Still chipping away at Stamped from the Beginning which is a good read, but heavy, and I took a break to try some shorter stuff, just to finish something.

Lying by Sam Harris
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book was short? It was less of a book and more like a ramble? Like, if you met someone at a bar and they were just like “What is lying?” and had clearly just taken a class in ethics (or binge watched ‘The Good Place’). I didn’t feel like I heard anything new in this book but it is a good jumping off point for discussion.

How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less by Sarah Glidden
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a very personal and honest story that Glidden shares with us. It centers around her coming to terms with thinking she knows it all and realizing that she doesn’t. I think it is a problem a lot of us have when it comes to looking at issues in other countries and societies. She points this out at the end of the book – that it is much easier to look elsewhere and say how easy it would be to solve a problem than looking at our own country and what needs to be fixed.

This book made me realize how little I actually know about the story of Israel and Palestine. I feel the need to do some research, maybe not to try to solve the problem, which is clearly complex and layered, but to have a better grasp on what is at stake when people talk about steps forward.

The Phantom Twin by Lisa Brown
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Lisa Brown says in the end notes of the book that she was always fascinated by Freak Shows and researched them a lot as a teen and adult. In this story, she balances a story of found family and a group of people who struggle to feel like they belong all the while showing the abuse and prejudices people forced into the profession had to endure.

A good read for tweens/teens who are interested in this strange part of history, who like stories about trying to fit in and find yourself in a world where everyone thinks they already know you.

Queen’s Shadow by E.K. Johnston
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The book was okay, if you like politics and listening to people talk about politics, but those politics are from a galaxy far far away, then this is the book for you!

It was interesting to hear about Padme and her handmaidens and their relationship to one and other. I really would have been happier with just a book all about Sabe though, which was what I thought we were getting when the whole slavery plot line came up.

The epilogue though. I want THAT book please.
I read this for Star Wars Book Club

What did you read this month?