Review: Automatic Noodle

Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Don't read Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz on an empty stomach!  I was immediately craving Chinese hand-pulled noodles and had to make some to get through the book.  Spoiler alert:  There are noodles in the book.  This is a sweet book about robots who just want to do what they love.  It isn't hard to draw the comparisons to the current situation with immigrants in America, documented or not.  The bigger lesson, in my opinion, is how much are lives are driven by algorithms and how easy it is for someone with an agenda to influence our "reality."  Still, this book left me with a warm heart and a strong noodle craving.


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Review: Reading behind Bars: A True Story of Literature, Law, and Life as a Prison Librarian

Reading behind Bars: A True Story of Literature, Law, and Life as a Prison Librarian by Jill Grunenwald
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ever since my work with correctional institutions in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, I have been very interested in prison/jail reform and enrichment programs.  Even one of my dogs came from a prison rescue program!  Reading Behind Bars: A True Story of Literature, Law, and Life as a Prison Librarian by Jill Grunenwald seemed like a good fit.  This is a memoir and Jill Grunenwald is not perfect.  There are definitely cringe moments, even in the interactions with the inmates.  I liked the inclusion of actual prison regulations at the start of chapters.  I learned some things about prison libraries that may help me make future donations from my own collection.  I enjoyed many of the literary references.  For those who have issues with J.K. Rowling, there are a lot of Harry Potter references in this book.  It was published in 2019, so I give the author some grace for possibly not having the foresight to know how alienating those might be for people.

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Review: Lessons from Cats for Surviving Fascism

Lessons from Cats for Surviving Fascism by Stewart Reynolds
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Lessons from Cats for Surviving Fascism by Stewart Reynolds is a very timely work.  You can learn a lot from observing cats.  Unlike dogs, cats have somehow learned to coexist with people without completely losing their connection to their wild ancestors. Cats are the original disruptors.  Reynolds keenly points out a number of their natural behaviors that make them perfect models of anti-fascist behavior.  If you are currently despairing about the fate of our nation and wondering what you can do, take some tips from our fellow felines as observed by Stewart Reynolds.  You might be inspired to action, or at least, you will have a good laugh.  

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Review: The Future

The Future by Naomi Alderman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Full Disclosure: I received an Advanced Reader's Copy of The Future by Naomi Alderman from Simon & Schuster via NetGalley.  

As a fan of The Power, I was so excited to receive a copy of The Future by Naomi Alderman.  While The Future is fiction, it bears a close resemblance to our current world.  The world is suffering from unprecedented pandemics, wars, and natural disasters led by a handful of billionaires who control social media, logistics, and online commerce.  Sound familiar? The story is told from a variety of perspectives.  It's a great technique because even a villain is the hero of their own story.  There are preppers, survivalists, and a cult.  For epistolary lovers, there are the chapters that are snippets of forum postings complete with comments.  There is plenty of fodder for deep thoughts.  The questions the book poses aren't even new.  Could we have a better world with less suffering if those with power and resources stopped being motivated solely by profit?  Naomi Alderman imagines a world where someone decides to take action to find out.

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Review: The Constant Rabbit

The Constant Rabbit by Jasper Fforde
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Constant Rabbit by Jasper Fforde couldn't be more timely.  Set in a world where a limited number of animals have been exposed to some event that evolved them into human-like creatures, the world is trying to figure out how to respond.  Elephants have it the easiest.  Rabbits, though, are vilified.  You don't have to think really hard to understand that this situation very much reflects much of what is happening today surrounding immigration politics.  All the arguments for and against the rabbits are things we see and hear every day in the news or in conversation.  Fforde does a great job showing just how absurd the xenophobia is.  In this world, people align with foxes against the rabbits.  The description of the main fox character sounded an awful lot like someone orange we all know.  As much as I like foxes, I was not a fan of this one. 

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Review: Women Talking

Women Talking by Miriam Toews
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Women Talking by Miriam Toews is based on a true story of a community of Mennonite women.  If you are sensitive to discussions of rape and/or child abuse, you will want to proceed with caution with this book.  The book has been made into a movie.  I haven't seen it yet to be able to make a comparison.  I am glad I read the book though because I love an epistolary novel.  

The book is told through the minutes of meetings the women held to determine how they will respond to the horrific situation in their community.  Because the women can't read or write, they invite the community school teacher to take the minutes.  It is interesting that we can't even hear their stories without it being told through the lens of a man.  And while this is a snapshot of a small, isolated, religious community, it is surprisingly relevant to the issues women are facing around the world and how they react to those issues.  There are still plenty of people who choose "do nothing" when faced with evil.  This book will make you think and maybe cry, but it will also make you laugh.  It might even make you hopeful.  

Bonus points for having a character who loves her horses as much as any family members.  I would also do whatever it took to protect my animal family.  

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Review: Upright Women Wanted

Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The tagline "Are you a coward or are you a Librarian?" is what drew me into Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey.  As a book lover, I am drawn to bookish things, stories about bookstores, libraries, librarians...yes, please.  But what if something in the future happened that cause society to have to revert back to Wild West days, and Librarians had to travel across the country to deliver materials to people?  And what if the government went full-on censorship, only allowed the distribution of "approved materials" and killed anyone who wasn't a cisgender heterosexual?  Some people might be thinking, "that sounds like paradise."  For the rest of us, we can only hope people have the strength of character to become Librarians.  

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Review: So You Want to Talk About Race

So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I listened to So You Want to Talk About Race written by Ijeoma Oluo and read by Bahni Turpin. You might find it uncomfortable, but you need to read or listen to this book.

Ijeoma Oluo doesn't mince words when writing about the issues of racism and racial injustice facing our society today. Each chapter addresses an issue in a clear and easy to understand way so that you have no excuse to live in ignorance any further. She covers a variety of topics including cultural appropriation and the school-to-prison pipeline. I especially appreciated the chapter on privilege. It's a term you hear thrown around but what does it really mean and who does it apply to? You. It applies to you. Ijeoma lays it out for you and explains why everyone has some sort of privilege. It was the best explanation I have ever read/heard.

The chapter on hair touching had me yelling "THANK YOU" out loud. Unless you are a professional hair stylist or someone asks for your assistance with their hair, don't touch people's hair. Don't ask to touch their hair. It's creepy.

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Review: Writing My Wrongs: Life, Death, and Redemption in an American Prison

Writing My Wrongs: Life, Death, and Redemption in an American Prison by Shaka Senghor
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I saw Shaka Senghor on Sarah Silverman's I Love You, America. After that episode, I bought this book because I wanted to hear more of his story. It was really worth it. In telling his story, he transitions back and forth between the story of the life that led to his incarceration and the story of his time in Michigan's correctional system. I found it very insightful. There is certainly work to be done to improve the system. Reading stories like this give us insight into what types of changes need to happen.

This book could be very inspirational for those going through difficult times, at risk of going to prison or already there. One can make a change for the better, and the author is proof of that.

There is language that some may find offensive but is definitely appropriate for the subject matter.

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