sociology

Margee Kerr, author of Scream: Chilling Adventures in the Science of Fear, and also the reader of the audiobook, is a sociologist who studies fear. Using herself as a guinea pig, and taking part in activities as varied as riding roller coasters, walking through haunted houses, taking part in paranormal investigations, and visiting Japan's notorious "suicide forest," Kerr explains what happens to the body and the mind when we take part in scary activities, or daredevil adventures. She also explores the psychology of thrill-seeking--why do some people seek out experiences many others regard as

In this work of non-fiction, Matthew Desmond, a Harvard sociologist, takes us to Milwaukee where we become intimately engaged in the lives of eight impoverished families. Among these families are both renters and landlords, both points of view are represented. I’m not a huge fan of non-fiction, but this book reads like a novel, while also providing significant background information regarding the laws around food stamps, eviction processes, and the inaccessibility of resources for some of our cities’ most impoverished residents. 

I encourage readers to continue on to the section at the end