Book Review: "Orbital" by Samantha Harvey

The recently named winner of this year’s Booker Prize, Orbital takes place in space but it’s not science fiction. More than anything, it’s a meditation on life, solitude, companionship, the passage of time, and the beauty and fragility of our planet.

Set on an international space station, the book examines one (long) day in the lives of the six astronauts and cosmonauts aboard. Two women and four men, they come from the U.S., England, Italy, Japan, and Russia. They’re on board for nine months, and each is dealing with their own issues—internal and external ones. And each has important contributions to make.

“And in time we come to see that not only are we on the sidelines of the universe but that it’s of a universe of sidelines, that there is no centre, just a giddy mass of waltzing things, and that perhaps the entirety of our understanding consists of an elaborate and ever-evolving knowledge of our own extraneousness, a bashing away of mankind’s ego by the instruments of scientific enquiry until it is, that ego, a shattered edifice that lets light through.”

There isn’t a cohesive plot per se; the book is composed of snapshots of the different characters as the space station travels around the earth. Small personal details about each are shared, as are their activities. But predominantly, there is a great deal of reflection about the view of earth from the space station, what it feels like to be there and watch morning turn to evening and sunset to sunrise, again and again.

This is a gorgeously written book, full of dazzling descriptive imagery, although it does get a bit dry and repetitive after a bit, because there are only so many ways to describe the view and the feelings it provokes. I don’t know that I would have read this had it not won the Booker, but I’m glad I did.

Book Review: "Breaking the Dark" by Lisa Jewell

I’ll admit I was a bit dubious when I heard that a book series featuring the grittier side of Marvel superheroes was being launched. But being a Marvel fan, I couldn’t resist the idea of a thriller featuring Jessica Jones written by Lisa Jewell. And I thought it was great!

Jessica Jones is still reeling from some serious psychological trauma, which she’s nursing with alcohol. By day, she’s a private investigator; by night, she’s drinking herself into a stupor.

She is visited by a distraught mother, who claims that her 16-year-old twins returned visiting their father in England and are now acting strangely. Their skin is flawless, they’re strangely serene and don’t look at their phones at all, and they claim that everything is “perfect.” When Jessica spies on Fox and Lark, she does observe that something isn’t right.

Jessica travels to the UK to try and figure out what might have happened to the twins while they were visiting. She can’t shake a strange feeling she’s having, and when she visits an old farmhouse to find the girl Fox was smitten with, she realizes that this girl, Belle, is being kept captive. Can she get Belle out of her captor’s clutches?

What Jessica finds is far more disturbing than she imagined. And she must solve the mystery at the core of what is happening before it’s too late. But Jessica is battling her own demons as well as the feelings that this mystery has evoked in her.

I thought this was a bit creepy but I was hooked completely. Jewell is in great form once again, and she really fleshed out Jessica’s character well. I’ll be looking forward to the next book in the series, which will feature Luke Cage, written by S.A. Cosby.

Book Review: "Aesthetica" by Allie Rowbottom

Allie Rowbottom's debut is a searing look at the pressures of social media and beauty standards for women.

Ever since Anna was young, she wanted to be beautiful and famous. As she grew into her teen years, she realized that her best bet was to become an influencer on social media. She was constantly obsessed with photos, angles, likes, and followers.

After graduation from high school, she moves to Los Angeles and really ups her social media game. She quickly catches the attention of Jake, who is handsome and well-connected, and he becomes her boyfriend and manager of sorts. And little by little, she finds she needs to change herself to be what the public wants, so she becomes obsessed with plastic surgery.

The book alternates between Anna at 19 and Anna at 35, barely recognizable because of all the surgeries, procedures, and fillers she’s had through the years. Gone are the days of influencing; she now works at the cosmetics counter of a store that sells anti-aging products.

Anna is about to have revolutionary surgery called Aesthetica, which will reverse all of her past surgeries and procedures and return her face to what it should look like for a woman her age. She hopes it will help her find her true self again—if she survives the risky surgery. At the same time, she’s being asked to speak out against Jake, who has also remade himself as an adventure-seeking family man despite all of his transgressions through the years.

This is a really powerful book. It’s not a happy one, necessarily, but it definitely made me think about the unrealistic pressures social media and fame put on people, especially women.

Book Review: "Here She Is: The Complicated Reign of the Beauty Pageant in America" by Hilary Levey Friedman

What do you think of when you hear the words "beauty pageant"? Do you think programs like Miss America, Miss USA, Miss Universe are relics of an earlier time and out of step with our current world, or do you think they're empowering and relevant to the women who participate? (Spoiler alert: While at times they may be a little of the former, there's still a lot of the latter to be found.)

In her new book, Here She Is: The Complicated Reign of the Beauty Pageant in America, Hilary Levey Friedman traces the origins of the beauty pageant, from the days of P.T. Barnum and his American Gallery of Female Beauty in the 1850s and early baby shows and bathing beauty revues, to the programs pageant fans know and love—Miss America, Miss USA, Miss Universe, and Distinguished Young Women (formerly America's Junior Miss). She looks at pageants that are racially or culturally based, as well as those focused on those with different abilities, different body types, even pageants for married women and senior citizens. It's a fascinating look at the mindset and the condition of the world when these pageants were created, and juxtaposing their initial purpose with where many stand today.

Friedman didn't just pick this topic at random. Her mother was Miss America 1970, she taught a course at Brown University called "Beauty Pageants in American Society," she served as a mentor to Miss America 2018, and she's judged some pageants here and there. This book is impeccably and thoroughly researched—she literally pored through national and state program books spanning a number of years for several different pageant systems, so she can understand the "typical" contestant in these pageants and see how far the reality strays from the public perception.

She spends a great deal of time looking at Miss America and the changes that program has made through the years, including those made in the wake of the #MeToo movement over the last several years, changes that have both been celebrated and criticized by long-time fans and former contestants. But she also looks at the genesis of the contestants and how they have changed, in terms of educational and career goals as well as demographics. This isn't a view through rose-colored glasses; she looks at the positives and negatives of the pageant and its effects on contestants.

There's also been no shortage of scandal in the pageant world, and she touches on those as well, from Donald Trump's former ownership of the Miss Universe Organization and the criticism of child and "glitz" pageants, to the recent controversies around Miss America. All the while, she examines the evolving nature of pageants and their relationship with Third Wave Feminism, and what they may need to do to remain relevant.

I've been a fan of the Miss America Pageant since I first watched in 1982 and as many of you know, I was a volunteer in the Miss America Organization for just short of 15 years. I'm also a fan of Miss USA, Miss Universe, and Miss Teen USA, and certainly understand the differences and similarities between the two systems. Because of that, I loved this book. While I knew some of the history and scandal, there were things that surprised me and things I learned for the first time. But more than that, I've never really stopped to think of the pageants and their relationship to feminism (I'm such a guy sometimes), so that was an eye-opening experience.

Pageant fans should love this, but I think those who might have seen a pageant once or twice or just like to read about different aspects of American culture will enjoy this as well. As Miss America celebrates its 100th anniversary next year, Here She Is is a great look at that American tradition.

The author provided me a complimentary advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making it available!

Here She Is publishes August 25.

Book Review: "Treehab: Tales from My Natural, Wild Life" by Bob Smith

Bob Smith is a tremendously funny comedian—in fact, he was the first openly gay comedian to appear on The Tonight Show and have his own episode of HBO Comedy Half-Hour. He's also a writer, of both novels and essays. (I really enjoyed Remembrance of Things I Forgot, a twist on a time-travel novel, which I read a number of years ago.)

About 10 years ago, Bob was diagnosed with ALS. While he can no longer speak, or walk, he is determined not to wallow in his disease or allow it to hamper his enjoyment of his life. Treehab—named for a retreat cabin in rural Ontario—isn't, as I expected, a book about how he finds the courage to fight every day, or a tribute to his incredible support system. Those elements certainly do have their part in the book, but it's more a story about his lifelong interest and enjoyment in nature and the outdoors, particularly the Alaskan wilderness, and how he has derived peace, satisfaction, and enjoyment from his time spent with nature.

"It took a life-threatening illness to make me see that the reason most of us love the natural world is because it's a visual and vocal echo that we're alive."

Much of the chapters in this book focus on the sheer joy he feels when he and his friends are hiking, seeing the amazing array of birds that inhabit the places he has visited, and realizing that we are tremendously lucky to be witnessing the beauty of the natural world. He has a particular fondness for Alaska and the people (not to mention the men) he has met on his many visits. But even now, as he struggles to fight ALS, his time in nature provides comfort, centering, and security.

Treehab is also a book about friendship, as Bob recounts the relationships he has with his "Nature Boys," his closest group of friends who have helped him through many of the ups and downs in his life, and share his zeal for the outdoors. And it's also a book about fatherhood, since he fathered two children with friends of his, and his desire to instill in his children the importance of being good people, as well as loving and caring for the world around them.

"I definitely want to teach Maddie and Xander that being angry about other people's selfishness and lack of compassion is actually a virtue...I'm afraid I'll die before they are old enough to know—or even remember—me, and I'm immodest enough to think that people who don't know me are missing out on something terrific."

I really expected this book to be a maudlin read, given the seriousness of ALS. Bob had a very deft sense of when the tone was getting too somber, and quickly lightened things with some humor. But for the most part, this is a book that dazzles you with the imagery he recounts of beautiful, colorful birds, picturesque sunrises and sunsets, and the breathtaking beauty of Alaska. He also isn't above being self-deprecating, especially if he thinks he can get a laugh out of the readers.

While you know where Bob's story will ultimately end someday, and that adds a bit of a pall to the book, this book didn't leave me feeling sad. I felt inspired to appreciate the natural world around me a little bit more, and realize how lucky I am to have the love and support of my family and friends. But more than that, I felt thankful that Bob was willing to share his life's struggles and his life's joys with us. Both moved me, made me think, and will stick in my mind.