Ah, spare time – that mythical concept we’ve heard so much about! When we’re not busy living our best-overwhelmed lives, we love nothing more than cozying up with a delightfully depressing historical tome or a murder mystery that makes us question humanity’s existence. Because really, what better way to unwind from a stressful day than reading about even more stressful times? Sure, our “to-read” pile is threatening to become a safety hazard, but that just adds to the suspense.
Speaking of teetering TBR piles threatening workplace safety, we thought we’d share what the 8THIRTYFOUR team is diving into over the holiday break. Whether you’re looking to add to your own precarious book tower or just curious about what keeps us turning pages between festivities, here’s what we’re reading…
Kim’s Feel-Good Book Club: Where Everyone Dies or Wishes They Had
I just finished Valerie Bauerlein’s The Devil at His Elbow: Alex Murdaugh and the Fall of a Southern Dynasty. I know many of you have seen the documentary, read all the articles, and are generally a lot more informed than I was about this entire saga. I picked up the book when I stopped by Cellar Bird Books on Bridge Street. I may have pressured Josh to bring me before grabbing early dinner (4:00 p.m. – listen I’m 45, I enjoy an 8:00 p.m. bedtime) at Butcher’s Union – which now takes reservations. Anyways…I digress, local bookstores are my happy place, hours can pass and I won’t even notice.
Back to the book – wow, just wow. Valerie’s ability to weave all the generations of Murdaugh men and their poor wives, together in this 480-page book is just pure genius. And boy what a family of absolute narcissistic, greedy pathological liars. I highly recommend it. Honestly, can’t say enough good things about it, quite the opposite of what I’d like to say about that entire godforsaken family.
Ro’s Natural Book Club: Eat Your Weeds
This summer, I attended a discussion at Pleasant Peninsula about foraging for invasive species. The speaker, El Lower, was a research assistant at the Great Lakes Aquatic Nonindigenous Species Information System (GLANSIS) who recommended a book I’d never heard of. “This book changed the way I look at plants,” they said. And that was all I needed.
While I ordered the book during the panel, it joined my stack of to-read novels. It’s only now, in early winter, that I’ve gotten around to reading it. Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants is a fascinating first-hand perspective of Robin Wall Kimmerer, an Indigenous biologist who weaves together her Potawatomi understanding of the natural world with her scientific training. I’m halfway through, and already it’s stirred a new appreciation for the black walnut in my front lawn and the native language my Irish grandparents were forced to abandon in their childhoods. I went in looking for a fun foraging book, and I’ve already gotten so much more.
In fact, I’m such a fan that I’ve already picked up Kimmerer’s newest book, The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World from Cellar Bird Books so I can start it as soon as I finish this one. If you’re looking for something introspective and tied to the natural world around us, I highly recommend checking these two books out.
Hannah’s Design Library: The Never-Ending Collection
I’ll admit I have a slight obsession with design books that borders on the ridiculous. My bookshelf is less a curated collection and more a testament to my perpetual optimism – and my inability to stop buying books despite having approximately zero free time. Don Norman’s “The Design of Everyday Things” has been sitting in my library for some time now.
Let’s be honest – I keep buying these design books with the best intentions. They’re like shiny promises of professional growth, each spine representing a potential breakthrough in my understanding of design principles. But between client projects, team meetings, and the general chaos of creative work, these books tend to become beautiful dust collectors. Norman’s book, though? This might be the one I actually crack open during the holiday break.
I am constantly seeking to expand my knowledge base. I’m hoping this book will offer those transformative insights that push my thinking beyond the usual constraints. It’s not just about making things look good – it’s about understanding how design intersects with human behavior, functionality, and intuition. Consider this my semi-serious commitment to professional development, one page at a time.
Britt’s Social Justice Book Club: Where It’s Time to Decolonize & Unlearn
Class is in session and in the year of our lord 2025, it’s time to stop pretending systemic issues and oppression aren’t real just because you’re not the one being directly impacted. If you claim to be a feminist in any capacity, then do I have just the book for you! I’m currently on my second read of “Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism” by globally renowned educator, writer, cultural critic, feminist, and intellectual dissident bell hooks (yes, all lowercase). With more than 30 books to her name, hooks commands attention.
Released in 1981, Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism was inspired by a speech by African American abolitionist and feminist Sojourner Truth. While the feminist movement has been successful for the white, middle and upper class, it has done little for poor and non-white women. hooks explores these topics in depth as she explains how slavery set up decades of treatment for black women. 1981 was 43 years ago, which really makes you evaluate how far we’ve come in that time and why the fight for equality and liberation is more important than ever. While it feels like we’re going backward and rights for women and femmes that we’ve fought so hard continue to be reversed, this book is a direct look at how we got here. Let it be known that if your feminist advocacy isn’t intersectional – then we don’t want it.
We’ll be sure to check back after the holidays and let you know if we actually read our books – looking at you, Hannah. Hopefully, you’ll find yourself with some downtime and you’ll set down the phone, pick up a book, and take some time to reflect on the past year. It’s been nothing short of chaotic, challenging, and all the other adjectives.
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