Sponsored by The Creative Gene by Hideo Kojima
Metal Gear Solid and Death Stranding creator Hideo Kojima has always been a voracious consumer of movies, music, and books, igniting his passion for stories and storytelling, resulting in his groundbreaking, iconic video games. Now the head of independent studio Kojima Productions, Kojima’s enthusiasm for entertainment media has never waned. This collection of essays explores some of the inspirations behind one of the titans of the video game industry, and offers an exclusive insight into one of the brightest minds in pop culture.
GREETINGS to this, the last week of October. How did we get here! I don’t know! All I know is I have suddenly been reading like a FIEND. A reading fiend. And now I have realized we don’t really use the word “fiend” anymore. Regardless, getting through lots of books this month, which I attribute to the coziness of cold weather and a panic at the few remaining months of the year.
This is definitely my lowest year, reading stats-wise, in QUITE some time, but it’s also the second year of an event that has turned lives worldwide upside-down, so….that’s fine. Enjoy these new releases!
Best Wishes, Warmest Regards: The Story of Schitt’s Creek by Daniel Levy, Eugene Levy
A gift item for you or a loved one! Or for an enemy if you really wanna CONFUSE them. This is a coffee table book with behind-the-scenes info, chit-chat, and illustrations of David’s sweaters and Moira’s wigs I cannot emphasize this enough. So exciting. Wow.
The Genome Defense: Inside the Epic Legal Battle to Determine Who Owns Your DNA by Jorge L. Contreras
Author Contreras is an authority on human genetics law (again I say — there’s something for everyone). Here he dives into the case where an attorney “discovered that women were being charged exorbitant fees to test for hereditary breast and ovarian cancers, tests they desperately needed—all because Myriad Genetics had patented the famous BRCA genes.” They patented genes! So this attorney (Chris Hansen), the ACLU, and a whole team took the case to the Supreme Court. I do love a book that gets real into one court case.
Mother of the Brontes: When Maria Met Patrick by Sharon Wright
Okay, so we know about the weirdo Brontës and their graveyard house, but what about their mother! This is a biography of Maria Branwell (yes! Branwell! like their ne’er-do-well brother), who died at 38 (Charlotte was six at this time) and moved from Cornwall to Yorkshire, which was probably pretty tough. What do we know of her? How did she influence her children? True questions we should get into in this bio.
Women, Witchcraft, and the Inquisition in Spain and the New World by María Jesús Zamora Calvo (Edited by), Anne J. Cruz (Series edited by)
This cover is so spooky! This is cool because we only hear about Salem or sometimes the witch trials in England during the 1640s, but not during the Spanish Inquisition (you probably didn’t expect that) or in Spain’s colonial territories in the Americas. This features ten essay portraits of women, which “study their subjects’ social status, particularize their motivations, determine the characteristics of their prosecution, and deduce the reasons used to justify violence against them.” And again — please look at that spooky cover.
For more nonfiction reads, check out the For Real podcast which I co-host with the excellent Kim here at Book Riot. If you have any questions/comments/book suggestions, you can find me on social media @itsalicetime. Until next time, enjoy those facts, fellow nerds.