Being Numerous: Essays on Non-Fascist Life

"It's a political imperative to believe (impossibly) that another world is possible, while necessarily being unable to explain that world from the confines of this one."

Being Numerous: Essays on Non-Fascist Life is a wonderful collection of essays by Natasha Lennard. An extremely timely read, especially with the many eco-fascist arguments circling the internet in light of Covid-19 ("humans are the virus" etc."), Lennard challenges the reader to examine their everyday life to examine how their thought patterns and actions can have larger societal consequences.

She examines her personal experiences, from Standing Rock to sexual encounters, and shows the reader why its important, not only to examine the choices that we make, but how those choices have come to be the only ones available. She reevaluates the idea that the personal is political, and examines the world critically through the philosophical lens of Michael Foucault (who I have never read, and need to). Her prose is beautiful. 

I highly recommend this collection of essays for everyone. Political bents from all sides can benefit from Lennards ideas, and she serves as a reminder that one cannot condemn bad behavior in others before first rectifying those problems in themselves. I give Being Numerous five out of five stars.

"All stories are ghost stories, in which reading invokes a return to the present of specters-say, a dead writer, or an idea from the past."

Compromised Hearts

Compromised Hearts, by Hannah Howell, is a western romance following Cloud Ryder, a rough and tumble mountain man who will never settle down, and Emily Brockinger, a down on her luck socialite fleeing west. Compromised Hearts had more of a fleshed out story than Highland Lover, though the characters were just as enjoyable.

Though a fun read, there were several tropes that I don't enjoy present (I like consent in my romance, and don't particularly like virginity as purity tropes), and the novels treatment of women left a little to be desired. I give Compromised Hearts 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Highland Lover

In Highland Lover, by Hannah Howell, Alana Murray is captured as she searches to find her sister. In a dark dungeon she meets Gregor MacFingal Cameron, your classic highland Scot, who decides to help her on her quest. Romance ensues as they learn to trust each other with their secrets and their emotions, but will his past ruin the future they have tried to create?

This was a fun romance. It's pretty standard in its layout, and the characters are very fun. The relationship between Alana and Gregor is filled with witty banter. My one complaint about the story is that Alana never does find and help her sister, which is a little unsatisfactory as that goal is a major mover in the plot line, though I understand that the sisters story is purposefully left out as it's the story of another book by Howell.

Highland Lover was a very fun escapist read, I give it 3.5 out of five stars. Thanks to Amanda for lending it to me, it was a fantastic pick-me-up.

All Systems Red

I needed some light reading after this week; so All Systems Red, the first book in the Murderbot Diaries series by Martha Wells seemed like a really great place to start. It we sent to me through the Life's Library Book club (Y'all should check it out, and all proceeds go to Partners in Health), and I've loved everything they sent me; and any book belonging to a series titled the Murderbot Diaries had to be a ton of fun.

This book drops you into a whirlwind adventure. Taking place in a universe where we have explored a large portion of space, our protagonist is a piece of equipment that is made up of both organic and machine parts, rented out to survey crews for the greatest profit. Unnamed, it calls itself Murderbot, but never when anyone else is around. When a series of accidents befall the team that it has been rented out too, Murderbot has to find a way to keep them safe while trying to explore its own sentience in peace.

This book was funny, sarcastic, and gave an amazing peek into a human condition in a meaningful way. A quick read at 154 pages, it packs a punch. Easy to fall into, compelling, and unbelievably All Systems Red five out of five stars.

A Year in 100 Books: Quarantine Edition

As many of us are compelled to stay home due to the spread of Covid-19, I felt it might be time to start up the blog again until things settle down. I have found that I feel a bit useless sitting at home, and need to feel like I'm doing something helpful and productive to keep the anxiety at bay. So I'm gonna talk to you all about the books that I'm reading. And maybe share pictures of whatever I'm knitting, or the kittens. You know, uplifting stuff. So lets start with the first book:

The End is Always Near

by Dan Carlin

I know right, starting of with some super uplifting material. It was a really good read. For those who don't know Dan Carlin, he is the host of Dan Carlin's hardcore history, a long form podcast about different events in history (and by long form I mean long. Most pods are 5 hours or more, and most stories are like good apologies, they come in three parts). 

This book looks specifically at humanities most apocalyptic moments, beginning with the bronze age collapse ("the sea peoples!") and ending with the proliferation of nuclear arms and examining how our quest for greater weaponry has changed who we are as people. Very well researched, though a quicker read than I thought it would be given the length of his podcasts. Carlin asks big questions about how these changes have shaped humanity, "What's the connection between the factual past and the speculative future?" He ties in effects of the effects of such events as the collapse of Rome, and the great plagues of the past, and looks at how the people living then might have felt. (There's a cool argument to made that the rise of guilds, and workers rights, might have arisen as a consequence of the black death.)

I give The End is Always Near four and a half out of five stars. It was a good reminder that things have been bad before, and they will be bad again, but we still have power to create the world we want to live in. I wish it was longer.