Happy Halloween! I’m off to dress up like Batman
(seriously) and take my little shark trick-or-treating soon, but here’s a quick
rundown on what I read this month:
Evicted by Matthew Desmond
448 pages
This book chronicles the lives of several families, most
of which are African Americans, living in poverty in Milwaukee and constantly
facing the threat of being evicted. Desmond provides a look at the
psychological, economical, and sociological factors behind their situations,
showing readers how hard it is to break the cycle of the housing crisis. Once
evicted, it’s difficult to find a new place. When homeless it’s difficult to
find a job. When you are completely broke and without a home for you and your
family it’s hard to be happy, resist vices and temptation, and thrive.
Verdict: This
was one of those books that was difficult and depressing, but also important. I
firmly believe in personal responsibility, but how can we as a society expect
people who have absolutely no opportunities to even survive? And what about if
that’s all you’ve ever known your whole life? We need to do better.
Running in the Family by Michael
Ondaatje
203 pages
This is my third time reading this book, since I teach it
to my IB seniors every other year. The memoir tells the tale of Ondaatje’s
return home to Sri Lanka to learn about his family and find some closure. The
memoir is uniquely constructed with photographs, poems, notebook/diary entries,
and maps
Verdict: I
enjoy this book more each time I read it, and because of this I think the kids are more and more receptive
to it every year (funny how that works, huh?). I appreciate Ondaatje’s prose,
but also at the different components that fit together to offer different
perspectives of his journey home.
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
336 pages
Ng’s second novel looks at two different families living
in Shaker Heights, a town that tries so very hard to be perfect. On one hand,
we have the Richardsons, full of bright, well-adjusted, upper-middle-class,
entitled people (minus one of the daughters, who we learn starts her family’s
home on fire within the first few pages). The other family, the Warrens, is
made up of just Mia and her daughter, Pearl (go ahead and start reading into
the Scarlet Letter symbolism now),
two vagabonds who bounce from town to town however Mia, an artist, sees fit.
Mia rents a home from the Richardsons and their connection commences, becoming increasingly
murky as Pearl becomes involved with the Richardson children and both families
become embroiled in an adoption scandal that rocks the town.
Verdict: I
have to admit to liking her first book better, but this one was still really
intriguing and solid, in terms of writing and character depth. I still struggle
a tiny bit at sort of the dated quality of the adoption angle, as it is a
little reminiscent of a 1996ish made-for-TV movie of the week (although this is
when it’s set, so I’ll give Ng that). It’s definitely a book I’ll buy a person
or two for Christmas and one I’ll recommend to my students.
Roar by Stacy Sims
304 pages
This is an interesting look at female physiology,
including body composition, diet, exercise, and metabolic processes. Sims
offers suggestions on fueling, activity plans, and hydration needs for those
who are serious about being active to those who are more in line with
competitive endurance events.
Verdict: I saw a running blogger reading
this and thought it looked interesting. I am extremely active, but I know that
I don’t always fuel myself correctly and am horrible at managing my hydration
needs. It was interesting on the scientific and practical levels, although
definitely not for everyone (though it is incredibly accessible).
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