aen [he/him]

I only got back into reading last year when I joined a book club and the first book I read as part of that club was Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty, which completely opened my eyes to the death industry (at least in the United States)

Yeah, the subject matter was so infuriating… Looking back, I think the parts that still stuck with me were the relationship that these businesses would have with the government and how regulatory capture would end up happening, as well as how large corporations’ tactics have changed over time, like with the charitable donations to universities.

Also, I haven’t watched Succession, but I imagine the drama between different branches of the Sackler family is kinda like what happens in the show, and that was a pretty entertaining part of the book! Have you watched it?

It was published 26 years ago but I think it’s still relevant today. Also, Parenti has a very accessible way of writing that makes complex arguments easily digestable so I don’t think it’s a challenging book, if you’re worried about that

I have a couple good ones

• I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy is her memoir where she struggles with her relationship with her mother and with eating disorders. She’s so open and vulnerable and your heart will break 5 times reading this
• The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs by Stephen Brusatte is pretty much what it says on the tin. This book really brought out a childlike fascination about dinosaurs that I forgot I had! Also Brusatte has a sequel to this about mammals that I haven’t read yet
• Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe is about the Sackler family and how they contributed to the opioid crisis in the United States. Kinda depressing, but also illuminates the many problems with capitalism and healthcare in that country
• Blackshirts and Reds by Michael Parenti is about a lot of stuff: fascism, capitalism, communism, democracy, etc. Even if you don’t share my political inclinations, this is still a good read, and pretty short too

Sorry, my descriptions are bad, but I think all of these are worth reading

We Contain Multitudes by Ed Yong is about microbes inside us and animals and I have no idea why I read it, but it was difficult to read because I’m terrible at biology. Still cool though

Edit: Oh, I didn’t realise this is the fiction comm. Oops. I guess I don’t read any challenging fiction books. Maybe I should rectify that

The main character in The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang had a really grating personality but I still kinda enjoyed the book. However, she was so frustrating at the start of the sequel that I had to DNF it 😔