I am currently on page 125 out of 269 and no doubt there will be different thoughts and feelings by the end, but this is what I don't 14 December 2024
I am currently on page 125 out of 269 and no doubt there will be different thoughts and feelings by the end, but this is what I don't want to forget: Amanda Jones is relatable. So when she tells us what it felt like to be attacked online by total strangers, I feel her pain. When she describes the (perfectly reasonable under the circumstances) anxiety, fear, depression, hopelessness, anguish, and anger that she endured because two men deliberately chose her to be the focus of a smear campaign, I am feeling it with her. This is what it is like to have someone whip up hate against you for political gain. This is what they can do to you, not because you have done anything to them except to speak out in defense of public libraries.
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2 January, 2025
That's where I stopped to write a paragraph and didn't pick up the book again u til I had to return it to the library because someone else wanted it. I hope they find it as engrossing as I did before I stopped. It's a wonderful book, so when I say "it's me, it's not the book" please know that I mean it. I expect there will be more books I will post, despite not finishing, since it doesn't look like I will be finishing much. My library is starting an after dark silent reading group. I do not do well with assigned reading, so a conventional book club is right out. But maybe I'll manage to read 60 pages of something. It's not that I object to reading things with fewer pages, at all. It's that I am looking at a stack of new books I received for Christmas, and a couple thousand books on the shelves of our house, and the more than 1000 ebooks I have (bless the Gutenberg Project!) That's a lot of books I am not reading. I will at least put them on my Currently Reading shelf if I get started.
As I mentioned in a comment, Libby suggested with all the autism books. It isn't about autism, althougj executive function does get some attention. BuAs I mentioned in a comment, Libby suggested with all the autism books. It isn't about autism, althougj executive function does get some attention. But much of the 21st century world gets some attention. Price has brought together a lot of research, paid particular attention to those most at risk, united it with a simple (but not shallow) message. It's about how to navigate life through the urgent issues. How to cope with every damn thing in terminal stage capitalism while respecting our specific needs which may include physical and/or mental health issues, disabilities, or marginalization for appearance, presentation, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, etc.
Everyone is dealing with something. This book is an opportunity to check in with ourselves to see how well our lives are working for us. And if they aren't, some small, pragmatic steps to improve them. To be clear, there aren't any prescriptions and nothing is required. There are a few tips, some ways to evaluate different aspects of our lives, but mostly I feel like the book took a lot of things I kind of knew about and showed me how to put them together to think better. Price must be a brilliant professor, because I have been gently guided to having some particular insights into aspects of my life, which invariably were followed on the next page by that thought I just noted.
I have a lot to think about, and I'm looking forward to it. Sometimes it feels as though everything demands an opinion, preferably outrage, and then a contribution to the fight. Maybe that's just my inbox, though. I need something to think about that isn't the erectile in frustration that shopping for flossers has become.
When I don't bother to read any other news in the Guardian, I always read Mahdawi who is invariably droll, pithy, and insightful. So a mention of an uWhen I don't bother to read any other news in the Guardian, I always read Mahdawi who is invariably droll, pithy, and insightful. So a mention of an upcoming book and the value of pre-orders was a click, as soon as the US edition was listed. What I didn't do was read the blurb, just started straight in when it arrived. My conviction in Mahdawi's sheer readabelness was rewarded. This is a book making clear, explicit points about how to not suck as a leader. An enjoyable, clever, and informed book with useful depth, a rarity in the field, I highly recommend it. And now I have to go subvert the dominant paradigm....more
I like fantasy, but I don't care for Tolkien, and everything was Tolkien for 60 years, or parody of Tolkien, which gets me to Pratchett and eventuallyI like fantasy, but I don't care for Tolkien, and everything was Tolkien for 60 years, or parody of Tolkien, which gets me to Pratchett and eventually to Tiffany Aching, witch and cheese maker. If you've read both of these books, you recognize the commonalities; if you've enjoyed either one, you're going to like the other, too. Tiffany and Mona are by no means the same, but they both have the sort of resourcefulness Tolkien never recognized in grown-ass women, let alone girls. They both had far less use for great men, and put far less faith in political dynasties.
Also, Pratchett and Kingfisher both know how to tell serious stories that are funny as hell.
This is part of my 365 Kids Books challenge. For an explanation see my review for 101 Amazing Facts about Australia You can see all the books on theirThis is part of my 365 Kids Books challenge. For an explanation see my review for 101 Amazing Facts about Australia You can see all the books on their own shelf.
The jacket flap and the back of the book describe this as "a gentle book about freedom and friendship." Which is odd, because I see it as a book about tyranny, passive resistance, and escape. I'm kind of sorry Piggy didn't burn down the house. It is amusing that the wild boar is gentle and thoughtful and kind, whereas rich boy Thomas is the rampaging monster. Freedom from ruffled collars! Fight the power! Capitalists are the real pigs!
I wish I had this book in my early 40s so I could be forwarned about what to expect, know how to discuss symptoms with my doctor, and know how to deal with the transitional chaos and the flooding. I really wish I had known about the flooding ahead of time. Warning: surfing the crimson tide is one thing, but after years of the same waves there will come random flood tides. Be prepared: these will be super plus AND extra heavy overnight situations.
Also it's good to know someone who isn't afraid to call out bullshit on medical advice from celebrities or misogyny on the internet. Gwyneth knows what she did. Also Oprah, and Suzanne Somers. Dr. Jen has zero toleration for doctors who are ill-informed, fat-blaming, or otherwise unacceptable.
Since it wasn't written yet, I've been reading this after the fact, and it is still helpful in practical advice for dealing with my much-interrupted sleep at night, which of course I thought was just me.
And the science geek in me really loves that, when applicable, she includes racial and ethnic breakdowns of the studies, as well as including disparities in outcomes by demographics.
Read this and be well.
Somers spelling corrected 30Apr2922
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1 January 2024
Why, yes, I did reread it to go back over some material and take notes, because library copy.
This is part of my 365 Kids Books challenge. For a fuller explanation see my review for 101 Amazing Facts about Australia You can see all the books onThis is part of my 365 Kids Books challenge. For a fuller explanation see my review for 101 Amazing Facts about Australia You can see all the books on their own shelf. The Reviewers seemed to run correctly last week, but didn't run this week at all, and the Readers list hasn't been fixed at all. I guess algorithm don't care. Looking at the beta pages, algorithm loves stars.
This is wonderful. I love this kid and I love what Keane made of her. The super villain is a hoot with a complex back story and this nameless child is a cheeky 21st century icon. At least I hope so. Keane's art has energy and a style that looks very casual and a little retro. Also, great use of the setting.
Politicians make lousy writers: the innocuous platitudes of motivational speakers made more vacuous by a reluctance to say anything tFebruary 20, 2021
Politicians make lousy writers: the innocuous platitudes of motivational speakers made more vacuous by a reluctance to say anything that might ever be controversial. If you're a good writer without anything in particular to say you become a lawyer, which appears to be advanced training in not saying much. Not always, of course, some great writers become lawyers in order to make a reasonable income or to improve the world
Abrams has already accomplished more than most and she's done a specific thing that I want to do: turned her state blue, so I am making myself listen in hopes that I will learn and possibly also do. Because I am tired of this shit
1 what is the problem 2 why is it a problem 3 how do you solve it, page 5 Primed to jump to the third question, page 6 busted I pick the country i want to live in, but same
Because I normally skip the exercises:
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March 25, 2021
I finally did the exercises. And you know what? I have a clear and consistent vision of what I want from life and what I want to do and what I want for others. I want to read books. I want to post reviews and clean up my database. If I came into a lot of money I would give most of it away to people who have very good ideas for what to do with it, and I would hire someone to clean my house, possibly daily, and I would eat nothing but take-out. Canvassing for registering voters is something I would probably enjoy, but that is as close as I wish to come to politics.
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28 March, 2021
I walk away knowing that Abrams is a very good writer, insightful, thoughtful, and a brilliant strategist as well as brilliant tactician. I am happy to have her lead the way on damn near everything, because she's good at considering stuff I don't want to think about. And somebody has to be looking out for that.
I've never read this before. Well, of course not, I was educated in school districts still fighting desegreAvailable online as well as elsewhere.
I've never read this before. Well, of course not, I was educated in school districts still fighting desegregation, a war they largely won: American schools are more segregated now than at any point in the last fifty or so years.
My thanks to the many men, women, and children who have risked and lost their lives so that others may be free to enjoy their constitutional rights. You deserve better. Reading the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.'s letter, knowing what he and his family (among others) endured gives me a better understanding of what Christianity is at its best.
Also, that is perhaps the single most persuasive essay ever written. I have heard recordings enough to know what a marvelous skill he had at public speaking, but damn, I hadn't realized how much of that was his skill as a writer.
All of a sudden Hoopla (one of several providers of econtent for my local library) has visible representation. It's horrific that they couldn't lead aAll of a sudden Hoopla (one of several providers of econtent for my local library) has visible representation. It's horrific that they couldn't lead as a provider, that it took international protests for them to embrace non-white creators and content, but that's systematic racism for you.
Anyway, lovely book with a fun rhyming rhythm and an upbeat delivery: plus a recurring cat theme. A board book with inclusive, non-binary pronouns? Oh, hells yes! If anyone ever has babies again, this will become a standard gift from me.
Think of this as Ocean's 8th grade. The tone feels like Hiasson's Hoot and Scat, only with (street) art as a motif. Plus fun facts about Banksy.
LibraryThink of this as Ocean's 8th grade. The tone feels like Hiasson's Hoot and Scat, only with (street) art as a motif. Plus fun facts about Banksy.
Dutch Girl: Audrey Hepburn and World War II - Robert Matzen Biographies are not usually my thing, and biographies of celebrities even less so. Most peDutch Girl: Audrey Hepburn and World War II - Robert Matzen Biographies are not usually my thing, and biographies of celebrities even less so. Most peoples lives are terribly interesting, and the risk of learning something truly off-putting is high. So for the most part I'm a enjoy their art or athleticism or moment in history and move on, unknowing.Like much of humanity who's seen her movies, I like Audrey Hepburn: so lovely, so stylish, willing to use her fame and popularity on behalf of the world's most desperate children. But I knew pretty much nothing about her life. Until recently I didn't know she was from the Kingdom of the Netherlands or that she had been associated with the Resistance during the war. Audrey Hepburn: Girl Spy sounds great but it rather overstates the case. Matzen doesn't oversell it. He's quite clear that she spent most of the war shy, lonely, and only interested in dance.What her wartime experiences illustrate isn't tales of great daring and glamour, but the quiet day to day heroism of people under occupation, trying to carry on with their lives despite deprivations and ever-present danger. There are interesting similarities between this and A Castle in Wartime. The Nazis were keen on holding hostages. Hepburn's family was not rich, but her mother was a Baroness and a fool. She was very keen on fascism and Nazis and Hitler's great charm right up until the Netherlands were invaded and people she cared for started dying. Hepburn's mother had rather a bad time of it after liberation when her earlier warmth to the occupiers was closely examined. While it is morally important to prosecute war criminals I'm not sure that it is any sort of deterrent and certainly shaming women for attention received from the occupiers is just mean and vindictive.War is hell. It is particularly hell for the women and children starving and freezing in bombed-out cities like Arnhem or Aleppo. It's not surprising the Hepburn would become an ambassador for children for UNICEF. She never forgot what she had lived through and what it meant to her to receive aid at a most desperate time. In her honor I am donating to UNICEF today on behalf of all the children who have been refused a home or help when they needed it to survive. Donations made today will be tripled.Library copy...more
This is how highly I think of Catherine Bailey's work: she has a new book, I place an order, I receive it, I start reading it. Why no, I hadn't even nThis is how highly I think of Catherine Bailey's work: she has a new book, I place an order, I receive it, I start reading it. Why no, I hadn't even noticed the subtitle until I pulled the book up here to mark it Currently Reading. Doesn't matter. It's going to be fascinating.
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And it was. I hate the title though. Not that I have a better suggestion.
The topic is right in my wheelhouse: women in wartime. In this case, a young woman, daughter of the German ambassador to Italy during WWII. She met and married an Italian nobleman, bore two sons, and tried to hold the estate, its farm, and the surrounding community safe against the Germans. Meanwhile her father and her husband are both off, fighting against their respective country's fascist leaders.
The Gestapo come for her, taking her and the boys to Austria, where they are taken from her and she is sent through a succession of concentration camps.
Italy isn't a country whose history I know very well, and although I've read a fair amount about WWII none of it was ever about the resistance within Germany to the Nazis and their atrocities. You know how in time travel stories everyone's first thought seems to be "Let's kill Hitler?" There couldn't have been many more attempts on his life if all those stories were true. I had no idea.
It is heartening to know that so many within these countries were resisting, often at enormous personal and familial cost. There are those who think blaming some poorly-treated minority for the ills of their society, rather than, say, the actual people who are running the government and controlling the capital. But there are also the others who despise aggression and are appalled by violence. I need to hear more of those stories.
Side bar: it is not a "brothel" full of "prostitutes" in the concentration camps. Rape as an act of war isn't any less horrific for being indoors and controlled by military authorities.
At this point I have written two different reviews for this book and I just can't summon the energy to start over yet again.
The Handmaid's Tale is amaAt this point I have written two different reviews for this book and I just can't summon the energy to start over yet again.
The Handmaid's Tale is amazing and horrifying, even as a reread after thirty years.
The Testaments is also amazing and horrifying, but where the first was a cautionary tale the second is the product of a different perspective. There is agency and volition about some of the ways women of different ages, classes, and circumstances can find to rebel against an oppressive regime.
The Testaments is a rallying cry, and really, just what I needed this year.
I do not think that children owe anything to their parents: not respect, or care, or excuses, or love. If you do bad things to your child (regardless I do not think that children owe anything to their parents: not respect, or care, or excuses, or love. If you do bad things to your child (regardless of the child's age or yours) that child is entitled to forgive you or not as they see fit at any time, and they may change their mind as many times as they like.
So, to be clear, the marriage of Faludi's parents went badly off the rails, disastrously, terrifyingly. And as often is the case, when the couple separated, there was rage, and threats, and violence, and terror. This is horrible, and if Faludi chose to keep her father out of her life evermore, I would not fault her decision.
She didn't. As an adult she reconnected with him, and this book is part memoir, part biography of him, and a great deal of speculation and armchair psychotherapy. And it was not pretty. Faludi's father rather late in his life transitioned to being a woman, and the child did not take it well. For the entire book she uses her parent's new name and the pronoun "he". Which is cruel and insulting, even if the parent is no longer alive to feel the insult. It is, also, an insult to every other person who has dared to make the same leap. Adding insult to insult, Faludi looks back over her parent's very difficult experiences during WWII and comes up with a theory as to the rationale behind the transition which is a simplistic bit of Freudian analysis which was bogus when Freud put it forward to refute and dismiss the actual traumas many of his patients had endured.
Families are hard and nothing is ever simple. Faludi is welcome to feel any way at any time about her parents. But the book is dismissively cruel to so many people that reading it made me feel unclean. More than two months later I am still angry and disgusted.
Really I don't have any interest in talking about race. What I want is to be a better human in a way that is helpful to other human beings. Oluo is soReally I don't have any interest in talking about race. What I want is to be a better human in a way that is helpful to other human beings. Oluo is someone I follow on Twitter. Her writing is wonderfully clear and straightforward and also surprisingly kind. But so practical! Mostly I try to avoid ever talking to anyone about anything, but this book lays out for me concrete times and places and ways to use my privilege to benefit others. Surprisingly kind because withstanding a lifetime of abuse by society should enrage everyone. Our culture is cruel and dehumanizing and grossly unfair, and some days it is all I can do not to run screaming. This is what we have made and it is awful and cruel and murderous. It is prejudiced and short sighted and stupid and it is only the astounding grace and kindness of individuals in the worst moments that make it worthwhile.
I want to make life easier and better and more just for everyone and I thank Oluo for taking the time to share her wisdom and determination and to encourage me forward in the light. Right now feels very dark, so I am grateful to all those who can show me a way forward and give me hope not just that we can do better, but that we will rise up and choose to do better. Sometimes just looking after those closest to me is all I can manage and not even do that well. But more often I can listen, and learn, and witness, and maybe, just a little more, I can speak. And remember, every day that humankind is my business.
Library copy
Note November 18, 2020 I had to weed out my TBR shelf again as it had crept past 5000, and that means no sorting by # which is naturally the way I have kept track of my list for nearly thirty years now. And as I was going through and pruning back the number of titles listed for any one author, I kept seeing books still marked Want to Read that I knew I had read. So that meant a whole big search through the seemingly defunct BookLikes site to see if I could find a read date and/or a review. It's still showing as TBR there, which I can't fix, but I did find my little review, so, there, one book out of more that is corrected. Which is probably a better example of the kind of person I am than anything else could be....more
A marvelous introduction to transgender equality issues (and equality issues in general in public schools). The Maines family have to be thanked for tA marvelous introduction to transgender equality issues (and equality issues in general in public schools). The Maines family have to be thanked for their education, advocacy, and their admirable frankness. It can't be easy for anyone to fight for the rights their children deserve, or to balance such a fight against the needs of the family for privacy and "a normal childhood". Nutt shows the struggle for rights and the costs of that struggle, with no obvious efforts at myth making.
I cried pretty much every time someone chose to be kind, and every time something good happened, which was thankfully often. When my own state is being gratuitously cruel, Maine comes off as a great place.
"Once upon a time there was a dark and stormy girl..." Feo is fierce and impetuous and I love this girl so much. This is little red ridinghood needed:"Once upon a time there was a dark and stormy girl..." Feo is fierce and impetuous and I love this girl so much. This is little red ridinghood needed: the wolves are on her side. Like Lyra Silvertongue she can be a bit much, but that's because I was brought up be a good girl, and much harm it has done me.
I can never decide which angers me more: sloppy science or stupid science reporting. Funny how much of both one sees reinforcing prejudice. As if tinyI can never decide which angers me more: sloppy science or stupid science reporting. Funny how much of both one sees reinforcing prejudice. As if tiny differences in averages between two groups could possibly justify discrimination against individuals. People are just the worst.
And yet there are scientists in every field doing excellent work, publishing reproducible results, much of which is ignored by popular media and leaders in the field who get lots of research dollars for publishing stupid conclusions that can be used to justify ongoing systemic abuse and discrimination against women and girls.
The chancellor of UNC -CH is paid 3/4 of what the chancellor of State is paid. It isn't fair, it isn't just, it isn't defensible. Women could change it if we cared to. I despair every time some public figure says "I'm not a feminist but". How is it hard to sign on to the idea that women are humans and are therefore deserving of being treated equally? How can any politician be elected who won't work to acknowledge that women deserve to be recognized as legally equal citizens in the US constitution?
If people insist on treating trivial differences between men and women On Average as more significant than the enormous similarities, I can't stop them. But I will fight like hell when they try and use that crap to justify discrimination against men or women.
We should no more tolerate being denied fair wages than we should put up with other forms of sexual harassment at work. No one wants to do the housework, but no one should get stuck doing twice as much of it when she comes home from work. Surely one reason households are not fair is that work isn't either and women who are kept poorer by their jobs don't have the bargaining power in their homes, or the financial independence to leave an abusive home.
Thankfully the kids these days are less inclined to put up with it.
The story of an independent bookstore as a community resource: reading, writing, rallieing, discussing, organizing. I particularly enjoyed the senior The story of an independent bookstore as a community resource: reading, writing, rallieing, discussing, organizing. I particularly enjoyed the senior Micheaux's catchy slogans. Telling the cultural history of a the store from the junior Micheaux's perspective makes it more inspirational but seeing a man's loan application denied because "Black people don't read" is rightfully enraging. Christie's art conveys the feeling of a time and place beautifully. Of course he would be in demand to create the covers of jazz albums: the lines are loose and spontaneous while the compositions and palette are deliberate and skillful.
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