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This week’s mail was full of heavy hitting nonfiction from the library, a rare book I finally managed to get my hands on and multiple copies of the same book sent out to different addresses. If you read last week ‘s book mail or have glanced at my social media this week, you already know which book I ordered multiple copies of. Finally, a link to the cover reveal for Tortured Willows, the poetry collect to be released October 7 from Christina Sng, Lee Murray, Geneve Flyn and myself. By the way, these are affiliate links which go towards Amazon gift cards… and more books!

So, first book up is…

Smart People Should Build Things: How to Restore Our Culture of Achievement, Build a Path for Entrepreneurs, and Create New Jobs in America by Andrew Wang Remember when Andrew Wang ran for president? I was enthusiastic about the ideas he presented and personally, he would have been my pick. Maybe next time… I picked this up from the library. If I feel like I want to keep it I’ll buy a copy, otherwise I read for free. Since I’ve started doing this, I have really been able to stretch my book budget. From Amazon: Andrew Yang, the founder of Venture for America, offers a unique solution to our country’s economic and social problems—our smart people should be building things. Smart People Should Build Things offers a stark picture of the current culture and a revolutionary model that will redirect a generation of ambitious young people to the critical job of innovating and building new businesses… In Smart People Should Build Things, this self-described “recovering lawyer” and entrepreneur weaves together a compelling narrative of success stories (including his own), offering observations about the flow of talent in the United States and explanations of why current trends are leading to economic distress and cultural decline. He also presents recommendations for both policy makers and job seekers to make entrepreneurship more realistic and achievable. Check it out on Amazon for yourself here.

The War on Normal People: The Truth About America’s Disappearing Jobs and Why Universal Basic Income Is Our Future by Andrew Wang More Andrew Wang, and again from the library. I love the title on this one: The War on Normal People. I’m a normal people myself in spite of what you may have heard 😂 If this book winds up being really good, you will see it reviewed here in the future. From Amazon: The shift toward automation is about to create a tsunami of unemployment. Not in the distant future–now. One recent estimate predicts 45 million American workers will lose their jobs within the next twelve years–jobs that won’t be replaced. In a future marked by restlessness and chronic unemployment, what will happen to American society? In The War on Normal People, Yang imagines a different future–one in which having a job is distinct from the capacity to prosper and seek fulfillment. At this vision’s core is Universal Basic Income, the concept of providing all citizens with a guaranteed income-and one that is rapidly gaining popularity among forward-thinking politicians and economists. Yang proposes that UBI is an essential step toward a new, more durable kind of economy, one he calls “human capitalism.” Check it out for yourself on Amazon here.

Next is a book I’ve been trying to find a copy of for awhile, but I could only find it used for over $100. Paperbacks and even the Kindle edition are around $50! This last week I lucked out and found this hard back copy for $30 and some change. It’s a discarded library copy. I loan and forget a lot… this is one book on my shelf I may require a deposit on for a loan 😂 I’m very excited to finally read Women of the Sacred Groves: Divine Priestesses of Okinawa by Susan Sered. I will definitely be reviewing this one. From Amazon: Okinawa is the only contemporary society in which women lead the official, mainstream, publicly funded religion. Priestesses are the acknowledged religious leaders within the home, clan, and village–and, until annexation by Japan approximately one hundred years ago, within the Ryukyuan Kingdom. This fieldwork-based study provides a gender-sensitive look at a remarkable religious tradition. Susan Sered spent a year living in Henza, an Okinawan fishing village, joining priestesses as they conducted rituals in the sacred groves located deep in the jungle-covered mountains surrounding the village. Her observations focus upon the meaning of being a priestess and the interplay between women’s religious preeminence and other aspects of the society. Sered shows that the villages social ethos is characterized by easy-going interpersonal relations, an absence of firm rules and hierarchies, and a belief that the village and its inhabitants are naturally healthy. Particularly interesting is her discovery that gender is a minimal category here: villagers do not adapt any sort of ideology that proclaims that men and women are inherently different from one another…. Through in-depth examination of this unique and little-studied society, Sered offers a glimpse of a religious paradigm radically different from the male-dominated religious ideologies found in many other cultures. Check it out for yourself on Amazon here, and if you ever see a copy under $50 grab it!

Finally, even though I’ve already covered it in an earlier Book Mail, I thought it worth mentioning that I purchased four more copies of Speak, Okinawa by Elizabeth Miki Brina. I sent one to my mother, my oldest daughter, my oldest son and one to keep since my original was from the library. “A searing, deeply candid memoir about a young woman’s journey to understanding her complicated parents—her mother an Okinawan war bride, her father a Vietnam veteran—and her own, fraught cultural heritage.” Available on Amazon here or find it at your local library like I did.

I wound up connecting with Brina online and hopefully didn’t inspire her to get a restraining order on me from all my gushing enthusiasm. She lives in an area hit by hurricanes, but as soon as the dust settles for her she agreed to do a spotlight show with me. Did I scream like an obsessed fan and run around my tiny office when she agreed? Why, yes. Yes I did. I promise to be cool when we actually meet. Like mostly cool.

And now, for the cover reveal for Tortured Willows, the poetry collect to be released October 7 from Christina Sng, Lee Murray, Geneve Flyn and myself. Sci-fi and Scary did a beautiful job unveiling it for us with some beautiful blurbs, back cover text and links to all the authors and our foreword author K.P. Kulski. And now… you may go see the cover by Kyra Starr in all it’s gorgeous, vivid awesomeness here.

And that’s it for this week. Thanks for all the responses! I have multiple messages asking if a book can be sent to me or if I purchase them all. While most of what I share I’ve purchased or contributed to, I am happy to share things that are sent to me in a group post like this, but I can’t guarantee I’ll review anything specific. There are just too many books. I do pass on books to Space & Time reviewers and interested others whenever possible.

Any mail can be sent to:

Angela Yuriko Smith
P.O. Box 214
Independence, MO 64050