Worthy sequel. Liz was the most compelling character in the first book, IMHO, so I was glad she got her own book. I'll read the third (Kira is also intriguing), but I don't know how interested I am in continuing after that.

First go with my fellow intellectual lowlife, Charles Bukowski. I'll definitely be reading more of his works. This is a posthumous collection of his published and unpublished cat-related stuff.

Needed something other than my usual grim nonfiction. This is what it is: entertaining. Glad I stuck through the epilog, spoilers and all, where there's some character growth and world building. It's fine, it's fun. I may continue with it.

Incredible book. I'll be digesting it for a while. It's brutal - this subject couldn't be anything else. A lo more allegorical than historical, so don't worry if the events feel "off."

I'm not versed in anthropology, but I'm still glad I read this before going any further in early A-A history. A tad dry, it's an older essay (1974), following earlier work, and wrings good analysis from the limited data. An 11 page bibliography for an 84 page essay is appetizing, too.

Thrift store score! If you're not familiar, it's got nothing to do with the Christopher Walken series. This is like someone made a 1950s monster movie in 1979; pollution makes a giant mutant bear. No big names, but you may recognize some faces. Best sleeping bag kill next to Friday the 13th, Part 7.

Just okay. The ideas aren't bad, and might have been enough prior to 2024, but for now they're insufficient. Read it, file them for when it's less of an emergency. "Further information" is meaty.

I got this hoping not so much for answers to how to rethink society, but for how to ask better questions, and new ways to apply the answers. Boy did it deliver. I don't often agree with a blurb, but everyone should read this book.

While centered around the murder of Emmett Till, it's equally a dissection of the social, political, and global economic forces at play to create the conditions where such an event could occur. Nothing is inevitable in history. Excellent book.

Absolutely outstanding. hooks explores the ways patriarchy and domination harm men's lives and mental health, a rare POV in 2004, and does not spare women - feminists too - criticism for their role in it. I can't recommend it enough.

I really wanted to like this. The premise - Black American blues musicians in Buchenwald - is compelling, but the book tries to be too many things, with several pointless subplots, and, frankly, the writing is bad. There's foreshadowing, and there's announcing what will happen...

Motown being a furry little gargoyle.

You can't go wrong with James Baldwin for wordsmithing. An unmarried couple are expecting while he's in jail for a crime he didn't commit(?) I'll be chewing on this for a while. There's a lot of ambiguity here, not of the events, but their significance. That's fine, not everything is for me.

Classic (1973) lesbian coming-of-age novel. Autobiographical, frequently very funny, heavy on the theme of being true to yourself. A bit harsh toward butch-presenting, for some reason.

Not just for Christians. "Data over dogma" is his motto. Decent methodology for dealing with any source material that is...less than objective. Worth a read if for nothing else than combating bigotry in the name of religion.

This was a rough one. Not that I'm saying not to read it, because it's a rare perspective, just...be prepared.

First one down for Pride Month. Fun, light, quick read. Bob is definitely proud of his research.

They cut the woods down across the road, so I was wondering if the flock would be back this year. Got my answer just now.

Because it's Military Appreciation Month, and because I'm still a middle aged white guy - not to mention grandson of an airman. A fast, enjoyable read. I'll be interested in the rest of the series.

I'm not going to rave about it, but it's definitely interesting all the same. Focuses on the Chinese-American experience as immigrant and working class community in NYC, San Francisco, LA, Honolulu, and Vegas. Bibliography would have been nice.

Outstanding. I would suggest brushing up on Haitian history first, but enough is presented here that it's not necessary. Fascinating individual and legacy.

Motown just being all furry:

This you?

A deep dive into white privilege, by a white man, for white people. A tad self-indulgent in parts, but worth sticking through to the end, where I think he makes his most salient points.

This is the original Statement plus interviews with four of the members on the 40th anniversary. An intriguing starting point for envisioning "what comes next." Lots of food for thought.

Here comes the wall cloud.

First DNF of the year.

Excellent, highly readable, very relevant history of the Luddites and the smearing of their movement by victors' myth-making.