Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Thoroughly entertaining romance and adventure fantasy book. Even though it’s long, it’s a pleasure that it’s long. It only took me 2 weeks to read it because I enjoyed it enough to keep coming back to it. Some disturbing things happen towards the end though and it does make me nervous to continue with the series.

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White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo

White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism by Robin DiAngelo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read a lot about racism (and sexism) and I still think this book provided me with something valuable. It's a different framework from which to view the problems we face and how to best conduct yourself when opposing racism. I'm still trying to process how this works with (or sometimes contradicts?) the type anti-racism espoused by Ibram X. Kendi.

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Untamed by Glennon Doyle

Untamed by Glennon Doyle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Yes and no. It's fun and she has some good ideas sometimes but her thinking and writing is a bit of a mess. She contradicts herself a lot and seems to know very little about academic feminism though she styles herself as the greatest feminist ever. I liked it, and I like her, but I can live without her consumerist version of feminism where you can do whatever you want (because it sells stuff). She doesn't even actually behave that way in real life, instead trying very hard to do good and help people through community organizers. To that end, she seems to suspect there's more to feminism but because she hasn't given it any real study, she doesn't realize she's cherry-picking from contradictory feminist camps. I am not an expert either, but I know enough to know her philosophy is flawed. As I said though, I loved a lot of her ideas (possibly the ones appropriated from her therapist but I'll take it). Her type of Christianity is very similar to mine (though not completely) and I appreciate that as well.

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Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman

Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A dangerous and exciting adventure in San Francisco as two friends try to break codes and solve a literary puzzle. Slow start, but fun exciting midway on.

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Wayside School Gets A Little Stranger by Louis Sachar

Wayside School Gets A Little Stranger (Wayside #3) by Louis Sachar
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Not as good as the first two but nice to see the adults’ lives progress.

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Wayside School Is Falling Down by Louis Sachar

Wayside School Is Falling Down (Wayside #2) by Louis Sachar
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I didn’t expect the sequel to be as good as the original. I wish I’d read it as a kid.

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Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds, Ibram X. Kendi

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds, Ibram X. Kendi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I thought this would be a mini version of Stamped from the Beginning for children but that’s completely wrong. This is very much its own book, excellent for adults and teens alike. It was packed on every page with facts and thoughtful analysis, likely the result of amazing writing and tight editing. I can’t recommend it enough.

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How to Survive a Pandemic by Michael Greger

How to Survive a Pandemic by Michael Greger
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

There was interesting information and analysis here even with all the reading I’ve been doing on this topic. However, it needed more editing, as it was repetitive, seemed to go back and forth to the same topics, and it was definitely too long as a result.

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Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin

Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

There were times when I was reading this that I thought I didn’t like this book that much. It’s not an easy book. But I kept at it and finally it opened up. This is a classic among the classics.

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