Books about rest, mad science, housekeeping, and animals
Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto by Tricia Hersey
I picked up this book based on both the title and the fact that Tricia Hersey is the founder of The Nap Ministry, who I used to follow when I was on Instagram. She is a Black woman who has focused her career around the idea of using rest to resist the status quo of busyness, grind culture, and the dehumanizing human-as-machine mentality that rules many of our lives.
I loved that she grounded her work with rest in her background in the Black Pentecostal church and her experience juggling grad school, a job, and parenting. Many books about rest ring hollow because the author is someone who can easily clear time for a nap— the call to rest hits very differently coming from someone who spent a good chunk of her life desperately scrambling to pay the bills.
I'll admit the book sometimes frustrated me— I often felt like I was diving into the middle of a concept without context. For instance, she often mentions that resting is pushing back against white supremacy, but never explains how exactly rest combats it, and references a "DreamSpace" without ever defining what that means. Over the course of the book, though, I began to realize that this lack of explanation was intentional: she is encouraging the readers to absorb her ideas through her storytelling, rather than rushing to put the concepts in a box right from the beginning. Once I gave myself over to the not-knowing, to waiting patiently as he spun her dream of a future in which everyone rests, I found myself feeling calmer and more centered, and absorbing the concepts better.
Rest Is Resistance gave me a lot to think about, and I'm still mulling it over even weeks later. I recommend it for anyone who feels like they need to rest but aren't sure they deserve it.
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
I read this novella for the first time this year via email newsletter (that's what the link above is) over the course of ten weeks. Pop culture had me expecting an evil scientist cackling over bubbling chemicals, and while we do get to that, the first several chapters are framed as a mystery story, with the viewpoint character, Gabriel Utterson, trying to piece together information about a mysterious associate of his friend Dr. Jekyll. It's a wonderful slow build until the last two chapters, which end up delving into full-blown Gothic horror. Even when you know the "big plot twist," it's still a delightfully scary ride to get there, and the themes are much, much more nuanced than the pop culture expectation that Jekyll is the "good side" and Hyde is the "bad." Highly recommended!
How to Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing by KC Davis
(I actually read this in December, but I forgot to review it then.) My friend Lena recommended this to me, and I absolutely loved it! It's a guide to keeping house when your executive functioning is down, you're facing chronic illness, or you just can't keep up with the tasks to keep your house functional— and of course, all the tips are handy even if things are going well, too. I really appreciated the author's practical and encouraging approach, reminding us that something is always better than nothing.
How to Be a Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals by Sy Montgomery
I picked this up on a whim at the library because of the cover art, and it was a charming read! Nature writer Montgomery writes the story of her life— covering loss, her field work, her relationship with her parents, suicidal ideation, and learning to see ourselves in the "other"— through stories about thirteen animals who have meant a lot to her. Several of the animals are dogs, although there are some unexpected ones in there as well, such as tree kangaroos and a Pacific octopus. It's a quick and beautiful read, encouraging readers to reflect on the creatures that we share earth with.
What have you been reading lately?
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