Book of the Month

~~~ wake up wake up wake up, it's the book of the mooooooonth ~~ 

// Disclaimer: Book of the Month has not paid me to promote them, I am a corporate shill of my own volition and with no foreseeable benefit to myself. Don't mind me, I'll just be sitting here re-evaluating all the choices I've made that have led me to this point.

Book of the Month Club was founded in 1926 as a way to distribute and discuss new and upcoming books. From the Wikipedia page, I bring you some fun tidbits of history:

"The club has a tradition of focusing on debut and emerging writers, and is known for having helped launch the careers of some of the most acclaimed authors in American literary history. In 1926 (its first year in operation), the Club featured Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises. In 1936 (its tenth year), the Club selected Gone with the Wind by unknown author Margaret Mitchell... In 1951 (its 25th year), the club distributed its 100 millionth book and selected J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, which became both the most-censored and the most-taught book in America."

Since it's the holiday season, I've had this bouncing around my brain-- that I'm pleased with my subscription and thought I'd spread the joy. This is for anyone who still needs a gift for that picky bookworm who you love just enough to spend one of three convenient price ranges ($45 bucks for 3 books, $80 bucks for 6 books or $150 for 12...so starting at ~$15 per book). Each month, members are presented with five new books and the option to either pick one or skip the month. There is also an archive of books offered in the past that are available to someone with book credits.

Honestly, I'd wait until BOTM is doing a coupon or offer to make sure you're getting the best deal i.e. Groupon / RetailMeNot / sporadic promo sales.

Q: Kay you've convinced me, where do I go to check this out?
A: Haz click aquí --> If you use my own personal referral link I get a free book. Thanks in advance, stranger! That's some genius marketing right there, yea? Falls right in line with their self-perpetuating stream of Instagram Book Looks. *cough*

Q: What if my friend is super particular and doesn't like the books available? 
A: They can always skip that month and get something the next month! Or the month after that. Or the one after that. Or they can prolong the wait indefinitely and get off on how unreasonably high their standards are #neversettle #neverbackdown. But seriously there's no shame in skipping months, save those credits for books you're excited about. Though the curation team does deserve some credit here: the picks seem pretty well-regarded in the grand scheme of things.

Q: Why can't I just get my friend a gift card to their favorite local book store? Or to Half-Price books instead?  
A: I never said you couldn't do that. Those are fantastic options! Do it! Some local bookstores even offer subscription boxes now - like my lovely neighborhood Brazos Bookstore makes personalized gift boxes tailor-made to suit the recipient with 1-2 books and several gift items. Book of the Month is neat and all but nothing beats supporting local. Find your nearest indie bookstore on IndieBound!

Gingerbrain Cookie Ornaments

This year for our annual holiday gift exchange, I decided to *spice* things up a bit with an easy cinnamon craft (don't worry I'm rolling my eyes right there with ya). There are millions of recipes for this online, but the gist is:

1. Mix 1 cup applesauce and 1 1/2 cup cinnamon into a doughy consistency. Some recipes call for Elmer's glue, other's don't. I added a tablespoon of it to make sure everything would bind together and mine turned out pretty resilient.
2. Roll out the dough until it is about 1/3 of an inch. Keep in mind, the thinner you make it the faster it will dry but if you make it too thin, your little brains will be frail and more prone to cracking. 
3. Cut into a brain shape. I used this cookie-cutter I found on Amazon but your options here are limitless you can even draw an outline yourself! Then use a straw or toothpick to cut out a hole on the top so that you have something to poke the ribbon through.
4. Air dry or bake. What kind of time frame are you working with here? Because I baked mine at 200 degrees for about 2 hours to get em started and then left them out to air dry for the next week just to be sure. It really depends on how thick you made them and how long you are willing to wait for them to stop being squishy. 
5. Decorate with fabric paint "icing."Get creative! Or go off some anatomical diagrams. I made sure to include the lateral sulcus and sensory/motor cortices but anything beyond that was squiggletown.

Apparently these will last for years and years if you keep them nice and dry in storage. If you find the powerful cinnamon smell has started to fade, just use some sandpaper to rough up the backside again and re-expose some of that spice. Smells like Christmas!

Here is some inspiration to make sure your brain buddies are as anatomically correct as they delightful:  

From Brain Anatomy Slideshare

From What When How

This illustration from Shuttershock

Oh! and be sure to blast Sia's Christmas album as you go along, otherwise they won't turn out. Sorry it's true.

Recipe references: 

Recipe without glue

Recipe with glue

Making Sense of the Alt-Right

Making Sense of the Alt-Right
by George Hawley
Published: September 2017

Making Sense of the Alt-Right offers a quick primer on the relatively new extremist offshoot of American conservatism.
The Alternative Right's primary focus is aggressive, irreverent white-identitarian politics, but as it gains traction has also begun to capture a jumbled web of disgruntled conservatives seeking an outlet from the mainstream.

Hawley details the ideological foundations (racial realism, paleoconservatism, radical libretarianism) as well as the projections for the future of the movement in Trump's America. Because there is no centralized leader, the messages and strategies that "go viral" are the ones that are perpetuated, giving the movement a haphazard, disjointed quality.

4.5 out of 5 stars: Somehow despite being one of the biggest buzzwords of the 2016 election and following year, I didn't know much more about this trend than the fact that it existed and it's lifeblood was extremist hate speech. Turns out, news coverage of the group was only hyperbolic in insinuating the group was organized and cohesive (so don't worry, all of the horrible racist, misogynist, shocking language you've heard spewed really are quite accurate). Well-researched and very thorough read - I will definitely be checking out Hawley's other books in the hopes to shed some light on other factions within our political spectrum. Alt-left anyone?

// I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Inside Private Prisons

Inside Private Prisons: An American Dilemma in the Age of Mass Incarceration
by Lauren-Brooke Eisen
Published: November 2017

First and foremost, Inside Private Prisons is an investigation of the benefits and downsides of privatizing the American prison system. But of course, everything is more complicated than it seems. A journey through the history of privatization goes on to explore our sordid past (and present) of prisoners as commodities, how activists use prison divestment as a tool, and the extent to which immigrant detention centers fit into the prison industrial complex. Overarching the span of the book, readers are encouraged to reflect on the nature of the carceral state: how did we get to this age of mass incarceration? How will our current political landscape shape the future?

3.5 out of 5 stars: This book was well-researched almost to a fault - just bursting at the seams with information. The overarching structure of the book sets a solid foundation for discussion, but I felt within each chapter the narrative tends to diverge wildly, leaving some anecdotes and facts a bit scattered and out of place. On the one hand, I want to casually recommend this to anyone with zero background knowledge of the United States prison system (like me!) because it such a strong collection of data and eye-opening realities*. But if I'm completely honest it was a bit of a struggle for me to get through, probably better suited as a required reading text in a college course.

* Did you know small prison towns get to headcount prisoners in the census? So even though prisoners can't vote, they brings more political weight to the region AND bring down the mean income level qualifying the town for federal aid. What a fun new way to gerrymander over-representation for rural america!


// I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

History Earned: Saint Arnold reppin' Astros gear

Houston Astros 2017 World Series Champions!!!

Just felt like the world needed a Saint Arnold Brewing Company / Houston Astros mashup and drawing it up was a perfect way to avoid cleaning my apartment! Recommended pairing:  Paul Wall's "World Series Grillz" on eternal repeat. Still riding that Game 7 high!