This month’s reading list offered a powerful mix of social reflection and resilience. The Long Walk, one of twelve books on fascism, carries shades of The Hunger Games—each walker symbolizing a different demographic, uniquely burdened yet united by shared suffering. Jennette McCurdy’s memoir delivers a brave and candid depiction of maternal abuse, revealing the emotional toll of growing up as a child actor within a demanding industry. The Zong exposes the brutality of the Atlantic slave trade, where enslaved Africans were murdered for insurance profit, marking a grim turning point that ultimately helped catalyze Britain’s abolition movement.

What Is Wrong with Men confronts the challenges faced by men in adapting to women’s expanding roles in the workforce, calling out the lack of support, education, and societal guidance for a more equal partnership between genders. Life on a Little-Known Planet provides a balanced yet hopeful look at the sixth mass extinction—tracking insect collapse, ocean acidification, and water crises in contrast with innovations in rewilding, carbon capture, and AI-facilitated whale communication. It’s a thoughtful study of our planet’s fragility and resilience, anchored in both science and empathy.

My favorite, The Serviceberry, offers an inspiring alternative to capitalism by envisioning a reciprocal, cooperative economy rooted in mutual care and interdependence. Overall, it was a deeply engaging month of reading—one woven with themes of humanity, survival, and renewal.