Rachel Baack

Summary: Brainstorm explains the essence of adolescence in a way that allows both teens and adults to engage with their own brains and development as well as the minds of others. A few important takeaways for me were the idea of taking time-in to feel one’s sensations, images, feelings, and thoughts; the importance of being a secure, dependable attachment figure rather than an absent or unpredictable one; and the necessity of simply being present—being there for others without judgement, and really experiencing their feelings and listening to what they have to say.

Summary: This play centers on the conflict between the Christian merchant Antonio and the Jewish money lender Shylock. When Antonio has trouble paying back a loan that he took from Shylock in order to help his friend woo a woman, Shylock takes drastic action to settle the debt. The play, however, leaves the audience questioning who the real “bad guy” in this situation is.

This play deals with relevant issues such as racial and religious discrimination and the destructive nature of hatred.

This book is a great introduction to the way labor unions have shaped and been shaped by the country, chronicling their formation, rise, and decline, and offering hope for their future.

In under 250 pages, author Robert P. Jones illuminates the close relationship between white Christianity and white supremacy in the United States, both historically and presently. He describes how white Christians have not only tolerated but actively participated in racist speech and action throughout American history, how white Christian theology developed and still exists in ways that allow and even encourage white supremacy, and the present reality that white Christian identity in American is independently correlated with an increase in racist attitudes (and vice versa). He goes on to call his readers to do the necessary work of reckoning with the past and present of white Christian racism and of pursuing racial justice, providing some examples of churches and communities that have begun that work.

While white American Christians are the imagined audience for the book, I think it would be certainly accessible and likely interesting to a much broader audience, including anyone who has ever observed and wondered at the paradoxical connection between white Christianity and racism in the United States.

This super quick read is exactly what it sounds like: a list of things a person could tell a man (or at least a man who’s not overly secure and who is a fan of the patriarchy) to get under his skin. It’s quite funny, and it’s less mean that it is thought provoking.

Some of my favorite one-liners are:

• “Well, he is the referee. He’s qualified to make that call,”
• “You give me R.A. vibes,” and,
• “Damn, she sounds cool” in response to a man talking about his “crazy” ex.