- Dan Hanoomansingh
Dan's Bookshelf — Non-Fiction
A (very) incomplete collection of books I've read and enjoyed. I am working on populating this list as I continue reading my way through the pandemic as well as going back and adding books retroactively, as I am able. You can check out my bookshelf for fiction here.
The Vagina Bible
by Dr. Jen Gunter, M.D.
Read on 13 September 2019
I steadily worked my way through this one over a three-week period. As a non-vagina-haver, I learned a lot about the mechanics of the vagina and it's accoutrements. Dr. Gunter writes in a concise, comprehensive, and appropriately humorous way. She has made reading what is essentially a user manual an interesting and informative experience.
I'm also getting a lot of curiosity from my students (both male and female) when they see the book sitting at the front of my classroom. I've purchased some additional copies for my classroom library and they have instantly gone out on loan. A book worth reading for any person.
The National Team: The inside story of the women who changed soccer
by Caitlin Murray
Read on 10 September 2020
This was a phenomenally-written and inspiring book; I say that as someone who roots against the US Women's National Team whenever they step on the field.
The subtitle is not just a tagline; this is the authoritative story of the US Women's National Team, told from the perspective of the athletes and coaches who embarked on this journey. This book shows how these women built their team into the most dominant women's sports team in the world; how they grew out of an afterthought, a throwaway team for an inconsequential tournament, and fought for everything they have and everything they represent to girls and women in sport. I'm grateful that this book exists and that I had the opportunity to read it. You don't need to be a soccer fan to enjoy this book. You just need to care about women in sports; what a journey!
Changing on the Fly: Hockey through the voices of South Asian Canadians
by Dr. Courtney Szto
Read on 6 November 2020
I have the privilege of writing about this book and Dr. Szto's book launch on 23 November for the sociology website Hockey in Society. I will update this with my article when it becomes available but I will withhold my thoughts from this space for the moment except to say what I already shared on Twitter: This book is an academic work so it's not for everyone. However, if you are interested in hockey as a constructed cultural space within Canada and how that encourages and limits immigrant participation, this is a book you need to read.