BikeWalkBakeBarb: What I'm Reading: March 2019

If you read and enjoyed any of these, drop a note here (so someone else who finds this post also finds that recommendation) and give the author's works a shoutout in whatever spaces you inhabit. They need to keep selling books so they can keep writing so we can keep reading. Have a blog post with your review? Share a link here.

And now for the March list, with thanks to these fine authors for their talents--

Her Instruments Series, M.C.A. Hogarth (@MCAHogarth) consisting of Earthrise, Rose Point, Laisrathera, A Rose Point Holiday: Found via Twitter. Great choice for people who enjoyed the brilliant Wayfarers series by Becky Chambers (The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet; A Closed and Common Orbit; Record of a Spaceborn Few). I always appreciate a heroine who isn't gorgeously perfect and who comes through adversity both in spite of and thanks to her flaws as well as her virtues and values. Main character is of African heritage, which entered into the story line occasionally.
Masks and Shadows, Stephanie Burgis (@StephanieBurgis): Found via Twitter on sale for $1.99 -- I'm a sucker for a sale and Burgis's work was recommended by authors I admire. This was a fun read, a work of historical fiction with dark alchemy, a castrato, and a woman who needs to break out of the constraints of society to be happy.
The Language of Thorns, Leigh Bardugo (@LBardugo): A wonderful short story collection on the dark side of fairy tales.
Gmorning, Gnight: Little Pep Talks for Me & You, by Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel): Mr. Multi-Talented wrote a charming book that I planned to read and then pass along to Eldest Daughter. Spotted this one thanks to the "Staff Picks" sign on the shelf at Page 2 Books in Burien, my favorite LBS (Local Book Store -- also used to mean Local Bike Shop). I read most of it before it went to its new home, just taking little nibbles of his happy upbeat attitude with my morning coffee each day.
Bright Thrones (Court of Fives), Kate Elliott (@KateElliottSFF): How I love these books! Another author whose works I will read and read and read as long as she puts them out. This one fills in a piece of the story in some of her earlier works.
Sunshine, Robin McKinley (@RobinMcKinley): I've loved everything of hers I've read; she has a gift for richly imagined retellings of fairy tales. This isn't one of those, and yet at the same time she again takes a trope -- this one the woman with a vampire suitor -- and turns it into something completely different. It's simply incredible.
The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America, Richard Rothstein: I've been meaning to put this on the list ever since the America Walks webinar on the book and finally picked it up. I started reading it on a plane trip in early March but every chapter made me so furious I could only take small doses; didn't actually finish it in March. The wounds of injustice in this country's history cut deeper than the bone. I'll finish it over time.
Digital Minimalism, Cal Newport (@CalNewport but don't bother to tweet at him): Preordered this one after reading his book Deep Work last year. I'd already dropped my Facebook time to near zero after the many privacy issues and manipulation of feeds. This book reinforces his discussion in Deep Work of the need to be thoughtful about what social media gives you that's genuine value and worth your time -- not random serendipitous things you could just as easily live without, or could find with less detritus cluttering your mental landscape along the way.
Clean Language: Revealing Metaphors and Opening Minds, by Wendy Sullivan and Judy Rees (@JudyRees). One of the sessions at the Liberating Structures Global Gathering I attended covered this -- the art of using non-judgmental, neutral questions to invite more reflection and sharing. I can imagine infusing this into my workshops on multimodal language usage in transportation, along with LS, to turn what was a PowerPoint talk into something much richer and deeper. I didn't finish it in March -- one I'll keep coming back to over time as I absorb the principles.
The Practice of Adaptive Leadership: Tools and Tactics for Changing Your Organization and the World, by Ronald A. Heifetz (@RonHeifetz), Marty Linsky, and Alexander Grashow (@Grashow). Another recommendation out of the LSGG. Another "started, didn't finish but I will" in March, which happened because I got so many nonfiction works in a big batch and wanted to dip into several. (And I have samples of a couple more on my Kindle. The LSGG expanded my mind and my reading list.)
King of Scars, by Leigh Bardugo (@LBardugo). A fantastic addition to her Grishaverse books. If you haven't started reading them yet you're so lucky -- you have lots to go through before you come to this one. Since it was only published January 2019 I have too long a wait for the sequel; your timing may be better.
The True Queen: As expected, loved this new work by Zen Cho (@zenaldehyde) that follows Sorcerer to the Crown, I had this one preordered and was happy to have it show up. I'm finding I like sequels that center new characters in the same world as much as I enjoy sequels that keep expanding on the through-line for the same cast. This is one of the former.
Smoke and Summons, by Charlie Holmberg (@CNHolmberg): As she did in her Paper Magician series, which I also enjoyed, Holmberg has created a world in which magic is accomplished through something other than waving wands, although arcane symbols are in the mix. An endearing central character, Sandis, needs to break away from the brutal world in which her abilities are misused. Preordered the next book in what I hope is a series.
Toad Words and Other Stories, by T. Kingfisher (@UrsulaV): I love this woman's writing so much. I've devoured her novels, then moved to the short story collections. Retakes and retellings of different angles on fairy tales you'll recognize through the shift of her kaleidoscope, and stories set in a mythic desertscape that seems to draw on Native American traditions although I can't judge how closely.
Jackalope Wives and Other Stories, by T. Kingfisher (@UrsulaV). See above. I'm pretty sure I dreamed about jackalope wives after reading this. I woke up with the song "Buffalo Gal, Won't You Come Out Tonight?" in my head and couldn't work out why. An online search reminded me that this was the title of an Ursula K. LeGuin short story published in Fantasy & Science Fiction in 1987, when I was a subscriber. I now need to track down the story collection this was in. You now understand why the TBR list is bigger than the "read this month" lists.
Kingdoms of Elfin, Sylvia Townsend Warner: Found this thanks to the fascinating essay "Hen Wives, Spinsters, and Lolly Willowes" by Terry Windling. A dark and distant set of short stories about elves that are thoughtlessly cruel and remote in their interactions with humans. Not Tolkien elves, not cutesy-on-a-mushroom-stool elves. Just elves, themselves.
Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking, by Samin Nosrat (@CiaoSamin) and Wendy MacNaughton (@WendyMac): Started wanting this one the first time I heard a review on NPR. I haven't watched the cooking show tie-in, which I understand from my local bookstore is fabulous, so that's going on my list too. I started in March, but this is going to be one I peck away at for a loooong time and then keep consulting as a reference, similar to my use of The Food Lab, by J. Kenji Lopez-Alt.

This month's additions to TBR, with notes on how I found the book. This list just keeps getting longer and longer.... This month was a big one for adding nonfiction to the list, some of which I started on. I also got some of the fiction works above and read them right away. I don't have a system for deciding to go back into the TBR -- it's more a matter of what feels appealing.

Pacific Northwest Foraging, by Douglas Deur: We joke about the zombie apocalypse at our house every now and then, usually when buying something that seems useful for long-term survival in a rapidly changing world. I don't plan to become Euell Gibbons (I date myself with this reference) but this seems like a handy reference book. I want to move our yard toward more native plants so they may as well be useful.
The Surprising Power of Liberating Structures: Simple Rules to Unleash a Culture of Innovation, by Henri Lipmanowicz and Keith McCandless (@Keith McCandless): I went through a two-day immersive workshop on LS (@LSusers) around 18 months ago, I think, and have been using the techniques ever since in a variety of settings. The structures themselves are available on the LS website. After attending the LS Global Gathering (LSGG) this month -- 3 days of growing the body of practice while using the body of practice to examine LS in various applications, from community engagement to data collection to education-- I decided I should read the full work. Join this growing community of practitioners if this topic interests you; I had the most energizing 3 days I've had in a long time and constantly generated ideas for approaching my work with new insights and ideas.
Women Rowing North: Navigating Life’s Currents and Flourishing As We Age, by Mary Pipher: This author and I are apparently living the same timeline. Her work Reviving Ophelia informed me as a mother of daughters. I bought a copy of Another Country: Navigating the Emotional Terrain of Our Elders for every one of my siblings as our mother slipped into vascular dementia and our dad aged alongside her. And now this. Not that I'm aging, exactly -- just adding years of lived experience.
Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men, by Caroline Criado Perez (@CCriadoPerez). I learned of this one via Twitter, with people sharing links to her Guardian piece on some of the findings from the book. This body of work is critical to transportation safety along with many other realms. If you're on Twitter just search on #InvisibleWomen and become part of a big virtual book club. While you're at it thank her for the research; she's being attacked on social media by men who don't want to acknowledge the bias built into the world.
Mobility Justice: The Politics of Movement in an Age of Extremes, by Mimi Sheller: Discovered her via her interview on the Bike Nerds Podcast. It didn't hurt any that they noted citations of her work by Tamika Butler and Dr. Adonia Lugo, both women whose fierce work for transportation justice I greatly admire.

For a list of what's already waiting patiently on my Kindle, check out What I'm Reading Eventually, which was as of the end of February. I'll post another one in a while to keep track as I read and add new books.

The importance of online reviews: I recently read a piece by an author praising the value of one-line reviews on book purchase sites so go drop those too. The numbers matter as much as the content of your review so don't stress out over your writing ability -- just praise what you like about theirs.

A note on local economies and these links: You should shop at a local, independently owned bookstore. Or check these out through your local library -- did you know they can do that with e-books too, if that's how you read? Links on this page are Amazon Affiliate links. I've never made a penny from Amazon but these links give you access to more information and reader reviews. If I ever do make anything I'll donate it to a local nonprofit that helps people who need it most.

Writers on Twitter: I have a Writers list on Twitter. It isn't everyone I read/enjoy but it's a good starting place if you find your tastes and mine overlap. I so appreciate the chances I get to interact with people directly to tell them I enjoy their work.

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What I'm Reading: March 2019

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