A lot of audiobooks this month. Some really fun and fluffy reads and some reads that made me think about economic inequities and how does one get ahead in life.
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou, read by Will Damron – Engrossing and fascinating story of Elizabeth Holmes and her fraudulent biotech startup Therenos. The whole story of how Holmes became a Silicon Valley darling through brazen lies, cover ups and threats had me riveted. Then the book gets into how Carreyrou, a Wall Street Journal reporter, pursued the story, and the book ratcheted up to a whole other level of suspense and intrigue. I read this shortly after I read Rutger Bregman’s Utopia for Realists, and I found really compelling the contrast between Bregman’s advocacy for a 15 hour work week, and the intense and unhealthy pressure of Silicon Valley.
Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore – 5h 14m. Fun romance novel about suffragette and scholar Annabelle Archer and the Duke that she targets in order to further the women’s movement. The plot was forgettable, but the characters were really fun and well written. The Duke of Montgomery is my romance hero catnip – the stiff do-gooder who is desperately trying to do the right thing when the “right thing” is to not fall in love. A la Mr. Darcy.
The Dutch House by Ann Patchett, read by Tom Hanks – This book was vaguely on my To Be Read list, but then I saw that Tom Hanks performs the audiobook and I immediately put it on my Read/Listen Now list. The novel, about the children who are left behind when their mother leaves them, thoughtfully explores what we call home and the people we let into our lives. Hanks’ narration is breezy and casual and curious – his approach is more of reading the book aloud and discovering it with the listener, rather than trying to dramatically bring the story to life.
How to Eat a Peach by David Chang with Gabe Ulla – 6h 8m. Memoir by the chef behind Momofuku. I put this book on hold after hearing an interview with Chang on Fresh Air. In his memoir, Chang talks about his rise to the top of the food world and the sense of urgency and drive that kept him there. He is also really honest about the racism and classism in the food industry – how pasta, for example, is expensive and “fancy”, but noodles are expected to be cheap.
In Five Years by Rebecca Serle – 3h, 26m. A “what if” novel about a young lawyer Danni who gets a glimpse of her future – literally she wakes up five years in the future and after a few hours returns to her present – and then spends the rest of the novel wondering how she gets there. This book was a little unexpected for me. But, of course, the future often is.
Block Chain Chicken Farm by Xiaowei Wang – 5 h, 39m. I can’t remember how this book ended up in my holds list, but it was a fascinating read. In a series of essays, Wang explores how technology, globalization, and capitalism has affected rural China. In doing so she really makes a case that the idea that rural culture is backwards and urban living, specifically Western urban living, is the ideal is quite dehumanizing for much of China’s population.
“Metronormativity fuels the notion that the internet, technology, and media literacy will somehow “save” or “educate” rural people, either by allowing the to experience the broader world, offering other livelihoods, or reducing misinformation.”
Technology must be adapted to the people that it should serve, not the other way around. But a lot of technology these days is designed around a very homogeneous user – for example, if someone in rural China doesn’t know pin yin (a method of transliterating Chinese characters) a lot of technology is unavailable to them. A very thought provoking read. (Also – can someone explain blockchain to me? I feel like there was a whole section of the book I didn’t quite understand.)
Nomadland by Jessica Bruder, read by Karen White – Bruder follows the lives of RV and van dwellers – modern day nomads, many of whom were forced into the wandering life in their middle ages (and later) because of life circumstances. Picking up jobs where they can – at Amazon factories, at campsites, farms – these migrants have learned to build a life for themselves as fewer and fewer Americans can afford to retire. Bruder’s book really challenges the idea that we are sold whereby if you work hard you can save up to retire comfortably. The people that Bruder meet meet life with creativity and resilience and surprising hope. It’s a sympathetic, yet unsentimental look at life on the road.
Reading with the Kids:
Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park. Read aloud with the nine year old. When Park, who is Korean-American, was little, she often would imagine that she was Laura Ingalls best friend, even while recognizing the racism of the Little House books. Prairie Lotus was her attempt to reconcile that conflict. The book tells the story of Hanna, a half Chinese girl who travels to the Dakota Territory with her father to start a new life in a new town. Park’s writing was filled with a lot of great details about frontier life and the people of that time and doesn’t shy away from issues of racism.
Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins, read by Paul Boehmer – While watching his two year old sister one day, Gregor falls down a chute in the laundry room and finds himself in the Underland, a world full of giant bats, snakes, rats as well as humans. Realizing this world might be the clue to finding his missing father, Gregor goes on a quest to find him. We listened to this audiobook on our way to and from school this month. While the plot was certainly engaging, I had a lot of anxiety over the idea of a twelve year old questing with a his baby sister strapped to his back. Also it’s one of those books where the point of the quest seems to be to kill off as many questers as possible… which is not really my jam.
Stargazing by Jennifer Wang – graphic novel. I’ve been trying to borrow more diverse books for my kids and this was one that check out for the nine year old. I decided to read it myself before returning. When Moon and her mother move in to the in law unit belonging to Christine’s family, the two Chinese American girls become friends despite their differences. A warm story about both having good friends and being a good friend, and the complicated feelings that friends can bring. I thought this was a lovely book.
Picture Books: Some that’s we’ve been enjoying this month
Toro Gomi’s simple picture books.
Brian Biggs Tinyville Town Gets to Work, about a town that builds a new bridge to solve a traffic problem.
Joyce Wan’s The Whale in My Swimming Pool, and The Bear in My Bed, two books about a little boy who finds large animals in inconvenient places. Sophie’s Squash by Pat Zietlow Miller, about a little girl who adopts a squash.