Books about science, the climate crisis, and struggle
What If? 2: Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions by Randall Munroe
This is a delightful sequel to the original What If? book, which works out scientific answers to questions such as, "What would happen if it started raining gumdrops?", "How much mass would I have to remove from the earth to get my weight to drop 20 pounds?", or "If I held onto a helicopter blade while it was taking off, what would happen?" It's a really fun way to learn different scientific concepts, illustrated with stick figures and a dry sense of humor. Highly recommended.
All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis edited by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine K. Wilkinson
This was one of my Top Five Books of 2020, so I revisited it recently. This anthology of climate-change-related essays, poetry, and quotes is really interesting to revisit four years after its publication, seeing how far we've come in some ways (the Inflation Reduction Act had more meaningful climate action than many, many years put together) and how far we have to go in others. Even if you don't agree with all the perspectives (and even when the perspectives contradict each other), if you read the book you will come out with a richer and broader understanding of how the climate crisis intersects with every aspect of our lives. My favorite essay is Mary Anaïse Heglar's, "Home Is Always Worth It" (you can read an excerpt here), which reminds us that despair is a privilege we can't afford.
The Struggle Is Real: Getting Better at Life, Stronger in Faith, and Free from the Stuff Keeping You Stuck by Nicole Unice
I read through this book with my Sunday school class, and it was pretty mediocre. The author had some good concepts (and kind of hit her stride in the last two chapters), but the writing overall was so vague at the end of each chapter, I couldn't remember what point she was trying to make. There are so many other books that tackle similar concepts in better ways, so I'd suggest giving this one a pass.
Previously on What I've Been Reading:
All What I've Been Reading posts
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