2023 Reading Challenge: Red Star

I wasn’t sure if I was going to include books that I am reading for my class this semester or books that I am rereading, but I so much enjoyed revisiting Bogdanov’s Red Star that I am going to count it toward my reading goals anyway. This amazing novella was written in 1908 and offers a fascinating perspective on what socialism might have looked like in the 20th century had Bolsheviks like Bogdanov prevailed. I particularly love the discussion of Martian love and marriage included in this text since Bogdanov and Alexandra Kollontai were comrades and friends.

Blurbs for Everyday Utopia: Thomas Piketty, Rebecca Traister, Ada Calhoun, Robert Waldinger, and Yanis Varoufakis

“My god, this book is what I need right now! Exhilarating, good humored, and forward looking, it’s blown open my brain. What a powerful reminder that dreaming of better worlds is not just some fantastical project, but also a very serious political one.”  
—REBECCA TRAISTER, New York Times bestselling author of Good and Mad

“More could be possible than we imagine—that’s the liberating and inspirational message of Kristen Ghodsee’s sweeping feminist history of society at its most creative. What a gift she’s given us with this mind-broadening investigation into how for millennia our fellow human beings have reckoned with the toughest questions of fidelity, family, and love.” 
—ADA CALHOUN, New York Times bestselling author of Why We Can't Sleep 

“Kristen Ghodsee has boldly gone where few would dare to tread. In this warm, intelligent, and lucid book, she takes us on a deep dive into how people have created better systems for living—systems that actually work. With clear-eyed views of how utopian communities can promote human thriving, she offers hope in a time when we desperately need new ways of imagining the future.”  
—ROBERT WALDINGER, Director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development and author of The Good Life

“Utopia is back! And it ought to be taken seriously, as history is made by the dreamers. If you want to open up new futures for our private lives, please have a look at this refreshing book. A must-read.” 
—THOMAS PIKETTY, New York Times bestselling author of A Brief History of Equality 

“Invigorating writing for a cheerless era. Having explained to us Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism, Kristen Ghodsee is back with another splendid insight: utopia can, and ought to, be an everyday thing, in every home.” 
—YANIS VAROUFAKIS, former Greek Minister of Finance and author of Talking to My Daughter About the Economy  

Summer reading: Lenin's Mistress

So, I take exception with the title of this biography since it isn’t 100% clear that Lenin and Armand were actual lovers, and eve if it were true, Inessa Armand was way more than just an appendage to a great man. Despite the title, this book is more accurate than the R.C. Elwood one because it was published after the post-Soviet Russian archives finally declassified Lenin’s letters to Armand. Unfortunately, it seems all of her own letters to Lenin were destroyed (at his request). The author also used new sources from Armand’s descendants. Aside from her relationship with Lenin, Inessa Armand was a fascinating feminist and Bolshevik who lived an amazing and unconventional live until her untimely death of cholera in 1920.

Daisy with Inessa Armand.jpg

Slovak books

Today, I also received 8 copies of the Slovak translation of Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism: And Other Arguments for Economic Independence, seen here with my autographed photo of the first woman in space, Valentina Tereshkova. I didn’t realize that this cover had a hole in it and inside was an image of a stamp in honor of Tereshkova.

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It's summer reading season

The semester is finally over and my committee obligations are mostly behind me, so I can finally hit the books. The first piece of fiction I’ve read this summer is Sally Rooney’s Normal People, which I really enjoyed, probably because Rooney is a Marxist. I also watched the BBC/Hulu TV series which was different, but also quite moving. It is so nice to have a little time for some leisure reading.

Daisy with Normal People.jpg