Non-Fiction

What I Ate In One Year

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by Stanley Tucci
First sentence: “I never dream about food.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Release date: October 15, 2024
ARC pilfered from the shelves at work.
Content: There is some swearing, including quite a few f-bombs, though he often censors himself. It’s in the Biography section of the bookstore.

This one has a simple enough premise: every single day (mostly) of 2023, Tucci wrote about what he ate. He missed a few days, he summed up a few days, but for the most part, he did it. He also writes about the things connected to food: shopping, cooking, and interacting with friends and family. He also writes about the pleasure he has with eating and cooking and sitting down with people he cares about to have a meal.

And the book is glorious. Truly.

In something so mundane as recording what he ate, Tucci finds something interesting to say, about food, about life and living, about companionship and friendship, and about how food connects us and makes the world grander. It’s truly a delight to sit with the actor over the course of the year. I adored the book. I’m glad he includes recipes, I’m glad he decided to do something so simple as this. And honestly: Tucci has become one of my all-time favorite food writers. (Reading it often made me want to go cook and eat.)

I adored this one.

Audiobook: The Bookshop

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by Evan Friss
Read by Jay Myers
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: There were a few swear words, including a couple f-bombs. It’s in the Literary Reference section of the bookstore.

The subtitle of the book is “A History of the American Bookstore”, and that really sums it up. Friss looks at the role the bookstore has played in America from the time of Ben Franklin through to Amazon and Barnes & Noble today. He looks at small bookshops, publisher-run bookstores, the corporate giants, and used bookstores (as well as street vendors in New York City) and the role that they all play in the book publishing business.

Perhaps it’s because I am a bookseller and just a bookish person in general, but I found this fascinating. I did think it was a bit New York-centric for my tastes, but that probably can’t be helped: New York is the center of the publishing world, after all. I do think I learned things about the way bookstores have survived through the ups and downs over the years and the introduction of new technologies. I don’t think bookstores are on the way out; I think there is still value in buying and owning books, and I think Friss demonstrates that bookstores are still valued parts of society (at least in many places). It’s very much a self-congratulatory book (his wife works at an independent bookstore) but it’s a good one.

The Serviceberry

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by Robin Wall Kimmerer
First sentence: “The cool breath of evening slips off the wooded hills, displacing the heat of the day, and with it come the birds, as eager for the cool as I am.”
Support your local independent boIokstore: buy it there!
Release date: November 19, 2024
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Content: It’s small and thin, with illustrations, nothing super difficult, so even interested younger people could read it. It will be in the Science section of the bookstore.

In this slim book, Kimmerer reflects on the inherently service- and gift-oriented nature of, well, nature, and how humans can learn from that. It’s a simple thesis, but one that I think is inherently radical: if we gave up a market economy, where people are expected to earn and consume and live for the individual, and moved toward a more gift-based economy, where if you had enough you shared with others, regardless of what they did or did not have, the world would have to change.

My religious tradition espouses this, at least on paper, and so I was interested to read how Kimmerer approached it. She was very much “wow, wouldn’t this be a better way to live?” I kept thinking of the Bill McKibben books I’ve read, and how forthright and outspoken he is about the climate, culture, and how capitalism isn’t good for the earth. Contrast that with Kimmerer: she’s saying many of the same things but is much less, well, cranky about it. She is out there witnessing that she finds fulfillment in giving to others, and finds joy in the knowledge that others have received of her bounty. She lambasts those who take without care of those who have less – she tells a story about someone who stole the stand that the free farm food was on, and compares it to companies who take from the earth without thought or consequence. Perhaps her method is a better way of getting people to think about the costs of capitalism: she’s soothing, she’s kind, she’s reflective, and she’s out there reminding people that giving of your excess, rather than hoarding it, is in fact the way to a better, happier life.

This is one I’m going to buy and reread because it’s a good reminder of what’s good in life.

Audiobook: Soul of an Octopus

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by Sy Montgomery
Read by the author
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: There’s probaby not a lot that’s questionable, content-wise. It’s in the science section of the bookstore.

I’ve seen this book around for years, and have even given it as a gift a couple of times, but have never read it. There was a sale at Libro.fm recently (Independent Bookstore Day, maybe?) and this was on sale, so I picked it up. I figured it might be a good listen while we were on vacation. (The kids nixed that; they said she sounded overly enamored with the octopuses.)

This is Montgomery’s exploration of octopuses. That’s really the best summary. It’s not a history, it’s not a true scientific exploration. No, Montgomery got to know several octopuses at the New England aquarium, and she was interested in knowing more about them. Not just the way they interact with humans, but how they act in the wild and how they process information. It’s kind of a memoir, since it’s her experiences, though she does talk to scientists and gets to know the director of the aquarium. Mostly, though, it’s her Thoughts and Experiences With Octopuses.

And it was interesting. She was a very amenable reader, though once my kids mentioned that she sounded overly enamored with the octopuses, I couldn’t unhear that. She does love the animals, and that comes through. I liked the depictions of interactions she had with the animals, and even though I felt like she anthropomorphized them, maybe they really did have the feelings/emotions/reactions that she attributed to them. I am a little conflicted about the way aquariums get their animals (I don’t know why I didn’t think they were taking them from the wild), but other than that, I enjoyed this one.

Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent

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by Judi Dench and with Brendan O’Hea
First sentence: “This was never meant to be a book.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: There is some swearing, including a few f-bombs. It’s in the Shakespeare section of the bookstore.

First off: Dame Judi has been in a LOT of Shakespeare plays. This book is a play-by-play, role-by-role breakdown of all the plays (many of the plays?) that she has been in in her 60 years of acting. Which is a long time. It’s a conversation between her and Brendan O’Hea, as they go through each role, and talk about motivations, memories, and thoughts about each play.

It’s a fascinating book, but it’s a LOT of book. She’s been in a LOT of plays, and she has Thoughts about them. While I was reading it, I was fascinated by it all. But, I could only read a chapter a day, so it took me a long time to get through the book. I almost would have rather seen this as a documentary, but I did appreciate her thoughts. It’s more acting-focused, because she’s an actor (obviously), but I appreciated her thoughts on the words and the plays. Her memory is remarkable, and she has been around the block several times, so she has some worthwhile things to say.

So: worthwhile, but take it in small chunks.

There Was Nothing You Could Do

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Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U. S. A.” and the End of the Heartland
by Steven Hyden
First sentence: “My story opens like a Bruce Springsteen song – with a car, my father, a life-changing moment, and an indeterminate mix of autobiography and myth.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: There is some swearing, including a few well-placed f-bombs. It’s in the Music section of the bookstore.

Some context: I was 12 when Born in the U.S.A. came out, and not quite 13 when it hit big. I remember the album, I have a vivid memory about the first time I saw the Dancing in the Dark video, and I’ve listened to it on and off over the years. (My favorite song is the very pedantic Glory Days.) While I’ve listened to Springsteen’s music, I would, in no way call myself a fan. However, my daughter, A, has recently discovered The Boss and has become a massive fan of his music. And when I saw this one come in at the store, I immediately thought of her. But I decided to read it before sending it along.

In it, Hyden takes an interesting journey with the album, detailing the role it played (and has continued to play) in both pop culture and Springsteen’s life and music. It’s an interesting look at the album – Hyden gets into the weeds a bit with the music and the making of the album, but not so much that I couldn’t follow along. He details how Springsteen reacted to his fame following the record, as well as the influences it has had on the bands of the era as well as ones that have followed.

I enjoyed reading it, though I’m not sure it’s meant for those who aren’t Springsteen Fans. I don’t know the albums he talks about or the songs he details, but I still found the book interesting. Hyden’s a good writer, and he made a good case for the influence Springsteen had in the mid-80s, his reaction to it, and how he fits in the fragmented culture we have today.

Audiobook: The Mango Tree

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by Annabelle Tometitch
Read by the author
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: There is a depiction of abuse by a parent, talk of suicide, and swearing, including multiple f-bombs. It’s in the Biography section of the bookstore.

Annabelle Tomtetich’s mom, an immigrant from the Philippines, was arrested for firing a BB gun at a person who was trying to steal her mangoes from the mango tree in her front yard. To understand how she came to this point Tometich takes us through her (not her mother’s) childhood, the relationship she had with her mother, and possibly most importantly, how she views the relationship her mother had with the world around her. It’s a fascinating story, one that I think a lot of children of immigrants will recognize, but it’s also a story of grief and heartache, of anxiety and compulsion, and of coming to terms with life in southwest Florida. 

This was a delightful memoir. I related to the 70s childhood of no phones and hanging out with friends, though I didn’t have an over-protective Philippine mom. I appreciated the way Tomtetich tied everything together – from her father’s death when she was 9, through her obsessive need for approval, and her discovery of her love of writing and food, to her up-and-down relationship with her mother. I feel that Tometitch did an excellent job as a narrator as well.

My only regret was that it was less food-y than I was hoping it would be, but that’s just a minor quibble. It’s an excellent book to listen to.  

Audiobook: Freaks, Gleeks, and Dawson’s Creek

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by Thea Glassman
Read by Christine Lakin
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: There is swearing, including multiple f-bombs, as well as talk of bullying. It’s in the Film section of the bookstore.

When we recently drove down to Dallas to see the eclipse, I went through my backlog of audiobooks, looking for something interesting we could listen to and I landed on this. From the subtitle – How 7 Teen Shows Transformed Television – it sounded like an interesting look at pop culture and the ways that teen stories can affect television as a whole. She was looking at The Fresh Prince of Bel Aire, My So-Called Life, Dawson’s Creek, The OC, Freaks & Geeks, Friday Night Lights, and Glee. Although we’ve not watched many of the shows, we figured, why not listen and see if we learn anything interesting?

What we got – and we bailed on about half of it – was a fangirl’s treatise on each show. At one point, one of the girls asked “What is her thesis? Does she even have one?” And we had to say that her thesis, as far as we could tell, was “I loved these shows, and you should too.” She documented each series from the beginning to the end, talking about and to writers, creators, and maybe actors. Many personal interviews were going to be done. This is all fine and good: if you love your ’90s teen soaps, then more power to you. I am just objecting to the idea that there was substance to this book. Because there wasn’t.

We ended up skipping The OC, Freaks & Geeks, and Friday Night Lights because we just weren’t that interested in what she had to say. But, I suppose, if you, like her, loved these shows, you’d probably get more out of this book than I did.

American Zion

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by Benjamin E. Park
First sentence: “In June 2009, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints completed a new library and archives.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: It’s a dense work of history, but it’s quite readable. There is also polygamy and racism. it’s in the History section of the bookstore.

This is a sweeping history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, from its beginnings through Joseph Smith to the present day. But Park puts a bit of a spin on it: he’s looking at church history as it parallels the history of the country. It’s not comprehensive – it’s only 407 pages long – but Park does touch on not only the highlights but also addresses some of the more controversial aspects of the religion.

It’s a fascinating look at the religion. I was fascinated by the context that Park placed the religion in, especially the parallels between the changes in the region and the changes in America. I thought he was balanced with both polygamy and racism within the church, and while I learned things I didn’t know, I also knew a lot of the information (it helps being married to a Mormon history junkie). I found it easy enough to read – each chapter covered 50 years, and while they were long, they weren’t impossible to get through. I’m not much for deep history, but I felt this one was palatable even for a non-scholar.

I’m glad I got the push to buy and read this one; it was a fascinating read.

Audio Book: All Boys Aren’t Blue

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by George M. Johnson
Read by the author
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: There is some swearing, including a few f-bombs. There is also a graphic depiction of sexual assault and some on-page sex. It’s in the Teen Issues section of the bookstore.

In the wake of Nex Benedict’s death, and at the end of Black History month, I decided it was time to listen to this one, which I’ve had on my TBR pile since it came out in 2020. Nominally, Johnson’s memoir of a childhood growing up in a loving Black family while questioning his sexuality and gender, All Boys Aren’t Blue tackles both the feeling of being on the outside because one can’t conform to traditional ideas of what gender is, and feeling loved and included by one’s family. Johnson frames much of his childhood through the lens of trauma – from being beat up when he was 5 by neighborhood bullies to his sexual assault by a cousin – but also reinforces the idea that his family loved and accepted him (mostly) unconditionally.

I think this is an important book, and one that is most definitnely needed. I believe that Johnson’s voice is one that should be heard and respected. Was it a good book, though? Maybe? He was, however, not a good narrator. He was earnest, but often stiff and inelegant in his delivery. I think I would have liked this one a lot better had I read it rather than listening to it. That said, I’m glad it’s out there, for kids to find and hopefully help them navigate the waters of growing up.