#28 [2024/CBR16] Land of Milk and Honey by C. Pam Zhang

I found Land of Milk and Honey (2023) by C. Pam Zhang on NPR's Books We Love List. The description caught my attention, so I put it on hold at my library. One of the first blurbs on Amazon says, "One of the most pleasurable, inventive reads of the year...fiendishly deliciously fun." Now that I've read it, I'd say that's a bit misleading. I would not use "pleasurable" and "fun" to describe this book, although "inventive" is very fitting.

An American woman in her twenties just got a new job, which is good because she is a desperate woman in a desperate world. Smog has covered the Earth, decimating crops and destroying animal species. There is widespread famine and many of our food staples have died. Although there is some bland, new powder food that is keeping people alive, people are suffering. But above about 10,000 feet, the air is clear in some places. The woman is a chef and she is going to work for an eccentric billionaire on the top of a mountain.

It is a very odd existence. She can't communicate with anyone, especially outside of the mountaintop, and she is basically alone in a kitchen with her mother's old cat. Her employer mysteriously sets up some tests for her before she is hired to cook for some insanely elaborate dinner parties for her employer and his rich friends. Eventually, she meets the employers daughter who is, at least, more approachable. The daughter shows her some of the work her father has been doing with animals and crops, but the only people who benefit from this are the rich investors.

The description of the grey, barren Earth and lack of food was genuinely distressing. I love food, and this reality is not so far away that it feels unrealistic. This initially drew me into the book, but the odd father/daughter characters made the book less relatable for me. Maybe to be that rich and that innovative, you have to be a little off. 

***SPOILERS*** The chef ended up having a sexual relationship with the daughter, and then pretending to be the rich man's wife for some of the parties. When something didn't go right, he beat her in front of his guests. And then the daughter took her fancy car down to the town and accidentally killed someone while driving recklessly. Yet she faced no consequences for her actions because her father took care of it. Although there was some discussion of the country and town being unhappy that the mogul was hoarding resources, I was distracted by the cult-like atmosphere stemming from the father and daughter. ***END SPOILERS***

This book was memorable and it made me think. I sometimes wished the author just told the story in a more straightforward manner. Although I found it more confusing and distressing than "fun," I could see it starting some interesting discussions.

#27 [2024/CBR16] At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson

I've already read A Walk in the Woods and The Body by Bill Bryson, and I found them both entertaining and informative. So, when I went looking for another audiobook for my commute, I decided to give At Home: A Short History of Private Life (2010) by Bryson a shot. 

Bill Bryson lives in an old parsonage in a rural part of England, and he uses this home as a framework to work through a lot of history that made his home a home. Although he goes into a number of specifics about his own home, including when it was built, who lived there, and how it has transformed over the years, he also uses his home as a jumping off point to explore a number of other somewhat related topics. 

These topics vary from the World's Fair in 1851 with a never-before-seen iron and glass building (the Crystal Palace), the spice trade, various inventions that have changed how we live, and many different architects and builders. It's sometimes hard to imagine where Bryson will go next, and it's often hard to keep the many people and topics he brings up straight in your head--especially when reading it on Audiobook.

I did find this book generally interesting, but it is my least favorite of the Bryson books that I've read. I found it more difficult to follow and pay attention. I really did lose interest in the architect discussions. I also got frustrated at Bryson's lack of focus on anything but white people. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt because his writing stems from his home in rural England. But he goes on tangents that encompass history from around the world. He was even discussing--in great detail--the invention of the cotton gin, but he never even mentions slavery. There were a number of times I felt the book left glaring holes in his history. I would have been much more satisfied if we had less discussion of architects and a wider view of some of his topics.

#26 [2024/CBR16] This Other Eden by Paul Harding

This Other Eden (2023) by Paul Harding is another book that I picked up because it was one of Barack Obama's favorites of the year. Harding tells the story of a small group of people, some of them mixed-race, who lived on a tiny, rugged island (Apple Island) off the coast of Maine in 1911. 

The largest family was the Honey family. Esther and her son, as well as her son's three children all live together. It is a hard existence, but they generally have what they need to survive. Benjamin Honey, a formerly enslaved man, and his Irish wife Patience settled the island in the late 1700's. They made it through storms and hardships, and Esther and the kids are still there.

Zachary Hand to God Proverbs is also an island inhabitant. He is an old hermit who lives in a hollowed out tree stump, and he spends his time carving out scenes from the Bible. Although he comes across as pretty crazy most days, he is aware of what is going on and can be protective of the other island inhabitants. The McDermott sisters live together in what used to be a boat with three orphans they are raising. Finally, there is the Lark family--made up of a brother and sister and their four ghostly  children. These kids have various disabilities, most likely stemming from the incest, and they often spend nights roaming about the island looking for food.

Matthew Diamond is a white missionary and school teacher who comes to the island during the summer to teach the children. As noble as this is, he keeps himself at arms distance from the kids, and often wrestles with his own disgust of them. When a committee from the mainland comes to the island, it is Matthew Diamond who tours them about, urging its citizens to comply with their requests. 

We know what's going to happen way before it does, and it was something I was dreading as I read. The citizens, with mixed motives, decide to evict all the inhabitants of the island. The professed reason for this is health concerns, but racism and greed played a stronger role in their decision. Matthew Diamond, who led the committee to the island in the first place does try to slow them down, but he has no more influence. He does manage to get one of Esther's grandchildren, Ethan, a very talented, artistic teenager who could pass for white, to leave the island in order to study art at a friend's farm.

Ethan Honey is alone and lonely at the farm, but he's progressing very well with books and art supplies that he's never had access to before. Ethan and the Irish maid, Bridget, a very lonely young woman herself, find each other. But when she realizes he's black, everything falls apart and Ethan is forced to run away. We never find out what happened to Ethan, but by that time we know he won't even be able to find his family anymore.

The eviction of the island inhabitants, who had lived their for generations, was very difficult to read about. The people with the power were so sure of their rightness that they did not stop to think about the island inhabitants as people or what damage they might be doing to them. But the island wasn't a real Eden, too. The families were barely scraping by, sometimes in very poor circumstances. The Lark family, especially, was disturbing. Between the incest and the children, it certainly seemed like they needed help. Unfortunately, as it turned out, every single one of them had been better off on the island--before the interference of the outsiders.

Like many of Barack Obama's books this year, this was not especially fun to read. There are dark stories, struggling families, and deep injustice. However, it was well-written and memorable.

#25 [2024/CBR16] Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells

I'm slowly working my way through the Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells. I think Fugitive Telemetry (2021) is the fourth or fifth Murderbot novella that I've read. Even though science-fiction is not my favorite genre, I've definitely enjoyed reading these books. They are funny, creative and exciting. The Murderbot is both impressive and relatable, and my science-fiction, loving friend is so happy that I continue to read these. On the other hand, I have a hard time remembering the details in these books, and especially keeping the different novellas straight. Granted, I read Fugitive Telemetry many months ago at this point, but I have already forgotten most of the details of the people involved and the plot.

So after a quick google search, I refreshed my recollection for a quick summary. The Murderbot is on Preservation when it discovers a dead body. It is par for the course that security on Preservation do not trust Murderbot, but in the end Dr. Mensa encourages them to work together to discover what is going on. 

Murderbot uses its tools and tricks to link the body back to a ship, and they learn more details from there. It is fun to see how reluctant Murderbot is to work with others and to see others come to trust and rely on him. In the end, the murdered man was helping refugees from a slave-like planet escape to their freedom. Now the refugees are in danger, and Murderbot uses its considerable skill to find them and go after them--even when the very sight of the Murderbot is terrifying to them. 

The themes of loneliness and not fitting in continue to be strong in this novella. The Murderbot is still a fun and engaging narrator. I enjoyed reading this book, and I'm pretty sure I will move on to the first full-length Murderbot book, The Network Effect, at some point next year.

#24 [2024/CBR16] Best Men by Sidney Karger

Best Men (2023) by Sidney Karger is another audiobook I stumbled upon when I was looking for some commuting entertainment. Best Men is a romance novel that is told from the point of view of Max Moody--a thirty-something gay men who lives in New York City.

Max's childhood best friend Paige just told him that she's engaged to her boyfriend, Austin, and she wants Max to be her best man. Max isn't in the best place in his life. He works in human resources at a dead end job with a horrible boss. He was in a very long-term relationship (with Greg) but was recently dumped. Instead of moving on, he's desperately holding on, hooking up with Greg for meaningless sex whenever its convenient for Greg.

Max is quickly dragged into the many details of wedding preparation, and that's when he meets, Chasten, the groom's brother. Chasten is very good looking, fashionable, wealthy, and a social butterfly. Max is immediately jealous and feels like Chasten is edging in on his relationship with Paige. To make matters worse, it just happens that Chasten and Matt almost hooked up one night, but it ended in disastrous embarrassment. Max wants nothing to do with Chasten, and he doesn't want Chasten around Paige either.

Obviously, that dynamic can't last forever. This is a romance novel after all. Eventually Max and Chasten start talking, and they give each other another chance. The big obstacle after that is they are both (kind of) with other people, but we all know it will work out in the end.

This book was kind of "meh" for me. There were some fun scenes and parties around New York and in the Hamptons. It felt like a different world. But Max seemed very whiny to me. It was satisfying to see him improve his life. However, he wasn't happy to help Paige with the wedding, and then he wasn't happy when Chasten was helping her either. He didn't seem to think about anyone but himself. Also, the romance didn't feel as intense as maybe it could have been. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't my favorite.

#23 [2024/CBR16] The Best Minds by Jonathan Rosen

I remember reading in my Intro to Psychology college text book that Schizophrenia is the "cancer of mental illnesses." Because Schizophrenia has reared its ugly head in my family, I wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment. Dealing with it is tragic and life altering. I feel like I'm always trying to figure out more about it, so I find myself reading books on the subject. A couple of years ago, I read Hidden Valley Road, a non-fiction book about a large family where over half the kids struggled with the disease. When I saw that Barack Obama had recommended The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions (2023) by Jonathan Rosen, I knew I was going to read it.

Jonathan Rosen moved to New Rochelle, New York as a kid. It was in New Rochelle where Rosen met Michael Laudor, who lived around the corner. Both kids were smart and ambitious, and the two were often competitive with each other. They both did well in high school and went off to separate colleges. Michael Laudor went to Yale, where he graduated in only three years with all kinds of merits and awards. From there, Laudor got himself a prestigious consulting position and seemed to be winning at life. 

But it was during this time where Laudor began to get paranoid and delusional. Laudor ended up spending eight months at a New York-Presbyterian mental hospital where he was diagnosed with Schizophrenia. It was Laudor's father who talked Laudor into voluntarily committing himself, and Laudor seemed to improve under supervision and after trying a variety of medications.

When Laudor left the hospital, they recommended he get a low-stress job that he could fit into a routine that would help him stay well. Laudor had no interest in doing anything so menial, and he enrolled instead at Yale Law School. 

For awhile the story of Michael Laudor was one of triumph over tragedy. Laudor graduated from Yale (with help from friends and a very lenient school). He wrote an article about mental illness in the New York Times that garnered a lot of attention and prompted a book deal for Laudor. Ron Howard even bought the rights of Laudor's story to make into a movie. Michael Laudor was in a serious relationship with Caroline Costello, who went by Carrie. She was smart, dedicated, and very loyal to Michael. It seemed like he had everything.

However, the stress of the book deal and the movie weighed on Landor, and his mental health deteriorated. Without the supervision of the hospital he likely stopped taking his medication. Poor Carrie was standing by him, but it sounded like it could be very difficult--especially when his paranoid delusions made him not trust her. Finally, Michael Laudor stabbed and killed Carrie, before taking off to Cornell where the police found him. He didn't really understand that Carrie was dead. He thought he'd attacked a robot that was impersonating her. Laudor was found incapable of standing trial because of his mental illness, and he remains institutionalized to this day. The story of Laudor, what he could have been, the damage he did, and what became of him is a pretty harrowing and intense read.

Rosen also discusses some of the history, legalities, and perspectives of mental illness and how that's changed through the years. JFK closed down many mental hospitals in the 1960's in favor of "community medicine." The impetus for these closures is understandable because there was a lot of abuse and really bad conditions for the mentally ill. The problem is that there wasn't anything to take its place. Many people who really couldn't take care of themselves were basically thrown out on the street. The other problem is that many people with mental illness--especially Schizophrenia--actively avoid medication and other help from experts. It is a part of their illness that they do not trust them. But they cannot be forced to get help unless they are an imminent danger to themselves or others. People can be in horrible shape, but we can't do anything until they are actively suicidal or homicidal. There needs to be more of a safety net for the many people who need help but may not want it or don't know how to get it.

On the whole, I thought this book was well done. Whenever Rosen talked about Laudor, I couldn't put it down. I also thought knowing some of the history was necessary in order to understand why Laudor was able to go for so long without anyone stepping in. However, it did feel like Rosen went off on a number of tangents that were not really relevant and sometimes difficult to get through. I thought Rosen could have made some of his points much more succinctly. I wondered a number of times why he was writing about certain topics, and I often wished he would just get back to Laudor. Still recommended if you're interested in the subject because the good outweighs the bad.

#22 [2024/CBR16] Lafayette in the Somewhat United States by Sarah Vowell

Many months ago, I was getting ready for a short road trip to New Mexico and Texas, and I needed something to listen to. I've read a couple of history books by Sarah Vowell, and I enjoyed her take and irreverent style. When I saw, Lafayette in the Somewhat United States (2015) by Vowell, I decided to read it. 

Before reading this book, everything I knew about Lafayette was from Hamilton. In fact, I imagined Daveed Diggs, the original Lafayette from Hamilton, as I read this book. First, I need to admit that I read this book so long ago, that I'm having a hard time remembering many of the details. Add to that, a couple of years ago, I read You Never Forget Your First by Alexis Coe, which if you can't guess by the title, is a somewhat irreverent biography of George Washington. These two books may have gotten mixed up in my head a little bit at some point.

Sarah Vowell likes to dig into the interesting little tidbits of history instead of getting bogged down in the depths. She begins the book with Lafayette returning to the United States to overwhelming support. Over 1/3 of New York City was out on the streets to see him arrive, and his face was plastered and sold on anything and everything, including handkerchiefs. He was like an incredibly popular rock star.

I knew that Lafayette was French and an important officer in the American Revolution from Hamilton, but that was about it. There were a number of things I learned from this book that surprised me: Lafayette was only 19 when he came over to America to help fight the revolution. He came against the wishes of his father-in-law and had to sneak out of France. He arrived in South Carolina and had to get himself unglamorously up to Pennsylvania where he was not even wanted. Apparently, the troops were flooded with French officers who spoke no English and were not very helpful. Lafayette offered to work for no pay, so he would not be turned away.

Lafayette distinguished himself in battle, and was quite fearless. And then he went back to France where he just missed getting beheaded because of his nobility and became a hero there as well. (However, I really don't remember much about this part of the book). 

One thing I do remember learning from this book was how pivotal France's help was in the United States winning its independence. It's something that we don't think about (or even know about) today. But we were desperate for money. The troops were starving and had no shoes; the conditions were terrible. So, it was funny when Vowell recounts visiting D.C. back after 9/11 when Congress was screaming about "Freedom Fries" and hating on France for not joining in on our war in Iraq. I think she found it ironic when Lafayette square was right outside.

On the whole, I recommend this novel for the history buffs that would appreciate it. I do think it would have retained more if I had read it instead of listening to it on Audiobook, though.