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Or, Birthday of Books the Third*
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Reader,
Happy New Month + Happy Lunar New Year if you celebrate!
I had a case of Ye Oulde Birthday Blues this year (who’s surprised, after last week’s entry? haha) but I treated myself to some Chinese food and went to the Hadithi Hangout on the day (in 2025, we will be social, if nothing else) so not all was lost etc etc.
On to the books!
January, for whatever reason, was very non-fiction heavy for me. Part of it was that I was intent on working through my library loans (I had over 50 loans when the year began) and part of it was that non-fiction seemed to be what my brain wanted. I’d find myself renewing loans for fiction titles while I picked up (and finished!) non-fiction in a day or two. You’ll see that reflected in the books I read last week.
First up: Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves by Nicola Twilley (e-book & audiobook; narrated by the author). This is the year when I give up on trying to remember how I found out about a book because I’ll more often look it up on Libby than note the recommendation (and that’s ok!!!) but I wish I could remember who led me to this because I want to talk about cold chains so much my mum and I discussed food storage for almost 30 minutes yesterday. This was also one of those times when Kenya is mentioned in a book (it made me want to look up what projects are afoot here) and history and social mores are explored in a wide ranging fashion. I’ll be thinking about it for a while.
Next: Going to Beautiful by Anthony Bidulka (e-book & audiobook; narrated by Mark Nicholas Demeda) which I raced through on my way to meet a dear friend for a day of art and banter. We saw “They Don't Look Like Me” by Niccolò Rastrelli, a photography exhibition, at Noir Gallery and 'Intertwined' by Kavochy Anita at Munyu Space, the Mall Basement. Having Bidulka’s book in my mind as I went through the day was such a wonderful addition to a delightful day. If you’re looking for a beautiful queer love story featuring older characters (it’s always great to be reminded of our elders, in a world that can so easily frame being LGBTQIA+ as the province of the young), pick this up.
Then I finished Abolish Rent: How Tenants Can End the Housing Crisis by Tracy Rosenthal and Leonardo Vilchis in time for the reading group meeting which had been rescheduled to Saturday. It was the second and last meeting and being with other people thinking about housing, renting, and ways in which folks can organise and take back their power was such a hopeful way to end the day (the call started at 1pm EST; 9pm EAT) and I look forward to more such groups. This was also the week when my landlord handed out new tenancy agreements that had me torn between wanting to move (where to?) and wanting to organize my neighbours (do we have it in us? Are we pressed enough?). It’s not often that my reading life so closely intersects with something so immediate and I would love to read the book with other folks in my context as we think through it. Please message me if you’re open to a chat/ reading group about the book! (Related: If you’d like to start a reading group, David Kaib - who organised the one I was in - is doing training for folks who'd be interested in organising reading groups; you can sign up here.)
Second last was Jasmine Is Haunted by Mark Oshiro (e-book & audiobook; narrated by Vico Ortiz) which I raced through after a break. It had been recommended on Bluesky as an example of a book featuring a trans* kid without drama or fanfare. Before this, Pet by Akwaeke Emezi was the only other book I’d read where the transness of a character is not central to the story; even as it’s acknowledged. As with Pet, Jasmine Is Haunted has some magical elements so if that’s your sort of thing, please check it out!
Lastly, I finished Shepherd’s Sight: A Farming Life by Barbara McLean, another holdover from previous weeks. As a person who has lived on farms at different points of their life, this was a great exploration of the facets of farm life that can be rendered invisible by tales of bucolic life. McLean intersperses the book with bits of history and some self-examination that I find white Canadians do that…leaves me curious. While I appreciate the land acknowledgements she peppers the book with (and her wrestling with the desire to “keep the farm in the family”), I was left wondering what a true reckoning would look like in that country. It’s not my place to speak on what Indigenous people should do in that context (land is so fraught everywhere, including in my country!) so that’s all I’ll say on the matter. Beyond that, her exploration of aging in place (where the place is a farm) was so wonderful (Can you tell I love reading books by and about old people?) and I’ll be thinking about it for a while yet.
Other than books, I ate a lot of mangoes, took lots of naps, mostly stayed in, watched films and caught up on my TV watching. Writing about it doesn’t make the birthday week sound so bad (perspective! We love it!) so here’s to a neutral to good new year.
Quick news/ things that may be of interest:
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Links to Reading Lists, Free Books, Book Recs, Book-related Items in this document (most recent links at the top)
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I have finished five books since I last wrote to you (reviews up on Fable, still on Goodreads): a hybrid read of Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed Our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves by Nicola Twilley (e-book & audiobook; narrated by the author), a hybrid read of Going to Beautiful by Anthony Bidulka (e-book & audiobook; narrated by Mark Nicholas Demeda), the e-book edition of Abolish Rent: How Tenants Can End the Housing Crisis by Tracy Rosenthal and Leonardo Vilchis, a hybrid read of Jasmine Is Haunted by Mark Oshiro (e-book & audiobook; narrated by Vico Ortiz) and a hybrid read of Shepherd’s Sight: A Farming Life by Barbara McLean (e-book & audiobook; narrated by Robin Siegerman).
As ever, please write back to me and tell me what books you’re reading or looking forward to reading — it’s always a great time talking about books.
Thank you for reading 🙂
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Enjoy the week ahead and have a lovely time reading. Talk to you soon!
*OG readers will notice this is the third edition despite this being the 4th post-birthday newsletter period. Let’s all agree 2024 was a blip. Thanks! 🙂
This was delightful to read. Happy belated birthday! 🥳🥳🥳