I love this book because it changed the way I see the world and the supposed inevitability of our societies as we know them. In general, I love a good academic takedown when one academic writes a book to prove another wrong. But this book disproves the stories we’re told and tell each other about social evolution, the stories that say our inequality and horrible treatment of each other are unavoidable.
Dawn of Everything gave me hope and a profound realization that we get to decide what our cultures and human organization look like; the only thing holding us back is our creativity.
I refer to this book all the time. Words like schizogenesis, where in a people define themselves in opposition to their neighbors, have stuck in my head. The understanding that ancient peoples faced the same issues we do now, and handled them in vastly different ways. It gave voice and proof to my feeling that we’re not all bad, that societies based on class and greed and bigotry are not the only options. That we can do better.
A dramatically new understanding of human history, challenging our most fundamental assumptions about social evolution—from the development of agriculture and cities to the origins of the state, democracy, and inequality—and revealing new possibilities for human emancipation.
For generations, our remote ancestors have been cast as primitive and childlike—either free and equal innocents, or thuggish and warlike. Civilization, we are told, could be achieved only by sacrificing those original freedoms or, alternatively, by taming our baser instincts. David Graeber and David Wengrow show how such theories first emerged in the eighteenth century as a conservative reaction…
My best friend recommended this book, and then when I hadn’t read it sent it to me. Obvs she knows me well; I love it!
I always thought I didn’t like horror, but it turns out I didn’t know what it was. The stories in The Changed Man felt like something I could write. They were weird and sometimes poignant. They are a slice of life that left me feeling uncomfortable but also curious and inspired to write, read, and think outside the box.
"Fat Farm" is one of the most brilliant short stories I’ve ever read. It so perfectly illustrates how short-sighted our thinking is around beauty, how our hedonism and values are a betrayal of ourselves. It’s so yummy!
Eleven chilling tales, including the author's introductions and afterword comments, provoke the dreaded dark side of the reader's imagination. Reprint.
I have never been much of a fantasy reader. I just couldn’t relate to the characters, or perhaps it was because the classics were thrust on me with more vigor, and I just didn’t know what fantasy has to offer. But when my other best friend recommended the Leveling Up Series, I couldn’t resist—a middle-aged woman leaves her stifling life and gets magical powers! Isn’t that what we were all promised with menopause?
The books are hilarious, with unforgettable characters that I think are all a little bit of me. I definitely have an old woman who throws rocks at tourists in me, and I think a bit of a control freak butler. This whole series makes me feel seen and helps me to rest and de-stress. I tend to read dense books where I learn a lot, so a light, funny, sexy series was brain candy I didn’t know I needed. Now, I wait impatiently for the next book to come out.
The signs are unmistakable, Momar isn't just targeting Austin's brother.
When one of Momar's grunts breaks into Austin's territory looking to grab Jessie for questioning, Jessie and her crew realize they are under fire. In order to protect themselves, it becomes obvious they need backup.
Thankfully, the basajaun's people have invited Jessie and her crew into the basajaunak lands. This is their golden opportunity to seek their help.
The problem is, a host of mages and mercenaries are following them. Once they take Jessie this time it won't be just for questioning, and she won't be coming back.
This humorous, commiserative book, in English and Spanish, tells the truth about the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of breastfeeding. It features the stories of dozens of saints (read: moms) with all of the laughter, pain, terror, humanity, and even bliss that comes with breastfeeding.
Breastfeeding can be all angels and rainbows. But more often, it is an unlatching baby screaming at you, cracked nipples that feel like they’re being held in a vice-grip and licked by a cat, 3 a.m. freak-outs, explosively painful engorged boobs, flu-like mastitis. And then there’s pumping. And that is why even considering breastfeeding makes you a saint. We tell ourselves that breastfeeding is natural, and therefore, we should all be able to do it. While it is natural, it is not easy.
My son loves this book because it’s about history, his favorite subject right now. It covers an interesting part of history: the naval components of the war of 1812. It was a new topic for him, and he loved that the book really demonstrates what navel battles really looked like back then. Like that the goal was to capture ships, not sink them.
Explore historic documents, letters, ephemera, and artifacts, including fascinating finds from the Navy's most recent underwater excavation of the war's lost ships.
My son loved A Wizard of Earthsea because it was an interesting take on fantasy. He liked the story and the world concept.
He thought the character was pretty cool even though he kind of got into trouble all the time. The climax taught him *spoiler alert* that the only way to stop our darkness is to face it.
The first book of Earthsea in a beautiful hardback edition. Complete the collection with The Tombs of Atuan, The Furthest Shore and Tehanu
With illustrations from Charles Vess
'[This] trilogy made me look at the world in a new way, imbued everything with a magic that was so much deeper than the magic I'd encountered before then. This was a magic of words, a magic of true speaking' Neil Gaiman
'Drink this magic up. Drown in it. Dream it' David Mitchell
Ged, the greatest sorcerer in all Earthsea, was called Sparrowhawk in his reckless youth.
My son loves the Harry Potter books because the world building was so well done and interesting, and because it takes place in modern times. Book five in the Harry Potter series appealed to him particularly because the characters are taking the world into their own hands, but it gives him mixed feelings.
The fifth adventure in the spellbinding Harry Potter saga - the series that changed the world of books forever
Dark times have come to Hogwarts. After the Dementors' attack on his cousin Dudley, Harry Potter knows that Voldemort will stop at nothing to find him. There are many who deny the Dark Lord's return, but Harry is not alone: a secret order gathers at Grimmauld Place to fight against the Dark forces.
Harry must allow Professor Snape to teach him how to protect himself from Voldemort's savage assaults on his mind. But they are growing stronger by the day and…
