Convenience Store Woman

Stasi: The Untold Story Of The East German Secret Police https://search.worldcat.org/title/39256274 This book going into extreme detail about the East German surveillance state. People tend to hyperfocus on the Nazis due to a morbid fascination with bodycounts, but the GDR was closer in time in both history and comopositions. They had faxes, computers, and many other technologies that made them similar to us, and I worry we forget the lessons of that regime. I read his book during a middle school in school suspension and it was a formative read. Another good book is "Eichman in Jerusalem", which details the trial of one of the architects of the Holocaust and his claims he was "just following orders... the book examines the "banality of evil". https://search.worldcat.org/title/385389 Finally, to lighten things up, my most recent new favorite book that's fiction was Convenience Store Woman, about a woman who's been working at a 7/11 for 18 years. I read it during COVID and it's stuck with me as a favorite. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convenience_Store_Woman

This was a big reading year for myself, I got through 25 books. They are not technical books like most listed here. I focused on reading memoirs, literature, fiction stories, primarily women authors. I didn’t read any bad books in my opinion, I guess I picked well. Standouts, Convenience Store Woman - Sayaka Murata Lakota Woman - Mary Crow Dog Beautiful Country: A Memoir of An Undocumented Childhood - Qian Julie Wang Gather Around in My Name - Maya Angelou The entire autobiographical series by Maya is a must read imo, but this one is my favorite. Maybe also my favorite book I read this year.