Favorite books for 2013
What did you read in 2013 that you would like to recommend to others? Feel free to give a short review. (It doesn’t have to be a new book) Leave a reply below (upload an image if you like), and remember the name you enter will be public (but not your email).
The School of Night – by Louis Bayard. Historical fiction focusing on Thomas Harriot, cohort of Sir Walter Ralegh and others who secretly explore ideas of science and question religion. Takes place in the present as collectors compete for an old letter. Best of all is each word placed perfectly and creatively into its phrase.
“Raising Expectations and Raising Hell: My Decade Fighting for the Labor Movement” by Jane McAlevey and Bob Ostertag
Jane was an organizer for the SEIU in Las Vegas. She was scheduled to be the featured speaker at the WI SEIU convention and then her appearance was mysteriously cancelled. Reading this book told me why.
A must read if you ever considered yourself a hell-raiser. This is a memoir, not a documentary.
(Required disclosure: I am an SEIU member and I worked with Jane building house in Nicaragua in 1987.)
“Critical Mass” by Sara Paretsky. Paretsky is a mystery writer for those who know the worst crimes are not committed by the guy down the street or from the neighborhood you are afraid of, but by people who can afford to conceal their crimes and get someone else to take the fall. The story involves the work of a female physicist in Europe around 1930, and the present-day aftermath of things that occurred back then. Too complicated to explain in a sentence or two. Like most mystery writers, Paretsky has been developing her heroine (VI Warshawski) for decades. My advice is to start at the beginning (“Indemnity Only” 1982). She writes slowly enough that you’ll eventually catch up.
“Twelve Years a Slave” by Solomon Northup. Instead of seeing the movie, I opted to read Northrup’s firsthand account of his abduction, years in slavery and eventual return home to his family. Powerful. Available on Kindle.