The Bright List

The Playboy Aristocrat Who Turned Mayan Hieroglyphics-- and His Own Life-- Upside Down

The Road to Ruins, by Ian Graham

Ian Graham was raised a classic British aristocrat, who could’ve easily gone to seed with his wealth and playthings. Instead, he became a first-class autodidact who would, almost accidentally, change the course of archeology and anthropology.

His writing is delicious. It starts with his childhood friendship with Rudyard Kipling, and it just never stops.

University of New Mexico Press was pleased to publish Graham’s book as an anthropology classic, but they soon realized he was garnering fans who had no interest in relics at all! It’s him, this amazing man, who’s the attraction. Graham’s life is one of those “unbelievable adventures,” a road trip in a swank car that went completely off the rails—told with great humility and wit.

Narrated by the fantastic film actor John Mawson, whose voice is instantly humorous, cheeky—he could talk me into anything. (I think Audible has a untapped dating service just waiting to happen).

—Aretha Bright

Joan Roughgarden's Queer, Kinky Animal Kingdom

Evolution’s Rainbow: Diversity, Gender, and Sexuality in Nature and People, by Joan Roughgarden

If you've ever read stories about “gay dolphins” and the like, you can thank the work of evolutionary biologist Joan Roughgarden.

Roughgarden's book Evolution's Rainbow has caused huge amounts of controversy since it was first published in 2004, depicting a natural world in which animals' lives are teeming with the same variety in their sex lives and behaviors as any human being— but without the moral outrage.

Alfred Kinsey supposedly once said that "The only unnatural sex act is that which you cannot perform." Roughgarden takes that sentiment and runs with it, giving example after example of just how broad the spectrum of "natural" sex and gender really is in the animal world.

For instance, meet the bighorn sheep: macho males live apart from the females and have lots of anal sex to keep them occupied during the mating off-season. Then they rely on feminine males to broker sex between them and the ladies.

Same-sex swan couples happen to be far better parents than their hetero counterparts. Fish bros work together to get laid.  Those doves aren’t actually monogamous. Through impeccable empirical evidence, Roughgarden opens up a world where humans aren’t the center of the universe, and animals have their own dramas and life cycles to get through.

Roughgarden also explores the world of science itself, shining a light on scientists who have refused to acknowledge that animals engage in homosexual behavior, or any gender roles that deviate from the classic Darwinian model of promiscuous males competing for picky females. Sometimes, it's just the opposite!

Narrated by the delightful Carrington MacDuffie.

--Aretha Bright

What do Birds, Slave Rebellions, and Marriage Have in Common? — The University of North Carolina Press!

The Armchair Birder: Discovering the Secret Lives of Familiar Birds, by John Yow

The Armchair Birder is about a niche topic that is written so well, and with such charm and wit,  it would captivate the most bird-indifferent imagination. For birders, especially the casual and recreational, Yow is the bee's knees. 

The great thing about Yow’s book is that it’s all about familiar birds—what we see and hear about everyday, not the exotic: Bluejays, woodpeckers, mourning doves, eagles, wild turkeys, owls. 

The anecdotes alone make for a memoir not soon forgotten. Yow talks about bird feelings and behaviors— you'll recognize some personalities from your own human family! It was as if the birds themselves were talking to Yow and sharing all their secrets. 

 

The Armchair Birder Goes Coastal: The Secret Lives of Birds of the Southeastern Shore, by John Yow

The sequel to The Armchair Birder, The Armchair Birder Goes Coastal  is an example of the "sequel that outdoes itself." Yow's great wit and dry humor strikes again! 

I will NEVER judge seagulls the same way again— I feel like I’ve been much too hard on them. Yow wrote such a sympathetic chapter on seagulls, it made me feel... like a bad person. 

Aren't you curious, now? 

Narrated by Kevin Young.

 

Game, Set, Match: Billie Jean King and the Revolution in Women’s Sports, by Susan Ware 

This is one of those books about a legend— the whole time you’re reading it you’re thinking, “Wow, Billie Jean is AWESOME.”

Game, Set, Match is a biography about Billie Jean King, the woman who "made" women’s tennis, and helped bring the world’s attention to women’s sports. 

She was also a closeted lesbian for a long time, and then later came out, before it was the least bit fashionable. Balls! 

A great under-dog story, fantastic build up, with a satisfying ending. 

Narrated by Donna Postel, who voices another of my favorite books, The Ultimate Guide to Sex and Disability.

 

Border War: Fighting Over Slavery Before the Civil War, by Stanley Harrold

If you’ve ever seen a popular film or TV series about the Civil War, this book is catnip. 

Border War delves into how the border southern states had the highest slave runaway rates, so they came up with the most bizarre laws to stop it, and the ensuing struggles and debates were ferocious. 

There's plenty of action, and the "back-in-the-day" atrocities are rivetting, if you have the stomach for it. 

Narrated by Brian Holsopple.

 

Making Marriage Work: A History of Marriage and Divorce in the 20th-Century United States, by Kristin Celello

The book that blows the lid off of the whole divorce “crisis.” 

Remember Laura Kipnis’ Love Polemic?  It was a diatribe of romance and monogamy. But Making Marriage Work  is a great balance— tremendous research and investigation, but it’s not out there to judge you. 

It has a wealth of information that will make you think about how the idea of marriage has evolved and been changed by political, environmental, religious, and cultural influences. This is a book that will be nodded to, for a long time to come. 

Work is about how marriage has been defined not nearly so much by romance as by labor… a wonderfully provocative idea.

Narrated by Tamara Marston. 

The Price of Defiance: James Meredith and the Integration of Ole Miss, by Charles W. Eagles

This book is like the “college version” of Remember the Titans with Denzel Washington.  

The Price of Defiance sets the scene of the white college life in Mississippi during the early 1960s: beauty queens, sororities & fraternities, keg parties, football, etc.

Might sound familiar to a lot of colleges today? Except only white students were allowed to enroll at the University of Mississippi, or as they called it, "Ole Miss." 

Everything hit the fan with the integration push in 1962 to allow African Americans to enroll at Ole Miss— a total page turner with unforgettable heroes to cheer for! 

James Meredith was the first African American to enroll, and the day before the first day of school was so explosive, fatal riots ensued. 

The children and grandchildren of alumni during those years can recount their stories in complete detail. It  impacted the community, for generations, right up to today. 

Author Charles Eagles, a Mississippi historian, writes Defiance like a screenplay— great plots, characters, action. Is there a movie deal yet? 

Not to be missed! 

Narrated by Kyle Munley.

 

Music From the True Vine: Mike Seeger’s Life and Musical Journey, by Bill C. Malone

An audiobook for music-lovers. Mike Seeger, founding member of the influential folk revival band New Lost City Ramblers, along with his brother Pete Seeger transformed American music, from the grass roots up. 

From the Introduction: 

Who is Mike Seeger? 

I was asked that question far too often after mentioning that I was writing his biography. And a second question frequently followed: "Is he related to Pete Seeger?" Trying not to show my irritation, I generally responded with, "Yes, he's his half brother, but he's a much more talented musican than Pete." 

It is difficult to provide an adequate conversational, sound-bite assessment of Mike, though, when most people are very aware of the almost iconic status that his brother Pete occupies in American popular culture. Mike, on the other hand, always went about his work quietly and mostly below the radar of public recognition. 

There’s not ONE American folk or country music fan, there’s not one American rock or pop critic, who hasn’t paid homage to this man or fallen in love with his many songs and musicial discoveries. 

Finally, we have a biography that has all the humor, warmth, and campfire-style storytelling that captures everything Mike Seeger has brought to the table of American culture. 

Narrated by Joe Geoffrey.

 

--Aretha Bright

 

Rags to Riches, Audiobook Style! Greta Christina's Atheism+ on Audio

 

I am so proud of Greta Christina's new book I could burst.

When I first called Greta about making an audiobook, she didn't have a book in print, only the usual stack of rejection slips from publishers who just couldn't seem to wrap their mind around a madly-popular, genius, female atheist blogger.

I've known Greta was a remarkable writer and philosopher for years: she wrote the legendary "Are We Having Sex Now or What?" and "Bending." She's blown so many people's minds it was criminal the  mainstream publishing world had never recognized her

I said, "Hey, do an audiobook with me. With the advance I give you, you can easily afford to publish an ebook, we'll launch both editions at the same time," and then laugh all the way to the bank."

Omg, I have never been so prescient.

Greta took my little proposal and ran with it. Her title: Why Are You Atheists So Angry? 99 Things That Piss Off the Godless. 

A week after her ebook came out, Greta called me, in a quiet voice, and said, "Do I really make a 70% royalty, just for me, on this Kindle edition?" More silence. 

"Yeah," I said, "That's right. Is something wrong?"

And then she uttered a number— the amount she had net the previous few days, and we both started shrieking with glee.

Needless to say, dear reader, Greta had to quit her day job about a month later. She had a print deal, royaltie$ coming out of her ears, and plans to do more books—  more, more, more! 

 Narrated by Greta Christina