Book Review: Shelter From the Machine by Jason G.Strange

I was provided with a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

Have you been feeling like you want to just drop out of society and move off the grid? Then you’ll probably love “Shelter from the Machine: Homesteaders in the Age of Capitalism” by Jason G. Strange, released March 23, 2020 from The University of Illinois Press. Strange shows the differences and similarities between “country and bohemian homesteaders”, the past and future of subsistence farming, and “critiques of mainstream material culture” in this very readable and realistic look at communities in Eastern Kentucky and beyond. I also appreciated Strange's in-depth analysis  of literacy--not only the ability to read but to possess the ability to distinguish between different types of information and media. Some homesteaders are extremely bookish and others have rebelled against all forms of book learning/reading. I really loved "meeting" the people he interviewed and I made a list of at least 10 books referenced in the text to add to my TBR.

Publisher’s Summary:
”You’re either buried with your crystals or your shotgun.” That laconic comment captures the hippies-versus-hicks conflict that divides, and in some ways defines, modern-day homesteaders. It also reveals that back to-the-landers, though they may seek lives off the grid, remain connected to the most pressing questions confronting the United States today.Jason Strange shows where homesteaders fit, and don't fit, within contemporary America. Blending history with personal stories, Strange visits pig roasts and bohemian work parties to find people engaged in a lifestyle that offers challenge and fulfillment for those in search of virtues like self-employment, frugality, contact with nature, and escape from the mainstream. He also lays bare the vast differences in education and opportunity that leave some homesteaders dispossessed while charting the tensions that arise when people seek refuge from the ills of modern society—only to find themselves indelibly marked by the system they dreamed of escaping.

Social Distance & Read: Support Your Atlanta Area Independent Bookstores

Warehouse stores and big chains will likely survive this crisis, but many of our beloved local bookstores may not. Now is the time to stock up on books for your personal reading and to purchase books, toys, and games you can give as future gifts.

I’ve created a directory of local independent bookstores so we can all Social Distance & Read. Reach out to your favorite bookstore today to order all your books, games, toys, gift cards, and more! Some locations are even offering special delivery and pick-up options. Our bookstores make our community better—let’s show them our support!

You are also supporting my writing when you click on the link!

Under the Radar Book Releases: April 2020

I’m always looking ahead, researching, requesting, pre-ordering, and rearranging my TBR pile months in advance for my personal reading and published book features. I know that not all book reviewers, bloggers, and bookstagrammers work as far out on the calendar as I do, but many (most?) are at least looking about a month in advance. Since I get lots of great feedback and questions about my “under the radar” selections, I decided to create a list of April releases I think you should check out. Some you might have heard of already and some you may not have, but they are likely not the “popular” ones that will get the buzz/hype and flood your feeds.

Want to know more about one of these awesome upcoming releases? I've added the corresponding Goodreads links below each cover so you can jump over to read their summaries. (Please bear with me about the formatting. I plan on grouping the books and titles separately next month to make my feature look a bit more cohesive and polished).

If you are interested in purchasing any of these releases, please consider supporting independent bookstores by purchasing through my Bookshop (disclaimer: As an affiliate, I receive a small percentage of purchase price).

Bubblegum by Adam Levin

The Club King: My Rise, Reign, and Fall in New York Nightlife by Peter Gatien

Godshot by Chelsea Bieker

Sin Eater by Megan Campisi

Why Fish Don't Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life by Lulu Miller

Me & Patsy Kickin' Up Dust: My Friendship with Patsy Cline by Loretta Lynn, Patsy Lynn Russell, Dolly Parton (Foreword)

The Beauty of Your Face by Sahar Mustafah

If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha

The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

What It's Like to Be a Bird: From Flying to Nesting, Eating to Singing--What Birds Are Doing, and Why by David Allen Sibley

How Much of These Hills Is Gold by C Pam Zhang

The Burning by Laura Bates

The Glass Magician by Caroline Stevermer

Weird: The Power of Being an Outsider in an Insider World by Olga Khazan

The Sweeney Sisters by Lian Dolan

Death in Her Hands by Ottessa Moshfegh

Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family by Robert Kolker

Conjure Women by Afia Atakora

No Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram by Sarah Frier

The Ancestor by Danielle Trussoni

The New Parisienne: The Women Ideas Shaping Paris by Lindsey Tramuta

The Betrayal of the Duchess: The Scandal That Unmade the Bourbon Monarchy and Made France Modern by Maurice Samuels

The Sweetness of Doing Nothing: Living Life the Italian Way with Dolce Far Niente by Sophie Minchilli

The Unsuitable by Molly Pohlig

The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal About Identity, Race, Wealth, and Power by Deirdre Mask

The Kidnap Years: The Astonishing True History of the Forgotten Kidnapping Epidemic That Shook Depression-Era America by David Stout

Administrations of Lunacy: A Story of Racism and Psychiatry at the Milledgeville Asylum by Mab Segrest

Oak Flat: A Fight for Sacred Land in the American West by Lauren Redniss

Beheld by TaraShea Nesbit

*I received a copy of this book from the 

publisher in exchange for an honest review*

I wanted to read this book because I always thought my high school American history classes would have been so much more enjoyable if we learned more details about colonists’ daily lives. What were they eating? What did they do together as families in the evenings? I wanted to know more about the people who weren’t included in the textbook: the women, the children, the slaves, and the Native Americans. In Beheld (releases March 17, 2020), TaraShea Nesbit gives us a glimpse at what some of these people’s lives may have been like, with “the riveting story of a stranger’s arrival in the fledgling colony of Plymouth, Massachusetts―and a crime that shakes the divided community to its core.”

Writers & Lovers by Lily King

I received a copy of this novel from
the publisher in exchange for an honest review

The book (the backstory)
I requested this title in the fall and received my ARC in December, but my reading life went haywire in January. The American Dirt controversy consumed me and I was tired of seeing all the same mainstream, mega-media marketed books in my feed. I was tired of working so hard to share thoughtful reviews of books I loved only to receive a couple of likes and no interaction. In short, I had bookstagram burnout. Then I saw that “Writers & Lovers” had been chosen as a BOTM selection and about a dozen book clubs announced it as their next selection, making me not want to read it. But, I forced myself to start it since I had requested it and then…

The book (my mini review)
I loved it. Not a “scream from the rooftops” kind of love but a “this feeds my soul” sort of love. Lily King authentically describes the chasm of female early adulthood in ways I don’t read about often. When other writers are giving us 30-year-old women, we get domestic thrillers or stories about family life. Lily King gives us creative Casey Peabody, a writer working on her first novel. She’s deeply in debt, navigating dating, working at a soul-crushing job, and grieving the unexpected death of her mother. I definitely recommend Writers & Lovers to everyone, especially if you love books about books/writers/creatives. Lovers of “Sweetbitter” and “The Last Book Party” will probably also like this book.

The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

I received a copy of this book from the publisher
 in exchange for an honest review

On December 24, 1617, just off the coast of Vardø, a remote and underpopulated island at Norway’s north-easternmost point, a sudden storm drowned 40 men, leaving the women of this fishing village to fend for themselves. Three years later, a Scottish witch finder is sent to rid Vardø of alleged witchcraft. He brings his unknowing Norwegian wife on his pious journey to rid the community of evil. Building on the true events of the Vardø witch trials, The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave (released February 11, 2020) focuses on the communal ties between the village women. Hargrave’s haunting descriptions of the women’s mourning and survival following the catastrophic storm is almost poetic in its rawness. The undercurrents of jealousy and hatred among the women reach a fever pitch when those who feel they have been wronged find a way to exert power through accusations. This novel swept me away, broke my heart, gave me new characters to love (Kirsten, Maren, Ursa), and new additions to my “love to hate” characters list (Absalom, Toril, and Christin). It’s a calmer, quieter book that may not stand out for a lot of readers, but I loved it and definitely recommend it.

"5 Spring Cleaning Book Selections" in City Lifestyle

I have some very exciting news to share today… I have been chosen as a City Lifestyle ambassador for Atlanta! My first article “5 Spring Cleaning Book Selections” has just been added to the site. I would be so thankful if you would check it out and let me know your thoughts. I hope to have lots of other great articles to share with you in the coming months.