1. I'm Still Here by Austin Channing Brown
This one caught my by surprise. I mistakenly thought the author was a man and also had a certain expectation about what this book would be about based on the title. Brown is an honest and gracious voice, and she talks about the nuances of identity under the influence of race and faith (and both matters, she would argue) and the staggering and difficult to explain microaggressions (especially in the church). I really appreciated the specificity and clarity of writing and think it is a book everyone should read.
2. Gratitude by Oliver Sachs
This was a very short audiobook, just about an hour long, and it seems to be reflections by Oliver Sachs during the end of his life. I have been a fan of Oliver Sachs ever since I heard him on Radiolab, and have always appreciated his thoughtful observations and ability to communicate complex things in a accessible way. In a way, it was like listening to a podcast length audio of journal entries, one that I was pleased to be privy to.
3. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
Wow, that was a doozy of a book. I knew very little about the book except that it is where the phrase "catch-22" comes from, that it's long, and that it's considered a significant twentieth century novel. I soon learned that it's a work of satirical fiction - almost absurdist fiction - set during WWII, following the life of experiences of Yossarian, an air force bombadier. It's very bizarre (sometimes confusingly so), really funny at parts, almost slapstick at other parts, and baffling during most parts. It could be argued that its stance is anti-war, but it's probably more accurate to say that Heller is more interested in things like distortion of logic and justice within the context of war, as well as a feeling of powerlessness within bureaucracy. And then ultimately, he contrasts these themes with glimmers of personal integrity and the desire to live.
4. Sag Harbor by Colson Whitehead
I didn't realize until about halfway through this book that this is the same author that wrote the recent "Underground Railroad" (2016) that we read together in book club. "Sag Harbor" is completely different - it's a memoir-style, coming of age story where we are privy to the inner monologue of a teenager during the summer of 1985. The tone of this one is relaxed, playful, full of 1980s pop culture references, but also specific enough that it took time for me to get immersed in the rhythm of it. Once I did, it was extra interesting to me because you learn how Benji (the narrator) spends the summer in Sag Harbor, a section in the Hamptons, where his parents own a a summer home, along with many other black families who are doctors and lawyers in Manhattan. Many of the memoir-style novels about the black narrative have to do with the cycle of poverty, imprisonment, and outward struggle, but this one stands out in that, while fully aware of the black-self-as-perceived-as-others, it also isn't his entire identity. It's all a part of his identity - the fact his parents are wealthy and that he's black (he mentions how when he walks to school in his private school uniform in Manhattan, he gets asked if he's the son of a diplomat), knowledgeable about rap and hip-hop (to fit in with his black friends), but also a self-proclaimed dork that plays Dungeons and Dragons and loves the Smiths, etc. American stories need to recognize and include the distinctions since diverse voices is what makes up the fabric of America, but it also shouldn't focus on those labels as the sole identity without taking time to listen to their specific stories.
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