Hi friends,
January and February have been crazy for our family. First I didn’t have time to write a blog, and then I didn’t feel well, and then I didn’t have time and didn’t feel well. Today I finally feel up to writing about some books I read in January.
As always, let me know what you think about these books and if you have suggestions for further reading.
Best,
Tonya
Pathogenesis: A History of the World in Eight Plagues by Jonathan Kennedy
Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Recommendation: yes
Review: Kennedy explains how the entire course of human history has been shaped more by microscopic organisms, some of which aren’t even considered alive, than by the “great men” that are often cited in history books. He starts with the role that disease played in helping homo sapiens out-compete all other species of hominids in part by bringing diseases out of our ancestral African home that they hadn’t been exposed to. Disease has contributed to the course of human history more than any other single factor. From the Black Death in Europe in the 13th and 14th centuries to the myriad viruses that European settlers inflected upon the native populations of the Americas that reduced their population by 90% or more. Kennedy does more than recast history through the lens of pathogens. He also talks about the steps that rich societies have taken to largely tame the spread of disease. In particular, he notes sanitary systems, clean water, vaccines, and education as key tools that societies can use to decrease the incredibly high cost of disease and improve nearly every measure of a society’s health and wellbeing. Definitely a good read.
The Will of the Many by James Islington
Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Recommendation: yes
Review: I think that this book is mis-genred. Bet you had to read that sentence twice. It’s classified as fantasy, but by the time you get to the end it seems more scifi. So, maybe sci-fantasy would be more appropriate? In any case, this book came heavily recommended by several BookTubers that I follow, and I was relieved that it didn’t disappoint. The whole story is told from a single person point-of-view, so we get intimately acquainted with our protagonist, Vis. Islington does a great job with nearly every aspect of this story: the worldbuilding is fantastic. It’s set in an alternate version of ancient Rome at the height of its empire, but there’s a magic system twist. The character work is great. While Vis starts and ends the story as a highly-competent character that makes challenges that other characters find impossible appear easy, he also has to confront his own past and find and take opportunities to develop real human connections and friendships, even with those who are the elite of the society he hates. There’s a lot of well-paced action, an interesting mystery to solve, and constant questioning about the motives of everyone around Vis as he tries desperately to figure out who he can trust. The ending has an amazing and confusing twist that I didn’t see coming and had to look up some “Ending of The Will of the Many explained” videos and reddit posts to understand, but it left me really excited for the next installment, which should hopefully come out later this year. I highly recommend.
Material World: The Six Raw Materials that Shape Civilization by Ed Conway
Rating: 3 of 5 stars
Recommendation: yes
Review: This book tells the story of how the modern world, which seems to be increasingly virtual and unreal, relies on the very real and tangible use of six materials: sand, salt, iron, copper, oil, and lithium. Conway takes us around the world as he explains the complex supply chains that each of the materials support that make everything that surrounds us. He explains how sand is transformed into microscopic computer chips that power all of our devices; how iron is transformed into the steel that builds everything; how copper electrifies the entire world; and how limited the lithium sources we have that are supposedly going to power the shift away from fossil fuels in the battle against climate change. Conway is a great storyteller, but I found that the pace lagged a bit, and I kept falling asleep while reading it. Still it was interesting, and it was good to learn more about where the products I take for granted every day come from.
Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution by Cat Bohannon
Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Recommendation: yes
Review: This was a fascinating book that told the story of human evolution through the lens of the female body. Bohannon describes how traits that female bodies selected for going back to our earliest ancestor that first developed wombs have been the force behind our evolution. She talks about how gynecology, or women helping each other give birth and recover, allowed us to develop the incredibly dangerous reproductive system that allows us to be bipedal and have enormous brains. She also discusses social evolution and offers some theories to explain the predominance of patriarchy in most societies worldwide. I found some of these less convincing than the rest of the evidence that she discusses. Still, it was a good read, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes popular science books.
System Collapse (Murderbot Diaries #7) by Martha Wells
Rating: 5 of 5 stars
Recommendation: yes!
Review: If it’s possible, I love Murderbot even more than before. This is a novel-length installment in the continuing series describing everyone’s favorite socially anxious, humanoid Sec Unit that’s hacked its own governor module and given itself free will. This book was even better than the previous ones as Murderbot is once again tasked with trying to keep a group of stupid humans alive while also processing the trauma from a previous adventure. It’s a lot for one Sec Unit to deal with for sure. As always, Murderbot’s inner, running commentary is the best part of the story, and its journey to confronting and overcoming the data it self-redacted because it was too painful to deal with makes a great read. I highly recommend for fans of the series but note that they should probably be read in order.
There Are Places in the World Where Rules are Less Important Than Kindness by Carlo Rovelli
Rating: 3 of 5 stars
Recommendation: maybe
Review: I really liked the rest of Rovelli’s books, but this collection of short essays didn’t really land for me. Some of them were interesting and insightful, but some of them were boring, and I found myself falling asleep reading it. Doesn’t mean I won’t read his next book. I just didn’t like the scatteredness of each article. |
| I didn't take a lot of pictures in January for a variety of reasons, so here are some pictures of Maya and Lincoln at school that they're teachers took. |
