Â鶹ӰÊÓ

Ever notice an RV parked by Walmart at midnight? Ever wonder where your Amazon packages came from? Do you imagine that life on the road embodies the American dream? Find out!

This book was read by Susan Baker, Main Campus Reference Librarian.

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Title: Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century

Author: Jessica Bruder 

Genre: Travel...sociology...retirement...economics...poverty? Nonfiction works, too.

: A book about social justice or equity, A microhistory (I personally used this title for this category), Choose your own category: A book made into a movie; A book suggested by a Â鶹ӰÊÓ library staff member 

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Why did you choose to read, listen to, or watch this?

I kept seeing this title—for the book, for the movie—in libraries, in magazines, in articles.  I resisted. But its persistent presence, as well as the image of on the cover, ultimately seduced me— hasn’t everyone dreamed of  especially during the darkest days of the pandemic? 

What did you like about it?

This book explores a culture that I did not know existed-- a growing number of elderly people in their 60s and older living in poverty who are crossing the United States in Jeeps, campers and repurposed buses in search of work--- looking for jobs that they desperately need to sustain their lives. 

Bruder makes you care by looking at this culture through the lens of people’s lives—among the people you’ll meet in this book are Linda May, who considers herself houseless but not homeless, on her way to a gig as an RV campground host; Chuck, a former businessman selling beer and hot dogs at spring training camp for the Oakland A’s; and Don, former IT exec who lost his savings in a market crash and his home in a divorce and living in an Airstream camper doing 12-hours shifts in an Amazon warehouse. 

These are people who work hard, think outside the box, and find connections.  In many ways their stories are deeply inspiring and their adventures are a joy to read.  Yet at the same time, I found myself deeply shocked at the lack of social safety nets for the elderly in this country, an issue this book brings sharply into focus. 

Did it remind you of any other book, tv show, movie, or anything else?

If you want to read the book Nomadland, you'll also want to see (or maybe you already have seen)  that won 3 Academy Awards (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress).   

 is another modern exploration of working-class America and poverty.  

Want to go classic? Take a journey with the Joads, taking to the road in search of a better life during the Great Depression—, , or  John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath 

Anything particularly noteworthy about this?

It's won lots of awards and honors: 

• The New York Times "Notable Book" 
• Finalist: J. Anthony Lukas Prize and the Helen Bernstein Book Award 
• Winner: Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Award 

What would you pair this with?

I would pair this with  playing on repeat, a bottle of  (extra strength arthritis formula), and my very own .    

Anything else we should know?   

The movie is currently . 

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Have you read a book/ebook/audiobook, listened to a podcast, or watched a tv show or film that you'd like to review for the Â鶹ӰÊÓ Library Blog?