From Russia With Love by Ian Fleming

From Russia With Love by Ian Fleming
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

DNF at 50%. I was humming along with this ridiculous plot. A female Russian spy basically announces herself to James Bond instead of actually being sneaky, but I thought, whatever, it’s just a fun trashy book. But then I hit a big rapey wall of misogyny and nope I can’t do it. Life is too short. I’m taking the rest of the Bond books off my physical and Goodreads to-read shelves. They’re all a racist-sexist mess.

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Race Matters by Cornel West

Race Matters by Cornel West
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Interesting nuanced views. I was especially interested in his specific ideas about capitalist consumerism and mass media pushing particular values, especially increased sexuality and violence. I was also interested in his discussion of redistribution of wealth that predominantly affects the middle class and not the poor and his short essay on Clarence Thomas and Anita Hill which stood the test of time pretty well.

West's essay about black and white sexuality reminded me a lot of some essay I read in college about sexuality as rebellion in Cuba's oppressive regime. And feminism also talks a lot about the patriarchy's restriction of sexuality. It doesn't strike me as intuitive, and I struggle to understand why sexual control leads to political control? But it seems universal and pervasive in oppressive regimes all over the world.

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Skin in the Game by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Skin in the Game: The Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I've purchased some of his previous books, but I borrowed this one from the library, and this will be my last Taleb book. Taleb said several times that all that matters is the reader (although the future reader- so probably still not me), so let me join the ranks of people who think the manner in which he conveys his ideas is ridiculously rude, offensive, and ineffective. I've read satire and that is certainly not the issue here. His tone was a disaster even at the beginning of the book, but I thought-- I can handle it, I'm not a delicate flower. Then I noticed his extreme lack of logical argument or evidence for his points in this book. I could think of numerous counterarguments and counter-examples to things he said, which Taleb never subsequently addressed. Then I noticed his tone and accusations were getting progressively ruder and more unsubstantiated.

While the basic "skin in the game" premise makes sense in a way that can be explained in a few sentences or a short essay, the rest of this book is mostly a diatribe against intellectuals and academics. And then Taleb tires to periodically rely on intellectuals for numerous arguments he makes. It's completely crazy. I mean, did he go off medication or develop a brain tumor? Because I actually really liked Black Swan, and I found Antifragile interesting. But I wouldn't recommend this one at all unless you want to waste a chunk of your life and maybe raise your blood pressure.

Also, you know what a central problem is with Taleb, in particular, attacking well-read educated individuals? They constitute the majority of the reading public, and especially the portion of the reading public that sits down with books about statistics or probability. He even specifically attacked intellectuals with Black Swan on their bookshelves. I mean, really.

PS. Is he pro-anxiety? I can oblige him there.

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Proteinaholic by Garth Davis

Proteinaholic: How Our Obsession with Meat Is Killing Us and What We Can Do About It by Garth Davis
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Davis is persuasive that animal-derived products are mostly terrible for you. I especially enjoyed the section where he explains to the public how to look at scientific studies. I also enjoyed the very scientific bent of the book with study after study because I generally enjoy super-nerdy-science reading.

This book isn't a diet book though. He's strong on the not-eating-meat point, but he doesn't spend much time on other things you shouldn't eat, and he only spends a little bit of time on things he thinks you should eat. I suspect that the vast majority of his research was on meat only, and he has very little idea about the specifics of say, wheat. I'm dubious based on the science that I've read that wheat is a healthy food to consume. Yes, maybe meat is even worse, but that doesn't mean you'll do great on a high wheat diet. The Okinawans don't eat much meat- though they do eat some fish- and they don't eat wheat. I don't doubt that some very specific healthy wheat products are available (and likely to go bad quickly because of lack of preservatives), but it seems like the majority of wheat products are pretty bad. And sugar is the devil.

Conclusion: working on cutting the animal products out of my diet.

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Mao II by Don DeLillo

Mao II by Don DeLillo
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It’s really hard to write a book that is both literary and has a good plot. This is literary only. It’s about human groups, God, politics, and terror, and how these things relate. It’s also about writing, writers, and the importance of art.

But in my opinion, the actual plot is awful. I don’t care about any of the characters except maybe Karen but I want to read a whole book about Karen’s adventures (as a Moonie and beyond) and thoughts. I didn’t care for Karen’s self-objectification though. And then the characters have sort of random unrelated actions that don’t unify into a narrative.

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Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche

Thus Spoke Zarathustra by Friedrich Nietzsche
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

There are many interesting little thoughts in here, but I had some issues. One is that I found the language very cumbersome. I looked at two different translations so I don't think it was the translations' fault precisely, but I think the issues originated from Nietzsche trying to sound grand like in a religious text.

Also, this is neither a nonfiction philosophical work where ideas are organized in a logical way and then reasoned through for readers nor is it a true work of fiction such as in Siddhartha. It's sort of a hybrid. Zarathustra was apparently a historical person, and this book is pretty much, as the title suggests, Zarathrustra just talking about his philosophy. That was... okay.

Maybe if I learn more about the work and then return to it, I'll be better able to understand it and therefore like it better?

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Inferior by Angela Saini

Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong—and the New Research That's Rewriting the Story by Angela Saini
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is important and super interesting. Everyone should read this and especially women. I wish some of the research were more clear, but I suppose that’s the nature of research that is still in progress.

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Bad Blood by John Carreyrou

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’m not that interested in Theranos specifically, but what is interesting about this book is all the patterns of corruption that I’ve seen before in numerous places: bullying people through numerous expensive bogus law suits, wanting employees to be loyal instead of highly qualified (which often includes nepotism), toxic work environments, numerous firings: especially when people are fired for questioning appropriate work practices, lying or loose ethical standards by management, employees that are so stressed that they start keeping written records of their interactions with management.

The employee suicide was a horror, and they should have focused on that part more. Also the involvement of General Mattis is super weird. Otherwise, the book could have benefitted from a lot of editing though because it keeps talking about how the product wasn't working and they kept pretending it did. Okay, I get it.

Surprisingly the end of the book was the most exciting. It was a meta section about how difficult it was to get the story of Theranos corruption published. Another reminder of how important free journalism is.

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The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish

The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow! I laughed out loud, I cried, this was intense. I wasn’t familiar with Tiffany Haddish before. Apparently, I’m just not paying attention though because she’s in about a million movies. She has a special coming up on Netflix and I’m excited to see it.

Also, I love her friends!

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Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It just wasn't my favorite classic. There are some good sentences, and I did feel for the loneliness and heartbreak of the monster, but he really overreacted, so it was hard to feel for him too much. And the whole thing about learning language was really offputting. Fun to learn, after all these years that Frankenstein was the creator, not the monster.

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Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is wonderfully written and I loved everything about it, even the sad parts... until the end. Then I felt like Helen said a lot of weird unrealistic things about wanting to feel like a woman (?). And I wanted a more realistic future for the easy-to-love Giovanni too.

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Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky

Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Pretty boring, fairly disorganized, but occasionally has some interesting information. I love fish eggs of any kind so I kind of enjoyed that (very short) part in particular. If the apocalypse hits this book would probably be handy since we'll have to figure out how to obtain salt and keep food fresh all on our own. ;)

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What Was the First Thanksgiving? by Joan Holub

What Was the First Thanksgiving? by Joan Holub
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm not an expert in the history of Thanksgiving so I don't know how precisely accurate this was, but it was a more balanced account of the event than I received when I was growing up. It definitely mentioned injustices to the Native Americans, though it wasn't fully focused on that. I read this to both of my kids and we all learned some new things, and we discussed further what it said about Native Americans.

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Sanctuary by William Faulkner

Sanctuary by William Faulkner
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The writing is very good obviously, but it does that thing that literary writing sometimes does where it is very emotionally painful to read and yet at the same time fairly boring. Additionally, because this is Faulkner, it was also difficult to follow. I would definitely not recommend this. I only finished it because 1) it was one of my dad's books, and 2) it's a classic.

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The Pastures of Heaven by John Steinbeck

The Pastures of Heaven by John Steinbeck
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Steinbeck is often such a bummer and this was no exception but something about these little sad vignettes was so enjoyable. This is my favorite Steinbeck novel so far. I’d love to reread it sometime and map out the townspeople as I go (especially Burt’s involvement in all the stories).

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Not That Bad edited by Roxane Gay

Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture by Roxane Gay
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This essay collection was interesting and I think it’s important for people to read it and discuss it. Probably especially with your children. That said, it left me feeling a little unmoored. The rules are changing quickly (and will probably change more going forward). We’re not all clear on the current rules, even those of us who care deeply about human autonomy. Some of these essays really needed more outside context for some of us to fully understand.

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So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is race and racism 101. The explanations were extremely cogent and even where you might not initially see the author's point she is also very persuasive. I especially loved when she explained some of the dynamics in her relationship with her white mother and how she had to explain some things even to her. This would be a fabulous gift for almost everyone in America.

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Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev

Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is more about how the older generation and the younger generation view each than specifically on the internal personal relationship between fathers and sons (though there is some of the latter). It's also about how romanticism and rationalism alternate in importance throughout generations, though the way Turgenev wrote he seems to have a distinct preference for romanticism and a bit of an unfair categorization of rationalism-- also, why do they need to be mutually exclusive. I really like the complete mess of a character of Bazarov and his growth in some things, and also his lack of growth in other things, throughout the novel.

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Russian Roulette by Michael Isikoff, David Corn

Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin's War on America and the Election of Donald Trump by Michael Isikoff, David Corn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Why did this happen?: "... Putin’s larger strategic vision: [is to] 'to destroy NATO, destroy the European Union, and seriously harm the United States.'" Putin successfully harmed the US, not (just) because of who won the Presidential election, but because he successfully destabilized our democracy and the democratic process and sewed distrust and division throughout the US population.

How did this happen? Who is responsible? The Obama White House is to blame for not disclosing that our election system was under attack until too late. Who else? The news media sought profitable salacious Trump stories, and also reported on hacked Democratic emails, instead of focusing on the incredible Russian hacks. Also, there was FBI Director Comey- who I don't think made his bad decisions because of partisan reasons but still made phenomenally bad choices, at did so least two different times. There is plenty of blame left for Republican Congress members that didn't speak out against Russian election interference for purely partisan reasons, and basically handed our democracy to Russia in 2016, but also going forward.

President Trump himself has stated on numerous occasions that he believes the word of Putin, an enemy of democracy who frequently orders the murder of his opposition, over the US Intelligence Agencies' unanimous agreement of Russian interference in our elections. That makes him an accessory-after-the-fact whether or not he colluded with Russia before the election.

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Eloquent Rage by Brittney Cooper

Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Brittney Cooper
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is excellent. I try to read a lot of books about feminism and racism, and this book is so great because there is not one wasted paragraph- not once did I think oh, I've read all this before. Cooper has an excess of interesting and nuanced ideas. She is an excellent writer as well, so she is able to communicate her unique ideas in an especially clear and persuasive manner. This is clearly going to be one of those nonfiction books that I proselytize about by buying it for lots of unsuspecting friends and family.

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The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling

The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

5 stars for the stories that actually involve Mowgli and his friends and animal family, 4 stars for the story of the Jesus seal, 5 stars for Rikki Tiki Tavi, but 3 stars for the elephant story, and 3 stars for the mule, baggage camel, and troop horse story. I almost didn’t finish the book.

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Destroying Angel by Richard Paul Russo

Destroying Angel by Richard Paul Russo
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Perhaps I am the wrong audience for this book as I don’t particularly enjoy horror-thrillers, but even more than being the wrong audience I thought the almost-ending was bad. It’s a trilogy though so I am a bit tempted to continue since I’ve already invested this much.

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21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari

21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The first quarter of the book is necessary and terrifying to contemplate. Much of the rest of the book turns into a discussion of world religions that I found less relevant to the beginning thrust of the book. I also don’t usually like religious discussions by people that are mostly dismissive of religion. Not because I’m especially religious myself but the dismissals are often less interesting than say the nuanced explorations of Karen Armstrong or other religious scholars. Not my favorite of Harari’s books.

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