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Communal Luxury: The Political Imaginary of the Paris Commune Book Review

Kristin Ross
In this compact, punchy analysis of the Paris Commune, Ross focuses less on important dates and events than of the reverberating impact this experiment had on subsequent anarchist, communist, socialist, and environmentalist thought. Many of the commune's debates around the value of labour, automation, building urban-rural solidarity, and who counts as a worker are still relevant today. Detailed footnotes make it easy to look up the source material if you want to dig deeper.

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Moonbound Book Review

Robin Sloan
In a future 11,000 years from now, the most impressive technology doesn't come from silicon and software; rather, it comes from evolutionary leaps and a humanity that integrates itself with the natural world in weird and wonderful ways. On a technical level, one of the most impressive aspects of this novel is how Sloan presents two different characters who happen to share the same body — truly inventive. The *Sourdough* easter eggs are fun too.

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Object Lessons: The Art of the Short Story Book Review

The Paris Review
A buffet in the best way, this collection of short stories surprised, challenged and delighted me. I'm coming away from this book with an expanded view of what a story can be, even if all of them weren't quite my cup of tea.

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Pirate Enlightenment, or The Real Libertalia Book Review

David Graeber
A retelling of the "golden age" of pirates (think treasure chests and long-bearded captains) that brings a new perspective by criticially analyzing what source material remains from that time. Graeber argues that Enlightenment ideals were shaped in places far away from Europe, whether on pirate ships that had elements of democratic governance, mixed with a culture of sexual liberation and women's empowerment on the island of Madagascar. For much of the book, he painstakingly pieces together documents from less-than-reliable narrators to uncover how pirate culture influenced Malagasy society and vice-versa. The story gets lost in the weeds, but there's enough substance here to make it worthwhile.

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