Tote Bag Awards 2018
Welcome to the 3rd edition of my Tote Bag Awards! All the books I’ve read this year have been reviewed and put on blast! However, these aren’t books published in 2018, these are the books I got my hands on in 2018 and recommend.
I’ve categorized them into Nonfiction, Fiction, and Honorable Mention. I strongly feel that your time is important. That’s why I’ve included a category called Don’t Bother. From one habitual reader to another, enjoy!
Nonfiction: How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence by Michael Pollan. From the author of Omnivore’s Dilemma, this book is a mind-fuck. Well-researched and carefully crafted, I loved learning more about the future of mind research. If you believe like I do that we are in the middle of a mental health revolution, this book explores the world of psychedelics for newbies. I feel like this is only the beginning for the equivalent of mental health innovation like microscope or telescope was for biology and astronomy back in the day. Bonus: watch his interview with Joe Rogan for a fun time.
Fiction: The Atomic Weight of Love by Elizabeth Church. This book was a pure joy to read. It covered many popular themes like the science of love, bird intelligence and gender issues in a real and majestic way. I’m not really a bird person but I am interested in the study of crows now and nuclear warfare. Yeah — it goes that deep. Set in the United States, it was a bit of a taste back home too. It’s an easy read and a true love story at heart.
Honorable Mention: An African American and Latinx History of the US by Paul Oritz. This book rocked my world. As a Latina, I was very upset this history wasn’t taught in school growing up. I knew I had a close connection with my African Americans brothers and sisters but I had no idea how deep those roots were. Read this if you’re in slightly interested in the colonial influence on a growing population of citizens of the US. Bonus: watch John Leguizamo’s Netflix special: Latin History for Morons.
Honorable Mention: Women, Equality and Power by Helen Clark. I’ll admit it — I dream of running for office one day. Not just a Latina elected official in NZ but as a civic duty and changemaker. This collection of speeches from former Prime Minister Helen Clark is full of inspirational nuggets. What surprised me was the deep history of nuclear-free NZ and Clark’s journey to the UN. I loved reading her story through big speeches. I would consider an audiobook because it’s a big, heavy book to tote around.
Don’t Bother: Theft By Finding by David Sedaris. Funny guy but it’s a damn big book of diary entries that I just couldn’t get into. It’s almost got a rhythm to the writing I never quite caught onto. I quite like reading diary entries (and frequently write in that style) but I just didn’t get the jokes. The journey starts at a young age and it all felt too random. Maybe if I was unoccupied and had hours to dig into it, I would have caught the beat. But life’s too short.
Have you read any good books this year? Hope you enjoyed my selections and I look forward to a new year with new reads. Please also consider where you buy your bags from. With the growing trend of fast fashion and sustainable toting, do the right thing: buy sustainably or not at all.
