Review - The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

January Scaller live in a mansion with her guardian Mr. Locke, a collector of peculiar treasures. In many ways, January is part of his collection, until she finds a stranger book that tells the story of love, adventure, danger, and secret doors to other worlds. Each page reveals impossible truths about the world, and a story that quickly becomes entwined with her own.

This historical portal fantasy begins in a quiet corner of New England at the turn of the last century, and the story unfolds with an intriguing magical system and a wild cast of characters. January might not be perfectly likable, but as she untangles the threads around her she takes control of her life and will bring you on an unexpected ride.

Review - Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman

This 2020 nonfiction book takes an interesting perspective on the world: that by and large, humans are not awful. Written by Dutch historian Rutger Bregman, this book incorporates history, psychology, economics, and politics without sacrificing gravity or wit.

In fact, the discussion of so many historical events and psychology experiments is so rich and compelling that you will be torn between ripping through the book and studying each chapter in depth. And it’s worth taking time with it, to really sit with the information.

This book takes the true story of Lord of the Flies, the murder of Kitty Genovese, the Stanford Prison Experiment, and so many other stories that have been used to tell ourselves that people are inherently bad, and it completely breaks them down to show the opposite is usually true. Not that this book shies away from historical atrocities, but it gives so much context to our behaviors that it's impossible to not walk away with a sense of hopefulness.

I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for proof of the kindness and altruism of humanity.