Looks Like You Can Drink While Pregnant

There are a lot of rules when it comes to pregnancy. But why does it differ doctor to doctor, region by region? Emily Oster, a data-obsessed economist, wanted to know where these rules came from so, naturally, she dug into the studies that led to the fuzzy conclusions we all know today. This book isn’t intended to be chapters of advice, but rather an awareness of potential risk according to the numbers. So pour yourself a glass of wine (you’re fine as long as you don’t do cocaine while you’re at it) and get into the numbers.

When you like owning things but also hate capitalism

Eula Biss wants to understand, what is capitalism? Part memoir, part essay, part research project, Eula Biss dissects the contradictions of being a middle class consumer. From buying furniture to art to a washing machine, what are the ethics behind what we buy, how was it assigned value, and why does it feel good to acquire things.

A history of incest, dragons, and a woman's right to the throne

Do blondes have more fun? If you’re constantly watching you back lest your relative stab you in the back maybe not so much. Fire & Blood takes you back to beginning of the Targaryen rule of Westeros. There are baby dragons, plenty of incest, incompetent men and queens pulling the strings. There’s girl power and an uprising of the 99%. Basically feels like the 2011 (#occupyWesteros). If you read the Game of Thrones books you’ll feel right at home.

The rage behind Momofuko

Famous chef (but don’t call him a celebrity chef) David Chang opens up about how depression, rage, and extreme work ethic led to the success of Momofuku. Don’t read if you’re hungry. Definitely read if you’re thinking of opening your own restaurant.

Librarians on Horses

A woman is stuck in a bad marriage. Bored with nothing to do and no friends, she joins a group of outsider librarians who deliver books to outside towns. Trouble always finds women on horses, especially when the town is filled with racists, the religious and closeted alcoholics.

Thank you to Gage Heyburn for recommending this book to me!

A good kid discovers a reform school’s covered-up history of abuse and murder

A good kid with a good future ahead of him is in the wrong place at the wrong time. He finds himself attending The Nickel Academy, a reform school for juvenile boys. Quickly learning that doing the “right” thing gets you nowhere except whipped until you black out (or much worse), he befriends a fellow Black boy who has a different way of survival. The Nickel Boys [2019] by Colson Whitehead is set in the 1960s but is based on the real-life Dozier School for Boys that shut down as RECENTLY as 2011 when unidentified bodies were dug up on campus. Were politicians, businessmen, and policemen in on it? You bet.