Do I have a diverse bookshelf? Pt 5: History & Religion
Per our reference blog, historically accurate books that don’t whitewash the facts are influential in shaping people’s worldview. I’ve read some amazing books in this category that I recommend often. But do I own any still?
I’m trying not to repeat books. So let’s see how this goes?
Letter Perfect: The Marvelous History of Our Alphabet From A to Z by David Sacks
The book explores the history of each letter in the English alphabet. It’s crazy to learn how the “A” traces its foundation to Egyptian hieroglyphs or that the “J” was one of the last letters officially added to the alphabet. I still quote facts from this, and it’s been over 15 years since I first read it.
Stealing the Mona Lisa by Darian Leader
I read this in a college class called “Fakes and Forgeries.” The book itself psychological and critical analysis of why we look at art and how we value it. But the really interesting part is how Leader uses the theft of the Mona Lisa to articulate his ideas. For young me, I had never thought the painting was that great. So it blew my mind to read how all our modern associations of the paintings importance come not from the artwork itself but its theft!
Wherever There's a Fight: How Runaway Slaves, Suffragists, Immigrants, Strikers, and Poets Shaped Civil Liberties in California by Elaine Elinson and Stan Yogi
I picked this up at a book reading in San Francisco, and the book thoroughly chronicles civil rights battles up to the present in California. The things I remember most about the read: how the US was really mean and discriminatory to Chinese immigrants. It’s really really horrible. How interesting it is to see famous names you find on buildings today as the antagonists in those fights. And how the book has examples all the way into the 1990s. We still have a long way to go!
Decreation by Anne Carson
Another genre-bending writer, Carson uses a lot of history to lay the groundwork for her poetry and critical essays. In this particular book, my favorite section is a three-part essay about the poet Sappho, the Christian martyr Marguerite Porete, and the 20th century philosopher Simone Weil. The work is mind-blowing, and then the leaps into an opera of everything just shared. Anne Carson is always factually correct even during her most poetic flights of fancy.
Women of Words: A Personal Introduction to Thirty-five Important Writers Edited by Janet Bukovinsky
I didn’t think I’d make it to five titles! But I’ve had this since I was a young girl. My family gifted it on birthday to encourage me to read and write.
I’m trying not to repeat books. So let’s see how this goes?
Letter Perfect: The Marvelous History of Our Alphabet From A to Z by David Sacks
The book explores the history of each letter in the English alphabet. It’s crazy to learn how the “A” traces its foundation to Egyptian hieroglyphs or that the “J” was one of the last letters officially added to the alphabet. I still quote facts from this, and it’s been over 15 years since I first read it.
Stealing the Mona Lisa by Darian Leader
I read this in a college class called “Fakes and Forgeries.” The book itself psychological and critical analysis of why we look at art and how we value it. But the really interesting part is how Leader uses the theft of the Mona Lisa to articulate his ideas. For young me, I had never thought the painting was that great. So it blew my mind to read how all our modern associations of the paintings importance come not from the artwork itself but its theft!
Wherever There's a Fight: How Runaway Slaves, Suffragists, Immigrants, Strikers, and Poets Shaped Civil Liberties in California by Elaine Elinson and Stan Yogi
I picked this up at a book reading in San Francisco, and the book thoroughly chronicles civil rights battles up to the present in California. The things I remember most about the read: how the US was really mean and discriminatory to Chinese immigrants. It’s really really horrible. How interesting it is to see famous names you find on buildings today as the antagonists in those fights. And how the book has examples all the way into the 1990s. We still have a long way to go!
Decreation by Anne Carson
Another genre-bending writer, Carson uses a lot of history to lay the groundwork for her poetry and critical essays. In this particular book, my favorite section is a three-part essay about the poet Sappho, the Christian martyr Marguerite Porete, and the 20th century philosopher Simone Weil. The work is mind-blowing, and then the leaps into an opera of everything just shared. Anne Carson is always factually correct even during her most poetic flights of fancy.
Women of Words: A Personal Introduction to Thirty-five Important Writers Edited by Janet Bukovinsky
I didn’t think I’d make it to five titles! But I’ve had this since I was a young girl. My family gifted it on birthday to encourage me to read and write.
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