Recently I decided to give audiobooks a try. I thought that I wouldn't be a fan because sometimes even when I'm listening to shorter podcasts I feel my mind begin to wander, and I have a feeling that in fiction world I would be a little irritated by people doing voices in an audiobook. But my library has access to Libby and Hoopla and I thought it would still be worth giving it a try, and so I jumped into some nonfiction books. I've been really lucky and found some really great ones! The only downside is that I haven't found a great way to take notes so I can have more detailed reviews, but maybe I'll figure a system out for that.
The Secret Life of Groceries: The Dark Miracle of American Supermarkets by Benjamin Lorr
I have not stopped talking about this book to my friends and family. This book was so chocked full of fun facts and "fun facts" (facts that are actually terrible and awful but super interesting) I've repeated them to several people. Did you know that that first grocery story where you could pick your own products off the shelf was a Piggly Wiggly? Did you know the grocery cart was invented in 1937? Did you know that the Thai shrimping industry is based on horrifying instances of slave labor, kidnapping and indentured servitude? Did you know how rough it is to be a truck driver, and how awful it is to be a female truck driver? Find out all of this and more in this wide ranging, entertaining, well researched book.
No Cure for Being Human (and other truths I needed to hear) by Kate Bowler
Author Kate was living her best life in her early 30s with an interesting career teaching theology at Duke, and with a husband and small son when she was diagnosed with an aggressive, probably fatal cancer. (She doesn't die, spoiler alert). While this book does talk about her time dealing with her diagnosis it also talks about how societally we are surrounded by pressure to "live our best lives now" and toxic positivity and that we can like, best all of our problems with positive thinking, exercise and enough fiber. Kate tells us that sometimes life is going to be utter trash and we just have to do our best to muddle through it and that that is okay. We don't have to kick life's ass at every trial and overcome like shiny warriors. Sometimes limping through the day and just surviving is all of the victory we can do and THATS FINE.
The Joy of Missing Out: Live More by Doing Less by Tanya Dalton
Not unlike Kate's book, Tanya talks about the societal pressure that we need to be doing the most possible. Do all of the things, plan all the activities, and do all of it well. If you aren't goinggoingoinggoing constantly you aren't living life to the fullest. If you aren't overwhelmed and stressed are you even living your best life?
