I read a lot of nonfiction this month and it was a nice change of pace. I had hoped to reread two of my favorite nonfiction books--The Last Season by Eric Blehm and The Last Dive by Bernie Chowdhury--this month, but I couldn't find either of them. I think I might have accidentally donated them during our last move. Sadly, the library doesn't carry either book, so I guess I'm going to have to purchase them again.
1. The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
I found this book on how epidemics and fads become just that--epidemics and fads-- fascinating, especially considering that we're living in the middle of a global pandemic. The book also talks about the Broken Window Theory, which I think may play a major role in police brutality. The theory claims that small crimes (like graffiti) invite more serious crimes (like murder) into a neighborhood. Many police departments apply this theory by going after small crime--like maybe selling loose cigarettes or passing a counterfeit bill--hard, in hopes of discouraging more violent crime.
The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire. Just as a single sick person can start an epidemic of the flu, so too can a small but precisely targeted push cause a fashion trend, the popularity of a new product, or a drop in the crime rate. This widely acclaimed bestseller, in which Malcolm Gladwell explores and brilliantly illuminates the tipping point phenomenon, is already changing the way people throughout the world think about selling products and disseminating ideas.
2. The Ravenmaster by Christopher Skaife
The Ravenmaster is more fun than the scientific Mind of the Raven by Bernd Heinrich, which might be the most famous book on ravens (and I totally recommend it). You get a bunch of history on the Tower of London and an introduction to the ravens that live there. I also recommend following Chris Skaife on Instagram if you love ravens.
The ravens at the Tower of London are of mighty importance: rumor has it that if a raven from the Tower should ever leave, the city will fall.
The title of Ravenmaster, therefore, is a serious title indeed, and after decades of serving the Queen, Yeoman Warder Christopher Skaife took on the added responsibility of caring for the infamous ravens. In The Ravenmaster, he lets us in on his life as he feeds his birds raw meat and biscuits soaked in blood, buys their food at Smithfield Market, and ensures that these unusual, misunderstood, and utterly brilliant corvids are healthy, happy, and ready to captivate the four million tourists who flock to the Tower every year.
A rewarding, intimate, and inspiring partnership has developed between the ravens and their charismatic and charming human, the Ravenmaster, who shares the folklore, history, and superstitions surrounding the ravens and the Tower. Shining a light on the behavior of the birds, their pecking order and social structure, and the tricks they play on us, Skaife shows who the Tower’s true guardians really are―and the result is a compelling and irreverent narrative that will surprise and enchant.
3. The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks
I had read enough peripheral material around Rosa Park to know that she was more than that "quiet seamstress" that refused to give up her seat on the bus, but this was the first book I read that focused solely on her. History has done this woman a huge disservice. Long before the Montgomery Bus Boycott and for long after, Parks was an activist and an organizer. She was a badass.
Presenting a powerful corrective to the popular iconography of Rosa Parks as the quiet seamstress who with a single act birthed the modern civil rights movement, scholar Jeanne Theoharis excavates Parks’s political philosophy and six decades of activism. Theoharis masterfully details the political depth of a national heroine who dedicated her life to fighting American inequality and, in the process, resurrects a civil rights movement radical who has been hidden in plain sight far too long.
4. The Wild Truth by Carine McCandless
If you haven't read Jon Kakauer's In the Wild, or at least seen the movie, I suggest reading that book first. While an interesting and heartbreaking read, it does leave you unfulfilled as to why Chris McCandless walked away from his life and into the wild. The Wild Truth is written by his sister and fills in a lot of missing pieces. Walt and Billie McCandless horribly abused their children and each other, which makes the book difficult to read, but it's also very healing to read how Chris, Carine, and their other siblings all broke the cycle of abuse.
The spellbinding story of Chris McCandless, who gave away his savings, hitchhiked to Alaska, walked into the wilderness alone, and starved to death in 1992, fascinated not just New York Times bestselling author Jon Krakauer, but also the rest of the nation. Krakauer's book,Into the Wild, became an international bestseller, translated into thirty-one languages, and Sean Penn's inspirational film by the same name further skyrocketed Chris McCandless to global fame. But the real story of Chris’s life and his journey has not yet been told - until now. The missing pieces are finally revealed in The Wild Truth, written by Carine McCandless, Chris's beloved and trusted sister. Featured in both the book and film, Carine has wrestled for more than twenty years with the legacy of her brother's journey to self-discovery, and now tells her own story while filling in the blanks of his. Carine was Chris's best friend, the person with whom he had the closest bond, and who witnessed firsthand the dysfunctional and violent family dynamic that made Chris willing to embrace the harsh wilderness of Alaska. Growing up in the same troubled household, Carine speaks candidly about the deeper reality of life in the McCandless family. In the many years since the tragedy of Chris's death, Carine has searched for some kind of redemption. In this touching and deeply personal memoir, she reveals how she has learned that real redemption can only come from speaking the truth.
5. On the Come Up by Angie Thomas
This is the only fiction book on my list this month. The Hate U Give is one of my favorite young adult novels, so I couldn't wait to read Thomas's next book. I devoured it and now have to wait until 2021 for her third book, Concrete Rose. It's so hard when you fall in love with an author early in their career and have to wait for their next book.
Sixteen-year-old Bri wants to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. Or at least win her first battle. As the daughter of an underground hip hop legend who died right before he hit big, Bri’s got massive shoes to fill.
But it’s hard to get your come up when you’re labeled a hoodlum at school, and your fridge at home is empty after your mom loses her job. So Bri pours her anger and frustration into her first song, which goes viral . . . for all the wrong reasons.
Bri soon finds herself at the center of a controversy, portrayed by the media as more menace than MC. But with an eviction notice staring her family down, Bri doesn’t just want to make it—she has to. Even if it means becoming the very thing the public has made her out to be. Â