The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green

The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a collection of essays, written by one of my daughter-in-law's favorite authors (and through whom I became familiar with him). It is biographical, filled with hope and despair, tackling both heavy topics such as depression, death, and plague and hopeful subjects such as love, family, children and carrying on. He speaks often and lovingly of his adopted city, Indianapolis; and of his struggle during Covid.
The book is a series of reviews, everything from Canada Geese (2 stars - I agree!) to Piggly Wiggly (2.5 stars), Icelandic hot dogs (5 stars) to the plague (1 star), with many more things in between. This is definitely a book for people who appreciate his work already, it shares many insights. I think the Hoosiers among us will get a kick out of it, too.

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So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

5./5.0 - This is an important, difficult, uncomfortable book, that if we are able to be honest with ourselves, makes us question so many things we once took for granted. A few key takeaways: racism isn't how an individual treats another (although it's that, too), it's systemic. It's how we have treated others that we see as different than us, for hundreds of years. It's the opportunities that are different, economic situations, and things we don't see because we are blind to them. Another - check your privilege. I never knew what that meant. Basically, look at all the ways your life is different from someone else's that has nothing to do with merit. Things like being raised in an intact family with two parents who were employed, being treated with respect in my everyday life, not being afraid when I see a police car. I could offer many more examples of ways in which this book opened my eyes, but really, just read it for yourself.

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