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Book Review | Tastes Like War by Grace M. Cho

From the publisher: Grace M. Cho grew up as the daughter of a white American merchant marine and the Korean bar hostess he met abroad. They were one of few immigrants in a xenophobic small town during the Cold War, where identity was politicized by everyday details—language, cultural references, memories, and food. When Grace was fifteen, her dynamic mother experienced the onset of schizophrenia, a condition that would continue and evolve for the rest of her life.

Cho’s memoir is a beautiful and heart wrenching blend of food, reflections on racism in America (especially rural America), and the multifaceted struggles of mental illness (especially in “older” women of color). Her reflections are very deeply thought out and articulate, and she takes great care in exploring each issue minutely. Cho is a very intelligent person– she has a doctorate in Sociology and Women’s Studies– and it shows in her writing without being overbearing or condescending. In addition to her firsthand experiences, it is obvious that she has dedicated a lot of research to back up her writing.

It’s easy to feel close to Grace because she’s so honest about her thoughts and feelings. She isn’t afraid to question her own perceptions and actions, and the way she describes events with such detail and emotion makes it easy for the reader to empathize with her. Though she writes in a flowing, easy-to-digest style, Cho’s non-linear time skips made the timeline a bit hard to follow at times. Perhaps this would have been easier to follow in print– I listened to the audiobook version, which is available on Libby. It is 10 hours long and narrated by Cindy Kay, who does a good job of distinguishing speakers.

Though I was already familiar with schizophrenia and the effects it can have on families, I liked how in-depth Cho questioned what triggered her mother’s psychosis. Cho explores the nuances of her mother’s difficult upbringing influenced by Imperial Japan, the Korean War, and the United States military presence in addition to broader influences such as migrant experiences in the United States and the patriarchy. Throughout the story, Cho weaves the idea that these factors likely had an impact on her mother’s mental health. Overall, this is a fascinating read that covers a lot of ground.

Book Review | Better Living Through Birding by Christian Cooper

From the publisher: Central Park birder Christian Cooper takes us beyond the viral video that shocked a nation and into a world of avian adventures, global excursions, and the unexpected lessons you can learn from a life spent looking up.

This is a compelling memoir of an ordinary person thrust into the limelight after an encounter in New York City’s Central Park with an unleashed dog and its owner.

Christian Cooper is a regular guy who found fame when he asked Amy Cooper to leash her dog in an area of Central Park known as the Ramble during bird migration. She reacted by calling the police on him, and his video of her behavior went viral. I don’t know whether Christian Cooper was asked to write a memoir or it was his idea, but he’s a good writer and I enjoyed it a lot. He’s funny, and thoughtful about his word choices.

I suspect some readers who pick up this memoir will be disappointed because there’s too much about birds. I suspect some birders who pick up this memoir will be disappointed because there isn’t enough about birds. Cooper takes us through his years before and after the video, documenting his life as a Black, male, gay, birdwatching nerd and sprinkling in birding tips as he goes.

I might not seem to have a lot in common with Cooper – I’m a white straight woman – but I am a birdwatcher and a nerd who loves Star Trek, and I’m about the same age as Cooper. Our shared pop culture experiences resonate! Reading Better Living Through Birding was like sitting down with a friend for coffee. Christian Cooper is a confident guy who stands up for what he believes in. His birding by ear skills sound legendary. He’d be fun to bird with.

I liked that the memoir covered a lot of ground and a lot of normal issues. Awkwardness with dad. Frustration with mom. Pushing the boundaries at work. Spending free time obsessed with a hobby. Modeling behavior after a character from pop culture. Dealing with coming out as gay. Encountering casual racism. This may or may not be the memoir for you, but if it intrigues you at all I recommend giving it a chance.

I read an advance reader copy of Better Living Through Birding from Netgalley.

It is scheduled to be published on June 13, and it will be available at the Galesburg Public Library.

New Adult Nonfiction — March 2023

Are you a history buff? Amateur chef? Thinking about getting some backyard chickens? We have the books for you! Read up on these new nonfiction titles and pick one up today!

First up we have The Ship Beneath the Ice: The Discovery of Shackleton’s Endurance by Mensun Bound. This book tells the extraordinary story of how the Endurance, Ernest Shackleton’s legendary lost ship, was found in the most hostile sea on Earth, told by the expedition’s Director of Exploration. Complete with captivating photos from the 1914 expedition and of the wreck as Bound and his team found it, this inspiring modern-day adventure narrative captures the intrepid spirit that joins two mariners across the centuries—both of whom accomplished the impossible.

If you’re looking for a way to spice up your dinners, look no further than Yogurt & Whey: Recipes of an Iranian Immigrant Life by Homa Dashtaki. As founder of the much-loved The White Moustache Yogurt company, Dashtaki employs the same traditionally Iranian methods of making yogurt that her family has for generations in her kitchen today. Her passion culminates in inspiring the use of a new ingredient: why, the liquid gold extracted from straining homemade yogurt.

Under the Henfluence: Inside the World of Backyard Chickens and the People Who Love Them by Tove Danovich is part memoir, part animal welfare reporting. From a hatchery in Iowa to a chicken show in Ohio to a rooster rescue in Minnesota, Danovich interviews the people breeding, training, healing, and, most importantly, adoring chickens.

Have you ever wondered why Bernie Madoff thought he could brazenly steal his clients’ money? Or why investors were so easily duped by Elizabeth Holmes? Or how courageous people like Jeffrey Wigand are willing to become whistleblowers and put their careers on the line? Then you need to check out Fool Me Once: Scams, Stories, and Secrets from the Trillion-Dollar Fraud Industry by Kelly Richmond Pope.

As graphic artist Rhea Ewing neared college graduation in 2012, they became consumed by the question: What is gender? This obsession sparked a quest in which they eagerly approached both friends and strangers in their quiet Midwest town for interviews to turn into comics. A decade later, Fine: A Comic About Gender came about. This graphic novel is sure to intrigue!

Grab something new at the library today!


All book descriptions courtesy of the publisher.

Book Review | Waco Rising by Kevin Cook

From the publisher: A news-making account of the war between David Koresh’s Branch Davidians and the FBI, and how their standoff launched today’s militias.

I don’t know why two books are being published in January 2023 on the standoff that took place in Waco, Texas in 1993, but they are and I read them both.

I found Waco Rising by Kevin Cook to be the more engaging, and the more frightening, of the two. Waco by Jeff Guinn is good but not great. Waco seems exhaustively researched; it is very detailed and at times repetitive. Waco Rising, on the other hand, included information I’d never heard or read before. For example, Guinn talks about the Branch Davidian dogs that were shot by agents, but Cook talks about the eleven tiny puppies that were inside, not outside in a pen, the chickens, and the “hunger-mad goose” penned up with the dead dogs. Details like these really brought the setting to life.

Cook’s retelling of what happened in at the Branch Davidian compound in the spring of 1993 moves at a much brisker pace, and without as much repetition (although there is still repetition – a good editor could have tightened up both of these books). Cook’s book is much more critical of the decisions made by the ATF and especially the FBI. Cook draws a direct line between Waco to Oklahoma City to Alex Jones to January 6th. FBI negotiator Gary Noesner calls Waco “a self-inflicted wound for the FBI. It contributed to a broad antigovernment sentiment that’s out there today.” (p. 157 of the advance reader copy)

If you want to know more about the standoff between government agents and the Branch Davidians, and how the event is affecting the United States today, you may find either or both of these books worth reading.

I read advance reader copies of Waco and Waco Rising from Netgalley.

Waco and Waco Rising are available for checkout from the Galesburg Public Library.

Book Review | The Forever Witness — Edward Humes

From the publisher: A relentless detective and an amateur genealogist solve a haunting cold case — and launch a crime-fighting revolution that tests the fragile line between justice and privacy. Genetic genealogy, long the province of family tree hobbyists and adoptees seeking their birth families, has made headlines as a cold case solution machine, capable of exposing the darkest secrets of seemingly upstanding citizens. But as this crime-fighting technique spreads, its sheer power has sparked a national debate: Can we use DNA to catch the murderers among us, yet still protect our last shred of privacy in the digital age—the right to the very blueprint of who we are?

I’ve been reading a lot of true crime, and The Forever Witness is a great example written by an experienced and talented writer. Edward Humes is a Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist who pays extreme attention to detail and can really turn a phrase. This book weaves together multiple cold case murders with fascinating information on how far genetic genealogy has come. It challenges us to think about the ramifications of using genetic genealogy to uncover criminals using the DNA of innocent relatives.

The story focuses on the murders of two young Canadians, Tanya Van Cuylenborg and Jay Cook, who travelled to the US in November 1987 to pick up a furnace for his father’s service and repair business. Their bodies were found in two separate remote locations a few days after they disappeared, and they had been killed in very different ways. Thirty years later, the crime still had not been solved; then came new developments in genetic genealogy.

The author does a great job helping us get to know the young couple by presenting little details about their lives. He sympathetically presents the anguish of their friends and relatives. As fascinated as he is by the science used to uncover the truth, he is sensitive to the fact that he is writing about real people.

The segue into discussion about genetic genealogy was technical but also fascinating. I learned a lot. In 2016, a company called Parabon NanoLabs introduced cutting-edge DNA technology called Snapshot that can generate a composite sketch of a suspect from DNA trace evidence. A couple of examples are included in the book, of Snapshots and the actual killers, and the similarities are striking.

In the end, a true crime novel that reveals a killer is both sad for the victims and satisfying when justice is done.

I read an advance reader copy of The Forever Witness from Netgalley.

The Forever Witness adds a riveting layer of science to the true crime template. If you enjoy true crime works that also cover science and discuss pressing social issues, you may enjoy The Forever Witness. The Galesburg Public Library will own it once it is released in late November.

Book Review | Inside the Mind of John Wayne Gacy by Brad Hunter

From the publisher: Brad Hunter has spent over thirty years writing about some of America’s most horrific crimes. In this new book he enters the mind of John Wayne Gacy, the real-life Killer Clown, often said to be the inspiration for Stephen King’s evil Pennywise in It. Drawing on his many years’ experience investigating and interviewing perpetrators of terrible crimes, Hunter seeks to understand what drove Gacy to unleash a reign of terror in suburban Chicago.

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Book Review | Slenderman by Kathleen Hale

From the publisher: On May 31, 2014, in the Milwaukee suburb of Waukesha, two twelve-year-old girls attempted to stab their classmate to death. Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier’s violence was extreme, but what seemed even more frightening was that they committed their crime under the influence of a figure born by the internet: the so-called “Slenderman.” Yet the even more urgent aspect of the story, that the children involved suffered from undiagnosed mental illnesses, often went overlooked in coverage of the case. Slenderman tells that full story for the first time in deeply researched detail, using court transcripts, police reports, individual reporting, and exclusive interviews.

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Book Review | Rebugging the Planet by Vicki Hird

From the publisher: Remember when there were bugs on your windshield? Ever wonder where they went? We need to act now if we are to help insects survive. Rebugging the Planet explains how we are headed toward “insectageddon” with a rate of insect extinction eight times faster than that of mammals or birds, and gives us crucial information to help all those essential creepy-crawlies flourish once more.

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