Category: True Story

New Releases for Your Wednesday

Post author By Alice Burton
Post date October 5, 2021

Sponsored by Deliberate Evil by Edward Renehan.

The 1830 murder of wealthy slaver Joseph White shook all of Salem, Massachusetts and drew national attention when it was discovered that two of the conspirators came from Salem’s influential Crowninshield family: a clan of millionaire shipowners, cabinet secretaries, and congressmen. A prosecution team led by Massachusetts senator Daniel Webster made the case more newsworthy. Meanwhile, Salem native Nathaniel Hawthorne—who knew several of the accused—observed and wrote. Using source materials not available previously, Edward J. Renehan Jr. provides a riveting narrative of the cold-blooded murder, intense investigations, scandal-strewn trials, and grim executions that dominated headlines two-hundred years ago.

Welcome to October and your first new releases for the month! I love a theme, so I’ve been watching a lot of the Saw movies for the first time, and good Lord. I mean, will I watch them all? Yes. Are they mostly not-that-good? Also yes.

I’m also reading some Grady Hendrix for October-themed books, but I’ll try to suss out some good nonfiction, which we will doubtless cover on For Real. AND NOW. New books!:

The Gilded Edge: Two Audacious Women and the Cyanide Love Triangle That Shook America by Catherine Prendergast

A forgotten scandal and a title with a pun! Confession that this is by a professor from my college, but I didn’t know that until AFTER I picked it. You wouldn’t think this would influence my choice in any way more than ten years later, but I was one of those kids who spent most of her college free time in office hours, and I am FOND of the University of Illinois’s haunted English Building. Anyway! This is about an acclaimed turn of the century poet, her affair with a married man, and the deaths of all three.

Notable Native People: 50 Indigenous Leaders, Dreamers, and Changemakers from Past and Present by Adrienne Keene

Profiles of fifty notable American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian people! This covers “the lives, stories, and contributions of Indigenous artists, activists, scientists, athletes, and other changemakers.” And it’s illustrated! It also includes “accessible primers on important Indigenous issues, from the legacy of colonialism and cultural appropriation to food sovereignty, land and water rights, and more.” Author Keene is a member of the Cherokee Nation and founder of the blog Native Appropriations.

Until I Am Free: Fannie Lou Hamer’s Enduring Message to America by Keisha N. Blain

If author Blain’s name looks familiar, it’s because she is co-editor of this year’s Four Hundred Souls: A Community History of African America 1619-2019. Hamer was a leader in the mid-20th century American civil rights movement, as well as organizer of Mississippi’s Freedom Summer, along with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (aka SNCC). This bio “explores the Black activist’s ideas and political strategies, highlighting their relevance for tackling modern social issues including voter suppression, police violence, and economic inequality.” And it’s 200 pages! The length that all books should be.

Our Blessed Rebel Queen: Essays on Carrie Fisher and Princess Leia by Linda Mizejewski (Edited by), Tanya D. Zuk (Edited by)

It’s a university press book about Carrie Fisher and Princess Leia! It is a “full-length exploration of Carrie Fisher’s career as actress, writer, and advocate” and “Fisher’s entangled relationship with the iconic Princess Leia.” Contributors talk about Fisher’s memoirs, the use of Fisher/Leia references in the Women’s March, and her mental health advocacy, among other things. V exciting.

For more nonfiction reads, check out the For Real podcast which I co-host with the excellent Kim here at Book Riot. If you have any questions/comments/book suggestions, you can find me on social media @itsalicetime. Until next time, enjoy those facts, fellow nerds.

True Story

Nonfiction for Hispanic Heritage Month

Post author By Kim Ukura
Post date September 30, 2021

Sponsored by Unearthing the Secret Garden by Marta McDowell.

In Unearthing The Secret Garden, New York Times bestselling author Marta McDowell shares a moving account of how gardening deeply inspired Frances Hodgson Burnett, the author of the beloved children’s classic The Secret Garden. Complementing her fascinating account with charming period photographs and illustrations, McDowell paints an unforgettable portrait of a great artist and reminds us why The Secret Garden continues to touch readers after more than a century. This deeply moving and gift-worthy book is a must-read for anyone who loves the story behind the story.

Happiest of Fridays, nonfiction friends! We are in Minnesota’s beautiful, brief season of “second summer,” which means I’m wearing hooded sweatshirts with sandals and trying to soak up the fact that we still have a few hours of sunlight after work.

This week I’d like to share some recent books to help recognize Hispanic Heritage Month, which is celebrated September 15 – October 15 each year. Although the name of the month is problematic, it’s still a good excuse to celebrate nonfiction by Latinx authors and storytellers. Here are a few recent-ish gems:

An African American and Latinx History of the United States by Paul Ortiz

This book offers a revolutionary history of the contributions African American, Latinx, and Indigenous people have made to the history of the United States. By looking at history through those stories, the book “transforms US history into one of the working class organizing against imperialism.” This book is part of Beacon Press’s amazing Revisionist History series, which I just love.

Ordinary Girls: A Memoir by Jaquira Díaz

Jaquira Díaz grew up in housing projects in both Puerto Rico and Miami Beach, trying to balance her family’s disintegration (and her mother’s schizophrenia) with the connections she felt with her friends. Her story explores sexuality, mental illness, sexual assault within the context of trying to understand Puerto Rico’s colonial history and one girl’s place in it. This one is really beautiful!

The Hispanic Republican: The Shaping of an American Political Identity, from Nixon to Trump by Gerardo Cadava

When it comes to politics and political prognostication, it can be easy to lump entire groups of people into a single type or voting bloc. In this book, a Northwestern University professor explores how some Hispanic Americans have impacted national politics since the 1960s, particularly after being courted by Republicans during the Cold War. He also looks at how different cultural identities within the Latino community affect voting patterns.

Undocumented: A Dominican Boy’s Odyssey from a Homeless Shelter to the Ivy League by Dan-El Padilla Peralta

Dan-El Padilla Peralta came to the United States with his family, seeking medical care for his mother. When their visas ran out, his father returned to Santo Domingo while Peralta and his mother remained in New York City. This memoir is about his experiences growing up homeless, getting a boost into private school, and navigating his dual life between Harlem and Manhattan as an undocumented immigrant.

Finding Latinx: In Search of the Voices Redefining Latino Identity by Paola Ramos

One of my favorite nonfiction storytelling techniques is heading out on a road trip to gather stories from people around the county as a way of exploring big and complicated questions. In this book, journalist Paola Ramos sets out to understand how people define the term “Latinx” – particularly those who have been overlooked when we think about Latinos more generally. It’s a big group, and the stories she gathers are very moving.

Weekend Reading

I’ve felt overwhelmed and scattered lately, which reminded me of a book that’s been on my TBR for a couple of years – How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell. The book is about how to live in a world where “technology is designed to buy and sell our attention,” and our worth is determined by how productive we are. Odell argues that we need to protect our attention as our most valuable resource and connects this way of being with larger and more radical forms of political action. I am here for all of that.

For more nonfiction reads, head over to the podcast service of your choice and download For Real, which I co-host with my dear friend Alice. If you have any questions/comments/book suggestions, you can find me on social media @kimthedork. Happy weekend!

True Story

Massive New Release September, The Finaling

Post author By Alice Burton
Post date September 28, 2021

Sponsored by Milkweed Editions' U.S. release of Saga Boy by Antonio Michael Downing.

Tracing the Antonio Michael Downing’s journey from the tropical forests of Trinidad to the stark landscape of rural Canada—as well as that of his vibrant personal, musical metamorphosis—this is a poignant memoir of overcoming, belonging, and becoming one’s own self. Already hailed by early reviewers as “eloquent,” “entertaining,” and “heart-wrenching,” Saga Boy is a triumphant book that explores family, identity, and Blackness through the perspective of an innovative storyteller.

HERE WE ARE. End of September. Autumn foliage. If you live somewhere where that happens. We are now three-quarters through the year, which is exciting if you decide to do a final quarter reading challenge.

You all. This year is literally the slowest reading year in years for me. I thought it would be 2020 because of the start of the pandemic and also I got married, but 2020 was my best reading year? And then 2021 has been like, hey, what are books. And honestly, no matter how much you’re reading, you’re doing a great job and I am proud of you for even having the energy to care about books. A+, you.

Here are many new releases for the week!

Feeding the Soul (Because It’s My Business): Finding Our Way to Joy, Love, and Freedom by Tabitha Brown

Did you watch Olivia Lux do a terrible job as Tabitha Brown on Drag Race season 13? That’s the first time I heard of Tabitha Brown, but she seems like a delight. She is a vegan and TikTok star! In her book, she talks about struggling with chronic autoimmune pain and “shares the wisdom she gained from her own journey, showing readers how to make a life for themselves that is rooted in nonjudgmental kindness and love, both for themselves and for others.”

Revolution in Our Time: The Black Panther Party’s Promise to the People by Kekla Magoon

Guardians of the Trees: A Journey of Hope Through Healing the Planet by Kinari Webb

Out of the Sun: On Race and Storytelling by Esi Edugyan

Please Don’t Sit on My Bed in Your Outside Clothes: Essays by Phoebe Robinson

It’s a book by Roxane Gay’s imprint, Tiny Reparations Books! And by the hilarious Phoebe Robinson. She shares “stories about her mom slow-poking before a visit with Mrs. Obama, the stupidly fake reassurances of zip-line attendants, her favorite things about dating a white person from the UK, and how the lack of Black women in leadership positions fueled her to become the Black lady boss of her dreams.” YAY.

Desperate: An Epic Battle for Clean Water and Justice in Appalachia by Kris Maher

Believing: Our Thirty-Year Journey to End Gender Violence by Anita Hill

White Borders: The History of Race and Immigration in the United States from Chinese Exclusion to the Border Wall by Reece Jones

How to Examine a Wolverine: More Tales from the Accidental Veterinarian by Philipp Schott, DVM

What is it like to be a veterinarian! And what do you need to know. Schott answers this, as well as all-important topics like “the mysteries of catnip, dog flatulence, and duck erectile dysfunction.” Really just covers it all there. I hope I never have to examine a wolverine, but I am interested in HOW one does it.

True Story

Emmy Winners and Big Book Deals

Post author By Kim Ukura
Post date September 23, 2021

Sponsored by Karma: A Yogi’s Guide to Crafting Your Destiny

Who really understands the concept of karma? Half the time when people are referencing it, it sounds like some form of revenge. But karma is a much deeper and richer concept than that. As explained by Sadhguru, yogi & mystic, karma means action. Sadhguru turns the tables by showing us clearly that karma is an empowering possibility for taking charge of our lives by choosing how we respond to what is happening to us. With celebrity fans from Will Smith to Tom Brady, this enlightening book offers in depth insights on the concept of Karma and shows how to achieve true happiness.

Happy Friday, nonfiction fiends! I have spent much of the last week assisting my amazing family with a badly-needed bathroom renovation project. We’re right in the messy middle of painting and cleaning, but the end is in sight thanks to my supremely dedicated parents who will be visiting us again this weekend to put everything back together again.

Thanks to the project I’ve been doing very little reading of books or articles online, but I still have some interesting nonfiction-related news to share this week. Let’s get to it!

Author and TV star Michaela Coel won an Emmy! She made history as the first Black woman to win an Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special for her comedy-drama series I May Destroy You. Her first book, Misfits, came out just a couple weeks ago. The book is an adaptation of a speech Coel gave at the Edinburgh International Television Festival back in 2018. Congrats, Michaela!

The longlists for the National Book Award have been announced! The 10-book lists will be narrowed to shortlists on October 5. The winners will be announced during a live ceremony on November 17. The nonfiction list is awesome, with heavy-hitters like How the Word is Passed by Clint Smith, as well as lesser-known titles like Covered with Night by Nicole Eustace. This is one of my favorite book awards, so I can’t wait to see what moves on!

Historian Martha S. Jones has signed a four-book deal with Basic Books. The first book, still untitled, will be an exploration of the history and legacy of slavery’s sexual violence. The linked article from the New York Times is a fascinating interview where she discusses the role of historians and how she’s connecting her family history to her writing. Jones’s latest book, Vanguard, was a look at the political history of Black women that “challenged popular narratives of the suffrage movement.”

And of course I have an Elizabeth Holmes trial update – this week, former Defense Secretary James Mattis, also a former member of the Theranos Board of Directors, testified about his experience with the company. Mattis invested $85,000 with the company, but eventually started to question the efficacy of the technology. Mattis is the seventh witness to be called in the trial.

Weekend Reading?

I’ve been on a real fiction kick lately, but the National Book Award announcement has inspired me to pick up a book on the longlist that I started earlier this year, The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together by Heather McGhee. In the book, McGhee looks at how racist ideas impact the American economy, leading it to fail the public in significant ways. There’s a fascinating chapter on the history of public pools and how segregation ultimately led to almost no freely available public swimming facilities for anyone. It’s such an interesting look at how we’ve shifted from public goods to private luxuries, and how race plays into why that happens. I’m not sure if I’ll get much reading in this weekend, but I want to try!

True Story

Massive New Release September, Part III

Post author By Alice Burton
Post date September 21, 2021

Sponsored by The Impossible Mile by Johnny Agar and Becki Agar.

“Johnny Agar is a true inspiration as a person and an athlete.”
—MICHAEL PHELPS, most decorated Olympian

The incredible story of Johnny Agar, born with cerebral palsy and whom doctors thought would never walk, overcoming the odds to compete in Ironman triathlons. Featured on ESPN, NBC Nightly News, The Today Show, and other media outlets, Johnny delivers a moving memoir that is a testament to the power of family, faith, and extraordinary courage. He now serves as an inspiration for not only other professional athletes, but for anyone facing their own impossible mile.

I hope you do yourself the solid of buying yourself at least one book this month. THERE ARE JUST SO MANY. Also next month, but we’re not gonna talk about that right now. Just focusing on these September reads. I’ve pre-ordered two books and I never pre-order books! But that’s extra fun because then you forget you ordered them and then you get Surprise Books.

Praying to the West: How Muslims Shaped the Americas by Omar Mouallem

Journalist Mouallem “travels to thirteen remarkable mosques and discovers the surprising history of their communities” across the Americas, from Canada to Brazil. He learns how Islam shaped the Americas, and, in the recent tradition of road trip nonfiction, learns a little something about himself.

Noble Ambitions: The Fall and Rise of the English Country House After World War II by Adrian Tinniswood

Paletó and Me: Memories of My Indigenous Father by Aparecida Vilaça

Yours Cruelly, Elvira: Memoirs of the Mistress of the Dark by Cassandra Peterson

This is one of the books I pre-ordered! Ok, I cannot explain why I love Elvira so much, except that her attitude is such a complete delight. Her combination of sex positivity and corny jokes just make for this enduring icon who has been around for literal decades and I love her extremely silly ’80s movie and I’m so glad she wrote a book.

The Forgotten First: Kenny Washington, Woody Strode, Marion Motley, Bill Willis, and the Breaking of the NFL Color Barrier by Keyshawn Johnson, Bob Glauber

Bessie Smith: A Poet’s Biography of a Blues Legend by Jackie Kay

True Raiders: The Untold Story of the 1909 Expedition to Find the Legendary Ark of the Covenant by Brad Ricca

A Man Called Horse: John Horse and the Black Seminole Underground Railroad by Glennette Tilley Turner

Black Seminoles were “descendants of Seminole Indians, free Blacks, and escaped slaves who formed an alliance in Spanish Florida.” John Horse, whose life squarely occupied the nineteenth century, “defended his people from the US government, other tribes, and slave hunters.” This is a YA biography, which usually equates to just enough information for your daily life as opposed to the deep dive of adult nonfiction! Very exciting.

To Drink from the Well: The Struggle for Racial Equality at the Nation’s Oldest Public University by Geeta N. Kapur

In the Shadow of the Empress: The Defiant Lives of Maria Theresa, Mother of Marie Antoinette, and Her Daughters by Nancy Goldstone

True Story

Animals and Entrepreneurs on Trial

Post author By Kim Ukura
Post date September 16, 2021

Sponsored by the new book STEM LIKE A GIRL published by BDL.

STEM Like a Girl gives girls, 8-12, the knowledge and confidence to become future problem solvers and leaders. This fully illustrated book provides 15 hands-on, STEM-based experiments that kids can do at home, and also profiles 35 inspiring girls who have actually done these experiments. Author, biotech engineer and mom, Sarah Foster, founded the STEM Like A Girl organization after noticing girls in her kid’s classroom hanging back from science activities. In her first book, Sarah provides the step-by-step instructions for 15 fun STEM projects like extracting DNA from a strawberry or mastering chemistry to create homemade fizzy bath bombs.

Hello hello, nonfiction friends! If you haven’t already, I urge you to pop into your podcast service of choice to listen to this week’s episode of For Real. Alice and I got to do something we’ve never done for the podcast before – interview Mary Roach! That’s right, Mary Roach!

If you’re still not convinced, I can tell you she is just as funny to talk with as she is to read. In the interview we covered everything from her use of footnotes to how she almost wrote a chapter about tiger penises, with several great detours along the way. Her latest book, Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law is out this week. It’s a great read about what happens when nature and humans have conflict, and the people who are trying to find ways to improve those interactions. It’s really fun.

This week I’ve got some great news from the world of nonfiction to share – an update on Elizabeth Holmes’s trial, an exciting upcoming adaptation, and an early nonfiction prize list!

This week in the trial of Elizabeth Holmes, the jury has been selected and testimony has begun:

One early witness was Erika Cheung, a former worker in the Theranos lab, who testified she was concerned about the reliability of the lab’s testing equipment.
The Daily Beast also shared some of the text messages exchanged between Holmes and her boyfriend/business partner, Sunny Balwani, that have been entered as evidence.
But my favorite story of the week is this one, about a “concerned citizen” who attended early parts of the trial, networked with reporters… and then turned out to be Holmes’s father-in-law, hotelier Bill Evans. What kind of a person do you have to be to try and trick reporters at a trial where someone in your family is facing decades in prison for tricking investors? Bananas.

Paramount+ may be planning an adaptation of Yellow Bird by Sierra Crane Murdoch. The series is described as “a true crime show, a family drama and an immersive look at modern Native American life.” The main character, Lissa Yellowbird, returns to her reservation after time in jail, then finds herself investigating the disappearance of a young oil worker. That description is giving me real Mare of Easttown vibes and I am here for it.

The finalists for the Kirkus Prize have been announced! The Kirkus Prize is awarded annually for fiction, nonfiction, and young readers literature and has a prize of $50,000 (yowza!). This year’s nonfiction finalists are:

Seek You: A Journey Through American Loneliness by Kirsten Radtke
All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family Keepsake by Tiya Miles
Punch Me Up to the Gods: A Memoir by Brian Broome
People Love Dead Jews: Reports From a Haunted Present by Dara Horn
Lightning Flowers: My Journey to Uncover the Cost of Saving a Life by Katherine E. Standefer
Horizontal Vertigo: A City Called Mexico by Juan Villoro, translated by Alfred MacAdam

The winners will be announced at a virtual ceremony from the Austin Public Library on October 28.

Weekend Reading

I’ve had a great few weeks of picking up unexpected read from my local library. My grab from the new releases shelf this week is Sometimes I Trip on How Happy We Could Be by Nichole Perkins. This book is a collection of essays on pop culture and how big issues like “racism, wealth, poverty, beauty, inclusion, exclusion, and hope” are part of the media we consume. I’m just 100 percent in for all of those topics, especially when they’re being explored from a perspective that’s different from my own. I’ve already LOL’d quite a bit at this one, I can’t wait to finish it!

True Story

Massive New Release September, Part II

Post author By Alice Burton
Post date September 14, 2021

The Girls in the Wild Fig Tree: How I Fought to Save Myself, My Sister, and Thousands of Girls Worldwide by Nice Leng’ete

Leng’ete grew up in a Maasai village in Kenya. She became an activist who ended female genital mutilation in her village entirely, “and Nice continues the fight to end FGM throughout Africa, and the world.”

The Heroine with 1001 Faces by Maria Tatar

Read Until You Understand: The Profound Wisdom of Black Life and Literature by Farah Jasmine Griffin

America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility by Rajika Bhandari

Wild Tongues Can’t Be Tamed: 15 Voices from the Latinx Diaspora edited by Saraciea J. Fennell

The Story of the Country House: A History of Places and People by Clive Aslet

I’m sorry, but as a person who loves Gosford Park a weird amount, I have to highlight this Yale University Press book about British country houses and the people who lived in them. There is literally ANOTHER nonfiction book about British country houses being published next week. What a weird month. How amazing is this cover though?

The Middle Ages: A Graphic History by Eleanor Janega, Neil Max Emmanuel (Illustrated by)

My Beautiful Black Hair: 101 Natural Hair Stories from the Sisterhood by St. Clair Detrick-Jules

Flower Diary: In Which Mary Hiester Reid Paints, Travels, Marries, & Opens a Door by Molly Peacock

White Space, Black Hood: Opportunity Hoarding and Segregation in the Age of Inequality by Sheryll Cashin

Unbound: My Story of Liberation and the Birth of the Me Too Movement by Tarana Burke

SPEAKING OF COVERS ermg. Tarana Burke, founder of the Me Too movement, writes a memoir “about her own journey to saying those two simple yet infinitely powerful words―me too―and how she brought empathy back to an entire generation in one of the largest cultural events in American history.”

True Story

Nonfiction eBook Deals for Your Weekend Reads

Post author By Kim Ukura
Post date September 9, 2021

Sponsored by Astra House, dedicated to publishing authors across genres and from around the world.

All of Mumbai’s memories and possessions end up at the Deonar garbage mountains where a small, forgotten community of rag-pickers lives. Following Farzana Ali, a girl born in Deonar, Saumya Roy reveals the inventiveness and resilience of the people who make a living off others’ waste. A modern parable exploring the consequences of urban overconsumption, Castaway Mountain delivers a moving testament to the impact of fickle desires and how true love and dignity can blossom in the darkest, most desperate places.

Welcome to Friday, nonfiction friends! Kim here, hoping you’ve survived a short week and are ready for a beautiful fall weekend. If you happen to be looking for your next read, look no further than one of the ebook deals I’ve gathered up for this week. Prices were accurate as of Wednesday, but hope over quick to make sure you don’t miss out.

If you want to learn about the women of Pan Am World Airways… Come Fly the World by Julia Cooke for $5.99.

If you want to learn more about Afghanistan… The Broken Circle by Enjeela Ahmadi-Miller for $1.99.

If you’re an Anne Boleyn fan (or hater)… Anne Boleyn: 500 Years of Lies by Hayley Nolan for $0.99.

If you want a memoir about particle physics and the cosmos by a woman of color… The Disordered Cosmos by Chanda Prescod-Weinstein for $4.99.

If you want to read about some of the first female doctors… Women in White Coats by Olivia Campbell for $2.99.

If you want to read some true crime about the illegal gold trade… Dirty Gold by Jay Weaver for $3.99.

If you want to read about escaping from North Korea… A River in Darkness by Masaji Ishikawa for $6.99.

If you have feelings about anxiety… Welcome to the United States of Anxiety by Jen Lancaster for $4.99.

If you’re trying to better understand racial trauma and psychology… My Grandmother’s Hands by Resmaa Menakem for $4.99.

If you want to read a memoir of traveling the Amazon and befriending a big cat… The Puma Years by Laura Coleman for $1.99.

Weekend Reading

I’m going to cheat a little bit and tell you about the book I finished reading last weekend because it was so great I’d feel bad not telling you about it. I am a former journalist, so I have a real soft spot for well-reported and well-written nonfiction by journalists. In that respect, I cannot say enough good things about Paradise: One Town’s Struggle to Survive an American Wildfire by Lizzie Johnson.

The book is a definitive recounting of the 2018 Camp Fire, one of the deadliest wildfires in California history. Less than two hours after it ignited, the fire had decimated the town of Paradise, killing 85 people. Johnson was a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle, so was in the community reporting almost immediately and stayed there much longer. All of that is so evident in the book, which manages to be comprehensive and empathetic, while also connecting the fire to larger issues like climate change and public utility regulation. Her portraits of survivors and victims are beautifully done, I couldn’t stop turning the pages.

Paradise reminds me a lot of Five Days at Memorial by Sheri Fink, a similarly devastating account of human choices in the wake of natural disaster, so if that book was up your alley this one will be too.

True Story

Massive New Release September, Part I

Post author By Alice Burton
Post date September 7, 2021

When Can We Go Back to America?: Voices of Japanese American Incarceration During WWII by Susan H Kamei

Author Kamei teaches a course on the legal ramifications of the World War II incarceration of people of Japanese ancestry. This looks at the over 120,000 people forcibly removed from their homes by the U.S. government and kept in detention camps until the end of WWII. The background and context for these events are “interwoven with more than 130 individual voices of those who were unconstitutionally incarcerated, many of them children and young adults.”

Poet Warrior: A Memoir by Joy Harjo

The Antisocial Network: The GameStop Short Squeeze and the Ragtag Group of Amateur Traders That Brought Wall Street to Its Knees by Ben Mezrich

Europe’s Babylon: The Rise and Fall of Antwerp’s Golden Age by Michael Pye

Beautiful Country: A Memoir by Qian Julie Wang

The Violence Project: How to Stop a Mass Shooting Epidemic by Jillian Peterson, James Densley

The Violence Project is a nonprofit “dedicated to reducing violence in society and using data and analysis to improve policy and practice.” It is also a comprehensive database of mass shooters. Through interviews and hundreds of data points, “instead of offering thoughts and prayers for the victims of these crimes, Peterson and Densley share their data-driven solutions for exactly what we must do, at the individual level, in our communities, and as a country, to put an end to these tragedies that have defined our modern era.”

Castaway Mountain: Love and Loss Among the Wastepickers of Mumbai by Saumya Roy

Conquistadores: A New History of Spanish Discovery and Conquest by Fernando Cervantes

Karachi Vice: Life and Death in a Divided City by Samira Shackle

The Secret Life of Fungi: Discoveries from a Hidden World by Aliya Whiteley

Devils Hole Pupfish: The Unexpected Survival of an Endangered Species in the Modern American West by Kevin C. Brown

What is the Devils Hole pupfish! Great question — it is “a one-inch-long, iridescent blue fish whose only natural habitat is a ten-by-sixty-foot pool near Death Valley.” And yet it survives! This looks at its history on the endangered species list (a controversial listing!) and why we should care about this tiny fish.

The Breaks: An Essay by Julietta Singh

Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say, and How to Be an Ally by Emily Ladau

Three Girls from Bronzeville: A Uniquely American Story of Race, Fate, and Sisterhood by Dawn Turner

Bronzeville is one of Chicago’s historic Black neighborhoods (a few people who lived in Bronzeville: Ida B. Wells, Louis Armstrong, Gwendolyn Brooks, among others!). Turner grew up in ’70s Bronzeville and her memoir focuses on the story of her, her sister, and her friend Debra, as well as that of her mother, aunt, and grandmother. Really psyched about this one, because 1970s + Bronzeville + woman-centered memoir. A+.

True Story

A True Crime Trial Has Begun

Post author By Kim Ukura
Post date September 2, 2021

In Other News

The New Yorker will be publishing a series of columns about famous female chefs, inspired by chapters in Mayukh Sen’s upcoming book Taste Makers: Seven Immigrant Women Who Revolutionized Food in America. I’m jazzed about this book and this series!

George Floyd’s aunt, Angela Harrelson, is writing a memoir about her nephew. Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis police officer in May 2020, kicking off nation-wide protests around racial justice and police brutality. I loved everything Harrelson had to say in the article linked above, please check it out!

I really liked this New York TImes profile of actress Michaela Coel, creator of HBO’s I May Destroy You and author of the upcoming book Misfits: A Personal Manifesto. Misfits is the text of a 2018 speech Coel gave at the Edinburgh International Television festival that sounds just incredible.

Weekend Reading

This weekend I’ll be heading up to my parent’s house in Wisconsin for a few days at the cabin. The weather looks like it’s going to be great – sunny and a little cool – which means plenty of time to read outside without feeling like there’s some other activity I should be doing. I’m already planning to bring way too many books, but the one I’m excited to finish is The Quiet Zone: Unraveling the Mystery of a Town Suspended in Silence by Stephen Kurczy.

The book is about the town of Green Bank, West Virginia, “the last truly quiet town in America.” The town has no WiFi, cell service, or other radio frequencies that may interfere with the telescopes at the Green Bank Observatory. To write the book, Kurczy embeds in Green Bank, living amongst the people who call this extremely isolated place home. It’s a fun read so far, definitely the balance of memoir and reporting that I love to read, along with some interesting exploration of what it means to live in a place without much of the technology we rely on today – perfect for a cabin in the woods.