By Madalene Festch, SWE RMS Treasurer

Happy New Year to all SWE members! I hope you have exciting plans ahead for a year of growth in whatever direction suits you best for the coming year. One of my favorite ways to look forward to the new year is in reading, and so I’d like to share a few of my favorite books from the last year.

Marina Abramović’s Walk Through Walls takes the reader (or listener, in my case) through her life as an artist, starting in visual mediums but quickly finding her place among the first modern performance artists. You would think that a book about performance art might come across as pretentious or boring, but that wasn’t the case. Abramović’s commitment to performance art opens lots of questions for me: how do we know what we are doing is the most important thing we can do with one’s skill set? What if we care about our passion more deeply than anything, or anyone, else? You’ve probably seen the online videos of her performance several years ago where she sat at a table in a New York gallery, and anyone could sit across from her, in eye contact and silent communication. The book covers that experience in great depth, explaining the different connections she made and how they radiated outwards. It’s one of several intense performances that radically affected those who came to see her. I recommend this book as a refreshing way to consider the variety of different vocations we pursue as passionate individuals.

​On an alternate take on our vocations, Jessica Bennett’s Feminist Fight Club: An Office Survival Manual for a Sexist Workplace shouldn’t be tossed aside based on that wordy title. Instead, consider it an updated, brief review of the things you wish you had known how to handle when you came into the corporate (or startup) world. The format is definitely aimed at younger generations, but the material is reasonable and with concrete actions for making your workplace better for yourself and the other women around you. In particular, the ideas for handling those who interrupt women consistently were spot on, I’ve used them successfully in my own workplace. And there’s a helpful section for men who want to improve equality in the office, easy to bookmark and share. Consider getting it for yourself and passing it along to a colleague who can use it too.

Lastly, I have several graphic novels I’ve read this year that made for very fun reading. Check out:
 
The Legend of Bold Riley by Leia Weathington. This book follows a fairly typical wandering-hero storyline, but with a powerful and well-drawn heroine who has left her family in search of adventure. Great for sharing with teens or pre-teens who are getting into adventure stories.
 
You & A Bike & A Road by Eleanor Davis. This very simply drawn bike-travelogue covers the author’s solo ride across the southern U.S. and doesn’t sugarcoat a thing. Sometimes knowing someone else faced a journey they were nervous about and how they did it can be a really satisfying read, and this fits that bill.
 
Plumdog by Emma Clark Chichester. Chichester documents her adorable dog’s life in the U.K. online via her webpage, and this book pulls together roughly a year in Plumdog’s life from the website postings. If you love dogs, this lighthearted look at Plumdog’s thoughts and life will please you on a cozy afternoon.
 
Last note: all of these books should be available from most bookstores and your library, as they are recent releases. If you however do decide to buy either from Amazon, don’t forget you can use their smile.amazon.com program to send a percentage of your purchase to your own SWE RMS for future programs!
 
To shop at AmazonSmile simply go to smile.amazon.com from the web browser on your computer or mobile device.  You may also want to add a bookmark to AmazonSmile to make it even easier to return and start your shopping at AmazonSmile.  To select SWE-RMS as your charity of choice, search for this ID number when prompted to select an organization:  84-1127067.