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Hey everyone,
Hope you’re having a great May.
Has been a wild one for me with ten speeches everywhere from Orlando to Austin to Omaha to even my high school reunion this past weekend. I'm writing from New York where I'm interviewing a certain big-frizzy-haired New Yorker writer for my podcast as well as attending Book Expo of America to share my upcoming book with all the industry peeps. What upcoming book? Stay tuned! Details coming soon...
And now! Ze books,
Neil
1. C is for Consentby Eleanor Morrison. This is my favorite children’s book in a long time. I honestly don’t think I understood the full meaning of consent until I read this book. Shameful, embarrassing, but true. When I grew up children were told to kiss and hug every auntie and uncle at parties. And uninvited cheek squeezing was certainly part of the game. These days I did the same with my nieces and nephews. Until I read this little book. Why did I read it? Because my (much more enlightened) wife is teaching our kids about consent. Such a huge issue. Who gets to do what with your body? Yesterday as I was saying bye to my niece I asked her: “May I give you a hug?” She paused, smiled, and then said yes. And it felt much sweeter than the old “Come here!” bearhugs I used to give. Everyone should read, and buy, and give away, and then buy more copies of this wonderful book.
2. How Music Worksby David Byrne. David Byrne cofounded Talking Heads and in this book he zooms out from the industry to see it from a more discerning distance. At the beginning he explains that this “book” is actually a series of unconnected essays so I took that as permission to jump around a lot and pick out parts interesting to me. His opening chapter on how sound evolves to fill the space, not the other way around, kind of blew my mind. (Think drums on African plains, tall organs with long notes in tall churches with long spaces, etc.) Also loved the part on the power of curation in a world of infinity and the behind-the-scenes look at how the music business really works.
3. The Blind Side: Evolution of a Gameby Michael Lewis. Years ago Michael Lewis stumbled upon a strange fact: One position in the all-for-one-and-one-for-all egalitarian unit of an NFL offensive line started getting paid much, much more than the others. Why? He was protecting the quarterback’s blind side just as the NFL was evolving into a passing-first league. As a football fan I loved the history of the league told through the braided narrative of Michael Oher coming up from the mean streets to the top of the game.
4. Career Rookie: A Get-It-Together Guide For Grads, Students, and Career Newbiesby Sarah Vermunt. I’m not a grad, student, or career newbie and yet… I couldn’t put down this book. Why? The tone. The incredible tone! Sarah is sharp, funny, and hilariously in your face. I met her on the CityLine set and we really hit it off. A great gift to the wandering, aimless youth in your life. Here’s the blurb I gave for this book: “I sucked at my first job. And my second. And my third. This was the book I needed. It’s a smacking slap, bright flashlight to the eyeballs, and cozy sweater hug all wrapped in one. Preach on, Sarah!”
5. In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifestoby Michael Pollan. In this book, Michael Pollan makes a convincing argument to take over the role of Your Grandmother. He takes a slightly academic approach to laying down the basics of good eating: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. A nice rail against fads and trends and helps with awareness of all the politics behind some of the garbage we eat. I did find it quite skimmable because I was sort of like don’t we all know this by now? Advice like “Don’t get your fuel from the same place your car does”, “Eat slowly”, and “Buy a freezer” felt… obvious.
6. I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughterby Erika L. Sánchez. I am mad at the publishers of this book. You lied, Ember Publishing, a division of Random House Children’s Books, a division of PenguinRandomHouse! The back paints this young adult book as a mystery. What happened to the protagonist’s recently deceased sister? Was she really as perfect as she seemed? But then you read the book and surprise! It’s about mental illness and cultural trauma. I guess they figured that would have made for a tougher tagline? So, while I’m mad at the publishers, I am not at all mad at Erika Sánchez who wrote this beautiful book. Pop quiz: what was the last Mexican-American coming-of-age immigrant story you read? Hands? Anyone? I had nothing there. No awareness, no understanding. This book was a wonderful eye-opener. I think if you’re a fan of Angie Thomas (The Hate U Give, On The Come Up) you’d enjoy this one.
7. Rhymes of Whimsy: The Complete Abol Tabolby Sukumar Ray. Sukumar Ray is a Bengali poet, writer, and playright who died in 1923 and is often compared to Lewis Carroll. Why? Because he wrote disguised socio-political satire written to mock early 20th century colonial India… and published them (hid them) in children’s newspapers and magazines! This book is the first completely English translation of his complete poems. A fascinating and fun little glimpse of history.
8. Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Windowby Tetsuko Kuroyanagi. This is a non-fiction book that feels like a fairytale. Originally published in 1981 in Japan (where it sold nearly 5 million copies in its first year), it was finally translated to English thirty years later. Kuroyanagi was one of Japan’s most popular TV personalities for decades and this is a memoir of her childhood of joining a completely unconventional school near Tokyo during World War II. If you believe that trust and controls are inversely related (like I do) you will love this book. You can read it as an innocent story of an unconventional childhood or a prickly indictment of the entire factory-style education system. A wonderful book either way. Highly recommended.
9. Meanwhile: Pick Any Pathby Jason Shiga. Did you like Choose Your Own Adventure books when you were a kid? If so, you’ll love this post-modern graphic novel with 3856 story possibilities (seriously!) all told through images and rampant flipping between pages. It’s head-twisting, it’s frenetic, it’s mad-scientist, but if you’re into puzzles or games (or your child is) then this is for you. Completely disrupts the idea of a book, too.
