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Rev. Dr. Sir Wayne Murillo III finished reading The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben

Peter Wohlleben: The Hidden Life of Trees (2016, Greystone Books)

In The Hidden Life of Trees, Peter Wohlleben shares his deep love of woods …

The Hidden Life of Trees does exactly what the title said it would do: explain what we miss when we are moving too quickly to notice the lives of trees. Peter Wohlleben's experiences as a forester harvesting trees and as a conservationist of forests drives his tale that is "warmly avuncular, storybook simple, and heavily dusted with the glitter of wonderment" according to Robert Moor of the New Yorker.

Wohlleben explanation of reciprocal tree communities and the beech's rampage over other species brought wonder into an area that I had not through of much. His 30 years of experience that lead to a sustainable harvesting practice that involves removing individual trees with horses and mules. Robert Moor's article "The German Forester Who Wants the World to Idolize Trees", highlights some of the objections to the "fairy tales" in The Hidden Life of Trees.

Because I am the target audience of …

The Hidden Life of Trees does exactly what the title said it would do: explain what we miss when we are moving too quickly to notice the lives of trees. Peter Wohlleben's experiences as a forester harvesting trees and as a conservationist of forests drives his tale that is "warmly avuncular, storybook simple, and heavily dusted with the glitter of wonderment" according to Robert Moor of the New Yorker.

Wohlleben explanation of reciprocal tree communities and the beech's rampage over other species brought wonder into an area that I had not through of much. His 30 years of experience that lead to a sustainable harvesting practice that involves removing individual trees with horses and mules. Robert Moor's article "The German Forester Who Wants the World to Idolize Trees", highlights some of the objections to the "fairy tales" in The Hidden Life of Trees.

Because I am the target audience of the book, non-experts that love nature, I can't really evaluate his claims. I can say that the experience was soothing, the audiobook reader's voice is addictive (Mike Grady), and I have been thinking about trees and identifying them more in my daily life. I'd imagine that this is largely what Wohlleben wanted.

The German Forester Who Wants the World to Idolize Trees by Robert Moor: www.newyorker.com/books/under-review/the-german-forester-who-wants-the-world-to-idolize-trees

Rev. Dr. Sir Wayne Murillo III rated How to Raise an Antiracist: 5 stars

Ibram X. Kendi: How to Raise an Antiracist (2022, Random House Publishing Group)

How to Raise an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

Rev. Dr. Sir Wayne Murillo III rated They Called Me a Lioness: 5 stars

Ahed Tamimi: They Called Me a Lioness (2022, Random House Publishing Group)

They Called Me a Lioness by Ahed Tamimi

A Palestinian activist jailed at sixteen after a confrontation with Israeli soldiers illuminates the daily struggles of life under occupation …

Rev. Dr. Sir Wayne Murillo III rated Sirens of Mars: 5 stars

No cover — Sarah Stewart Johnson: Sirens of Mars (2020, Penguin Books, Limited)

Sirens of Mars by Sarah Stewart Johnson

Rev. Dr. Sir Wayne Murillo III rated How We Got to Now: 5 stars

Steven Johnson: How We Got to Now (2014)

How We Got to Now by Steven Johnson

Rev. Dr. Sir Wayne Murillo III rated The soul of an octopus: 5 stars

Sy Montgomery: The soul of an octopus (2015)

The soul of an octopus by Sy Montgomery

"In this astonishing book from the author of the bestselling memoir The Good Good Pig, Sy Montgomery explores the emotional …

Rev. Dr. Sir Wayne Murillo III rated Ten Steps to Nanette: 5 stars

Hannah Gadsby: Ten Steps to Nanette (Hardcover, Allen & Unwin)

Ten Steps to Nanette by Hannah Gadsby

Gadsby's unique stand-up special Nanette was a viral success that left audiences captivated by her blistering honesty and her ability …

Rev. Dr. Sir Wayne Murillo III rated Medium Raw: 5 stars

Anthony Bourdain: Medium Raw (Hardcover, 2010, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC)

Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain

Rev. Dr. Sir Wayne Murillo III rated Coffeeland: 5 stars

Augustine Sedgewick, Augustine Sedgewick: Coffeeland (Hardcover, 2020, Penguin Press)

Coffeeland by Augustine Sedgewick, Augustine Sedgewick

Coffee is an indispensable part of daily life for billions of people around the world--one of the most valuable commodities …

Rev. Dr. Sir Wayne Murillo III reviewed The mothers by Brit Bennett

"A dazzling debut novel from an exciting new voice, The Mothers is a surprising story …

Review of 'The mothers' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I found The Mothers after watching a Barnes and Noble Tik Tok suggesting it in a collection of books to use while processing and challenging the Dobbs decision and the fall of Roe.

Thus, when I read it, I expected a narrative that would provided an unveiled, prochoice moral. The Mothers is so much more complex than that.

Bennett's debut novel is packed with dense, textured, realistic characters that leap off the page. A complex love triangle between Nadia Turner, Luke Sheppard, and Aubrey Evans weaves in and out of a tale that does include abortion, but also features black contemporary life, religion, class, and so much more.

The Mothers is worth your time.

Rev. Dr. Sir Wayne Murillo III rated Stakes Is High: 5 stars

Mychal Denzel Smith: Stakes Is High (2020, PublicAffairs)

Stakes Is High by Mychal Denzel Smith

Rev. Dr. Sir Wayne Murillo III reviewed We Had a Little Real Estate Problem by Kliph Nesteroff

Review of 'We Had a Little Real Estate Problem' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

If you'd like to know more about indigenous American comedy, Kliph Nesteroff chronicles some under-sung greats in We Had a Little Real-Estate Problem. The book is meandering and exclusively expository without a real thesis over content. Useful distraction for our current apocalypse.

Rev. Dr. Sir Wayne Murillo III reviewed This is how it always is by Laurie Frankel

Laurie Frankel: This is how it always is (2017)

"This is how a family keeps a secret...and how that secret ends up keeping them. …

Review of 'This is how it always is' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

ThisisHowitAlwaysIs by @Laurie_Frankel is a beautifully written novel covering #parenting, #trans-children, #family, and #myth. The beats of the story were tight and the tension kept me hanging on every moment. As a parent, I have wondered about how I would parent a trans-kid and Frankel's novel feels like a parental speculative fiction that lets the reader experience some of the inevitable obstacles that a family of a trans-child must overcome. I don't want to give a moment of it away.

This is How it Always Is by Frankel is beautiful and worth your time.

Rev. Dr. Sir Wayne Murillo III reviewed Vagabonds by Ken Liu

Ken Liu, Hao Jingfang: Vagabonds (2020, Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers)

A century after the Martian war of independence, a group of kids are sent to …

Review of 'Vagabonds' on 'Goodreads'

No rating

I have read many of the sprawling, science fiction, space operas that include Mars as a setting. I am often thrilled by the hardscrabble life and pragmatic philosophy that must be practiced on the red planet. However, for me, Vagabonds by Hao Jingfang sort of fell apart for me. I listened to the English translation from Chinese and perhaps objected to the lessons implied by the plot.

After a civil war between Mars and Earth, the two powers are attempting to find peace. Mars sends a group of students including Luoying, a dancer, to Earth to build relations between the planets.

Jingfang seems to wax poetic about the youth of Earth who seem to be trust-fund gig-workers that work to fund a lifestyle against the Martians who join a working group and help to build a community.

Jingfang's glorification of capitalism against a communist, semi-authoritarian, syndicalism just left this anarchistic, …

I have read many of the sprawling, science fiction, space operas that include Mars as a setting. I am often thrilled by the hardscrabble life and pragmatic philosophy that must be practiced on the red planet. However, for me, Vagabonds by Hao Jingfang sort of fell apart for me. I listened to the English translation from Chinese and perhaps objected to the lessons implied by the plot.

After a civil war between Mars and Earth, the two powers are attempting to find peace. Mars sends a group of students including Luoying, a dancer, to Earth to build relations between the planets.

Jingfang seems to wax poetic about the youth of Earth who seem to be trust-fund gig-workers that work to fund a lifestyle against the Martians who join a working group and help to build a community.

Jingfang's glorification of capitalism against a communist, semi-authoritarian, syndicalism just left this anarchistic, white, male, American cold. However, if I'm honest, I feel that I missed an important cultural context that would have helped me to enjoy the book more.

Rev. Dr. Sir Wayne Murillo III reviewed Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters

Torrey Peters: Detransition, Baby (Hardcover, 2021, One World)

A whipsmart debut about three women--transgender and cisgender--whose lives collide after an unexpected pregnancy forces …

Review of 'Detransition, Baby' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters (@torreypeters) begins with a title that could be interpreted a couple of ways, something that doesn't change as the novel continues. After starting the book, someone empathetic to the rights of transgender people might have misgivings if the title is declarative. However, the title is the beginning of a chronological list of events in the life of James/Amy/Ames.

The novel proposes a situation where a ciswoman, and two transwomen, try to start a family while drama ensues. The story is compelling from the first minute to the last and it contains glorious dialectics between the characters that lead to greater truths about transpeople, motherhood, womanhood, and families that meld smoothly into the winding plot.

Detransition, Baby is worth your time. Go read it.