The highlight of this book was the staying power of Sagan's thoughts on war, environmentalism, human nature, and reaching for the stars.  But actually, the real highlight was LaVar Burton reading the book!  His voice, mixed with the lyrical insights from the author was a powerful mix.  I wish that when they updated the book, they had also footnoted updated science to go with it.  I am a far cry from knowledgeable on this topic, but I felt like there were undoubtedly theories that have changed since this was written.  I felt, even while reading it, that spending time to understand or learn the science might very well mean that I was unlearning things that were correct now that weren't then.  But, with that asterisk, I just put aside most of the more technical sections and focused instead on the philosophical passages.  From that perspective, and in Jordie's voice, this was well worth the time.

Recommend.

There is a particular flavor of fantasy novel that is both light and humorous, with a self-awareness of the ridiculousness of the entire genre that either plays exceptionally well or not at all.  Ones that work, like Miss Peregine's Home, are both comedic and allegorical, but it is not generally a type of book that I easily love.  The world woven by the narrator includes the aptly named The Department in Charge of Magical Youth, which is run by Extremely Upper Management.  The protagonist's character arc is lovely and there are a lot of minor characters and relationships that are nicely developed.  I quite enjoyed where the story went, not exactly a predictable direction, but once you have willingly suspended disbelief about magical being, the story is believable. 
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Recommend.

​Lots of chatter amongst my reader friends about this book, which is basically an update and consolidation of a number of classic feminist books from my young adulthood: A God You Looks Live Me; GynEcology; Virgin or Vamp; Women Who Run With The Wolves; ain’t i a woman; Femininity; Against Our Will.  I’ve often wished there were versions of these that were update to reflect current language and thought on race, gender, and sexuality, and when I realized what this book was, I thought maybe I would like it.  Ultimately, though, I felt like the concepts were radical concepts in the 1980’s and early 90’s, but now they just felt watered down, even when slightly updated to acknowledge new nuances around oppression and marginalization.  I also was unimpressed that his book was apparently not footnoted since I recognized so many concepts from early feminist thinkers that I think should have been attributed for their contribution to feminist thought.   

​ In 1996, I explored the Green River from Moab, Utah, to its confluence with the Colorado River in a canoe with my soon to be husband for 16 days.  This was before cell phones and we were completely off the grid.  Our camera and water filters broke, which caused us to get sick, but it was still just an absolutely fabulous trip.  After a few days, we didn't need the guidebook to find the ruins, petroglyphs, or water springs.  We felt connected to the earth and the people who used to live there in exactly the way that you hope to on a wilderness adventure like that.  I would have loved to have been reading this book on that trip.  I think the author took a similar trip in which he imaged what it must have been like to live in Chaco, Mesa Vera, or the Canyonlands where we were.  The difference is that while we spent two weeks reading the guidebooks and exploring on our own for days, he spent years doing it and gaining access to experts and to locations that are generally not accessible to the public.  I am not sure how I feel about that, though.  There was something that felt off about how he was doing his research and exploring that made me question our experience and whether I was appropriately reverent of those locations at the time.  There was so much information in this book, woven in with his personal travel stories and narratives about how he was able to find and access human remains, artifacts, and sacred locations. Some of the time, I related to his quest, having had that amazing trip myself, but there were points when it felt to me that he crossed a line.  Not being trained in anthropology and not being indigenous, I don't know where that feeling comes from and I wasn't able to find an analysis online that resonated with this sense that I got.  If you are doing a trip to these locations, I think it would be an interesting book to read while there since I have long thought that when in Rome, you should read about Rome, but otherwise, I would skip it. 
Not recommended

This is a fast paced memoir-ish book by a somewhat unusual Christian preacher with a ragtag congregation.  She is apparently a sought after speaker and approaches her work from a place of having struggled with addiction and mental health in her youth.  The writing kept moving and I went along with it, but at the end of the book I was left wondering why this kind of radical connection to people is so often found in the context of organized religion where so many people are so uncomfortable.  Why aren't we able to build these communities and find and fund this type of support for folks struggling at the margins of community without the Church?  Not having grown up with evanglical religion, I don't understant the pull that it has over folks who yearn for that connection in that particular context, as opposed to other routes to spirituality that aren't so wrought with so much pain so folks who grew up in that environment.
  Not recommended