Reviews with TLC

Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein presents an observation on the world that I desperately wanted to not make as much sense as it did. I didn't want to see the parallels between the beliefs I hold dear and the ones I absolutely abhor. Yet, Klein reminded me of something I've long preached to others - that we need to see each other to understand each other to make any real change. Much of what Doppelganger examines also proves that the issues we face are far more nuanced than we think and how that lack of nuance sends us to our own corners repeatedly. Klein weaves a narrative that demonstrates how easy it is for people in power to sow divisiveness by creating doppelganger ideologies that have us seeing each other as the problem instead of seeing the power of unity. Klein uses her own experience of being confused with Naomi Wolf repeatedly to illustrate her point and to explain what motivated her to look into the mirror world and find all these doppelgang...

Perfect Victims and the Politics of Appeal by Mohammed El-Kurd refuses to flinch in all the best ways making it an important book to read for anyone trying to better understand the world. El-Kurd examines, dissects, and analyzes political and social discourse around Palestine and Palestinians. El-Kurd manages to be blunt, eloquent, lyrical, and honest all at the same time. He doesn't hold back unless it's to deliberately expose a larger point. There were moments when I felt uncomfortable and resistant while reading Perfect Victims before seeing those moments as opportunities for growth and better understanding. El-Kurd's writing is an invitation to take off the blinders of misinformation, disinformation, and preconceptions in order to see the world and humanity a little clearer and maybe, just maybe, take action to make the world better. Perfect Victims reminds the reader that to demand a victim to be perfect is to inflict even more harm because there is no such thing as...

Black Roses by Ariel Day is a short book filled with easy to read poems. Day writes about life experiences in relatable and engaging language. I really enjoyed the simplicity of many of the poems in Black Roses especially the ones with a twist that exposed an underlying emotional complexity. Day's poems reminded me of past experiences, some that felt more bittersweet even in remembering former pain. Black Roses comforted, inspired, and sometimes surprised me with poems that are short but impactful. Currently Reading: Doppelganger: A Trip Into the Mirror World  by Naomi Klein Perfect Victims: And the Politics of Appeal  by Mohammed El-Kurd We the Gathered Heat: Asian American and Pacific Islander Poetry, Performaance, and Spoken Word by Franny Choi, Bao Phi, No'u Revilla, and Terisa Siagaonu (editors) Disclosure: This blog contains affiliate links meaning if you click on those links and make a purchase, I earn a commission at no additional cost to you. If you'd like to f...

Before the Next Bomb Drops: Rising Up from Brooklyn to Palestine by Remi Kanazi challenges preconceptions and misconceptions by drawing parallels that are sometimes a bit uncomfortable but immersive and realistic. Kanazi writes poetry that is  incredibly beautiful, intensely blunt, and sometimes satisfyingly sarcastic often bringing one to an unexpected realization through the reading. Before the Next Bomb Drops feels current and historical at the same time in its examination of dynamics between peoples, governments, and societies.  Currently Reading: Doppelganger: A Trip Into the Mirror World  by Naomi Klein Perfect Victims: And the Politics of Appeal  by Mohammed El-Kurd Black Roses - Poems about love, heartbreak, mental health, healing, grief and loss   by Ariel Day Disclosure: This blog contains affiliate links meaning if you click on those links and make a purchase, I earn a commission at no additional cost to you. If you'd like to follow what I'm reading...

Our History is the Future: Standing Rock Versus the Dakota Access Pipeline, and the Long Tradition of Indigenous Resistance by Nick Estes is a well-written, engaging but stark reminder that denying or ignoring history doesn't change what actually happened. Estes examines many of the ways the United States has whitewashed history in terms of its treatment of Indigenous peoples ever since Europeans discovered the North and South American continents. Estes offers a glimpse into the lives of the Indigenous people and how they resisted colonization and their own erasure. Our History is the Future investigates the various treaties with the Indigenous tribes broken by the United States government over centuries. Estes ties together struggles by Indigenous peoples around the world. In one particular example, Estes demonstrates how Palestinians and the Indigenous Peoples in the United States have supported each other as they have faced similar challenges. Explaining the #NoDAPL movement i...

Hues of Humanity: A Poetry Collection by Carlin W. Allen grabbed my attention with its cover and title. The concept of exploring the hues of humanity felt like such an interesting play of words, I wanted to know where Allen would go. I felt intensely connected to some poems that I didn't expect to connect to and oddly detached from others in ways that I expected to pull me in. Somehow these surprise reactions felt right in the moment. Allen explores myriad aspects of being human and living in a complex society with a mix of seriousness and levity that felt more immersive that ignoring one aspect for the other might have. Hues of Humanity plays with language to play with the human experience demonstrating how our individual uniqueness and our collective commonalities can unite us. Currently Reading: Our History is the Future: Standing Rock Versus The Dakota Access Pipeline, and the Long Tradition of Indigenous Resistance  by Nick Estes Doppelganger: A Trip Into the Mirror World ...

How Not to Age: The Scientific Approach to Getting Healthier as You Get Older by Michael Greger, M.D., FACLM continues Greger's exploration into the research of how to eat the healthiest diet possible to live the healthiest life possible for the longest healthy life possible. While I understood the need for Greger to refer to videos on his website for further explanation given how long the book already is, I found it distracting at times. How Not to Age isn't a fountain of youth as much as a guide to the benefits of eating healthfully and avoiding unhealthy food. As anyone who has followed Gregor's work knows, the answers are often to follow a plant-based diet still I appreciate that Greger is honest enough to explore even the studies that tangentially point in other directions. How Not to Age debunks myths and explores studies including who paid for the studies and whether the sponsors have a vested interest in the outcome, particularly for their own income at the expen...

Collected Works of Kahlil Gibran is a compilation of a variety of types of works written by Kahlil Gibran.  As soon as I let go of my expectation that there would be more poetry in Collected Works of Kahlil Gibran and subsequently my disappointment that my expectation wasn't met, I really enjoyed Gibran's work. There are a lot of interesting short stories that would classify as flash fiction. There are some excellent poems. There are a couple of engaging novellas. Gibran's writing felt relevant enough to today's world that I had to remind myself a few times that all his works were written before 1931. Collected Works of Kahlil Gibran explores living, loving, society, religion, and tradition both directly and indirectly with intentional, impactful, and often beautiful writing about interesting characters and events. Currently Reading: How Not to Age: The Scientific Approach to Getting Healthier as You Get Older  by Michael Gregor, Md. Our History is the Future: Standi...

A Guide for Writing & Recording Guided Imagery Meditations by Glenda Cedarleaf, MSW served as research for me as I explore the possibility of writing and recording meditations. I appreciated Cedarleaf's insights into writing meditation scripts and examples of scripts as she shares her journey to writing and recording meditations. With seventy sample scripts included, Cedarleaf's patterns and signatures become apparent in the scripts at times tempting me to skim or skip parts of the meditations.  I felt a need to balance the helpful parts of  A Guide for Writing & Recording Guided Imagery Meditations  with the promotional elements were woven throughout. At times reading the scripts felt almost like meditating rather than studying meditation. Overall, A Guide for Writing & Recording Guided Imagery Meditations is an interesting and informative look at the process of creating guided meditations for a variety of situations. Currently Reading: How Not to Age:...

The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates frames his writing and teaching careers around his observations in an almost conversational manner that feels more intimate than I expected.  The Message centers three experiences that highlight Coates coming to terms with his evolving beliefs while using his writing to shine a light on the world in which we live. While Coates's evolution on Palestine has garnered the most attention in the media, all three sections of the book pull together the message he's conveying. I felt like I was experiencing Senegal with him including his moments of self-questioning. His trip to South Carolina to sit in on a meeting where the local citizens were standing up against a ban of one of his books reminded me both that there are good and bad people everywhere and just how important books are. The Message pulled me in to each of Coates's experiences and also his struggle with the evolution of his beliefs when he finds them challenged by the reality he exper...

Fallen Grace by Sadeqa Johnson packs a lot in a few pages in this engaging short story. I immediately felt immersed in the characters' lives enough to care what happened to them. Fallen Grace follows two young girls who escape from a home where young girls are sent to have babies and try to figure out how to take care of a baby while finding their way in a segregated community. Johnson demonstrates the hypocrisy of judging others when grace could be given by highlighting the mistakes and betrayals that prove people are fallible and also worthy. Fallen Grace explores family, friendship, religion, social standing, and empowerment with honesty, realism, and grace.   Currently Reading: How Not to Age: The Scientific Approach to Getting Healthier as You Get Older  by Michael Gregor, Md. Collected Works of Kahlil Gibran The Message  by Ta-Nehisi Coates Disclosure: This blog contains affiliate links meaning if you click on those links and make a purchase, I earn a commission ...

Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America by Ijeoma Oluo took me on more of a roller-coaster ride than I expected. Oluo argues her points so well I often found myself nodding along and wincing at the same time. I was amazed at how accurately Mediocre caused me to pause several times as it seemed to line up far too well with certain situations I've recently encountered proving how indoctrinated these ideas are in all of our lives. Oluo addresses the dynamics of power that feed racism, misogyny, and other forms of oppression. At times, I felt like Oluo was far kinder than she needed to be but other times I questioned some of her more moderate points, both of which surprised me. I didn't necessarily agree with everything Oluo wrote, but even the things I questioned gave me a perspective to consider to better understand where other people are coming from. Mediocre offers an intense but interesting examination of society to anyone willing to expand their ideology aroun...

The Bookstore Keepers by Alice Hoffman continues the story of Isabel's life after returning to the island she left in her young adulthood. In this story, Isabel must figure out how to support Johnny after life creates a change in him that she doesn't know how to approach. Add in her niece wanting a different life than expected causing a bit of upheaval for the whole family demonstrating how accepting change often means letting go of expectations and finding a way to find common ground. The Bookstore Keepers is a sweet story of family facing life and working through the challenges of failing to meet expectations, changing expectations, and creating a new path forward together. Currently Reading: Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America  by Ijeoma Oluo How Not to Age: The Scientific Approach to Getting Healthier as You Get Older  by Michael Gregor, Md. Collected Works of Kahlil Gibran Fallen Grace  by Sadeqa Johnson The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates Disclosure:...

Dusty's Winter by Maeve Binchy started in a place I didn't expect but soon made sense. Dusty's relationship with her family and her friends is interesting and intriguing. The decisions Dusty makes have an innocence that feels naive yet she somehow often makes decisions that are good for those around her and demonstrate a fortitude and awareness that both surprises and feels obvious. Binchy creates flawed characters who manage to feel relatable and unrelatable at the same time in Dusty's Winter . As the characters make mistakes and then deal with the consequences, the family's worries about their image feel far too realistic. Dusty's Winter challenges the traditions of one generation juxtaposed against another generation and demonstrates how rigidity can drive wedges between people, even family members. Currently Reading: Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America  by Ijeoma Oluo How Not to Age: The Scientific Approach to Getting Healthier as You Get...

The June Paintings by Maggie Shipstead gently pulled me into June Trembley's life leaving me feeling reluctant, curious, and voyeuristic. As June seeks to find herself while telling herself she's trying to find her artistic voice, she shows a willingness to embrace the moment and make decisions that feel at once cunning and reckless. Shipstead creates characters that feel simultaneously loveable and detestable. June's relationship with the painter, Lammergeier, is dysfunctional at best, but also feels inevitable and understandable. The June Paintings made me feel a bit uncomfortable about how easily I found myself accepting some of June's decisions, particularly toward the end of the story. Currently Reading: Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America  by Ijeoma Oluo How Not to Age: The Scientific Approach to Getting Healthier as You Get Older  by Michael Gregor, Md. Collected Works of Kahlil Gibran Dusty's Winter  by Maeve Binchy Disclosure: This blog c...

Tune in Tomorrow by Melanie Benjamin exceeded my expectations. I was unsure when I decided to read Tune in Tomorrow ; however, I quickly started to like the characters and to care about the choices being made. The premise of being set around the creation of the soap opera genre largely contributed to my initial hesitation, but Tune in Tomorrow centers Abby Taylor's success and unconventional for the time lifestyle. Abby's determination, dedication to her family, and strong boundaries make for a story that works even when it feels like it shouldn't. Benjamin brings all the characters off the page through Abby's lens. offers the story of a strong woman who doesn't sacrifice herself for the men around her. Tune in Tomorrow offers an inspiring story of a strong woman who doesn't sacrifice herself for the men around her. Currently Reading: Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America  by Ijeoma Oluo How Not to Age: The Scientific Approach to Getting Healthi...