The sun is shining, the Corgis are frapping across the grass, and spring audiobook walks are here. It’s a glorious time of the year. Right now, I’m listening to Biting the Hand, a gorgeous memoir by Julia Lee. I don’t want to spoil next week’s newsletters, but stay tuned! Anyway, back to sunny walks around the neighborhood with the Corgis. This year, I’ve been trying to slow down and appreciate the present moment outside of TikTok and Instagram, just enjoying the moment I’m in. Audiobooks, in particular, are such a huge part of that, especially with nonfiction. So today, we’re taking a look at different nonfiction books that captured my attention. But first, bookish goods!
Bookish Goods
Book Lover’s Bookshelf Mug by Storytime Ceramics
I ADORE mugs. There’s just something about them that sparks joy. So I love this mug. Sure, it’s probably something I’d get myself for a special occasion, but sometimes you have to treat yourself. $55
New Releases
The Dead Are Gods by Eirinie Carson
Eirinie Carson’s world changed when she received the phone call that told her that her best friend, Larissa, had died. As Carson works through her grief, she begins to discover secrets her friend had never told her. The Dead Are Gods examines what grief looks like when the friend you lost isn’t exactly the person you thought you knew.
Feminism by Bernardine Evaristo
In her latest book, literary all-star Bernardine Evaristo examines British art through an intersectional feminist lens. Evaristo discusses the creative work of women and nonbinary artists in regards to the systemic forms of marginalization that have deeply impacted their art. Evaristo always has a way of looking at the world that gives her a unique insight into her chosen topic.
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Riot Recommendations
Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong—and the New Research That’s Rewriting the Story by Angela Saini
We have all probably guessed that science is biased against women, but I never realized how truly bad it was until I read Saini’s book. For centuries, scientists have viewed women as the “inferior sex,” and this perspective caused them to come up with a lot of ridiculous scientific theories about women’s bodies. I don’t think any of us will be able to forget that men used to think that women’s uterus roamed their bodies. Saini also dives into scientific research and how using men as the “default test subject” has harmed women over and over through the years. There’s a section about how drug companies exclusively used men when testing new medications, meaning they had no data on how their drug might affect women’s bodies. Admittedly, I rage read this book as I learned more ghastly facts about these ridiculous men. But Saini also leaves us with hope, discussing how more women are entering scientific fields and changing the way that science understands and studies women.
Ask Me About My Uterus: A Quest to Make Doctors Believe in Women’s Pain by Abby Norman
When Abby Norman starts having intense pelvic pain, she’s quickly diagnosed with endometriosis. But even with a diagnosis, her doctors don’t understand why she’s still having intense symptoms. So Norman begins to research her own condition, asking her doctors to consider the research she finds. As Norman shares her experience, she also presents readers with her research, describing the findings she’s discovered while researching endometriosis. Despite the condition being fairly common, doctors still know very little about endometriosis and there’s never enough funding to research to learn more about the disease. As someone who also has had very similar experiences, I deeply connected with this book. Far too often, women are forced to do their own research. We have to visit doctor after doctor, hoping to find that one physician who treats us like human beings, not just problems to be fixed.
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That’s it for this week! You can find me over on my substack Winchester Ave, over on Instagram @kdwinchester, or on my podcast Read Appalachia. As always, feel free to drop me a line at kendra.d.winchester@gmail.com. For even MORE bookish content, you can find my articles over on Book Riot.
Happy reading, Friends!
~ Kendra