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I listened to this book as an audiobook narrated by the author. I first learned about it in 2020 and watched "Why Trust a Corporation to do a Library's Job". I think this made me have a different impression of what to expect from the book. Some of it was information I was familiar with and some of it was new. It's also quite personal as others have noted. I was really surprised to learn about a side of Ello that didn't make the same impression on me when I was a teenager who didn't know about the drama that was happening around it. I think it'd be a book that would get along well with some friends, but I'm not sure what the person I'd recommend it to would be exactly. Perhaps something along the lines of someone who'd be interested in books like Blockchain Chicken Farm. It's the type of thing I feel like not enough of my peers know about.

I learned about this book because the author came to my school freshman year. I didn't get one of the free copies they were giving out at the time, but it stayed on my mind and I saw it as an audiobook so I figured I'd check it out. Oh boy, what a journey, harder and harder to put down. If you're familiar with "The Overstory" by Richard Powers, you're introduced to several different characters with some common themes that link them to a major event—that is what came to mind when reading this book structure wise. I never finished "the Overstory" and I wouldn't compare the plot otherwise. For "There There", the final event, as well as things that happen to characters of various indigenous descent, all connected to Oakland, will sit with you for a long time. It's different from other books by indigenous folx, I've read with an emphasis on cultural loss/revitalization/reclamation in an urban context. It reminds me more of what I've heard from indigenous podcasts about current indigenous issues. I really enjoyed the role of grandmothers in this book as well.

I randomly came across this audio book in my uni's collection. I first learned about Marie Kondo first came out in 2014. Since middle school, I have been vertical folding, and have been notoriously known for having organized collections. Much of the specifics I have forgotten since then, but it motivated something special in me about my own spaces, though in combination with cultural expectations, many of those initial words of advice have become diluted. Yet as I've distanced from it along with the ways it's been tied into trauma, with her own Netflix show, Kondo has become as popular as ever.

The Afrominimalist is well aware of these trends and is what I needed to ground myself in what minimalism means to me and my cultures. The Afrominimalist looks at the context of why our spending and owning habits have formed to what they are today, and how we engage intentionally with what should come next. Furthermore, it considers minimalism not just from an environmentalist perspective but from an environmental justice perspective, considering the impacts of what we buy on labor and the natural world. I'm in the process of planning a move in a few months, and it'll be an important time for me to sort through everything I've got and decide what I'll be taking with me into a new chapter of my life where I want to stay true to myself. I will definitely be reflecting on the questions posed in this book. I also liked the featured contributions that were incorporated into this book, showcasing multiple perspectives, interpretations, and relationships that are all valid in this dialogue.