Wow. A lot of reading this summer. So here’s thumbnail reviews of a bunch of books:

The Wild Trees by Richard Preston, about the group of people who find and climb the biggest trees on the planet, the giant redwoods concealed in the forests of northern California. The style was a little annoying, but the story is so compelling, it’s easy to overlook. If I were twenty-five, I would be buying some ropes and bushwhacking outside of Humboldt, CA.

There There by Tommy Orange. Interlocking narratives about urban Native Americans in Oakland, how their lives entwined leading up to a powwow. A keen eye and great characters, and a reminder to some of us what’s going on. I really liked it.

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass – by, um, Frederick Douglass. It was about time. A great American book. When I hear people suggest slavery might not have been so bad, I will insert this into their brain.

Educated by Tara Westover – Enjoyed it with my mouth open in a horrified expression, if “enjoyed” is a word you can use for how someone escapes a harrowing life, thanks to books and learning. Kind of a domestic “Unbroken”.

Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe – riveting and moving and troubling book about the Troubles of Northern Ireland, focusing on the disappearance of a mother who helped a British soldier. Really good, and you feel for everyone caught in that horrible time. Let’s hope Boris Johnson and his crew don’t mess up what is still very fragile. This is a great book.

Hide and Seek by Ian Rankin – one of his mysteries featuring his curmudgeonly Edinburghian (I think there’s a real term for that…) detective John Rebus. Pretty good – you read enough about one detective and sometimes you like him in spite of some of the problems with the book. It’s a mystery! Lighten up!

Sapiens: A brief history of humankind by Yuvel Noah Harari – Harari is  a smart guy and has really interesting perspectives on a lot of things – from energy use to tribal identity to economics. His tone is a little too all-knowing and cool for me (silly humans!), but it really makes you think. Worth the read, but would be good to have someone to talk to about.

How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan – a book about the history, culture and use of psychedelic drugs. This book blew my mind (hahaha)– not just for the examination of what psychedelics do, but for the cultural history he presents (e.g., Timothy Leary messed it up for a lot of people, and he couldn’t help himself). Pollan is a great reporter and writer, and, um, participant/observer. It has me thinking. Highly recommended.

The Blazing World by Siri Hustvedt – with the growing recognition that women have been denied their voices for eons, this book is an interesting look at an imperfect human who has decided she’s had enough. A woman ignored in the art world finds a way to get attention, and prove her point. Chaos ensues. I’m not quite sure how I feel about this book – the main character is really flawed (not by mistake, I think) and alternately sympathetic and repellent– but I keep thinking about it, and I suppose that’s worth a lot. And it ain’t kind to the art world, but maybe that’s not surprising either.

Feeling and Form by Suzanne Langer. This is a heavy book, and it’s been sitting on my shelf for two years – I finally tackled it. Langer looks at the major forms of art and asks questions about art – what is it supposed to do, how does it do it, and what is its value. I’m thinking Langer (per above) would have been more widely recognized if she were a man (this along with Frances Yates, who did very deep work on memory and arcane knowledge). But because they worked on the side, mostly without recognition, they had a view of the world that is significant and unique. Really glad I read it. Really glad it’s read and off my pile!

The Round House – Louise Erdrich. I think Erdrich is my favorite writer. I love her command of the language, her storytelling, her sensitivity to her characters and the stories she tells. In her series of novels about a reservation in North Dakota, she’s created a whole world I love visiting, with humor and tragedy living right next door to each other. She gives us white folks just a peek at what it means to be Native. This book, a coming of age story about a thirteen year old boy and his charismatic friend, is hilarious and tragic. “NO!” I screamed at the climax. But yes, of course. Unexpected and inevitable.

Empire of the Summer Moon by S.C. Gwynne – this book about the Comanches and one of their leaders, Quanah Parker, is an amazing story. I didn’t really like the book – a listing of skirmishes and fights with not much cultural context. Most of his sources are white folks fighting for control of the land, and so seem to me not particularly reliable – just one side of the story. He uses the words “savage” and “Stone Age” without parentheses, which seems like a red flag to me. Really? But man, the Comanche are tough.

Let us know what you’re reading – we love to hear.