Who: Katy St. Clair, Reporter and Editor
Recommendation: “Rikers: An Oral History” by Graham Rayman and Reuven Blau
Why it’s a good read: I could only take in a bit at a time because frankly the stories are horrible, but necessary for everyone to know. What struck me most is how dehumanizing Rikers Island is, not only for inmates but also for staff which, if not sadists, must employ cognitive dissonance to get through their day. Shameful.
Synopsis: Offering a 360-degree view inside the country’s largest detention complex, the deeply personal accounts—featured here for the first time—take readers on a harrowing journey into every corner of Rikers, a failed society unto itself that reflects society’s failings as a whole. Read more on the publisher’s website.
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Who: Christopher Bacon, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies, Santa Clara University
Recommendation: “Inflamed: Deep Medicine and the Anatomy of Injustice” by Raj Patel and Rupa Marya
Why it’s a good read: I teach food justice classes and wanted an engaging, readable, evidence-based book about the deep racial and economic inequalities in who is sick and hungry during COVID. I choose this book because I like how Rupa Marya & Raj Patel offer a compelling analysis of how colonized food and medical systems produce injustice. More than a sophisticated diagnostic, we all want solutions. All of us were educated and inspired by the way that Marya and Patel show us the scientific, economic and ecological relationships producing the pollution and stress that undermine human immune, digestive, and respiratory systems, and share practical strategies that communities, advocates, and indigenous peoples use to create more healing and supportive relationships with nature and each other.
Check if the book is available to borrow from your local public library.
Who: Catherine Fisk, professor at Berkeley Law
Recommendation: “Elena Knows” by Claudia Piñeiro
Why it’s a good read: Sometimes charming and gentle, sometimes painful and pointed, this novella is at once a mystery, a meditation on living with Parkinson’s, and an exploration of how and why people control women’s bodies.
Synopsis: After Rita is found dead in the bell tower of the church she used to attend, the official investigation into the incident is quickly closed. Her sickly mother is the only person still determined to find the culprit. Chronicling a difficult journey across the suburbs of the city, an old debt and a revealing conversation, “Elena Knows” unravels the secrets of its characters and the hidden facets of authoritarianism and hypocrisy in our society. (Charco Press)
Check if the book is available to borrow from your local public library.