standing Up for Your Values in Trump's America edited by Dennis Johnson and Valeria Merians
A collection of essays from prominent activists, politicians, religious leaders, and others who give readers concrete actions to take in order to resist the current political leadership.

Hegemony How-To: A Roadmap for Radicals by Jonathan Matthew Smucker
A true handbook that gives actionable steps for those looking to build social movements

Resistance, Rebellion, Life: 50 Poems Now edited by Amit Majmudar
A diverse collection of poems that challenge our current political leadership, repressive perspectives, and the modern cultural climate.

March Trilogy by Rep. John Lewis
A 3-part graphic memoir of one of the most well-respected civil rights activists in American history, who serves the country as a member of the US House of Representatives.

Seeing Power: Art and Activism in the Twenty-First Century by Nato Thompson
A cultural critic analyzes how art can be used to subvert and promote societal values and political opinions.  

Your Heart Is a Muscle the Size of a Fist by Sunil Yapa
A fictional, yet well-researched, account of the WTO protests that took place in Seattle, WA in 1999.  It humanizes and gives agency to the many actors in the events - protestors, police, politicians, and bystanders.

Awareness and Consciousness-Raising

Guantanamo Diary by Mohamedou Ould Slahi
The first-person account of the author's time spent in detainment, and the extreme torture (called "enhanced interrogation") he endured at the hands of the US government in Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility and other sites.  He was a prisoner for 16 years, but never charged with a crime.

Look: Poems by Solmaz Sharif
A poetry collection that looks at the costs of war and humanity, as well as the manipulation and abuse of language to serve those ends

Radical Hope: Letters of Love and Dissent in Dangerous Times edited by Carolina de Robertis
A collection of essays from over 30 authors, writing about how American society has changed since the 45th President took office, and why we cannot give up hope 

Men We Reaped by Jesmyn Ward
 A memoir that explores two specific topics - Ward's experience growing up in Mississippi, and the deaths of 5 men in her life in a 5-year period - in order to make a larger commentary on what life is like for the communities of poor and Black people in the American South. 

Political Rhetoric and Power

The Mother of All Questions by Rebecca Solnit
A powerful collection of essays, deeply criticizing the conservative agenda and its effects on society

The Ministry of Nostalgia by Owen Hatherley
A criticism of employing "the good old days" as a rhetorical device, which almost always serves only a particular group at the expense of everyone else

The Anatomy of Inequality by Per Molander
A popular culture-minded investigation into different economic/social/political factors and religious/secular justifications for or against (in)equality in modern times

Intersectional Feminism, Immigration, Racism, and More

Tell Me How It Ends by Valeria Luiselli
This brilliant little book is a searing exploration of immigration, not only from the author's own experiences but also from those of the children she met during her time as a translator in the New York Immigration Court.

Women, Race & Class by Angela Y. Davis
This book is a strong argument for intersectionality, in a time when that word did not yet exist.  In order to make measurable, impactful progress in our society, the concepts of feminism, racism, and class struggles need to be examined in combination rather than as separate issues.

Race-ing Justice, En-Gendering Power edited by Toni Morrison
A collection of essays focusing on racism, sexism, the heterosexual agenda, and other prominent social topics in the context of popular cultural events and moments in modern, American history

Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine
A collection of poetry that directly addresses police brutality, microaggressions, and other regularly experienced hardships in the lives of minority and oppressed groups in American society



Librorum annis,