Nonfiction

In this anthology, Fazlalizadeh shares interviews with twelve women in cities all across America about street harassment and sexual objectification, and describes her efforts to use art to communicate the pain that these encounters cause. Many girls and women can relate to her descriptions catcalling and degrading encounters, and this book confronts these discussions head on, forcing them to the forefront of conversation and refusing to let you ignore them. It gives a voice to people that are often silenced, and demands that the reader confront their own silence on the issues she describes.

I read this book as part of a research project I'm doing on gender, and am currently working on a section on objectification, especially when it comes to women. This book summed up a lot of the common encounters and the dangers of the world they create for both women and men. It gave words to people who may not have felt like they had the words before. And coupled with the poignant illustrations and quotes on every page, the book is simply beautiful to read. I think everyone should hear these women's stories, regardless of gender. "Stop Telling Women to Smile" speaks to the powerful truth of the human experience. It refuses to gloss over the pain that many people feel while also offering genuine hope for a more inclusive and kind future grounded in mutual respect.

Hyeonseo Lee is a young woman who was able to escape North Korea after years of determination and courage. Lee explains in great detail the brainwashing she and all other North Koreans have gone through and how they continue to be treated by their oppressive government. She also offers an insight into the daily life of a North Korean and thoroughly explains that the indoctrination is not the fault of the people, but the tyrannical governments. At the young age of 17, Lee must leave everything she has known behind as she escapes on her own and makes her way across the North Koreans and Chinese border (intending to make South Korea her final destination). While on the run, Lee realizes that her journey may not be as easy as she expected. Following her successful mission, she is able to flourish even more than she originally envisioned. As you read this book, you'll finally learn why she came to be known as "the girl with seven names."

Permanent Record is the memoir of Edward Snowden life. Snowden was the man who exposed and leaked how the US government used mass surveillance on enemies but also US citizens. Snowden knew so much of this system as he
was a former employee of the CIA. I choose this book because it's nonfiction and about an important event that happened recently. I also chose Permeant Record because I love reading about politics and government. This book
definitely surprised me because of Snowden's reasoning and motivation of why he did what he did. I liked Permanent Record because the readers get a first person perspective of the events that unfolded. Although I liked the book, I
disliked how Snowden's actions endangered the lives of several American spies, and other government officials.

Kon-Tiki is a novel about a group of men who sail across the ocean on a polynesian raft with the bare necessities for life. Using barely any modern resources, like a GPS or Emergency SOS, they set sail in the early 1950’s. They wanted to prove that it is possible to sail to polynesia in a raft. The beginning was a little rough for me, as it was about the preparation, the, and the support behind the project. I disliked them going into so much detail about the raft they were trying to copy. They were trying to copy the exact rope, the exact bamboo, the exact position of launch, and the exact shape. If you are a story lover like me, it starts out rough, but it turns into a fabulous journey towards the middle. I enjoyed this book because of the sense of adventure and the sense of
exploration. It describes the adventure of meeting the Whale Shark with a passionate sense of adventure, describing the people on board being panicked at first, then treating it as a kind of puppy. This is a favorite of mine, due to the fact that the adventure was both interesting and thrilling. I recommend this book to anyone that is looking for an adventure on the sea.

This is like a self help book. it was very intriguing and helpful. The steps it gives to help make your brain work weren't hard, and they work.

This book looks at what our pronoun usage in our language says about us. There is also an online website which uses the same tools Pennebaker uses in his studies, providing the reader with an interactive aspect as well. The concepts in the book about how different pronouns correlate with different social status, group dynamics, gender, and other factors provide an insight on an aspect of daily life most people never think about. It also includes charts and graphs to help convey information, although Pennebaker does not provide his raw data for portions of the book, only his conclusion. By the end of the book many points he makes feel repetitive, making the later chapters less interesting to read.

I knew almost nothing about wolves going into this book and I am obsessed with them now. Rick brings such life to the initial wolves that were introduced into Yellowstone. I found myself fascinated with the lives of these wolves and rooting for certain wolves to "win."

This book is fantastic! Dan Crenshaw offers brilliant advice on mental toughness and how to combat the outrage culture with critical thinking. Crenshaw's methods are simple, easy to practice, and are what is missing in today's society. Written from his life experiences of being a Navy SEAL and United States Congressman, Crenshaw makes this book relatable and applicable to everyone's lives. Crenshaw also cites many articles, studies, and medical experts to backup his advice. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to become a well-informed voter, contributing citizen, or successful person.

Boys in the Boat tells the story of how nine men took gold during the 1936
Olympics in Berlin. As you read the book, you will feel the struggles of the
men to make the Washington rowing team as Juniors, compete for a spot in the
first boat as seniors, and overcome the biggest challenge yet in winning the
gold medal. This book is an easy five stars because of character development
and an easy to follow plot. I would recommend this book to anyone who wanted
to read about one of the most important Olympic gold medalists.

This is a controversial book. Designed as a critique to modern day feminism, Farrell and Gray draw on decades of joint research and experience to debunk the patriarchy and discuss the way that our society is neglecting the needs of young boys and men. They argue that feminism has led to a crisis of education, mental health, and sexuality for boys and men whose needs are not being met.

As a feminist myself, I had a lot of reservations about reading this. I originally checked it out as part of ongoing research for an article I'm writing on cultural standards around masculinity and femininity in the US, but I disagreed with almost everything it stood for. However, I was stunned by how thoughtful and well researched this book is. Instead of being an attempt by privileged men to degrade women or advocate a traditional "women should be in the kitchen" philosophy, this book draws on decades worth of cutting-edge statistics to draw attention to the ways that a gendered society hurts everyone. It explained bias against men in the family court and criminal justice system, and questions the lack of conversation around male victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. These were all things that I had never even thought about or realized were a problem.

If you're anything like me, this is a book that will make you uncomfortable. It will challenge your preconceptions and force you to reconsider entire worldviews you've built your beliefs upon. The book is more than likely to hit the wall at least once before you're finished reading it. However, it will also deeply affect you. I came out of this book with a much more nuanced and well-rounded picture of what gender means in this world. I didn't agree with everything, and I'm still a feminist through and through, but I now realize that feminism is for men too. Gender equality is so much more complicated than what first meets the eye.

This book a must-read for anyone who's interested in gender politics. My biggest criticism (and the reason I didn't give it five stars) was that it often went off topic, particularly in the mental health section, and often discussed homeopathic remedies to ADHD and other things that felt irrelevant and detracted from the main message of the story.