Books about the sharing economy, wizards, environmentalism, and sex
The Buy Nothing, Get Everything Plan: Discover the Joy of Spending Less, Sharing More, and Living Generously by Liesl Clark and Rebecca Rockefeller
Written by the founders of the community platform The Buy Nothing Project, this book is an inspiring, hopeful, and practical guide to the designing your life around sharing rather than buying. It talks about how to understand the mindset of the gift economy, and what this lifestyle can look like in practice, as well as giving advice for setting up a local sharing network, being vulnerable in asking for what you need, and learning how to mend, repair, reuse, and meet your needs without using money.
Interspersed with the authors' own stories and others', it's a clear roadmap to helping launch a sharing economy, mixed in with some good old-fashioned thrift that focuses on meeting the needs of the community as a whole, rather than simply individuals. It really inspired me!
Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
I love the 2004 Miyazaki movie, but had never gotten around to reading the book until now. When a teenager named Sophie get cursed by a witch, she transforms into an old woman, and must now seek her destiny in a 90-year-old's body. This leads her to the doorstep of a wizard who's renowned for breaking women's hearts and keeping a fire demon to help with his magic. Sophie sets up shop as his housekeeper, and as a result gets tangled up in all sorts of mayhem.
The book is very different from the movie: the plot has some similarities at first, but soon veers into wildly different territory, so it was fun to read about familiar characters in a "new" adventure. Also, Howl in the movie is fine, but Howl in the book is an absolute disaster of a human being— in the most entertaining way possible. I loved it and am starting on the sequel, Castle in the Air, soon!
One Green Thing: Discover Your Hidden Power to Help Save the Planet by Heather White
This is one of those typical "Don't let climate change overwhelm you! Just do one thing!" books, with the addition of a personality quiz for climate activists (discover your activist type— Sage, Beacon, Philosopher, Adventurer?). It's optimistic, upbeat, and full of good information summarizing the many challenges we face with climate change, and the many ways that different kinds of people can help solve the problem.
I heavily skimmed some of it, since it rehashed a lot of information I already know. It also had a lot of rhetoric that I've grown weary of (namely the "vote with your dollar" thing, which I could write a whole essay about), and the "one green thing" suggestions were often disproportionately tiny compared to the problem they were supposed to impact. (For instance, the problem would be "mass species extinction" and the action item would be something like, "Learn about your favorite animals.")
That said, though, it was a fun format, and I liked her emphasis on intergenerational connection, building community around common ground, and finding the work that gives you joy rather than trying to be a "cookie-cutter" activist.
If you want to do something more for the earth but aren't sure where to start, this is a great resource for finding your way!
This isn't my usual fare, and I almost didn't review it, but it was both interesting to read and incredibly informative, tackling the science of desire, pleasure, and arousal (which are completely separate, and often unrelated, sensations). The author, a sex educator, says that her main goal in to the book is to drill this into the reader's head: You are normal. It's organized to allay fears, correct common misconceptions, and provide practical advice for understanding one's sexuality. It's mostly geared toward cis women, but I'd recommend it to any sexually-active person of any gender.
Previously on What I've Been Reading:
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