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what i'm reading wednesday
What I finished this past week: Homegrown: Timothy McVeigh and the Rise of Right-Wing Extremism by Jeffrey Toobin. This book is very good at the first part of its subtitle and less good at the second part. The research into McVeigh, his life, his radicalization, his planning and execution of the Oklahoma City Bombing in 1995, and the trial that followed--all of this is top notch. All my memories of that time are a child's, so they're visceral but shallow. It was incredibly interesting to revisit this moment from my childhood with an adult's eyes and see what actually happened. A+ for the leadup and aftermath of the bombing.
But I'm less impressed with the idea that the book is really telling us all that much about the rise of right-wing extremism. This is probably a me problem: I know a ton about this topic and so probably any analysis for a more general audience would have been disappointed by what's there. Toobin is clearly trying very hard to say, "This tragedy was not the action of a lone wolf but of someone radicalized by an ideological community that existed before him and exists now and has exploded via the internet and bubbled up most dangerously during the Trump years." Which is all true! But I don't think he has any particular insights into the ideology itself or provides any useful analysis about the
It's more like: here is a list of all the acts of terror perpetuated by alleged lone wolves during the Obama years, that were in fact part of a larger pattern of right wing extremism that has not been linked together by the media. Again: this is helpful and true! I am glad he provides that list! Even I, who have a lot of knowledge in this area, benefited from seeing that list. But I wanted much more of a thoughtful analysis of the overall ideology and history right wing terrorism in my country, and this book is not that.
Again: this is a me problem! I frequently go into books wanting them to be something they're not and then I'm disappointed when they're not what I wanted them to be! This is very silly of me! I actually do recommend this book if you have any interest at all in McVeigh or the bombing, and I think it's very good.
[I need to stop reading general audience books about things I have more than average knowledge about. Like that Ace book a few years ago--that book was not for me! It was for people who didn't know anything about asexuality! It is unreasonable of me to have been disappointed in it! Stop doing this, Lauren!]
What I'm currently reading: Honestly, mostly fanfiction in a (semi-successful) attempt to get myself back into writing headspace.
But I did start the book Hell Is a World Without You by Jason Kirk, which is a novel about an evangelical church kid growing up in the early 2000s.
Now, normally, I do not read contemporary fiction; I have no interest in it. Literally why would I want to read about the life of someone in the contemporary US? Boring! But! This topic is so ridiculously on-the-nose for me and also it's so highly praised that I decided to try it. I mean, there are a ton of memoirs from exvangelicals that have been published over the past few years, but as far as fiction goes, there's not much that's written about lives like mine so I was curious. Plus, I've heard Kirk interviewed on a couple of podcasts and he seems like an interesting person.
I have to say: the style of this book is Not My Thing. I vastly prefer a writing style that is less of a Style, that draws less attention to itself. I think when I get further into it, I'll get more of the groove of it, but honestly, if this book didn't have such incredible reviews, I probably wouldn't keep reading it because of how I bounced off the style. But I do think it will ultimately end up being really rewarding for me, so I will go back to it at some point. The details of youth group life in the first few chapters are truly perfect, even the ones that are different than mine. Like, this guy knows what he's talking about.
I have no idea if I'll keep reading it this weekend when I get back to reading or if I'll set it aside for a while, but yes, I will go back to it.
But I'm less impressed with the idea that the book is really telling us all that much about the rise of right-wing extremism. This is probably a me problem: I know a ton about this topic and so probably any analysis for a more general audience would have been disappointed by what's there. Toobin is clearly trying very hard to say, "This tragedy was not the action of a lone wolf but of someone radicalized by an ideological community that existed before him and exists now and has exploded via the internet and bubbled up most dangerously during the Trump years." Which is all true! But I don't think he has any particular insights into the ideology itself or provides any useful analysis about the
It's more like: here is a list of all the acts of terror perpetuated by alleged lone wolves during the Obama years, that were in fact part of a larger pattern of right wing extremism that has not been linked together by the media. Again: this is helpful and true! I am glad he provides that list! Even I, who have a lot of knowledge in this area, benefited from seeing that list. But I wanted much more of a thoughtful analysis of the overall ideology and history right wing terrorism in my country, and this book is not that.
Again: this is a me problem! I frequently go into books wanting them to be something they're not and then I'm disappointed when they're not what I wanted them to be! This is very silly of me! I actually do recommend this book if you have any interest at all in McVeigh or the bombing, and I think it's very good.
[I need to stop reading general audience books about things I have more than average knowledge about. Like that Ace book a few years ago--that book was not for me! It was for people who didn't know anything about asexuality! It is unreasonable of me to have been disappointed in it! Stop doing this, Lauren!]
What I'm currently reading: Honestly, mostly fanfiction in a (semi-successful) attempt to get myself back into writing headspace.
But I did start the book Hell Is a World Without You by Jason Kirk, which is a novel about an evangelical church kid growing up in the early 2000s.
Now, normally, I do not read contemporary fiction; I have no interest in it. Literally why would I want to read about the life of someone in the contemporary US? Boring! But! This topic is so ridiculously on-the-nose for me and also it's so highly praised that I decided to try it. I mean, there are a ton of memoirs from exvangelicals that have been published over the past few years, but as far as fiction goes, there's not much that's written about lives like mine so I was curious. Plus, I've heard Kirk interviewed on a couple of podcasts and he seems like an interesting person.
I have to say: the style of this book is Not My Thing. I vastly prefer a writing style that is less of a Style, that draws less attention to itself. I think when I get further into it, I'll get more of the groove of it, but honestly, if this book didn't have such incredible reviews, I probably wouldn't keep reading it because of how I bounced off the style. But I do think it will ultimately end up being really rewarding for me, so I will go back to it at some point. The details of youth group life in the first few chapters are truly perfect, even the ones that are different than mine. Like, this guy knows what he's talking about.
I have no idea if I'll keep reading it this weekend when I get back to reading or if I'll set it aside for a while, but yes, I will go back to it.