Theme Selection: September

The theme for the first month of Non-Fiction First will be:

Home / Housing

I had initially thought I would read about the prison system as that has been one of the most popular topics in contemporary media and politics, but reading Stamped From the Beginning over the course of August (more on that soon) has required a great deal of mental and emotional processing. Given that I've already read Just Mercy, I know reading about the prison system can also get heavy, and since I want to be able to give it its due (spoiler alert!), I'm probably going to wait until October. 

Home / Housing seems like a good choice for September for a number of other reasons though. 

1.  I live in the Bay Area, which is a SUPER expensive place to live with a SUPER large homeless population. 
2. As a parent whose children will go to public school in a few years, I want to know more about how where you live impacts your cultural competency and educational opportunities, and...
3.  There's about to be a presidential election and it seems pretty important that I fully understand how where people live might impact the political process. 

Thus, I've chosen the following books as my two MUST READ titles:

• The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America 
• Richard Rothstein
• The Address Book: What Street Addresses Reveal about Identity, Race, Wealthy and Power
• Deirdre Mask

Actually, I will also be reading Golden Gates: Fighting for Housing in America by Conor Dougherty, serendipitously chosen by one of my book clubs this month. So, I've technically I've got three must reads. I have a list of other titles (some non-fiction, some not) at the ready should I get that far before the month's end.

You'll probably get tired of me saying this, but please read along, drop a book recommendation in the comments or write in with a question. It's always nice to have someone to chat with about reading.

💛J