2024 Reading Challenge: Psalm for the Wild-Built

I loved this little novella so much, that I actually wrote a good old fashioned piece of fan mail to the author:

Dear Becky Chambers,

I'm a cultural anthropologist and a 53-year-old professor of Russian and East European Studies at Penn that never has time to read for leisure. It was snowing in Philadelphia today so I stayed in bed and did something I almost never do: I read your wonderful little book, Psalm for the Wild-Built, cover-to-cover on my stomach and under my covers in my pajamas like a teenager. It was the most luxurious thing in the world and it so suited the message of your book.

Anyway, as I fellow author, I always love it when readers reach out to tell me how much they were moved by my words. So I just wanted to do the same.

No expectation of a reply here; just know that your writing reached out on a cold winter's day in Philadelphia and made this sometimes cynical intellectual smile.

In solidarity,

Kristen R. Ghodsee

A fun article for Valentine's Day! →

SO fun to be interviewed by Beatrice and Aseem for this article on Philly’s singles.

My daily open water swim in Rincón, Puerto Rico

Thanks to my partner’s amazing drone skills, I have a wonderful video of my daily two kilometer open water swim from the Villa Cofresi to the Tres Palmas Marina. I did this swim each day for eight days and it was absolutely glorious.

2024 Reading Challenge: The Seep by Chana Porter

A new year and a new goal for reading fiction and non-fiction. Although I did not reach my 2023 goal of 50 books, I did manage to read most of 17 books of fiction and 21 books of non-fiction (which included 3 audio books). Thirty-eight books isn’t bad given how busy my year was.

But now I’m starting fresh and my first book was The Seep by Chana Porter. I loved this little book mostly because I kept thinking that the aliens would turn out to be evil and the author did not fall for the tired old tropes. A fun and hopeful book about how some of us are too resistant to change for our own good.

The most amazing note I've ever received!

Today was the first day of classes at Penn for the spring semester and I checked my snail mail for the first time since December. I received this absolutely lovely little bird card from Margaret Atwood! I doubted it at first, but checked the signature online and realized that it’s really from her. I was over the moon!

A first concept for the Spanish cover of Everyday Utopia

Coming out in March 2024!

A nice review of my podcast in The Hollywood Progressive →

Originally published on Znet, I am grateful to Alexandria Shaner for her generous engagement and her shout out for my daughter.

My interview on Dan Snow's History Hit Podcast →

This was such a fun conversation! Dan Snow knows how to ask all the right questions. Give a listen here on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

A.K. 47 year in review

This is the first time I have noticed this “backtrack” feature of my podcast host, Buzzsprout. It’s nice to have an overview of these things sometimes, especially since I post new episodes so sporadically. January will be the 5th year anniversary of A.K. 47. Although I only recorded, edited, and published 20 episodes in 2023, I am quite pleased that they have reached listeners in 99 countries.

Some more foreign media for Everyday Utopia

I got a bit of a grumpy review on the German equivalent of NPR, but a very nice shout out as the most important non-fiction book of the year on the biggest Leftist news platform in Czechia.

A 2023 Notable Book for Behavioral Scientist →

So pleased for this recognition

The paperback covers are here

It looks like my UK paperback of Everyday Utopia will appear in May followed by the US paperback in late July. Both presses have redesigned the covers to appeal to a broader audience, with Bodley Head in the UK completely reconceptualizing the cover and the subtitle. I like them both a lot, although they are quite different.

My Year in Reading for The Millions →

Marxism and Mistletoe: A Gift Guide for Lefties →

Check out my holiday gift guide!

Some snaps from the 2023 ASEEES conference in Philadelphia this year!

Slavicists of the world unite! It was so fun to catch up with so many old friends and colleagues.

A little profile in the Fall/Winter 2023 OMNIA magazine

A nice review in the Times of India →

See the full review here

Everyday Utopia is a finalist for Season 22 of the Next Big Idea Club! →

This is a big deal since nonfiction books are curated by Adam Grant, Malcolm Gladwell, Susan Cain, and Daniel Pink. Check out the citation here.

New podcast episode and free book offer! →

A new episode of A.K. 47 has posted. In it Kristen Ghodsee reads the first part of Alexandra Kollontai's 1921 essay, "The Labor of Women in the Evolution of the Economy."

Just in time for the holidays, the first 15 listeners in the United States who email Alexandra.kollontai.podcast@gmail.com will receive a free, signed, and dedicated copy of Everyday Utopia: What 2000 Years of Wild Experiments Can Teach Us About the Good Life.

Please be sure to send your address and the text of your dedication. Books will be sent via Media Mail and may take 7-10 business days to reach you depending on your distance from Philadelphia. Only available for listeners in the United States. 

Watch the video from the Lightbulb Cafe Book Club →

My conversation with Professor Julia Alexeyeva for the Penn Arts & Sciences Lightbulb Cafe