Sociology Archives - Page 3 of 8

Life Reimagined: The Science, Art, and Opportunity of Midlife by Barbara Bradley Hagerty [in Library Journal]

19 Sep, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, Nonethnic-specific, Nonfiction, Repost

*STARRED REVIEW At the risk of sounding utterly selfish, thank goodness Barbara Bradley Hagerty (Fingerprints of God) recovered from her excruciating throat injury to narrate her latest title. Her conspiratorial, gregarious recitation, a skill that clearly contributed to her two-decade, award-winning NPR career, instantly convinces listeners...

Quiet Power: The Secret Strengths of Introverts by Susan Cain with Gregory Mone and Erica Moroz [in School Library Journal]

08 Sep, by SIBookDragon in Middle Grade Readers, Nonethnic-specific, Nonfiction, Repost, Young Adult Readers

*STARRED REVIEW Beyoncé, J.K. Rowling, and Albert Einstein are examples of introverts who harnessed their "quiet power" to become iconic successes. Here Susan Cain offers an entertaining, illuminating adaptation of her adult bestseller, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, to help younger readers...

The Problem with Me: And Other Essays About Making Trouble in China Today by Han Han, translated and edited by Alice Xin Liu and Joel Martinsen [in Booklist]

11 Aug, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Chinese, Memoir, Nonfiction, Repost, Translation

Although he was a 1999 national writing-competition winner at 17 and runaway bestselling novelist a year later, Shanghai-based Han couldn’t finish high school. His subsequent rants against the education system, standardized testing, and corrupt bureaucracy earned him widespread acclaim. At 34, he has added rally-car racing...

One Child: The Story of China’s Most Radical Experiment by Mei Fong [in Library Journal]

06 Jun, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, Chinese, Malaysian, Nonfiction, Repost

China's infamous one-child policy lasted just 35 years. Forced sterilizations, gruesome late-term abortions, an overseas adoption boom, and baby trafficking emerged as by-products of the draconian law. What was touted as a "necessary step in [China's] Herculean efforts to lift the population…from abject poverty" resulted in...

Incarceration Nations by Baz Dreisinger [in Library Journal]

18 May, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, African, Audio, Black/African American, Nonethnic-specific, Nonfiction, Repost, South American, Southeast Asian

“No one said this global journey would be smooth,” writes Baz Dreisinger with controlled understatement. Covering two years and nine countries in her pilgrimage to prisons worldwide, Dreisinger – a self-described “white English professor specializing in African-American cultural studies,” as well as prison educator and criminal justice...

Without You, There Is No Us: My Time with the Sons of North Korea’s Elite by Suki Kim

12 Mar, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, Korean, Korean American, Memoir, Nonfiction, North Korean

Over a decade has passed since a Suki Kim title landed on my shelves. That she's been repeatedly crossing the "immutable border" into North Korea since 2002 – just months after George W. Bush dubbed the closed country as one of the "axis of evil"...

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande

02 Mar, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, Indian American, Memoir, Nonfiction, South Asian American

Ah finally, I'm fully caught up with the good doc, having read each of Atul Gawande’s four bestsellers in published order. And how grateful am I to have followed through so methodically, because all that 'homework' certainly made this, his latest, an even fuller read. Here's...

The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right by Atul Gawande

11 Feb, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, Indian American, Nonfiction, South Asian American

In order to give myself permission to read the latest bestseller by Rhodes Scholar/surgeon/professor/MacArthur “Genius”/New Yorker/TED-anointed Dr. Atul Gawande (and yes, all his books are lauded, importantly nominated, finalist-ed, awarded bestsellers), I decided I had to first finish his previous titles in order. What might sound a bit like unnecessary pressure just to...

A Path Appears: Transforming Lives, Creating Opportunity by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn

10 Nov, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, African, Audio, Chinese American, Nonethnic-specific, Nonfiction, South Asian, Southeast Asian, Young Adult Readers

A fatally injured 9-year-old girl, a third-grade boy labelled by teachers as "‘mentally retarded,’" a restless doctor burnt out from overwork in refugee camps, are saving the world. Rachel Beckwith didn't survive a highway collision, but her ninth birthday wish to raise $300 to build a faraway...

Think Like a Freak: The Authors of Freakonomics Offer to Retrain Your Brain by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

04 Sep, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, Nonethnic-specific, Nonfiction

Let me begin with the reasons to go aural on this one: co-author Stephen J. Dubner narrates (his near-breathless energy is downright contagious), plus you get additional bonus selections (including commitment devices, banning tipping, and not-men women) at book's end from the authors' Freakonomics Radio archives during which...

The News: A User’s Manual by Alain de Botton

22 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, British, Nonfiction, Repost

Alain de Botton has a book I might never ever read – the one that happens to have a little note inscribed to me from de Botton himself, courtesy of a dear friend who met him in London and shipped the volume across the Pond. Truth be told, that...

Images of America: Chinese in Hollywood by Jenny Cho and the Chinese Historical Society of Southern California

03 Feb, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Chinese American, Middle Grade Readers, Nonfiction, Young Adult Readers

In spite of a history that spans centuries – especially in California – Hollywood has long remained an elusive destination for Asian Pacific Americans seeking not always celluloid glory, but at the very least, mere participation and fair representation. From immigration restrictions, limited casting opportunities, miscegenation laws,...

David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants by Malcolm Gladwell

27 Nov, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, Nonethnic-specific, Nonfiction

Malcolm and I started out great here. We usually do. He's judgmental, opinionated, smart, questioning, and downright entertaining. Outliers remains my all-time Gladwell favorite, then Blink, then Tipping Point. I thought he faltered a bit in his last title, What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures, but those contents weren't...

Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything by Joshua Foer

08 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, Memoir, Nonethnic-specific, Nonfiction, Young Adult Readers

I debated for a couple of weeks over posting about this book (no, I really don't post every title I read) ...

Once Upon a Quinceañera: Coming of Age in the USA by Julia Alvarez

28 Feb, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Audio, Latina/o/x, Memoir, Nonfiction, Young Adult Readers

Somewhere buried in these almost 300 pages (or just over nine hours if you're listening to the husky voice of actress Daphne Rubin-Vega) is a really good book about the quinceañera – the 15th birthday celebration of a Latina which marks her maturity from little girl...

Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo [in Christian Science Monitor]

27 Jan, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Indian, Nonethnic-specific, Nonfiction, Repost

Remember the title of Katherine Boo’s new book Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity, because you will see it on upcoming nominee lists for the next round of Very Important Literary Prizes. That Boo won the Pulitzer in 2000,...

China in Ten Words by Yu Hua, translated by Allan H. Barr

08 Dec, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Chinese, Memoir, Nonfiction, Translation

Yu Hua is a grand master of subversion. Just as his title – China In Ten Words – promises, Yu “compress[es] the endless chatter of China today into ten simple words ...

I Am Different! Can You Find Me? by Manjula Padmanabhan

19 Jul, by SIBookDragon in Children/Picture Books, Indian American, Nonfiction, South Asian American

Leave it to the Global Fund for Children (and the always innovative small press Charlesbridge) to offer a colorful new book that uses a clever game of hide-and-seek to celebrate our differences, while sharing our universal sameness. And, of course, novelist/playwright/cartoonist Manjula Padmanabhan also deserves...

Scenes from an Impending Marriage: a prenuptial memoir by Adrian Tomine

14 Feb, by SIBookDragon in Adult Readers, Graphic Title/Manga/Manwha, Japanese American, Memoir, Nonfiction

Shockingly enough, Valentine's Day wasn't actually created by Hallmark! In fact, the heartfelt holiday has two versions as to its origins. The Christians say the date commemorates three martyrs all named 'Valentine'; St. Valentine's Day was established at the end of the 5th century, only...

If the World Were a Village: A Book about the World’s People by David J. Smith, illustrated by Shelagh Armstrong

11 Feb, by SIBookDragon in Absolute Favorites, Adult Readers, Children/Picture Books, Middle Grade Readers, Nonfiction, Young Adult Readers

'Global village' is one of those overused phrases we hear so often we don't actively think about the meaning anymore ...

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