Tag Archives: Review

Review: Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater

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I did not expect to binge read Dream Thieves on Thanksgiving. But, I did and now I have to slow my roll down because the fourth book doesn’t come out until Spring. The Raven Cycle is about a group of teens who are looking for a medieval Welsh King rumored to be sleeping somewhere in America. If you wake him, he will grant you a wish.

From here there are spoilers for The Raven Boys.

This novel picks up where Raven Boys left off. Ronan can pull things from his dreams and make them real. Adam woke the ley line and is now its hands and eyes. Noah is still dead and Gansey is still Gansey. Blue is still a not-psychic in a family of psychics. Adam and Blue are kind of together, as together as you can be when your kiss can kill. There is a lot of pain in this novel. Adam doesn’t get why Blue keeps him at arm’s length. Blue can’t help that she’s falling for Gansey. Ronan is still broken from losing his father. None of them understand why Adam went off on his own and, as he grows into what the ley line needs him to be he feels isolated. Gansey is beat up over feeling like he’s losing Adam and he’s at a loss for what to do with Ronan at times. Oh, and Noah keeps reliving his death.

And, now some spoilers for this novel.

In addition to all the growing pains, we learn more about Blue’s family. Persephone has a connection to Adam, we find out. We also meet the Gray man who is there as a bounty hunter to collect whatever allows Ronan to steal things from dreams. I really enjoyed the subplot with the Gray man and Maura and I hope that he continues to be part of the next book. We also learn a little more about Gansey’s and Ronan’s families.

A lot of this novel really focused on Ronan, his ability and its connection to the ley line. I liked Ronan a lot as a character in the first book but he was a little one dimensional. He was Gansey body guard and enforcer. So it was interesting to get some Ronan point of view in this novel. He’s got a lot of anger and also a lot of questions surrounding his father’s life and death. Unraveling the mystery of Niall Lynch not only pushes the narrative forward but also gives Ronan some much needed character development.

We also get a lot of point of view from Adam. We learned about his family in the first novel and we got to see a lot of fall out related to that in this one. We also got to see why this quest and the ley line mean so much to him. Some of the scenes where we see Adam and Gansey together actually lead to some much needed character development for Gansey as well.

I enjoyed this book immensely. I needed to know what happened next. But, I have to say that Adam repeatedly broke my heart. That kid, man. He deserves better.

I am really looking forward to the next novel, Blue Lily, Lily Blue.

Review: Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

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Featured imageWhen I Rainbow Rowell announced that her next book would be Carry On the entire internet let out a huge SQUEEEE!! For those who may not be familiar with her work (which really you should) in her 2013 novel, Fangirl, she introduced us to Simon Snow, a Harry Potteresque “chosen one” and his nemesis/roommate Baz.  In Fangirl, Simon and Baz are characters in a beloved fantasy series that Cath was writing a fan-fiction for.  We got a few snippets of Simon and Baz through Cath’s writing, in which she took the characters from enemies to lovers.  Cath spends Fangirl trying onto finish her fan-fiction before the author of Simon Snow series, Gemma T. Leslie publishes the final book.  Carry On is the final book of the Simon Snow series but it’s not Cath’s story or Gemma T. Leslie’s story it’s Rainbow’s story.  I guess that’s sort of meta.  Rainbow isn’t really writing her own fan-fiction.  How can an author write a fan-fiction of her own work? I guess this is more canon then anything else since she is the original creator.  Cath and Gemma, don’t actually exist. I would say it’s in it’s own unique category.  The other thing that makes this different from Rainbow’s other book is that it’s a full fledged fantasy novel.  Her other books have all been contemporary novels though Landline does have the fantastical element of having a magical phone that allows Georgie to talk to her husband Neal from the past.  So this is new territory for her but she passes with flying colors.  In a way, Carry On is much a love letter to the fantasy novels of her life.  Obviously, Harry Potter is a huge influence but so is Chronicles of Narnia and a little Twilight among others.  She’s able to give little winks and even a little commentary on other franchises while still remaining it’s own thing.

Simon Snow is the most powerful mage of all time.  He is the Chosen one.  The one who is has come when the world of the Mages need them the most.  The Insidious Humdrum is draining the world of magic and only Simon can stop him.  Unfortunately, Simon can’t control his own magic and is beyond obsessed with his roommate Baz, who is a vampire!  When Simon comes back to school for his final year, Baz is not there and is missing for weeks.  Simon tries everything to track him down and figure out what evil plan Baz is concocting now.  Unfortunately his best friend Penelope and his girlfriend Agatha are not really all that interested.  Now when I say he is obsessed with Baz, he really is.  He spends the first part of the book doing nothing but thinking about him.  Describing him in such a detailed manner that only someone who pays attention or cares for notices.  He may not see his attraction to Baz but as readers we can see it.  When Baz finally returns we learn that he also in love with Simon but at least he knows it.  It excites him but also scares him because he knows that they can never be together. Most likely they will end up killing each other since they are on opposite sides of the war and yeah, he’s a vampire.  He’s cruel and mean to Simon because he loves him and tries to push him away.

When in Baz’s dead mother appears to Simon and tells him to search for Nicodemus and avenge her death, he and Baz team up to find out what really happened the night she died and Baz was turned.  They soon realize that they have more in common but they truly feel for each other.  It’s a gradual process but when it happens it’s breathtaking.  There was nothing strange or unusual about Simon and Baz falling in love except that they are two boys.  You could changed the gender of one of them and it would still work as a love story.  I think that’s important.  We’ve talked before on how important representation is important in books, especially in kids and teen literature.  Here we get two boys falling in love. One knows he’s gay and the other still figuring out his own sexuality but it’s still beautiful.  It’s wonderful to have this positive relationship out there.  Not just for LGBTQ teens but for straight ones too.  Love is love.

Now let’s talk about the girls.  Penelope is Simon’s best friend.  She’s smart and no nonsense.  She knows who she is and not afraid to stand up for herself.  She’s also Indian descent.  She is always there to help Simon and helps him out of some really scary situations.  She also willing to roll with anything that Simon does or feels.  She doesn’t trust Baz at first but sees that Simon is set on helping him so she goes all in.  Agatha is a little more complicated.  She is Simon’s estranged girlfriend. She loves Simon but not in love with him.  She’s struggling with the expectations of what others expect from her and what she wants.  She has friends outside the Mages world.  She knows there is more to life outside her closed circle.  She’s also tired of being just the girlfriend who Simon has to come and rescue.  She doesn’t really know what she wants but she knows it’s not that.

I truly enjoyed this book and I do hope that Rainbow writes more fantasy but I don’t care what she writes because I will read and love it anyway

Quick Review: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

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six of crowsIf you loved Leigh Bardugo’s Grisha series and you love crime capers then you are going to love Six of Crows.  Set after the events of her last series but this time in Kerch, a country not far from Ravka, six criminals are tasked with a suicide mission that has little to no chance of being accomplished but the pay out is good.  Kaz, Inej, Jesper, Nina, Matthias and Wylan are all flawed and interesting characters with varying degrees of criminal presents or pasts.  Each bring their own set of skills that are vital to the mission.  Inej, aka the Wraith, is a trained trapeze artist who can scale walls and quietly gather information. Jesper is a sharpshooter with a gambling problem, Nina is a Heartrender, who can kill you without even touching you.  Matthias is a convict who is part of a religious society that hunts down Grisha.  Wylan is the son of a rich merchant who likes to blow things up and Kaz is their mysterious leader.  He worked his way up in the Barrel to rule but it’s all to get revenge on the man he blames for the death of his brother.

A new drug called Jurda Panem has been developed and it strenghtens Grisha powers to impossible powers.  This could change the whole balance of the world.  How can people defend against the Grisha if they have unchecked powers? Kaz is hired by the Merchant Councils to rescue the man who created it from a Fjerdian prison that is inescapable.  Kaz goes about to assemble his team who don’t exactly get along but must work together if they are going to succeed or just survive.  This story has so many plot twists and misdirections it’s like Oceans 11.  You have to question everything you read because what you think is happening is not all that is really happening. It’s not just all the action that makes this book a good read.  It’s the characters.  They are all compelling and interesting with full backstories.  All with the exception of Wylan who is the only one not to have a chapter written from his point of view.  Probably because out of all them he’s the outsider of the group.  He’s not a criminal and he’s not from the barrel.  Kaz says he’s only there as leverage against the council and he knows how to blow things up but I think it’s more than that.  I look forward to knowing more about him. 

Matthias is a warrior who’s goal is eradicate the Grisha as he feels they are unnatural.  It’s one thing to arrest and execute Grisha in one’s own country but it takes balls to go other countries, tracking down Grisha, capturing them and bringing them back to Fjerdia and then putting them on trial and executing them.  He captured Nina but thanks to a storm she rescued him.  In attempt to save his life again, she accuses him of slave trading but things go south when he is actually thrown in jail for it.  Nina befriends some people (for lack of better term) to help get him out as she feels responsible.  Inej was captured and sold to a pleasure house until Kaz came and made her apart of his gang.  Now she’s his spy, the Wraith, but all she wants to do is go home and find her family. Jesper, a former farm boy who came to Kerch as a student and found gambling instead.  He’s also hiding things, one being that he is also Grisha.  I’m pretty sure I know another one of his secrets too.  Let’s just say, I ship Jesper and Wylan, if you get my gist.  Kaz is the most intriguing.  Coming out of nowhere to being a major player in the Barrel.  He’s smart and ruthless and more of a mystery than everyone.  He’s hellbent on revenge against the man he believes is responsible to the death of his brother but he’s  also a 17 year old boy so well, he has those annoying feelings to deal with.

So for fans of the Grisha series and Oceans 11 type movies this is the book for you. It’s fun, lots of action, lots of double dealings, backstabbing, mystery and potential romance.

Review: Not A Drop to Drink by Mindy McGinnis

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Featured imageNot a Drop to Drink is very good, I’ll say that.  I wasn’t sure what I was expecting it to be but it’s not what I got.  It was pretty straight forward and unapologetic.  Lynn has lived with her Mother spending every day struggling to survive and protecting their pond.  Water has become scarce all over the world and clean water even rarer.  Lynn’s pond in many ways is keeping them alive and most be protected at all times.  Lynn’s mother is hard.  She has taught Lynn from a young age how to use a rifle and to shoot if anyone gets to close.  After a tragic accident that kills her mother, Lynn is on her own.  She decides to make an alliance with her neighbor, Stebbs.  Together they work to protect her pond and check out possible threats to them.  This leads them to Lucy, Eli and Neva.  They have escaped the city but are unprepared for living in the wild.  Lynn takes Lucy home as both Eli and Neva are unable to care for the five year old.  Before this the only people that Lynn knew was her mother and Stebbs.  She was taught that everyone else was their enemy out to get their pond.  Over the course she learns that not everyone is as ruthless and that helping someone is not weakness but also can be a strength.  When far more ruthless men build a camp not that far from them, Lynn will do whatever it takes to save her new “family”

I liked the minimalist of the writing style.  It really sets the whole mood of the novel. Lynn’s life is a struggle but it’s also pretty simple and straight forward.  She does what needs to be done.  The writing matches that.  It doesn’t over elaborate or go into much details. It tells you what happens and let you fill in the gap.  Lynn is a smart, strong but also vulnerable.  Living away from the world, there are many things she doesn’t know about and leads to funny but also sad realizations about the world.  She has been taught not to trust anyone but learns that sometimes to survive you have to.  She’s not a shrinking violet, waiting to be rescued but will do the rescuing.  The story is not afraid to be violent and talk about the nastier part of life or is it afraid of killing off characters.  This is a harsh world they live in and tragedies will happen but life moves on. You can either deal with it and be stronger or not.  There is a sequel but l really liked the ending.  I liked the sense of hope it brought with it.  I’m not sure there is a need for a second one but I’ll probably read it.

Review: Queen of Shadows by Sarah J. Maas

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Featured imageQueen of Shadows is the fourth book in Throne of Glass series.  It has taken quite a few twists and turns in the four books. What I love about this series is that it keeps on surprising me.  I think I’m a pretty savvy reader but I totally didn’t see the big reveal at the end.  If you haven’t read, Throne of Glass, Crown of Midnight, or Heir of Fire, I highly recommend that you do.  I also recommend you read them before you read this review because SPOILERS!

(Editor’s Note:  Or lack of one.  Like the other reviews of this series, I didn’t have Kate look over it because I very much like her to read them without being spoiled.  Seriously, Kate you need to get on this!  Anyway, please forgive any mistake I might have made) Continue reading →

Review: A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

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Featured imageI did it. I have completed my summer’s Pop Culture Homework Assignment and still have a couple more weeks before the kids go back to school. (Kids in NYC go back ridiculously late.) I’ve read four books.  Wild by Cheryl Strayed, Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott, 13 Blue Little Envelopes and Last Little Blue Envelope (extra credit) by Maureen Johnson and A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson.  I feel very good about all of this.  I’ve read three non-fiction books, which is three more than I read all of last year.  I read about two brave women and how they overcame their struggles and came out stronger.  I got a feel for what it’s like to hike and camp and it still has no appeal to me but I can see how it might appeal to others.  I also got to read a new book form an author I really like.  I would say it was a productive summer.

So A Walk in the Woods was enjoyable.  I can definitely see why Kate loves it so much.  Bill and his friend Stephen Katz are two people who probably shouldn’t be hiking but they did and they made it.  Ok, maybe Bill but definitely not Katz.  Bill moves to New Hampshire and finds out it’s right by the Appalachian Trail and decides, he’s going to hike it because why not.  Out of no where, his long lost friend Katz decides to do it with him. Like Cheryl in Wild, they have no idea of what they are getting themselves into.  Sure, they’ve done some hiking before but nothing like this.  Reading their misadventures was a delight.  From their struggles with their packs, the people they meet and their run-ins with animals that were real or imaginary was amusing.  The best part of the book is when they are together.  In the middle, Katz has to go back to Des Moines for a job and Bill continues on his own.  It’s not that I don’t like Bill, it’s I liked him more when he had Katz to play off.  If they were a comedic duo, Bill would be Desi to Katz’s Lucy.  The book read faster and I was more interested.  When it was just Bill, I felt like he spent more talking about history and other tangents and while interesting, it slowed the pace down.  Maybe he spent so much time talking about other things because he was by himself he obviously didn’t have any witty dialogue to include. The Appalachian Trail is older then the Pacific Crest Trail that Cheryl hiked and so it had a lot more places to stop.  Also, it’s surrounded by more towns and people, so Bill and Katz had more chances of interacting with people on and off the trail.  It was interesting to see how they were treated when they left the trail.  In some cases like Gods and others indifference.  All and all it was an enjoyable read.  I’m glad I read it.

Review: Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray

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Featured imageWarning: Spoilers will happen

I’m not even sure where to begin!  There is always a risk that when you loved a book so much and waited so long for the sequel that when it finally comes out, it doesn’t live up to your expectations.  I’m happy to say that didn’t happen here.  Lair of Dreams is same mixture of humor, creepiness, suspenseful mystery and 20’s glamour.  The stakes are much higher since Evie announced to all of New York City and the world that she is a Diviner.  This of course brings up new opportunities for her and her friends but also new complications.  The mystery man in the stovepipe hat is gaining more ground and even though we still don’t know much about him, the fact he lingers in the background only makes everything else that much more of a mystery.  Why now are Evie, Sam, Theta, Memphis, Henry and others just discovering their powers or their powers getting stronger? And what is Project Buffalo? There is so much to talk about so let’s get to it. Continue reading →

Review: Reawakened by Colleen Houck

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Featured imageReawakened is a fun adventure but for anyone who has read Colleen Houck’s other series, Tiger Saga there may be far too many similarities.  It’s pretty much the same story but instead of taking place in India, it’s in Egypt.  They both have a teenage girl heroine, an ancient cursed Prince and interactions with Gods.  We switch Kelsey for Lily, Ren for Amon and Durga for Horus and Anubis.  Like in the Tiger’s Curse, Lily is just minding her business when she is thrust into a world myth and magic to help an ancient Prince with his task.  The difference being that Amon’s curse is to save the world. Every 10 years, he and his brothers fight the evil Set to keep him from gaining power in this world. Lily meets Amon when she’s hiding out in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  He awakes from his sarcophagus and attaches himself to her until he is able to gain his strength back.  They are soon on their way to Egypt to wake his brothers and complete the ceremony to push evil back.  Lily starts to have feelings for Amon but he does everything to push her away.  Despite the drama, they continue to work together to finish the ceremony, fight those who are working against them and explore a little bit of Egypt.

I’m sure for fans of the Tiger Saga will enjoy it. It has the same romance and adventure and the nice mix of mythology to give it a more epic feel.  Egyptian mythology isn’t as well known as many of the mythologies out there.  If I hadn’t read Rick Riordan’s The Kane Chronicles, I wouldn’t know most of the Gods and Goddess mentioned and who was supposed to be good and who was bad.  But like I said, it did feel a little bit of a retread of what Miss Houck has already done.  She has even set up a possible love triangle between Lily, Amon and one of his “brothers” for the sequels.  All that being said, I enjoyed reading it.  I do want to see what happens next and see if she can do something else with her characters.

Review: Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott

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Featured imageI remember years ago, Madonna was quoted as saying that she wasn’t a religious person but a spiritual one. For the life of me I can’t find the actual quote.  Internet, you have failed me! This seemed strange to me at the time because Madonna was very much in her Kabbalah phase and it seemed like everything in her life  was influenced by it.  Just listen to albums Ray of Light through Confessions on a Dance Floor for more evidence.  She has since have moved on from Kabbalah.  I’m not sure if she is still practicing or not but the presence is not as prevalent in her music as it used to be. Does one have to actively practice a religion to be that religion?  The one thing that stuck with me from my Introduction to Islam class I took in college (taught by New York Times Bestseller, Reza Aslan.  Yep, I’m totally name dropping!) was that in Islam, if you don’t practice you really can’t be really considered Muslim. Now, I took that class *gulp* over 10 years ago, so I apologize if that is not entirely accurate but I do remember that Islam is a very practical religion as well.  As Mr. Aslan explained, if you couldn’t pray five times a day at the right time that’s ok, as long as you get those prayers in sometime during the day.  If you can’t fast during Ramadan because of work, illness or other circumstances, that’s fine, too, as long as you make time to fast later to make up for it.  That last point was illustrated to me when a former co-worker had to skip a week of fasting during the month of Ramadan because she was having stomach pain.  As soon as she was feeling better, she completed that week of fasting.  This makes sense to me. If you think about it, you really don’t have to go to church or read the bible to call yourself a Christian.

Why do I bring all this up?  Well, both of these things were going through my mind as I was reading this book. Anne Lamott talks to openly and honestly about her faith.  She puts to paper all her failings, fears and shortcomings. Even after finding a church and Christianity, she still struggles with keeping faith.  She still has moments of “Dear God, why is this happening?”  I’m a big fan of her two favorite prayers of “Help Me Help Me Help Me” and “Thank You Thank You Thank You”.  I appreciate how she talks about her journey but makes it clear that this is her journey.  She’s not forcing her beliefs on the reader but is more saying “this is what happened to me and this worked for me and maybe something like it will work for you”. I appreciate that.  I was truly touched by her story.  I haven’t been to a church going person since I completed confirmation when I was 13.  I’ve found many things that people who say they are Christians to be incredibly offensive and contrary to the Christianity that I grew up with.  I also studied a lot of Medieval History in college for my major and well, I haven’t really been able to look at Christianity the same since.  We seem to think that religious institutions are unchanging and infallible but anyone who has studied history has seen how much the church has changed to fit in with the times it was in.  Religions are always changing, growing and to say otherwise is just, well, naive and ignorant.  This is why at times I have called myself agnostic because I do believe that a God exists or at least a higher power exists. I wasn’t sure I could really call myself a Christian knowing all these things.  I didn’t want to be associate with the likes of the  Duggars and Westboro Churches of the world or have people think that I was like them.  I sort of backed way from all religions for awhile.  Now, that Madonna quote from the beginning makes sense to me.  I wouldn’t say I’m religious or even spiritual but I would say that I have faith. I would say I still believe in the basic Christian belief that God loves all his children when it comes down to it.  I don’t need to go to church or read the bible to be a good Christian.  I just need to be a good person and treat people with love and dignity because isn’t that what Jesus would do?   I came to this realization a couple of years ago so reading this book didn’t really change my mind but it did cement my thinking.  Miss Lamott found a certain peace in her faith and I have found it in mine.  We are practicing it differently but ultimately we have come to the same place and I know Miss Lamott would respect and love that. So Thank You Thank You Thank You

Now I am halfway through my Pop Culture homework assignment.  I’m looking forward to something that hopefully won’t make me cry while I’m on the subway.

This Month in Reality: Love and Revolution

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So, Russell Brand’s third book is about the state of the world and what we can all do to change it. He does his usual comedy schtick but he also presents the views of public figures, past and present, who are advocating for change. I checked this book out from the library to listen to while I cleaned my apartment and but I found myself often just listening. There were many touching and poignant things in the novel. Brand gets personal and talks about painful breakups and relationships and his history of addiction. He gets global and he talks about alternative energy and failures in many governmental systems world wide. One of the things that he keeps coming back to is small groups of people coming together to take care of themselves and effect change.

To be quite honest, I was very touched by this book. I found that it stuck with me long after I had put it down.

When people have to take to the streets because they are being injured or killed by a police service that is not part of the community and not serving the community the system isn’t working. When congress can spend an entire session not passing bills, not appointing people to positions that need to be filled, not taking care of veterans, and not debating or discussing any issues that affect the lives of the people that they actually represent, the system isn’t working. When we expect students to get a college degree to get a good job but that college degree will set them back thousands and thousands of dollars into debt (and when that degree is no guarantee that a good job will ever be available), the system is broken. When apples are shipped to another continent to be processed and then shipped back to be sold (or fish are caught, frozen, shipped to another continent thawed, scaled and boned, refrozen and shipped back) the system isn’t working.  Or, maybe it is working and it is just a stupid system.

I think we can all agree that at least some of those things sound crazy. I mean, at least the fish and the apple thing. I hope the other things as well.

So, the question is, if the system isn’t working, how do we as people, come together and fix the system or change the system or make the system work? The big question that we all have ask ourselves is what are the things that are important to us? How do we center those important things in our lives and in our policies? How do we create a government that is on the same page as we are?

Brand has some suggestions but three of the things that he keeps coming back to are meditation, people coming together to change something, and love.

These are things that have been on my mind recently. Meditation because I have become increasingly aware of how some sort of meditation practice could benefit me.  People coming together because of all of the movements that are rolling and changing things (#blacklivesmatter, #sayhername, and #lovewins as possible examples).    Love for a possibly bizarre reason. I have about one year left on my PhD and I’ve been thinking a lot about what I’m going to do next. All of that thinking about the future has really highlighted what is important to me and it turns out that what’s important to me is a need to be near people I love. One of the things I took from reading this book was that, yes, the world is in an awful state and it can be an awful place. But, it doesn’t have to be. We can work together to make it better. We can be there for each other, we can support each other and we don’t have to take any of this as, “that’s just the way the world works.” Naw. The world works the way we work and if we want to change something, we should.

This book was full of a lot of really quotable things that as a listener I kept coming back to like: “Sometimes you have to realize that the only power you have in a situation is the power to make it worse.” (Or, not.)  I could not have heard this quote a better time.  Sometimes, you just have to be reminded that your only options are to be a dick or to be a compassionate human being.

In a discussion of suffragette Emily Davison who worked the get women the vote in England, Brand pointed out that were former leaders of past revolutions to be magically transported in time to now that they might not be encouraging people to vote but rather to riot. It is important to remember that even leaders of peaceful movements did not countenance peace in all instances and that we need to be very careful not to take their life’s work out of context. (We especially need to be careful not to take their life’s work out of context in order to silence a vocal minority that is looking to be heard or that is looking for justice.)

But, the best part of this book for me was maybe how personal it was. Brand reminds you over and over again that you don’t need a perfect solution now, that you can start where you are, that you can do something small and that you, right now, are enough and that you do not need to change. You are okay. I was a little surprised at first by how affected I was to hear that. But, I think we get messages every day about how inadequate we are and we are so habituated to seeing and hearing them that we don’t even question them. Having a weirdo comedian who has had many hilarious (possibly unintentionally so) hairstyles remind me to begin where I am was oddly comforting. Knowing that this guy, who is probably a total dick, is trying his best for his community, was moving. Listening to Brand talk about his many fuck ups and shortcomings was oddly empowering.

Brand reminds us that, “This is your planet, you can change it if you want to. You can change it by doing loads of drug or having it off with loads of women or going on a murderous rampage with a licensed weapon. Doesn’t it make more sense though to change it by binding together with your fellow man and working to create a society that is fair and just? Of course it does!”

So, if you’re interested in hearing a comedian discuss the work of forward-thinking people and talk about revolution, meditation, and power structures, I highly recommend this book.

I checked the audio for this book out from the Buffalo and Erie County Public Libraries.