Tag: sociology

$2.00 a Day by Kathryn J. Edin and H. Luke Shaefer

Posted on by KnotMagick Studios

Genre: nonfiction
Secondary genre: sociology
Format read: audiobook
Rep: POC, disability, extreme poverty
Rating: planchet-4

This book takes a deep look at extreme poverty in the US. People so poor that on average, each member of the household lives on only $2.00/day. If you’re doing the math, that means only about $62 a month, or less. 

It was absolutely heartbreaking to read, and it hit so close to home. There have been many times in my life where I have been on the brink of eviction. When I haven’t been sure what I’ll eat for my next meal. When I’ve had to choose between feeding myself or my cat, or paying water or electric. 

And yet none of that can touch what some of these people have to do to survive. The book highlights the way prejudice forces people down, and the way that one small setback–like a cold–can send everything else spiraling downward, and the enormous gaps in the social support network. The gaps between WIC and food stamps, between healthcare and discount prescriptions, between homeless shelters and employment. 

Though it was a very stressful read and I had to break it up with other things for the sake of my mental health, I do highly recommend it, particularly for those who come from privileged backgrounds. If you think poor people “just need to try harder” or “aren’t working enough” or that they are all “welfare queens” then shut up, sit down, and read this book. 

Witches of America by Alex Mar

Posted on by KnotMagick Studios

Genre: nonfiction
Secondary genre: sociology, religion
Format read: audiobook
Rep: WOC, Paganism, Wicca
Rating: planchet-3

It was supposed to be a simple research question, which became a short documentary, and then a full-on book: Are there still witches in America?

The short answer is yes.

Alex Mar, a New York City journalist, started her journey with a group of Faerie practitioners in California as a  simple observer, watching as a group of women called down the moon, cast blessings, and prayed to an unfamiliar goddess. Alex herself, of mixed Greek and Hispanic background, raised Catholic, had a professional curiosity and nothing more.

But as the documentary came to an end, her connections in the world of wicca and neo-paganism only grew and strengthened. This book documents her slow descent from high-brown journalist to supplicant as she begins not merely observing, but practicing, searching high and low for her personal path to divinity.

As a lapsed pagan myself, there were some parts of her observations that made me uncomfortable, but by and large her observations were treated with sensitivity. My one complaint was that most of the traditions she examined in this book were sex-centric, which certainly does not provide a good cross section of the pagan community. However, I did like that her explorations took her all over and she did try to keep it well balanced.

I did find the narrative to be somewhat meandering, with no real overall structure aside from Mar’s personal journey, which doesn’t become apparent until much later in the book. I wouldn’t recommend it as a book for someone who wants to learn more about paganism specifically, but perhaps if you have an interest in subcultures in general it would be a good read.