Books

10. Small Wonder by Barbara Kingsolver
This is a book of essays that was partially inspired by 9/11. A lot of them deal with how to live peacefully and lightly in the world and there are a few good nature ones as well. This was my second time reading this book. I really enjoy it, although not as much as Kingsolver's other book of essays, High Tide in Tucson. One of the essays inspired me to eat more local food, although perhaps February in New York was not the best time to start that experiment. Anyway, this is a great book and everyone should read it. There is an essay about evolution and the importance of genetic diversity, "A Fist in the Eye of God", which I would like to give to my biology students to read. Another essay that really stood out was "And Our Flag Was Still There"* which really powerfully speaks about how those of us Americans who want peaceful solutions to conflicts need to reclaim the flag as our own, realize we are in the majority in the world, and not let the anti-patriotic discourse get us down. Both of these essays exemplify why I like Kingsolver's writings. I feel like she speaks what I am thinking, but way more eloquently than I ever could.

*this version is shorter than the one in the book