tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6756934652097232582024-03-12T18:03:14.644-07:00Marie's book gardenA book is like a garden carried in your pocket. --Chinese proverbMarie GGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03020201739294303431noreply@blogger.comBlogger700125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-675693465209723258.post-29142386581023597792022-11-26T17:03:00.000-08:002022-11-26T17:03:28.545-08:00Books by LBGTQIA+ Authors<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGiNblhy20zbBmx8p6NLyQwIrVVYxHCOoZm-RAiLESV-WQhXAshW2wRKefWRhURK-xIMe-PFF4AaRYHsCwSI-1o9No2rwbRUF_6YlTAAp2pE8yhTqZHIIhpiKH5iPw3kORXEIpp9aYO99FB_fjay8ZAqdACZqHM6vecQUQ69nH19ypRMEBJH8h5ALa/s500/0385346972.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_SX500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="324" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGiNblhy20zbBmx8p6NLyQwIrVVYxHCOoZm-RAiLESV-WQhXAshW2wRKefWRhURK-xIMe-PFF4AaRYHsCwSI-1o9No2rwbRUF_6YlTAAp2pE8yhTqZHIIhpiKH5iPw3kORXEIpp9aYO99FB_fjay8ZAqdACZqHM6vecQUQ69nH19ypRMEBJH8h5ALa/s320/0385346972.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_SX500_.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><i>She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders</i>, by Jennifer Finley Boylan</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"> </span></h2><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I’ve read a number of books by trans authors, and this was not the best one but it was one of the earlier ones. Boylan wrote this book several years ago and reissued it on the 10<sup>th</sup> anniversary with new content. Overall, it was a good book and no doubt helpful when it was first published…but I found it lacking. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Very little was shared about her inner life and struggles. As she is an east coast academic, the book was full of academic references and name dropping (and her constant references to “Russo”)…and at times I thought she just needed a good editor. The most memorable thing about this book was the extreme unhappiness between her and her wife. They claim they are happily married, but Boylan’s wife does not even use the word “wife” about her partner…and they have a sexless relationship. It just seems terribly sad all around.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0qUj59b5PnD_vjL_oK3EKQccXBR17Hd_ay94g6K0BOVfEMYtLVEQV9AyVrBr8qxPFkL1XTRpyWW4zFzrEfEVH3RGGXc1RT6rti27uo5piaQmYTRuxl-Pzb65vGYNFUu8VnIqfFFPJ2WVv-nAY-DfKAARbBi1ZUclBEnX2Za8YrBZQnuV4_Kcu2Xv-/s775/51IydlBbutL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="775" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0qUj59b5PnD_vjL_oK3EKQccXBR17Hd_ay94g6K0BOVfEMYtLVEQV9AyVrBr8qxPFkL1XTRpyWW4zFzrEfEVH3RGGXc1RT6rti27uo5piaQmYTRuxl-Pzb65vGYNFUu8VnIqfFFPJ2WVv-nAY-DfKAARbBi1ZUclBEnX2Za8YrBZQnuV4_Kcu2Xv-/s320/51IydlBbutL.jpg" width="206" /></a></div><br /><h2 style="text-align: left;"><i>Becoming Eve: My Journey from Ultra-Orthodox Rabbi to Transgender Woman</i>, by Abby Stein </h2><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">Fascinating memoir about a woman who was raised to become a rabbi; she was descended from generations of rabbinical tradition. She left the Orthodox Jewish community, where men thank God each day for not being born a woman…and then she transitioned into becoming a woman. Pivotal in her coming out was seeing her baby boy get circumcised. A lot got left out in the telling…the book races to the end and we don’t really know what kind of relationships she has now with her family, especially her son and ex-wife.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjepWLicdTi-svCqnmbcCEyb2t9meyRc-MdyWTscYpRRai4S51ziuyvAPpuIFNkGEFQu4b-TbXty_l9j9nSrr_K5nbRgFqaVAe6sfnf4fE0pLKpO7Lj7oB8VFnhY2vV_hinqz2Mat0I9eOlS-m7BerqmvV9T6XT05S2gwuNadhzwtt0nHjWB0w-dR3T/s2560/819w+WoSmiL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1684" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjepWLicdTi-svCqnmbcCEyb2t9meyRc-MdyWTscYpRRai4S51ziuyvAPpuIFNkGEFQu4b-TbXty_l9j9nSrr_K5nbRgFqaVAe6sfnf4fE0pLKpO7Lj7oB8VFnhY2vV_hinqz2Mat0I9eOlS-m7BerqmvV9T6XT05S2gwuNadhzwtt0nHjWB0w-dR3T/s320/819w+WoSmiL.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><br /><h2 style="text-align: left;"><i>Playing with Myself</i>, by Randy Rainbow </h2><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I was an early convert to Randy Rainbow. I started watching his videos before the fateful 2016 election. We attended his show several years ago when he toured to Portland. He’s a delight! So it was great fun to read his memoir.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">And yes, Randy Rainbow is his real name.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Ie_59U8KawpANSMbrYPRmx-cYhK3U4O1jvqMkhdUwtQtedQnkl8tZBeYWsCJFStbvAC47mmRJZ8JblExzS-yBj5YJyBru4B-T64uORMNv9F6N7blI1_dfaMNc3OQb4_53QBfHDxgEprtcdRB6CNFN855LIMi_mrk8CIWP5oHkW4ROiSaIOfDgdM_/s2560/81Ot3GUSecL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1663" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Ie_59U8KawpANSMbrYPRmx-cYhK3U4O1jvqMkhdUwtQtedQnkl8tZBeYWsCJFStbvAC47mmRJZ8JblExzS-yBj5YJyBru4B-T64uORMNv9F6N7blI1_dfaMNc3OQb4_53QBfHDxgEprtcdRB6CNFN855LIMi_mrk8CIWP5oHkW4ROiSaIOfDgdM_/s320/81Ot3GUSecL.jpg" width="208" /></a></div><br /><h2 style="text-align: left;"><i>Me</i>, by Elton John </h2><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0in;">I happened across this book in a Little Free Library and it was the perfect vacation read! I got my first Elton John album from my boyfriend in junior high. I’d also loved “Rocket Man,” which is based on this book. It doesn’t fail to entertain, and I learned a ton of new things about Elton John as well. Good fun amidst the heartbreak.<o:p></o:p></p><div class="hs-body-level-container blogger" strategyname="Blogger"></div>Marie GGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03020201739294303431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-675693465209723258.post-56189083018129696042022-11-03T19:50:00.001-07:002022-11-03T19:50:10.682-07:00Recent great fiction by Black authors<p> I've been neglecting my book reviews so I'm terribly behind! Here's my first brain dump of reviews!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuZkFR4H1GwL966MuASba0dNshgz5qw_OcA7_-qLDvnrUFrZWCDRuyZoF7Ikr6rc4qdMUr5tpSXEVzUh0tSjERZbqqrWyeh2FqRyhMvqiYqMgYOk45-MhDYzuEGlI5H4woiwRay1fMZ0AKXBJNAeWp8NmrBeQFDH5uy29w8y1SPSEzIfp2zbOgk7RO/s400/51166519._SX318_SY475_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="263" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuZkFR4H1GwL966MuASba0dNshgz5qw_OcA7_-qLDvnrUFrZWCDRuyZoF7Ikr6rc4qdMUr5tpSXEVzUh0tSjERZbqqrWyeh2FqRyhMvqiYqMgYOk45-MhDYzuEGlI5H4woiwRay1fMZ0AKXBJNAeWp8NmrBeQFDH5uy29w8y1SPSEzIfp2zbOgk7RO/s320/51166519._SX318_SY475_.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><br /><h2 style="text-align: center;"><i>Lakewood</i> by Megan Giddings</h2><p>Lakewood was a chilling read. It helps to have background knowledge about the ways white people have conducted medical experiments on Black people and have just generally treated them like nonhumans. For example, the Henrietta Lacks cell line or the syphillis study at the Tuskegee Institute. Read here for more historical background: https://blog.primr.org/medical-mistrust-and-the-historic-role-of-sickle-cell-testing-in-the-african-american-community/</p><p>Giddings builds off this history with her story of Lena Johnson, who agrees to be part of a mysterious study for the promise of the money her family desperately needs. It is creepy and disturbing, but lacks a satisfying conclusion at the end...probably on purpose.</p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1zSZmIzZK6ESgbZ5CaVQaW6IAnlFt1ENbLz1RpeVrE3EGdh9hzcBXNtslb4MmqVO7o5MdEqeJ4wrfuHxhwsYvdwBy0gsoJfuDlbmUfstrr--q4jr6-L9AQfYl0xPSic0xAzaVtB4XD498329y63Wz6SqjuOzm-Wq9Nkw176UpwRD_65QUa6-1Uly0/s475/41081373._SY475_.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="295" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1zSZmIzZK6ESgbZ5CaVQaW6IAnlFt1ENbLz1RpeVrE3EGdh9hzcBXNtslb4MmqVO7o5MdEqeJ4wrfuHxhwsYvdwBy0gsoJfuDlbmUfstrr--q4jr6-L9AQfYl0xPSic0xAzaVtB4XD498329y63Wz6SqjuOzm-Wq9Nkw176UpwRD_65QUa6-1Uly0/s320/41081373._SY475_.jpeg" width="199" /></a></div><br /><h2 style="text-align: center;"><i>Girl, Woman, Other</i> by Bernadine Evaristo</h2><div>I'm not usually drawn to short stories. I prefer novels where I can really sink into the characters and the story. <i>Girl, Woman, Other</i> felt like a series of interconnected short stories about the lives of various British Black women. Some of the stories drew me in more than others, but overall it was a beautiful book. My only regret was not taking notes about each woman throughout the book...because I couldn't always remember who they were when they popped up again! Evaristo is a gifted, adventurous writer...this book did not follow typical grammatical practice, so that took a bit of getting used to. But so much of this novel will stay with me.</div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic5iONhlTI0pzdd-dQ7DsGzDCI4ftR2Nv2kLA5puWyoRCdReSqIjApwKLPcMQz3e1b8nTgRKj2C5VB93DjxeYPUAUbmUupPfHuI8oC2QOE3Q3U8yvjuFZu05Pt_y8u_Idf46S7v1924TRu87l0jB28fT3JqO7SinjmVbblxukdYdryYN_B1CCVnVzV/s346/59424952.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="230" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic5iONhlTI0pzdd-dQ7DsGzDCI4ftR2Nv2kLA5puWyoRCdReSqIjApwKLPcMQz3e1b8nTgRKj2C5VB93DjxeYPUAUbmUupPfHuI8oC2QOE3Q3U8yvjuFZu05Pt_y8u_Idf46S7v1924TRu87l0jB28fT3JqO7SinjmVbblxukdYdryYN_B1CCVnVzV/s320/59424952.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><p>I read <i>Embers on the Wind</i> not long after <i>Girl, Woman, Other</i>, and at times I was actually confusing myself!! Both novels were created with interlocking short stories. Most of the characters were connected to someone else in the novel, but each had her own story. Once again I regretted not taking notes and writing down names because at times it got confusing when a new character was introduced!</p><p>With that said, I highly recommend this novel if you're comfortable with ghost stories and reading about trauma. It delves deeply into generational racial trauma, and Rosenberg does a beautiful job weaving together the stories of the runaways with Black, white, and biracial people today. Wonderful book...although I definitely want to read some chronological novels after the last two...where I can keep better track of all the characters!</p><div class="hs-body-level-container blogger" strategyname="Blogger"></div>Marie GGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03020201739294303431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-675693465209723258.post-78225743764472733032022-03-10T20:16:00.005-08:002022-03-14T16:48:29.876-07:00There Is Nothing for You Here, The Last Grand Duchess, and Good Talk<h2 style="text-align: left;"><i>There Is Nothing for You Here: Finding Opportunity in the Twenty-First Century</i>, by Fiona Hill </h2><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhO37WAkSAT_IeN_k67upXhhndO4JG9ngcgBUKM5Vb8v6hwc2pnoR4Vz3IwGOTUbzcjt2C6eZ8hgMw24O5w3hKjQoOwRtiMyowF9YKwh7vf2f4cisuXmOta0VxIrTMGWr6iIhTdShnqKHWnuOLRkLMm_c9CZ7nWQfyqzclLW4A-uGdphrzDK70zyY2O=s475" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhO37WAkSAT_IeN_k67upXhhndO4JG9ngcgBUKM5Vb8v6hwc2pnoR4Vz3IwGOTUbzcjt2C6eZ8hgMw24O5w3hKjQoOwRtiMyowF9YKwh7vf2f4cisuXmOta0VxIrTMGWr6iIhTdShnqKHWnuOLRkLMm_c9CZ7nWQfyqzclLW4A-uGdphrzDK70zyY2O=s320" width="212" /></a></div>If you're like me, you hadn't heard of Fiona Hill until you saw her at the impeachment hearing. This book was outstanding, chronicling her life back to growing up in Bishop Durham, a mining village in northern England. <div><br /></div><div>She talks about how difficult it was for her to access resources in Thatcher's England, and how unlikely it was for her to be able to climb out of poverty and the working class to earn a Ph.D. <br /><div><br /></div><div>As a Russia expert, Hill draws stunning similarities among the UK, the U.S., and Russia. It's one of the best sociological treatises I've read, written in a highly engaging and fascinating way. Definitely will be one of my top books this year.</div><div><br /></div><div>Note: Russia seems to be all over my life now...I read this book before Putin invaded the Ukraine, my husband is learning Russian on Duolingo and writing a book about Russia, and we are immersed in "The Americans" (a show about Russian sleeper spies in the 1980s). Russia seems to be everywhere at the moment.</div><div><br /></div><div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><i>Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations</i>, by Mira Jacob</h2><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEioudsesSS6_khgei-l_cw0C95ljT6jyvWPMGdkgQ03GH7SgSpvEu9CNssjEtuHu-wSnwHZfYdBNU5WRhSJXBxx8mqysLlvcDIFO0bLwJnh_tntsJuqlimQH936DjIMUxuMMgCrYJuQeB_NoaeVEcftrKWQxeHcXH1jmhS9nC-BprTbQT6y-xCkIavi=s400" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="297" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEioudsesSS6_khgei-l_cw0C95ljT6jyvWPMGdkgQ03GH7SgSpvEu9CNssjEtuHu-wSnwHZfYdBNU5WRhSJXBxx8mqysLlvcDIFO0bLwJnh_tntsJuqlimQH936DjIMUxuMMgCrYJuQeB_NoaeVEcftrKWQxeHcXH1jmhS9nC-BprTbQT6y-xCkIavi=s320" width="238" /></a></div>
I listened to Good Talk instead of reading it, not realizing until I had started that it was a graphic novel. Oops! But I actually enjoyed listening instead of reading because Jacob narrates it with a cast of others. <div><br /></div><div>Good Talk is Jacob's memoir about being an American, and it was inspired by her son's questions about what it means to be Black and brown and immigrant in America. </div><div><br /></div><div>She shares the deep conversations she has with her family, including her white Jewish husband, and the challenges of being a first-generation American. </div><div><br /></div><div>When Jacob was growing up in India, her family discounted her because of her dark skin...so she also shares the travails of being a daughter of India. Excellent book! </div><h1 style="text-align: left;"><br /></h1><h2 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>The Last Grand Duchess</i>, by Bryn Turnbull </span></h2><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgfnarVigZXuI7nFHfjkLvGTzG1LfKEB42ZbzRnOR4jh_Wr2X-mQCNCEk96Drll1iVLJnCuQlooOd2EoJperKwgiZ8rXgV4mFBlmDgJszI0vnZ4Dt_LYKwVuGZBu3mQWdmWB6hJR2zH_nDJiJ1ajlo_vzthgDXE-gb9kxiuxU_om2PIPrB0jE9Z-dZg=s346" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="230" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgfnarVigZXuI7nFHfjkLvGTzG1LfKEB42ZbzRnOR4jh_Wr2X-mQCNCEk96Drll1iVLJnCuQlooOd2EoJperKwgiZ8rXgV4mFBlmDgJszI0vnZ4Dt_LYKwVuGZBu3mQWdmWB6hJR2zH_nDJiJ1ajlo_vzthgDXE-gb9kxiuxU_om2PIPrB0jE9Z-dZg=s320" width="213" /></a></div></div><div>I heard the author speak on a webinar, and the topic--about Olga Romanov and the Russian revolution--intrigued me. First I tried the author's first book (<i>The Woman Before Wallis</i>) on audio, and I just could not get into it. At first I thought it might have just been the fact I find it hard to do audio fiction...but I don't think that was it.</div><div><br /></div><div>My mother-in-law's family fled Russia around the time of the Russian revolution. Her name is Olga. I had a great-aunt Olga (my family incidentally is from Bukovenia, which is now the Ukraine). So I wanted to like this book. I love historical fiction. But I found it lacking, sadly, and it's hard to pinpoint why.</div><div><br /></div><div>Part of the problem is that each chapter flips back and forth between the years. There's far too much jerking around. </div><div><br /></div><div>I also got tired of all the excess, frankly (similar feelings as Turnbull's previous book), and couldn't help but think about the oligarchy and autocracy in Russia right now. Also, although Turnbull qualifies the rule of the czar in her notes at the end, I couldn't get away from the horrible things the czar did during his reign.</div><div><br /></div><div>There was just something about the writing style that didn't pull me in.</div><div><br /></div><div>I know some people are drawn to stories of wealth, glamour, and royalty, but I suppose at this stage in my life I can't help but see through it all. </div><div><br /></div></div></div></div>Marie GGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03020201739294303431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-675693465209723258.post-5814756774737611782022-02-10T20:52:00.003-08:002022-02-10T20:52:42.883-08:00The 1619 Project, The Girls in the Wild Fig Tree, and Here We Go Again<h2 style="text-align: left;"><i><span>The 1619 Project, a New Origin Story</span></i>, by Nikole Hannah-Jones</h2><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhKILqtZi3mX_4MJzB9mF4JHrfBmlelYKdk2_DE6xQ9gnsO5bdTKPrEI_YY4beNtmaDxuZV94xdILdJGqwwFune2Oblau-rRXKnTJtbf_lACMz4QKL0ztVAZ4uq9yWDjz_kKLbeKxrxDnT0ALUnx62hgeA3Pwjz6KmW3yVtuPV_SWY44X6e1xFoOGIR=s499" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="331" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhKILqtZi3mX_4MJzB9mF4JHrfBmlelYKdk2_DE6xQ9gnsO5bdTKPrEI_YY4beNtmaDxuZV94xdILdJGqwwFune2Oblau-rRXKnTJtbf_lACMz4QKL0ztVAZ4uq9yWDjz_kKLbeKxrxDnT0ALUnx62hgeA3Pwjz6KmW3yVtuPV_SWY44X6e1xFoOGIR=s320" width="212" /></a></div>I described this book to a friend by likening it to Howard Zinn's <i>People's History of the United State</i>s, but focusing exclusively on the way race and racism have drenched and contaminated every aspect of American life, culture, politics, etc.<p></p><p>This book began from an essay by Dr. Nikole Hannah-Jones about how all of our country's sins and structures grew out of that first ship carrying enslaved people from Africa in 1619. Next came <i>The New York Times Magazine</i>’s award-winning “1619 Project," containing 18 essays and 36 poems and works of fiction that explore the legacy of slavery in America. </p><p>The 1619 Project <a href="https://tn.chalkbeat.org/2021/7/19/22578764/nikole-hannah-jones-1619-project-ignited-the-critical-race-theory-backlash">ignited the fears about critical race theory</a>, and over half of states have made some attempt, some successful, to ban it in schools. That's the first reason you should read it!</p><p>The second reason to read it is to unlearn everything you have learned about race and racism in the United States and abroad. This is a new origin story for America. Must read. Outstanding and eye opening.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><i>The Girls in the Wild Fig Tre</i>e, by Nice Leng'ete</h2><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjE-qc-F7zLVomKtkRzi1N9gq2XXxvlF3yTASpFrVSxXNQt3sE5ek4hBDPVO34q0velAAUSK4TOirFpGrrE7MBuo3ijAfBw1gzYLERSddWM5hCM64PljyCyfJSvEcTbVxf2i0x1llnTy5iQZWwOu0mhDjilh7RXR-hjgl08S_sbxIjW6XDmhzDJcUWR=s1550" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1550" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjE-qc-F7zLVomKtkRzi1N9gq2XXxvlF3yTASpFrVSxXNQt3sE5ek4hBDPVO34q0velAAUSK4TOirFpGrrE7MBuo3ijAfBw1gzYLERSddWM5hCM64PljyCyfJSvEcTbVxf2i0x1llnTy5iQZWwOu0mhDjilh7RXR-hjgl08S_sbxIjW6XDmhzDJcUWR=s320" width="206" /></a></div>I happened across this book when browsing for a new audio book. I loved it! Nice is a human rights activist who was born in Kenya as a member of the Maasai tribe. When it came time for her to be "cut" (female genital mutilation), she ran away. She knew that girls who got the cut always dropped out of school, and she wanted an education. <p></p><p>She had to face down her family members and leaders from her tribe to assert her right to get an education and avoid the cut. She went onto become a vocal advocate for girls to have an alternative rite of passage to FGM. She had great sadness in her life, but she has a fierce passion and she learned how to use it.</p><p>Nice has an incredibly engaging voice and spirit. She is magnificent! </p><p><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><i>Here We Go Again: My Life in Television</i>, by Betty White</h2><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEghUwyqr8ZvbrBvfjens8uw7fAQKJez1DIBw3YIWbZWUvbKlPmkrRMglxOIkbkIaC9fDcMxOmPctYBSEjECEEWoeDDfnLYKlWta-RRDSESRTjhjM1O3G9RK-27cZdsPs4AxLOBNK6sptIE9fgSJolxDIfpA6qGP0pH0ZoOy3Lfnf5dl2ZJfLlbXeunm=s500" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="328" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEghUwyqr8ZvbrBvfjens8uw7fAQKJez1DIBw3YIWbZWUvbKlPmkrRMglxOIkbkIaC9fDcMxOmPctYBSEjECEEWoeDDfnLYKlWta-RRDSESRTjhjM1O3G9RK-27cZdsPs4AxLOBNK6sptIE9fgSJolxDIfpA6qGP0pH0ZoOy3Lfnf5dl2ZJfLlbXeunm=s320" width="210" /></a></div>I sought this out on audio because I wanted to hear Betty White's voice again! It was published in 1995, so it has aged quite a bit and doesn't include anything from her last 26 years in television.<p></p><p>But for a child of the '60s, I enjoyed hearing about how she got her start in television. She was such a spirited trailblazer!! I also loved hearing about her love story with her beloved Alan and how she met him on Password. </p><p>This won't win any literary prizes, but it was a pleasant listen to hear Betty once again!</p><p><br /></p><p><o:p></o:p></p>Marie GGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03020201739294303431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-675693465209723258.post-84558495553592913692022-01-27T20:19:00.000-08:002022-01-27T20:19:03.950-08:00Passage West<h1 style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #ffa400;"><i>Passage West</i>,</span> by Rishi Reddi</h1><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjdPjlKdS6jZDjsogPd0kzeuSbC9lZUlENUTzvmDM6eMyREkcYSGa9Ofosn5_pYoSmqfMQF4KEUFGK6Dx0MG-52o3j14RhHyG_w5gXPhxwRtpenAvk05ehcV2ANBs2Ix39Tf_9ptLKcDtXz-ddp6-WQSsOOYL5_cn_oDnqZLaYcpV9IgtnKDDqROefK=s2416" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2416" data-original-width="1600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjdPjlKdS6jZDjsogPd0kzeuSbC9lZUlENUTzvmDM6eMyREkcYSGa9Ofosn5_pYoSmqfMQF4KEUFGK6Dx0MG-52o3j14RhHyG_w5gXPhxwRtpenAvk05ehcV2ANBs2Ix39Tf_9ptLKcDtXz-ddp6-WQSsOOYL5_cn_oDnqZLaYcpV9IgtnKDDqROefK=s320" width="212" /></a></div>This was a fascinating read about South Indians in the Imperial Valley in California...many Sikhs and other Indians came from the Punjab to work up and down the west coast in the early part of the 1900s. <div><br /></div><div>I learned a few years ago about the <a href="https://www.dailyastorian.com/news/local/astoria-celebrates-ghadar-party/article_2db9ca6b-2cc7-58f1-9ef2-5c514e74a799.html">Ghardar Party</a>, which was founded in Astoria, Oregon, in 1913. According to <a href="https://www.ohs.org/research-and-library/oregon-historical-quarterly/upload/03_113_02_Ogden_Ghadar.pdf">this informative article from the Oregon Historical Society</a>, 30 million people left India between 1830 and 1930. Men would go off to other British colonies to work and send money back home.</div><div><br /></div><div>In the early 1900s, they began to go to North America, and this is where our story starts. It's the tale of Ram Singh, who arrives in the United States in 1914. After experiencing racism and violence in Washington, he flees to the Imperial Valley in California, where he finds refuge with other Sikhs. </div><div><br /></div><div>He's left behind his wife in India, Padma, and their son, who was born after Ram left India. Over the years he plans to return home, but those years stretch on and on as he hopes to make more money.</div><div><br /></div><div>The Indians in the United States worked extremely hard and were treated horribly. The white men envied their success and began getting violent to lash back.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjlSZKypOEypkf7vr2_zksEJZsbtdccIbPPqKcHQRRJeLE2GGoV4QcWYINj1xKiOZdbwdOpJtlaW-_QrFGI7DLSDxUL9HjmMwkpdKqwuxhCt9gHMAGMO_J8_7oLvMs83SEekYH98W8XmgQ0gZcF8NpY1HVXOwM7kflX8Yg4J67_n70lZVWhgq3ZKE1M=s750" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: right;"><img border="0" data-original-height="583" data-original-width="750" height="311" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjlSZKypOEypkf7vr2_zksEJZsbtdccIbPPqKcHQRRJeLE2GGoV4QcWYINj1xKiOZdbwdOpJtlaW-_QrFGI7DLSDxUL9HjmMwkpdKqwuxhCt9gHMAGMO_J8_7oLvMs83SEekYH98W8XmgQ0gZcF8NpY1HVXOwM7kflX8Yg4J67_n70lZVWhgq3ZKE1M=w400-h311" width="400" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div>And when World War II began, many immigrants joined the U.S. Army to prove their patriotism. A few years later, the U.S. government rescinded their citizenship, disallowing them from owning property, voting, and many other rights.</div><div><br /></div><div>Many Indian immigrants married Mexican women, especially because if they went back to India to collect their wives, they were unable to return to the U.S. again.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhERSJi07K6WCJw9izxHURRUgJuFPWhoiGJVf2uCWzbVDC0nWbo3ZeSX0KOqY6HpEYESFrlS3cEHGC8sFptWWIzy23lGlKu9bvBaF3PnI6N-m1lkwNzKh1EpIbLRWtexn7FW3JADVrPJZFPE0KvCSWxZqy5C2BG2cE6YF3RQoUMkflYmSsD82gGaR8Y=s613" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="408" data-original-width="613" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhERSJi07K6WCJw9izxHURRUgJuFPWhoiGJVf2uCWzbVDC0nWbo3ZeSX0KOqY6HpEYESFrlS3cEHGC8sFptWWIzy23lGlKu9bvBaF3PnI6N-m1lkwNzKh1EpIbLRWtexn7FW3JADVrPJZFPE0KvCSWxZqy5C2BG2cE6YF3RQoUMkflYmSsD82gGaR8Y=w400-h266" width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I thought this book was fascinating and heart breaking...another example of our whitewashed history. It was primarily the story of the men, and I would have appreciated hearing more about the women's perspectives. The women in the story seemed a lot more relatable than the men.</div></div>Marie GGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03020201739294303431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-675693465209723258.post-83855533812753090862021-12-31T13:07:00.001-08:002021-12-31T13:07:14.325-08:00Mrs. Kimble<p><span style="font-size: x-large;"> <b><i>Mrs. Kimble</i></b>, by Jennifer Haight</span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(30, 25, 21); color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEijvn81qUgFXkOymPSfbI7xBn_YOc8QmF_8XrTFEwHVsIv3J_Dn8a3KS4NUc93QHNQM14rcpBzL1YIVUO3FDcmYQWXGWsG5wKSJV6g0xNrWdqpNpKgV-2Sgmq9V6SLtS2L0IJEKsypaQOxmgUXFXhYdiS-NQBP3G6rHVhlMeeG3dY_FuhP2PPFOalr3=s500" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="330" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEijvn81qUgFXkOymPSfbI7xBn_YOc8QmF_8XrTFEwHVsIv3J_Dn8a3KS4NUc93QHNQM14rcpBzL1YIVUO3FDcmYQWXGWsG5wKSJV6g0xNrWdqpNpKgV-2Sgmq9V6SLtS2L0IJEKsypaQOxmgUXFXhYdiS-NQBP3G6rHVhlMeeG3dY_FuhP2PPFOalr3=s320" width="211" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;">I picked this book up at a Little Free Library, and it was compulsively readable. I did question the characters' motives throughout, though. Why did all these women fall in love with such a vacant, shallow man? How did he charm them all? He was like a chameleon, although a narcissistic one. Overall, the book just made me sad. </div></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(30, 25, 21); color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(30, 25, 21); color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;"><div style="text-align: left;">Birdie and Dinah, I could understand a bit more. Dinah had rarely experienced love in her life. But Joan? Why did she give up her independence, her successful career, and her sense of self to marry this awful man? </div></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(30, 25, 21); color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(30, 25, 21); color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;"><div style="text-align: left;">I like Jennifer Haigh's writing, and in the back of the book she said she identified with all the wives Mr. Kimble left behind, but she also identified with Mr. Kimble. I cannot relate to that statement at all. This man had absolutely no morals and no capacity for love. </div></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(30, 25, 21); color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(30, 25, 21); color: #1e1915; font-family: "Proxima Nova", Montserrat, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: start;"><div style="text-align: left;">I feel like I need to read an inspiring book next after this one!</div></span></div><p></p>Marie GGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03020201739294303431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-675693465209723258.post-72487452768948346102021-11-27T12:04:00.009-08:002021-12-15T10:26:46.625-08:00What I Read in 2021<p>Starting my own business has severely dented my ability to keep up with my personal writing, in addition to my habit of regularly writing book reviews of what I've read! I've written very few book reviews this year, but I have read some amazing books, especially by writers of color. </p><p>Yet again this year, I've read more nonfiction than fiction! This is a turn-up for the books! (See what I did there..LOL!)</p><p>You can see my other book lists, dating back to 2001, <a href="https://mariesbookgarden.blogspot.com/p/b.html">on this page</a>. Here's a summary of 2021:</p><h1 style="text-align: left;">Fiction</h1><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Ho15H8BMdWCb6U_KwGp7AxlCbV0FzrioUnnl9JgWfgQ_7ZrQcgxelGycV3J2Fyo0SeRfZSYA2-O0LvMtLN6GbULMu5vG7hlFmfJD3XY2GDRRZctJbUwDa7ZH4_gChEKesoLLnpJhtzc/s600/32051912.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="400" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Ho15H8BMdWCb6U_KwGp7AxlCbV0FzrioUnnl9JgWfgQ_7ZrQcgxelGycV3J2Fyo0SeRfZSYA2-O0LvMtLN6GbULMu5vG7hlFmfJD3XY2GDRRZctJbUwDa7ZH4_gChEKesoLLnpJhtzc/s320/32051912.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i>The Alice Network</i>, by Kate Quinn</h3><div>I loved the intertwining stories of two women, a British woman who was a spy in France during World War I, and an American woman who is looking for her beloved cousin. I love a great woman spy story! I chose this book for our trip back east for parents' weekend, and it was the perfect choice for a trip!</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi12besezltr1oCgA1iw2SJwVJww99F7yjqCcPTQwO3_lBnN2SEP8VXJFuIDx_Uohp72IkX4s87ju8ZovubPbFIKeuFUR0eQSW2w-5-PiU4jBti7b5N4L0-8KcLRrWLAztTFBzXMxhS9QE/s499/48570454.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="336" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi12besezltr1oCgA1iw2SJwVJww99F7yjqCcPTQwO3_lBnN2SEP8VXJFuIDx_Uohp72IkX4s87ju8ZovubPbFIKeuFUR0eQSW2w-5-PiU4jBti7b5N4L0-8KcLRrWLAztTFBzXMxhS9QE/s320/48570454.jpg" width="215" /></a></div><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i>Transcendent Kingdom</i>, by Yaa Gyasi</h3><div>I haven't yet read Gyasi's more famous <i>Homegoing</i>; I guess I started backwards. This novel explores the immigrant story while also touching on science, animal research, mental illness, grief and loss, and opioid addition. A beautiful book.</div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGPxb-wIZLmntugIXZ0iYPblmPl-bKRjEu2345CQplxzle8fEmzO51zT_g1C4Wbq3z-RueQp5FR9FcAPxvxl4wUYpFHQV4JJxZA4ybxXimB0bDLZj5JAXlvJyCMwIE2BPpUxu-_5XN1UQ/s400/55663163-2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="267" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGPxb-wIZLmntugIXZ0iYPblmPl-bKRjEu2345CQplxzle8fEmzO51zT_g1C4Wbq3z-RueQp5FR9FcAPxvxl4wUYpFHQV4JJxZA4ybxXimB0bDLZj5JAXlvJyCMwIE2BPpUxu-_5XN1UQ/s320/55663163-2.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i>The Bombay Prince</i>, by Sujata Massey</h3><div>I read everything Sujata writes, especially after <a href="https://www.fertilegroundcommunications.com/post/sujata-massey-delectable-feminist-mystery-and-historical-fiction-set-in-japan-and-india">getting the joy of interviewing her </a>on my podcast this years as a resilient writer. When I interviewed her earlier in the year, this book hadn't been published yet. Of course, it did not disappoint. With Book #3, we are getting to know Perveen Mistry, India's only female lawyer back in the '20s, much better. This time she finds herself in the midst of the famed riots in Mumbai, then known as Bombay. It's hard to imagine what it would feel like to not be able to talk to a man who was not your husband without casting shame on yourself. Sujata does an excellent job helping the reader learn what things were like in India in 1921, especially for women. </div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMBeLWhBNzuV3658VxwtSNipXMccXjvblfGQFVREgGic9nf0VR_YAhApmipEoslXwSspTP8kzgaUBbvtqJ1Wm4NhGwlWRKLO9tj0-kG2GlwWN8TZJbqK78Bri2-pH_cSDGHRqb-kNl4bo/s400/3002300.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="264" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMBeLWhBNzuV3658VxwtSNipXMccXjvblfGQFVREgGic9nf0VR_YAhApmipEoslXwSspTP8kzgaUBbvtqJ1Wm4NhGwlWRKLO9tj0-kG2GlwWN8TZJbqK78Bri2-pH_cSDGHRqb-kNl4bo/s320/3002300.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i>Chains</i>, by Laurie Halse Anderson</h3><p></p><p>I chose this book for our trip to Boston and Connecticut to drop our son off at college. It was a perfect choice, since we were surrounded by Revolutionary War sights. Chains deepened my understanding of that time by sharing the perspective of an enslaved teen who is caught up in the revolutionary fever. "Give me liberty or give me death" did not apply to everyone...only to white people, particularly men. I found Isabel to be a captivating character, and I definitely want to read the next book in the series!</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwvKcDa4iTDPDDYbX2TYLrx43IJfmm9R1h_nb0ivntjZ9Z5bndiwFy7Zw5yXir7LqHFaxLu16RrZmVgqUdz3N-vp9hrgpUVtlOTNVOsGZAUNk4Zyq_SUj8Qzv2p431AJ31LSlBUeIhtJ0/s400/53064090.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="263" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwvKcDa4iTDPDDYbX2TYLrx43IJfmm9R1h_nb0ivntjZ9Z5bndiwFy7Zw5yXir7LqHFaxLu16RrZmVgqUdz3N-vp9hrgpUVtlOTNVOsGZAUNk4Zyq_SUj8Qzv2p431AJ31LSlBUeIhtJ0/s320/53064090.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i>The Distant Dead</i>, by Heather Young</h3><div>This book will make you look at poverty, drug addiction, and childhood trauma in a new way. It's the story of a high school teacher with a sketchy past, who gets acquainted with an outcast, in a small Nevada town. When the teacher shows up dead, a fellow teacher begins following the breadcrumbs.</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1WRLLAhcgYDfR4CxB-vLHEFk3wj8DnEVkK_3RtFbas-wvYOXilzvXheLBM46bmejAY6JzvOpPhbRX0UScGX9tKJlQfoQs_J6T3_JN4BTgQXDC-5mVJEGEMS1FI2jpMhrTVIrX3FDTZAQ/s1512/31178738.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1WRLLAhcgYDfR4CxB-vLHEFk3wj8DnEVkK_3RtFbas-wvYOXilzvXheLBM46bmejAY6JzvOpPhbRX0UScGX9tKJlQfoQs_J6T3_JN4BTgQXDC-5mVJEGEMS1FI2jpMhrTVIrX3FDTZAQ/s320/31178738.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i>The Pearl Thief</i>, by Elizabeth Wein</h3><div>A prequel to one of my favorite books, <i>Code Name Verity</i>, it's the story of Julia Beaufort-Stewart, a spunky 15-year-old Scotswoman. And it's the story of river pearls, Scottish travelers, and deep friendship. I love Wein's characters.</div></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif8o-sGXfL_jVvd7wD2RpbJgdpLt-QAJA0o6L7dI2yPaPsHv7gMPUmQsKXPDoQ9Xv5bcdzDXQ0pYhFnpbpS7yqoRrpXvT762r3L118nuArhvJTLvNja6cPx6fNPOIpK3ojJrq3wej34Es/s1900/43982054.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1900" data-original-width="1250" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEif8o-sGXfL_jVvd7wD2RpbJgdpLt-QAJA0o6L7dI2yPaPsHv7gMPUmQsKXPDoQ9Xv5bcdzDXQ0pYhFnpbpS7yqoRrpXvT762r3L118nuArhvJTLvNja6cPx6fNPOIpK3ojJrq3wej34Es/s320/43982054.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><h3><i>The Water Dancer</i>, by Ta-Nehisi Coates</h3><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">This was a beautifully written, lyrical book, as we should expect no less from Ta-Nehisi Coates. It's the story of Hiram, who is enslaved, and who has visions and special powers. It kept reminding me of Kindred by Octavia Butler, a sort of sci-fi look at slavery. </div></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqqKB-iQHrkBmzM71b99fxoyqFKMJx3NMTU3stHQGTkL4JvFB-l50nHFunClLXGZOU6vUe0GtYf1FHzuyjzCn1gbnmEopsT4G7c5eUFHHzRKwxk_i76h4ZtxR-_dqdrjJdyXLfd29S2Bs/s499/Anne.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="328" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqqKB-iQHrkBmzM71b99fxoyqFKMJx3NMTU3stHQGTkL4JvFB-l50nHFunClLXGZOU6vUe0GtYf1FHzuyjzCn1gbnmEopsT4G7c5eUFHHzRKwxk_i76h4ZtxR-_dqdrjJdyXLfd29S2Bs/s320/Anne.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i>Anne of Green Gables</i>, by L.M. Montgomery</h3><div>When my friend Catherine heard I'd never read Anne of Green Gables, this book soon appeared on my doorstep...with this gorgeous cover. And now I'm a convert. My husband and I watched all three seasons of "Anne with an E" on Netflix this year. I love Anne Shirley Cuthbert...she is a redhead after my own heart!</div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZTE_HzqPQ72LvSqx7YEP4dn2FLNFJoCsk-ZhaLmPRpUy-_tmnGHr1gsA_XdT08j94k_oGgBd3RIMFmNU5g-7Pywg4uzrC80A9VDi1LhqSugnY8kwJTLKzsDPlCFCNBxfWJqioGTuVvL0/s2048/50358031.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1349" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZTE_HzqPQ72LvSqx7YEP4dn2FLNFJoCsk-ZhaLmPRpUy-_tmnGHr1gsA_XdT08j94k_oGgBd3RIMFmNU5g-7Pywg4uzrC80A9VDi1LhqSugnY8kwJTLKzsDPlCFCNBxfWJqioGTuVvL0/s320/50358031.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i>Leave the World Behind</i>, by Rumaan Alam</h3><div>This was an interesting piece of speculative fiction, a little bit too close to home with COVID. It certainly made me think a lot. Some of the plot seemed implausible, and somehow I expected more (especially with the Black couple arriving at the home they own, which was being rented by a clueless white family). </div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br style="text-align: left;" /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6nUSChpn_emdXv5aGgO091nTr_D3M9w_OoGOq1Lyg89t3lXcxMwRwTsPQ_eFkXtQPsHklB9D6btHiUNYuHmyT819omDDjZPu_sITur6P9Jct3V0gvxYtwJFlyDcGIJI869eumuYKgBh4/s400/6751356.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="263" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6nUSChpn_emdXv5aGgO091nTr_D3M9w_OoGOq1Lyg89t3lXcxMwRwTsPQ_eFkXtQPsHklB9D6btHiUNYuHmyT819omDDjZPu_sITur6P9Jct3V0gvxYtwJFlyDcGIJI869eumuYKgBh4/s320/6751356.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><br />Wench</i>, by <span class="JsGRdQ">Dolen Perkins-Valdez</span></h3><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">An eye-opening novel about a haven for slave owners and their enslaved concubines in Ohio before the Civil War. It was the author's first novel and it was lacking in some areas, but it was a memorable story and setting.</span></h3><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvuFa3cBniExluXpSe8L7W662UtZKqlb9QWR67Hi_cm9PxeY2t9n40PCPgcjf1ijMc9_drLFpC19vmVgqxuewx9eOYGbfJyGvvYarXEquU8YayFpMclSryYOB4VMZ1Mm6KqZEPCi4BSYs/s320/28187230.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="213" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvuFa3cBniExluXpSe8L7W662UtZKqlb9QWR67Hi_cm9PxeY2t9n40PCPgcjf1ijMc9_drLFpC19vmVgqxuewx9eOYGbfJyGvvYarXEquU8YayFpMclSryYOB4VMZ1Mm6KqZEPCi4BSYs/s0/28187230.jpeg" width="213" /></a></div><i><br /></i></h3><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i>Woman in Cabin 10</i>, by Ruth Ware</h3><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: left;">Lo Blacklock is a bit of a mess. A travel journalist who has been burgled and has PTSD, she's been given an opportunity to go on a luxury cruise in Norway...but nothing seems as it is. This was meant to be a thriller, but I found it not as effective as some other thrillers I've read. It started out well, but seemed like it had a ton of plot holes.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi00Ba4XHo8ZO7e-1cuPtKALZG1epv0n62neCzl1ETFlPHNFBfduw1AWzMh_Ks54FYWbs8MbV3WJxtdpnoYjsKh8p5TRotkzSjetw781ems4ez7P3Cv3285VvzK1YJmyP9txqWteVPiZ-k/s400/55994371.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="265" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi00Ba4XHo8ZO7e-1cuPtKALZG1epv0n62neCzl1ETFlPHNFBfduw1AWzMh_Ks54FYWbs8MbV3WJxtdpnoYjsKh8p5TRotkzSjetw781ems4ez7P3Cv3285VvzK1YJmyP9txqWteVPiZ-k/s320/55994371.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><p></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i>China Room</i>, by Sunjeev Sahota</h3><p>My husband really liked this book, but I was less enamored. I have read a lot of Indian fiction, so I am comparing this novel to many others. This story was not believable to me and it felt like it was a male fantasy. I found it difficult to fathom that a young girl would not know which of the three brothers was her husband...and then when he raped her without her consent, she fell in love with him. The story of Mehar's descendant was interesting at times before I lost interest. Overall, I found this book lacking.</p><h1 style="text-align: left;">Nonfiction</h1><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZhU5HHysySLosDvnNZcVceNZCnPdB-uUD6v7RlJOvsjqotEHfS3QlXjAr-Mj41wydQAFVc0u8pz787N6YieMZ8ykq2w9s0tC7O-zCFQ7df_CYJkAzZ8gTtJBcvtKH7itT1-ApzLXk7FI/s1000/53138238.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="658" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZhU5HHysySLosDvnNZcVceNZCnPdB-uUD6v7RlJOvsjqotEHfS3QlXjAr-Mj41wydQAFVc0u8pz787N6YieMZ8ykq2w9s0tC7O-zCFQ7df_CYJkAzZ8gTtJBcvtKH7itT1-ApzLXk7FI/s320/53138238.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i>The Three Mothers: How the Mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin Shaped a Nation</i>, by Anna Malaika Tubbs</h3><div>This book was recommended to me by one of my podcast guests, and I loved it. It's a classic example of a herstory untold. Each one of these women had a fascinating story and I'm glad to finally learn about them.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi4tTx-9VOLbKya8-2EHhUvAXl9G1MPfsd_l2jcLl61-S2W9S8D0fkmwFRFNytwdzXtaEewPE9ggsTcNTcUb5dFih3l777kfsjfMKmaYvP1ElWQQBDGnlI6LIBccp-HezNA8L-nIaH-sZeqeZDxnWG-6n2nRzMuaLufh70OxCu-qdSo6GQgcZvhb2kJ=s2048" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1356" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi4tTx-9VOLbKya8-2EHhUvAXl9G1MPfsd_l2jcLl61-S2W9S8D0fkmwFRFNytwdzXtaEewPE9ggsTcNTcUb5dFih3l777kfsjfMKmaYvP1ElWQQBDGnlI6LIBccp-HezNA8L-nIaH-sZeqeZDxnWG-6n2nRzMuaLufh70OxCu-qdSo6GQgcZvhb2kJ=s320" width="212" /></a></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i>Broken Horses</i>, by Brandi Carlile</h3><p style="text-align: left;">When I first published this list, I somehow forgot one of my favorite books this year!! I absolutely loved this memoir by my all-time favorite singer-songwriter. Raw, honest, vulnerable, and beautifully written. I read the book as soon as it came out, and now I'm reliving it by listening to the audio. The audio book has songs on it!! (The paper book does too, but they are just lyrics.) There's also a gorgeous playlist that goes with the book on Spotify.</p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjGqrHu7eNA9gBNTpPJpl6zpKmqa7KDF5zJzVVDgMKsYoEYXCPmcFrHKEgEOTwa4fl6Gq8BYuwOP-f7s1tUA2ZOV-bUuWrOaOF43vk0z9jMfol7yd9ISTyVqu6ZuS5L8c7In3kCEPgW5E/s1000/33574165.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="658" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjGqrHu7eNA9gBNTpPJpl6zpKmqa7KDF5zJzVVDgMKsYoEYXCPmcFrHKEgEOTwa4fl6Gq8BYuwOP-f7s1tUA2ZOV-bUuWrOaOF43vk0z9jMfol7yd9ISTyVqu6ZuS5L8c7In3kCEPgW5E/s320/33574165.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i>Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower</i>, by Brittney Cooper</h3><div>Black feminism, scholarship, and fierce rage: what could be more powerful? Brittney Cooper is an associate professor of Women's and Gender Studies and Africana Studies at Rutgers University, but this is not an academic tome. It is a manifesto. I listened to this as an audio book, and it's one of the few books I've listened to this year that I want to actually read again on paper.</div><div><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYRXHDN9aNbHIHQ_EJXCf0Psu5piVe6OeYHDpJK8b2xB86h7gOOEPl6bImJl8_bpFXtwaUaalBkY2NfG_2AKIhmn6HuaBNkcztoZj0fxYyWl4VxQZioJ7UkSvU4KyPsMO0YanpyPrHsZw/s2048/54817546-2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1384" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYRXHDN9aNbHIHQ_EJXCf0Psu5piVe6OeYHDpJK8b2xB86h7gOOEPl6bImJl8_bpFXtwaUaalBkY2NfG_2AKIhmn6HuaBNkcztoZj0fxYyWl4VxQZioJ7UkSvU4KyPsMO0YanpyPrHsZw/w216-h320/54817546-2.jpg" width="216" /></a></div><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i>You'll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey: Crazy Stories About Racism</i>, by Amber Ruffin & Lacey Lamar</h3></div><div>I happened across this in the Wesleyan bookstore on parents' weekend, and I downloaded the audio book to listen to as we were driving back into Boston for a few days before flying home. I finished the book when I arrived home. You probably know Amber Ruffin from Seth Meyers, and Lacey is her sister who still lives back home in Nebraska. And you'll never believe the stories they tell. Every white person needs to read/listen to this one to realize how racist this country is.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKwP4-rPJlrtq9t6GhQW1c7pNaiF4rSRVTerA-dOPuQYYnx9Bb2uHCLGa2Sdxftq4b8XBC2fEXEK98PfJOkcchPN6YuTUWX6Rmz_jVUNjvLYwHQuHNIrh5BOkE4pHkr6zLO99NxJTD_ys/s2048/56428748.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1336" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKwP4-rPJlrtq9t6GhQW1c7pNaiF4rSRVTerA-dOPuQYYnx9Bb2uHCLGa2Sdxftq4b8XBC2fEXEK98PfJOkcchPN6YuTUWX6Rmz_jVUNjvLYwHQuHNIrh5BOkE4pHkr6zLO99NxJTD_ys/s320/56428748.jpg" width="209" /></a></div><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i>Black Magic: What Black Leaders Learned from Trauma and Triumph</i>, by Chad Sanders</h3></div><div>Chad Sanders worked in the tech world and learned how much more included he felt if he code switched (acted white, essentially). When he realized how that was eating him up inside, he decided it would be better to just act his true self...use his Black magic of resilience. This book includes Chad's story and interviews with his friends and colleagues. He asked these people, how have their experiences of trauma helped them be more successful in their careers? This theme of course is appealing to me, since I have a podcast about finding fertile ground through adversity.</div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4R8hA1KCODgdHLAwilYFYOWYAKty32DV3-Sb5ZtyBPRN-HgvPYpi72UpmKCCb3KfmUEoZUSFnW4WEw10dx7ZFiGB_MPz8GF6mdzjMj7Sd42yTm37LnUXXzmMB4gfwCXondkxOSQzQ5vw/s400/57007984-2.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="258" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4R8hA1KCODgdHLAwilYFYOWYAKty32DV3-Sb5ZtyBPRN-HgvPYpi72UpmKCCb3KfmUEoZUSFnW4WEw10dx7ZFiGB_MPz8GF6mdzjMj7Sd42yTm37LnUXXzmMB4gfwCXondkxOSQzQ5vw/s320/57007984-2.jpg" width="206" /></a></div><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i>Nice White Ladies: The Truth About White Supremacy, Our Role in It, and How We Can Help Dismantle It</i>, by Jessie Daniels</h3></div><p style="text-align: left;">Another excellent non-academic book about race and racism by an academic. Daniels is a professor of sociology at Hunter College. She will shake up what you think about white women. If you're a white woman, this is a must-read. </p><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSg-R5y36SWABCyKu2PGIneJph7Kp6W-X4t8xoHF17gEjBfBfwXoXbINXPMl4H6D2mpdPTBHjEkA1Vjf-ZRXMAclEytEkn3ZIMWPM-fg5pcdjE-decmGErLFJdsb8xFeC-ImvZVkQb8wE/s2048/34956885.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1326" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSg-R5y36SWABCyKu2PGIneJph7Kp6W-X4t8xoHF17gEjBfBfwXoXbINXPMl4H6D2mpdPTBHjEkA1Vjf-ZRXMAclEytEkn3ZIMWPM-fg5pcdjE-decmGErLFJdsb8xFeC-ImvZVkQb8wE/s320/34956885.jpg" width="207" /></a></div><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i>The Body Is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love</i>, by Sonya Renee Taylor</h3></div><p style="text-align: left;">A friend recommended this book to me when I was having some body image doubts after someone rudely told me I had a crooked face. (Yes, thanks to a cleft lip, ma'am!) This book shakes up our culture's mores and beliefs about beauty and needs to be read again and again. Much of the book is about Black women's bodies, but it is affirming for all!</p><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiQvAzz_F51V_m1riJFKX2mLqiapyOHqYkvDmp5E29FHgFAwfQU_RTYXNScg30vYq5CjgndWm27hNhIfD7LHw0yCekJGjnpKYAhojAtieCoNueC_3TctS_SeYKp3c8Rb8NSc6tL9nvOMM/s2048/53240376.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1351" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiQvAzz_F51V_m1riJFKX2mLqiapyOHqYkvDmp5E29FHgFAwfQU_RTYXNScg30vYq5CjgndWm27hNhIfD7LHw0yCekJGjnpKYAhojAtieCoNueC_3TctS_SeYKp3c8Rb8NSc6tL9nvOMM/s320/53240376.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i>Man Enough: Undefining My Masculinity</i>, by Justin Baldoni</h3></div><div>I loved Justin Baldoni in "Jane the Virgin," and when I saw he had a podcast about masculinity, I decided to read his book. As the mom of three boys, I felt this was an important book to read. It's the only book I'm aware of that really examines the kinds of pressures men are under and how these pressures can affect their relationships with the women in their lives. Highly recommended.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCLvfwrMxzr8BukqzK_AWuvszA_jOsEKeevDcImLMsieMf65XruB20sFU4WGklxZbdY5-JWu5VQlxo4mkYaFB84uWr5NRRCu1XUnWvOaQYzhb8GfOeUqWcOzTmQ0nekVrt-IJTM7pdpZ0/s400/50088631.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="263" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCLvfwrMxzr8BukqzK_AWuvszA_jOsEKeevDcImLMsieMf65XruB20sFU4WGklxZbdY5-JWu5VQlxo4mkYaFB84uWr5NRRCu1XUnWvOaQYzhb8GfOeUqWcOzTmQ0nekVrt-IJTM7pdpZ0/s320/50088631.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i>Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family</i>, by Robert Kolker</h3></div><div>This was an outstanding narrative nonfiction book about the Catholic Galvin family with 12 children in middle America (10 boys and 2 girls). Six of the boys had schizophrenia. Kolker alternates the Galvin story with the history of schizophrenia and attempts to treat it. This book is gripping and educational. </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5RDRyUj8XeMU2PmIfLG4lOwxhi7_i1_0SZr1EYNbFwpRE7ZNzcVnWnbZcRNsGzB1TWbdcqAyE_vBb5ADChcABM11nYS9SyM0VDriW6z2xbC-mI2TucPIrmuVKSTEoM-h8jh1pFZ8DGkM/s475/23168823.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="313" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5RDRyUj8XeMU2PmIfLG4lOwxhi7_i1_0SZr1EYNbFwpRE7ZNzcVnWnbZcRNsGzB1TWbdcqAyE_vBb5ADChcABM11nYS9SyM0VDriW6z2xbC-mI2TucPIrmuVKSTEoM-h8jh1pFZ8DGkM/s320/23168823.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i>How to Raise an Adult: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Kid for Success</i>, by Julie Lythcott-Haims</h3></div><div>I got the honor of interviewing Julie on my Finding Fertile Ground podcast during my "Resilient Writers" series. At the time, I hadn't read this book but had watched her TED talk about it. She is a former Stanford dean and has become famous for helping parents not be helicopter parents...and for helping kids become independent. This was her first book on the subject, and I highly recommend it for any parent! </div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Ox80Iu9j47rqW_k2tOtzCo8EgOD4p3JE-ONsxq4vAGKxJAy16f-l2A_eaU1furNdw2u3m-pTa6YoXL6C_LAkMwr2mSZXsn_iIPV5LdK-wLdZVKsju7dUgKUC45CAK6ctMRyI58JY2JM/s1200/30231786.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Ox80Iu9j47rqW_k2tOtzCo8EgOD4p3JE-ONsxq4vAGKxJAy16f-l2A_eaU1furNdw2u3m-pTa6YoXL6C_LAkMwr2mSZXsn_iIPV5LdK-wLdZVKsju7dUgKUC45CAK6ctMRyI58JY2JM/s320/30231786.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i>Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings: Poems</i>, by Joy Harjo</h3></div><div>I began listening to Harjo's book of poems as I took a walk on Thanksgiving this year. Ever more aware of the racist history of Thanksgiving, I wanted to soak up some indigenous wisdom. Harjo did not disappoint.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNnR6tk6Qr6fzPdOScnb6nsLkhopOvFyRliLoAmMSD9uU_Qb7SkHTWpaiodXMIOYzW47w0A8wcqNZsJ9AAH7bDTQWtE-ISGsSjQu8vvRXohFxKYvV0P0mu0AbsFvlGxt3FGo8bRX_8RPA/s2048/35909706.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1356" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNnR6tk6Qr6fzPdOScnb6nsLkhopOvFyRliLoAmMSD9uU_Qb7SkHTWpaiodXMIOYzW47w0A8wcqNZsJ9AAH7bDTQWtE-ISGsSjQu8vvRXohFxKYvV0P0mu0AbsFvlGxt3FGo8bRX_8RPA/s320/35909706.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i>Women of the Blue & Gray: True Civil War Stories of Mothers, Medics, Soldiers and Spies</i>, by Marianne Monson</h3></div><div>I read this book in preparation for my interview with Marianne Monson on my "Resilient Writers" series on the Finding Fertile Ground podcast. I loved reading about these badasses of history.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn7-Cya1lHy8PqQdsszDsDtD5a-Nbltf_iL5-iiQrHAw7_6PRQlku5ATWC0Y79dUFS84Xls9WUHEtzv2zfI-nzNF8lbqArmAgO4NXK3Suee15TYjWZY1LvA0dmVt80Ud3tzB38tTNLyPY/s400/51206154.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="258" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn7-Cya1lHy8PqQdsszDsDtD5a-Nbltf_iL5-iiQrHAw7_6PRQlku5ATWC0Y79dUFS84Xls9WUHEtzv2zfI-nzNF8lbqArmAgO4NXK3Suee15TYjWZY1LvA0dmVt80Ud3tzB38tTNLyPY/s320/51206154.jpg" width="206" /></a></div><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i>My Sister: How One Sibling's Transition Changed Us Both</i>, by Selenis Leyva & Marizol Levya</h3></div><div>I received this in my book group holiday swap, and I really enjoyed it. Selenis Leyva was on "Orange Is the New Black." She and her adopted sister write about their childhoods, how Marizol slowly transitioned, and how their family reacted. It's a sister love story.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Y0XWf3gah2iaWxZbtB2irm0mxh7ioXapkHCcFWo8qmIy_QUadXDxa-dT7h_icX8lCyL6kZmQVBHZU9zNdzuKmEd5mm94_E2Gq3SvqsB0x9jKiUIdINPehNuW9KYc2RWzPF3OX1bIOjY/s900/42198554.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="587" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8Y0XWf3gah2iaWxZbtB2irm0mxh7ioXapkHCcFWo8qmIy_QUadXDxa-dT7h_icX8lCyL6kZmQVBHZU9zNdzuKmEd5mm94_E2Gq3SvqsB0x9jKiUIdINPehNuW9KYc2RWzPF3OX1bIOjY/s320/42198554.jpg" width="209" /></a></div><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i>Surviving the White Gaze: A Memoir</i>, by Rebecca Carroll</h3></div><div>Rebecca Carroll grew up feeling isolated as an adopted girl of a white family in New Hampshire. She hoped meeting her birth mother would help her heal from that trauma, but it only multiplied her stress and sense of self-worth. This is an excellent memoir of the complexity of raising a child of another color in a mostly white environment. </div><div><br /></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm1fUlLEcXT40Dagc3VRrURVA6cO0pc_yykaWD8TNNUWWxwaMb7inGsRkpcodZG1tAAOjhu8pi37NwDg16vb5O09DJPaKZ8th0s1InqoP25bIy7iKG55_hyphenhyphenmFSDoXWtrYpkgQ0wh3Gsfg/s400/53327897.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="267" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm1fUlLEcXT40Dagc3VRrURVA6cO0pc_yykaWD8TNNUWWxwaMb7inGsRkpcodZG1tAAOjhu8pi37NwDg16vb5O09DJPaKZ8th0s1InqoP25bIy7iKG55_hyphenhyphenmFSDoXWtrYpkgQ0wh3Gsfg/s320/53327897.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><br /><i>Consent: A Memoir</i>, by Vanessa Springora</h3><div>I have always passionately disliked <i>Lolita</i>. As an English major, I had to read it more than once! This book is about a real life Lolita story, about celebrated French writer Gabriel Matzneff, who sexually exploited the 14-year-old Springora. Being France, and with him being famous, people went along with this bizarre "relationship." The #metoo movement made Springora realize how f*cked up this situation was and she decided to tell her story. Lolita takes charge of her life again.</div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOgcc6s-_tFNFYunXt8NVM9jEA2SfEWrOQ0U2asgyBAo6c8o4XMQKeKQeqEfVhwMuspXR992tbiQEJVaPnABiFeEWGrRmvLSHcB2xiuF5iMcmhXMGWkzGi_m94fS5HStIQRAeSG16IoGg/s2048/55918670.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1345" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOgcc6s-_tFNFYunXt8NVM9jEA2SfEWrOQ0U2asgyBAo6c8o4XMQKeKQeqEfVhwMuspXR992tbiQEJVaPnABiFeEWGrRmvLSHcB2xiuF5iMcmhXMGWkzGi_m94fS5HStIQRAeSG16IoGg/s320/55918670.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i>Work Your Way: Reinvent Yourself, Create the Life You Want, and Thrive as a Consultant</i>, by Lisa Hufford</h3></div><div>My business coach bought this book for each of us and brought Hufford onto Zoom for a master class. Lisa Hufford was climbing the ladder at Microsoft until she realized she couldn't have high-quality time with her kids and continue working at the pace she had been. She quit and became a consultant, and years later, she now has a thriving consulting business. She lays out how she did that in this book.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-675693465209723258.post-54016708950628749982021-08-09T22:04:00.003-07:002021-08-09T22:04:35.147-07:00An American Marriage<h1 style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #45818e;">An American Marriage</span></i>, by Tayari Jones</h1><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2QPPsW0wN4rhQLEAc-k4LROEx7Fja52LSOmGKz9o_ZMHlmeec-Rr2q6BiYjsjJZpCPb7TNEv-GJnqKa3pgLxi4ThyJXMFRXyscEHjMBelAyVW3RRgInFAOLw65bWqp800mgYbhyphenhyphen9fZrw/s475/33590210._SY475_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="312" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2QPPsW0wN4rhQLEAc-k4LROEx7Fja52LSOmGKz9o_ZMHlmeec-Rr2q6BiYjsjJZpCPb7TNEv-GJnqKa3pgLxi4ThyJXMFRXyscEHjMBelAyVW3RRgInFAOLw65bWqp800mgYbhyphenhyphen9fZrw/s320/33590210._SY475_.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>I got the good fortune of hearing Tayari Jones speak on her book tour before actually reading this book. <div><br /></div><div>It's a heart-breaking story, for sure...about a married couple--Roy and Celestial--whose relationship transforms when the husband is unfairly charged for rape and imprisoned. </div><div><br /></div><div>A character-driven story, the novel also examines what happens when one person is imprisoned and how everything changes after that. </div><div><br /></div><div>Neither of the characters are particularly likable. In fact, I found both of them to be annoying at times. But Jones still manages to create sympathy for both parts of the couple. </div><div><br /></div><div>Beautiful writing. A truly sad book and reflection on the complexities of being Black in America.<br /><p><br /></p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-675693465209723258.post-25016689947976208632021-08-09T21:54:00.002-07:002021-08-09T21:54:23.143-07:00Island of Lost Girls<h1 style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="color: #134f5c;">Island of Lost Girls</span></i>, by Jennifer McMahon</h1><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVtRoRJcVwi7S67_kCZgH6hjGzBVgDU7ziOfbQs_QSn_ECYibU5Zg3hYURX0RP_eOouKD4R3YfL5v8GuyDNEpG1ycPDgLIGnrPUSVufBFh3SJdn2smg3Zg3-sL0WPDGZjw0BLsiG0V2yc/s475/2134097._SY475_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVtRoRJcVwi7S67_kCZgH6hjGzBVgDU7ziOfbQs_QSn_ECYibU5Zg3hYURX0RP_eOouKD4R3YfL5v8GuyDNEpG1ycPDgLIGnrPUSVufBFh3SJdn2smg3Zg3-sL0WPDGZjw0BLsiG0V2yc/s320/2134097._SY475_.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>I picked this up in a Little Free Library, and it sounded intriguing. Ultimately, though, I found the characters to be a bit unreliable (especially the main character, Rhonda), and as the "mystery" played out, it didn't make much sense to me. <br /><div><br /></div><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><p></p><p><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-675693465209723258.post-59119401260640937652021-08-09T21:41:00.000-07:002021-08-09T21:41:00.384-07:00Black Like Me<p></p><h1 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRqvxhutJoQs6gWNqKta8LBJX6HrRm370-nnTSZFKOY9NVUx0DFq_g3DC4HOj0TYtL8k6PGIZE7o0EOWRzF3ORA8_2XOdPivGnDY-bn7M5M_4m5mUsTp78T7sjrl3jAz09gkn7Ub0ZqxA/s256/42603.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="256" data-original-width="170" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRqvxhutJoQs6gWNqKta8LBJX6HrRm370-nnTSZFKOY9NVUx0DFq_g3DC4HOj0TYtL8k6PGIZE7o0EOWRzF3ORA8_2XOdPivGnDY-bn7M5M_4m5mUsTp78T7sjrl3jAz09gkn7Ub0ZqxA/s0/42603.jpg" width="170" /></a></div><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><i>Black Like Me</i></span>, by John Howard Griffin </h1><div>Our priest, who is a highly well-read 90-year-old, mentioned <i>Black Like Me</i> in his (Zoom) homily earlier this year. It prompted me to pick up this book again.</div><div><br /></div><div>I originally read it in high school, and I've never forgotten this book. It was one of a few books, including <i>The Autobiography of Malcolm X, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Bluest Eye, </i>and<i> I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings</i>, that I read in high school and that formed my thoughts about racism.</div><div><br /></div><div>John Howard Griffin was a white man who wanted to witness racism in the only way he could experience it: as a Black man. He used medication to darken his skin and traveled through the south as an undercover observer. When news of his investigation leaked out, he and his family were targets of what he called a "dirty bath" of hatred. He ended up moving his family to Mexico to escape the threats, and his parents went into exile too.</div><div><br /></div><div><i>Black Like Me </i>is definitely dated now. A white man donning what we now know as "blackface" would be frowned on. Black people do not need white saviors. But in the late 1950s, this book was revolutionary. And it opened the minds of many middle-class whites, who had no idea of how horrible and pervasive racism was, especially in the American South.</div><div><br /></div><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-675693465209723258.post-31683286991797973402020-12-30T10:06:00.002-08:002020-12-30T10:51:55.288-08:00Best Books of 2020<p>I've been capturing my top books of each year since 2001. <a href="https://mariesbookgarden.blogspot.com/p/b.html">You can access all of them here</a>.</p><p>While some of my friends are reading far less this year (for example, my book group has continued reading but is not reading books because many members are having a difficulty finding the time or energy), I guess I've actually amped up my reading a bit. </p><p>Links go to my reviews. I have fallen behind in my reviews, so some of them don't have full reviews yet!</p><p><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: large;"><b>Fiction</b></span></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-RCyMlh1_-xzu10_rxXg_JhVRJfigUAMBzNWxG0EP3gxJ0KHLc1wIuslDiE7VLqWaHTaUsgMHMn3KBopa21OvZCC3qS4BMc4RYokWAiQr8ww_nUoGSARGknypDpLhBGEIMyeBHhr1QzY/s1510/51153316.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1510" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-RCyMlh1_-xzu10_rxXg_JhVRJfigUAMBzNWxG0EP3gxJ0KHLc1wIuslDiE7VLqWaHTaUsgMHMn3KBopa21OvZCC3qS4BMc4RYokWAiQr8ww_nUoGSARGknypDpLhBGEIMyeBHhr1QzY/s320/51153316.jpg" /></a></div>1. <i><a href="https://mariesbookgarden.blogspot.com/2020/10/daughter-of-black-lake.html" target="_blank"><b>Daughter of Black Lake</b></a></i>, Cathy Marie Buchanan<p></p><p>Historical fiction all the way back to the Iron Age, this fascinating novel features two powerful women characters...a mother and daughter named Devout and Hobble. I haven't read a story this old since reading <i>The Clan of the Cave Bear, The Red Tent, </i>and the <i>Bible</i>. I had a great time interviewing the author for my <a href="https://www.fertilegroundcommunications.com/finding-fertile-ground-podcast">Finding Fertile Ground podcast</a> series on resilient characters, and I'll be featuring her interview in the next month.</p><p>2. <i><a href="https://mariesbookgarden.blogspot.com/2020/04/catching-up-great-fiction-reads.html"><b>The Power</b></a></i>, Naomi Alderman</p><p>This dystopian novel blew my mind, imagining what it would be like if women had a course of power running through their collarbone, capable of great strength and power. I still think about it, even though I read the novel several months ago. At my book group, we discussed whether women would be as violent and aggressive as men if they had the power. I actually think it's not fair to make comparisons, because the women in this novel were oppressed and had a reason to be angry and violent. It was not a level playing field to make this comparison. This book will make you ponder.</p><p>3. <i><a href="https://mariesbookgarden.blogspot.com/2020/05/two-books-by-black-women-kindred-and.html" target="_blank"><b>Kindred</b></a></i>, Octavia Butler</p><p>Dana suddenly gets flung back in time into the antebellum south to save a drowning white boy. It turns out he is one of her ancestors. Dana ends up back on this plantation over and over again, each time to rescue clueless and careless Rufus. This book is grueling and difficult, but amazing, and my first Octavia Butler, thanks to my friend Catherine. She published this book in 1979, so it's amazing I'd never read it before.</p><p>4. <i><b>There There</b></i>, Tommy Orange</p><p>A series of interconnected short stories about the Native American experience...all characters traveling to the Big Oakland Powwow. Beautifully told, compelling, heart-breaking, and so important for every American to read to understand the Native experience. I learned so much, both from reading the novel and from my research afterward.</p><p>5. <i><b>Sweet Bean Paste</b></i>, Durian Sukegawa</p><p>I loved this precious little story, about a former convict, Sentaro, who sells dorayaki, a pancake filled with sweet bean paste. His life is meaningless until a disfigured elderly woman, Tokue, walks through the door. Tokue makes sweet bean paste beyond his imaginings. I learned a great deal about the way Japan treated people with leprosy in the not-so-distant past, including the time when I lived there in the 1980s. I plan to watch the movie (available on Kanopy) one of these days too.</p><p>6. <i><b>The Testaments</b></i>, Margaret Atwood</p><p>Judging from some of the reviews, many readers believe that this sequel to <i>The Handmaid's Tale </i>was unnecessary. I actually liked <i>The Testaments </i>and found it to be a suitable conclusion to T<i>he Handmaid's Tale</i>, and it complemented the Hulu series well. The story takes place 15 years after the founding of Gilead, and it is told from the perspectives of three different people, including Aunt Lydia. If you prefer endings that are unresolved, stay away from <i>The Testaments</i>. If you'd like to see a resolution for Offred and others--and get some hope--read this sequel. </p><p>7. <i><b>Where the Crawdads Sing</b></i>, Delia Owens</p><p>So many people recommended this unputdownable book to me, and it did not disappoint. It takes place in the North Carolina marsh country in the late 1960s, an area of which I'm unfamiliar. Kya Clark is a resilient protagonist, and the natural world and its wild creatures are just as vivid of characters as Kya herself. It's a tale about deep poverty and child neglect. My heart broke for Kya, so alone throughout her life.</p><p>8. <i><b>The Heart’s Invisible Furies</b></i>, John Boyne</p><p>John Boyne is a gay Irish writer, and this story is a poignant tragedy about the travails of being an unwed mother, or being gay, in Ireland. It's a great family saga that takes place from the 1940s to the present. It's definitely also an indictment on the hypocrisies and cruelty of the Roman Catholic church.</p><p>9. <i><b>Dragonfly in Amber</b></i>, Diana Gabaldon</p><p>The second in the Outlander saga, I actually enjoyed this book more for having watched the Outlander series on Starz. Time travel, romance, France, and Scotland. A perfect distraction from the modern-day mess of this world right now.</p><p>10. <i><b><a href="https://mariesbookgarden.blogspot.com/2020/05/rooftops-of-tehran.html" target="_blank">Rooftops of Tehran</a></b></i>, Mahbod Seraji</p><p>This was a beautiful story, pre-Iranian revolution, of Pasha and his friends, who gathered in the evening on his neighborhood's rooftops. This book is about coming of age, with deep bonds of friendship and the blossoming of a forbidden romance. It's also deeply sad and lovely, if you can stand the sadness.</p><p>11. <i><b>On the Come Up</b></i>, Angie Thomas</p><p>I love Angie Thomas, especially after having her seen her in person when she was promoting this novel. Starr Carter, who has a true gift for rap, takes after her dad who was gunned down in the streets. She's damned if she tells her truth through rap, and she's damned if she doesn't. This book gave me an appreciation for the artistry of hip hop. I will read everything Angie Thomas writes.</p><p>12. <i><b>An American Marriage</b></i>, Tayari Jones</p><p>I also got to see Tayari Jones promote this novel, which turned out to be especially topical reading for this year when so many Black people have been falsely accused and gunned down by police. It's the story of a couple, Celestial and Roy, who seem on their way to "the American Dream" until Roy is falsely accused of rape and sentenced to prison for 12 years. The characters were not particularly likable, and I found it hard to believe they ever really had love in their marriage, but they were survivors facing difficult conditions.</p><p>13. <b><i><a href="https://mariesbookgarden.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-canterbury-sisters.html" target="_blank">The Canterbury Sisters</a></i></b>, Kim Wright</p><p>A nice, light read. Che de Milan is the daughter of a narcissist who has died. When her mother's ashes arrived, they came with a plea to take her to Canterbury Cathedral. On that same day, Che received a "Dear Juanita" letter from her long-time lover, dumping her. She booked a ticket to England and embarks on a walking trip following the Canterbury Tales. She had hoped to journey alone, but she ends up in a motley tour group, sharing stories along the way.</p><p>14. <i><b><a href="https://mariesbookgarden.blogspot.com/2020/05/a-reliable-wife.html" target="_blank">A Reliable Wife</a></b></i>, Robert Goolrick*</p><p>Set in cold northern Wisconsin in the early 1900s, <i>A Reliable Wife</i> is the story of many people from various backgrounds who share something in common: miserable childhoods lacking in love and nurturing. Wealthy businessman Ralph Truitt asks for "a reliable wife" to come join him in the far-flung north, and Catherine Land claims she fits that bill. An interesting story about manipulative, deeply unhappy, unloved people. </p><p>15. <b><i>What She Knew</i></b>, Gilly Macmillan</p><p>I think this was a decent effort for a debut novel about a missing child, a distracted mom, and the toxicity of the Internet. But I felt disappointed with the ending...both the identity of the abductor and also the character development of many of the people in the book. </p><p>16. <i><b>Island of Lost Girls</b></i>, Jennifer McMahon</p><p>Another "missing child" novel...this time, the main character actually sees the child being taken. As she tries to help solve the crime, she is reminded of her childhood friend who disappeared when she was younger. It was a compelling read, but I found the plot to be implausible at times.</p><p>17. <i><b>A Stranger in the House</b></i>, Shari Lapena</p><p>A thriller with unraveling secrets, about a seemingly normal married couple in upstate New York. Again, the characters were unreliable and unlikable, but read it if you like twists and turns.</p><p><b style="color: #0b5394; font-size: x-large;">Nonfiction</b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj43T1uLgNoEMQ0dZS7qrzZxt9rlg499DmIU-kiHvT0BIZG824UI3cHBWAVTlTOCAe-xH5vWnu_e1LVHDiyQPgyu_mQMkn4gGww2-84xT0d5L25-sAU4zM6tlDu6R1FsnSd0iIXSvc5Hlo/s400/33898879.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="265" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj43T1uLgNoEMQ0dZS7qrzZxt9rlg499DmIU-kiHvT0BIZG824UI3cHBWAVTlTOCAe-xH5vWnu_e1LVHDiyQPgyu_mQMkn4gGww2-84xT0d5L25-sAU4zM6tlDu6R1FsnSd0iIXSvc5Hlo/s320/33898879.jpg" /></a></div>1. <i><a href="https://mariesbookgarden.blogspot.com/2020/05/real-american-memoir.html"><b>Real American: A Memoir</b></a></i>, Julie Lythcott-Haims<p></p><p><i>Real American</i> is a book, like Ta-Nehisi Coates' <i>Between the World and Me</i>, that all people need to read...or even better, listen to, which is how I absorbed this beautiful and heart-breaking memoir. New York Times bestselling author Lythcott-Haims was born to a white (British) mother and a Black American father. All her life she never felt like she fit into either race, beginning in kindergarten when her friend asked, "What are you?" This is such an important book. I'm featuring Lythcott-Haims on my podcast too! She's better known for her book <i>How to Raise an Adult</i>, about her reflections from working as a dean for Stanford University.</p><p>2. <i><b><a href="https://mariesbookgarden.blogspot.com/2020/04/catching-up-great-nonfiction-reads.html">Untamed</a></b></i>, Glennon Doyle</p><p>I loved this book. If you cannot abide Elizabeth Gilbert or Brene Brown, steer clear. Glennon Doyle is not for everyone. <i>Untamed </i>is about Glennon's journey back to herself, after a lifetime of trying to please everyone else and becoming the image of what she thought God and her parents wanted her to be. “When women lose themselves, the world loses its way. We do not need more selfless women. What we need right now is more women who have detoxed themselves so completely from the world's expectations that they are full of nothing but themselves. What we need are women who are full of themselves. A woman who is full of herself knows and trusts herself enough to say and do what must be done. She lets the rest burn.”</p><p>3. <i><b><a href="https://mariesbookgarden.blogspot.com/2020/04/catching-up-great-nonfiction-reads.html">Just Mercy</a></b></i>, Bryan Stevenson</p><p>Bryan Stevenson is a hero for the neglected, the abused, the convicted without a fair trial, and those who are forgotten on Death Row. <i>Just Mercy</i> relates his stories of working tirelessly on their behalf, combined with facts and historical context about the prison industrial text and racism in this country. I found this book to be tragic, moving, inspiring, and infuriating. Stevenson shows up in the documentary 13th and also in the Nicholas Kristof/Sheryl WuDunn book I'm reading right now, <i>Tightrope</i>. Highly recommended.</p><p>4. <i><b><a href="https://mariesbookgarden.blogspot.com/2020/01/when-they-call-you-terrorist-black.html">When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir</a></b></i>, Patrisse Khan-Cullors</p><p><i>When They Call You a Terrorist</i> is the beautifully written story of a Black girl growing up in inner-city Los Angeles by a hard-working single mother and a father and stepfather who come and go. Although raised in poverty, she and her family fiercely love and protect each other...as they have to do big time when her beloved brother Monte is repeatedly targeted, beaten, and incarcerated for his mental illness. Patrisse emerges from her childhood with a feisty, creative, and confident spirit in spite of the fact that she sees firsthand the destructive damages of racism every single day. Here's who needs to read <i>When They Call You a Terrorist</i>:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Every white person who thinks we've transcended racism.</li><li>Every person who has ever uttered "All Lives Matter" or "Blue Lives Matter."</li><li>Every white person who thinks they are "woke."</li><li>Every white person who has never had to fear their children being arrested for just existing.</li><li>Every white person who looks away when #BlackLivesMatter comes up in discussion.</li><li>Every white person who voted for Trump.</li><li>Every white person who voted for anyone else but Trump.</li><li>Every white person who thinks that police are always fair and friendly.</li><li>Every white person who believes people should "pull themselves up by their bootstraps."</li><li>Every white person who thinks there are more drugs in Black neighborhoods than white ones.</li><li>Every white person who thinks that people in prison deserve to be there.</li><li>Every white person who lives in a predominantly white neighborhood or community.</li><li>Every white person who has never been pulled over and questioned because of their race.</li><li>Every white person who can conveniently stop thinking about racism when they want to.</li><li>Every white person.</li><li>And everyone else too. </li></ul><p></p><p>5. <i><b>More Myself: A Journey</b></i>, Alicia Keys</p><p>This book is meant to be listened to, because Alicia Keys' voice has such a lovely lyrical lift, and she also sings on the audio book. She bares her soul and her personal struggles in this book, and the most vivid memory I have is when she talks about racism and parenting Black children. Such a beautiful retelling of her life.</p><p>6. <i><b>The Guilty Feminist: </b></i><b><i>From Our Noble Goals to Our Worst Hypocrisies</i></b>, Deborah Frances-White</p><p>Deborah Frances-White is the host of one of my favorite podcasts, <a href="https://guiltyfeminist.com/" target="_blank">The Guilty Feminist</a>, which discusses topics “all 21st century feminists agree on” while confessing their insecurities, hypocrisies, and fears that underlie their lofty principles. The book is a great primer and commentary on feminism, with a wonderful sense of humor to boot!</p><p>7. <i><b>The Middle Finger Project: </b></i><b><i>Trash Your Imposter Syndrome and Live the Unf*ckwithable Life You Deserve</i></b>, Ash Ambirge</p><p>Ash is a rags-to-riches author, internet entrepreneur, and founder of The Middle Finger Project, a blog about following your passions (unless you’re a serial killer). Her work focuses on helping women find their voice and use language as a tool to increase upward mobility, create economic opportunity, and increase their sense of personal agency in their career and life. I listened to this book on audio, and it was a fun ride.</p><p>8. <i><b>What We Carry: A Memoir</b></i>, Maya Lang</p><p>In this beautiful memoir, Maya Lang (who is of Indian origin) writes about her experience with her highly ambitious and accomplished mother developing Alzheimer's disease around the same time that she has a baby. At first Lang is heartbroken to experience her mom's apparent lack of support when she gives birth and has postpartum depression, but then she discovers the reason...her mom's increasing dementia. A wonderful story about mothers and daughters, especially growing up in an immigrant household with even higher expectations of grown children.</p><p>9. <i><b>Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You</b></i>, Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi</p><p>Stamped is a fast-track version of the longer <i>Stamped from the Beginning</i> by Ibram X. Kendi, designed for younger readers. It traces the history of racism and the many political, literary, and philosophical narratives that have been used to justify slavery, oppression, and genocide. I had many ahas while listening to it, and I learned a ton, similar to the documentary Thirteenth, making me realize what a pathetic history education I had!</p><p>10. <i><b><a href="https://mariesbookgarden.blogspot.com/2020/04/catching-up-great-nonfiction-reads.html">The Yellow House</a></b></i>, Sarah M. Broom</p><p>Sarah Broom grew up in a family of 12 children. Sarah was only six months old when her father died, leaving her mom, who did not know how to drive at the time, with several children at home and a rambling, ramshackle house she bought with her own money at a very young age. It's also a story about New Orleans, where the yellow house stood until it was split in half during Hurricane Katrina. It's about a family displaced and the Black, working-class experience, a failure of infrastructure and corrupt leadership, a failed safety net, and the displacement of people who cannot afford to live in New Orleans any longer. And still, it's a love affair of sorts for New Orleans. All wrapped up in a towering, split-in-two Yellow House.</p><p>11. <i><b><a href="https://mariesbookgarden.blogspot.com/2020/05/two-books-by-black-women-kindred-and.html">Tough Love: My Story of the Things Worth Fighting For</a></b></i>, Susan Rice</p><p>I didn't know much about Susan Rice until I heard her interviewed on a podcast. She struck me as incredibly bright, funny, and capable, so when I saw she'd written a book I was immediately intrigued. This book is packed with stories about her childhood and young adulthood, diplomacy and policy work here and overseas, and family. She married her college sweetheart and has two children--one a diehard liberal and the other a Trump supporter. Yikes! Susan Rice is a rock star, and I enjoyed learning about all she's accomplished in her time on earth.</p><p>12. <i><b>Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement</b></i>, Angela Davis</p><p>A book encapsulating the brilliance of Angela Davis, talking about state-sanctioned oppression, the parallels between racial justice in the United States and oppression abroad, Black feminism, and more. She writes about supporting the presidency of Barack Obama, even while challenging him to do more. "Freedom is a constant struggle."</p><p>13. <i><b>My Vanishing Country</b></i>, Bakari Sellers</p><p>This book has been compared to <i>Hillbilly Elegy</i>, but for the Black experience. Bakari Sellers grew up under the shadow of his father's civil rights activism. His father was a friend of Stokely Carmichael and Martin Luther King Jr. Sellers describes his own struggles to come to grips with his history and the lives of his peers, who did not have as positive of an outcome as he did. </p><p>14. <i><a href="https://mariesbookgarden.blogspot.com/2020/04/catching-up-great-nonfiction-reads.html" target="_blank"><b>Thick: and Other Essays,</b></a></i> Tressie McMillam Cottom</p><p>One (white male) reviewer on Goodreads used the term "firebombing" when describing this book. He thought that McMillan wasn't nice enough, I guess. That attitude (Black women need to be nice) is telling, given the fact that firebombing has been used for mass destruction of Black people since the Civil Rights Movement. This book by sociologist Dr. Tressie Cottom McMillan, contains incisive, insightful essays about race and racism, white people, Black girlhood, academics, sociology, beauty, and other topics. The most powerful essay for me was about the high mortality rate for Black women in labor and childbirth, when McMillan shared her own heartbreaking story. Dr. McMillan is a writer and wise voice to follow.</p><div>15. <i><b>Black Like Me</b></i>, John Howard Griffin* (reread)</div><div><br /></div><div>I first read <i>Black Like Me</i> in high school, so it was interesting to revisit. Journalist John Howard Griffin conducted an experiment in the 1950s, using a medication to darken his skin and living as a Black person. Although dated in many ways, his book still offers observations and lessons to modern-day America on racial justice throughout the ages. </div><p>16. <i><b>Me and White Supremacy</b></i>, Layla F. Saad</p><p>I led a book group on this and <i>White Fragility </i>this summer. Saad wisely outlines her lessons in bite-size chunks, so it's easier for white people to swallow a little at a time. I am aware of the controversy surrounding this book, and I actually thought it wasn't the best book on race I've read. But it has good elementary steps on how to become an ally and anti-racist.</p><p>*I continue to read books mostly by underrepresented voices. Only the asterisked books are by straight white men.</p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><b>What I've Been Watching: </b></span></p><p>Sex Education, Crash Landing on You, Schitt’s Creek, Thirteenth, Outlander, Great British Bakeoff, The Great, Killing Eve, Kim’s Convenience, Self-Made, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Unorthodox, Atypical, Dead to Me, Never Have I Ever, One Day at a Time, Shrill, Grey’s Anatomy (for the first time), Mrs. America, Little Fires Everywhere, This Is Us, Law and Order SVU </p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-675693465209723258.post-81188203842845502662020-11-27T15:36:00.001-08:002020-11-27T15:36:08.657-08:00Rooftops of Tehran<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i><span style="color: red;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgotgqXKBJncl4-vne7V7MV0C2Wz_TqtzfWVoF0_Rf4oUQ0JImkOtHlYT7TAMPs4eD8q4jhD3G4pPBzTRRKT06LpJLPKy-9ZqK3YZOEu5i17xI_hugXmXY5dzh_E9mCJ9m0wOOPg1C1EX8/s400/6001011.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="260" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgotgqXKBJncl4-vne7V7MV0C2Wz_TqtzfWVoF0_Rf4oUQ0JImkOtHlYT7TAMPs4eD8q4jhD3G4pPBzTRRKT06LpJLPKy-9ZqK3YZOEu5i17xI_hugXmXY5dzh_E9mCJ9m0wOOPg1C1EX8/s320/6001011.jpg" /></a></div>Rooftops of Tehran</span></i></b>, by Mahbod Seraji</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"></span><br />This was a beautiful story, pre-Iranian revolution, of Pasha and his friends, who gathered in the evening on his neighborhood's rooftops. Pasha is in love with the elusive Zari, who is engaged to be married to "Doctor," a socialist intellectual who Pasha greatly admires.<br /><br />Pasha is bosom friends with Ahmed...in fact, this brotherly friendship is my favorite part of the book. It also sheds light on the terror wrought by SAVAK, the shah's secret police. But the bottom line is this book is not about Iran's politics, even though it serves as a chilling background. This book is about coming of age, with deep bonds of friendship and the blossoming of a forbidden romance. It's also deeply sad and lovely, if you can stand the sadness.<div><br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-675693465209723258.post-86919867066821078002020-10-14T09:30:00.004-07:002020-10-14T09:30:16.887-07:00Daughter of Black Lake<h1 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf_RAES6uhC2aMnDoU2ZietenilJR8z2FkRduGlixnHMBazzrmeIX8IIy1YHSH10lPvYDyJYMUYmqvJ8lmjwcj3DGxUtitR4i9Rumgn6t6mZLFQ9sDQGxPNDBu-lFxMRDSIEskc2vjjt4/s1510/51153316.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1510" data-original-width="1000" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf_RAES6uhC2aMnDoU2ZietenilJR8z2FkRduGlixnHMBazzrmeIX8IIy1YHSH10lPvYDyJYMUYmqvJ8lmjwcj3DGxUtitR4i9Rumgn6t6mZLFQ9sDQGxPNDBu-lFxMRDSIEskc2vjjt4/s320/51153316.jpg" /></a></div><i>Daughter of Black Lake</i>, by Cathy Marie Buchanan</h1><p>Ten years ago I read and loved Cathy Marie Buchanan's debut novel, <i>The Day the Falls Stood Still</i>. When I learned she'd written another novel about Iron Age Britain, I became immediately interested. I received an advance copy of this book, which just launched on my birthday, October 6. </p><p>This book sent me to the Internet to read all about the Druids and the Roman invasion of Britain. All I knew about Druids was related to Stonehenge, the Solstice, and the TV show <i>Outlander</i>. </p><p>I have not read many books set this long ago, with the exception of <i>Clan of the Cave Bear</i>, <i>The Red Tent</i>, and the <i>Bible</i>. The story alternates perspectives between Devout and her daughter, Hobble. They are finding their partners in ancient times, trying to make a life for themselves and their families and in Hobble's case, trying to survive being labeled as a "runt" by the Druids. </p><p>Not much is actually known about the Druids, but it appears that they believed in making sacrifices to appease the gods. Sometimes the sacrifices were human, especially children who were believed to be imperfect in some way. </p><p>As someone who was born with a cleft lip, cleft palate, and club foot, it did not escape my awareness that I would have been named Hobble or Harelip in those times and also being at risk of sacrifice. In long-ago times, birth defects like cleft lips were thought to be because of evil spirits.</p><p>Even though these were traditional, staunchly patriarchal times, Devout and Hobble are very much fully fleshed-out, strong women characters.</p><p>I found this novel to be fascinating and magical. It will stick with me for a very long time!</p><p><br /><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-675693465209723258.post-48015451565314733052020-05-17T20:47:00.000-07:002020-05-17T20:51:28.094-07:00Two books by Black women: Kindred and Tough Love<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4cE31Hd8lAE1WtjqDwcRdCADZwGNhoVS21s0Ycola32-Rp0SGhEYhGRk7FEZmMQhjuLEJOlUJbaevHGCSc0t9QSozhJJVWEKAORCtlPrNrAGH7kngKxYUDNuVRTG1GtaW2JlEzm1QDlo/s1600/60931.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="270" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4cE31Hd8lAE1WtjqDwcRdCADZwGNhoVS21s0Ycola32-Rp0SGhEYhGRk7FEZmMQhjuLEJOlUJbaevHGCSc0t9QSozhJJVWEKAORCtlPrNrAGH7kngKxYUDNuVRTG1GtaW2JlEzm1QDlo/s320/60931.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #20124d; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>Kindred</i></b></span><span style="font-size: x-large;">, by Octavia Butler</span><br />
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How have I never read Octavia Butler until now, for goodness sake?!?!? My dear friend Catherine gave me this book for Mother's Day, and it was the perfect distraction for a pandemic. It had been on my "to read" list for a while, but when it landed in my lap, I had to read it.<br />
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I have always loved time travel, but this time travel is far more serious than usual. Written and set in 1976, this book finds 26-year-old Dana suddenly flung back into the antebellum south to save a drowning white boy. It turns out that he is one of her ancestors. Over the course of several years (in the time travel south) or days in the present, Dana ends up back on this plantation over and over again, each time to rescue clueless and careless Rufus.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg4ZpHtHPrboneX0i_U8VGd69R3MCL9bsPx8XU6zP_KaTzze__ut0qQliv8IQfvB8bdeVwXVe3hUcQK7RQJ_vvaaTylr13VZByDzKqKYC1MkoHcFawBfKprnQ8FGSQRtJMCvHetUkgZxQ/s1600/44667902.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg4ZpHtHPrboneX0i_U8VGd69R3MCL9bsPx8XU6zP_KaTzze__ut0qQliv8IQfvB8bdeVwXVe3hUcQK7RQJ_vvaaTylr13VZByDzKqKYC1MkoHcFawBfKprnQ8FGSQRtJMCvHetUkgZxQ/s320/44667902.jpg" width="212" /></a>It goes about as you might imagine. Slavery was brutal and tragic and soul-destroying...but many enslaved people found the strength to attempt escape or stay captive and endure. Apparently Butler's critics said she softened the horrors of slavery in this book, but it was horrible enough to understand that it was often far worse.<br />
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I will remember this book for a very long time to come, and I stayed up late into the evening to finish it. So worth the read!<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><i>Tough Love</i></b>, by Susan Rice</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"></span><br />
While I was reading <i>Kindred</i>, I was listening to <i>Tough Love</i> by Dr. Susan Rice. <i>Tough Love</i> represents the life of a highly successful, highly educated Black woman, 44 years after <i>Kindred</i> was written by another Black woman.<br />
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Truth be told, I didn't know much about Susan Rice until I heard her interviewed on a podcast. She struck me as incredibly bright, funny, and capable, so when I saw she'd written a book I was immediately intrigued.<br />
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Most people associate her with Benghazi, because unfortunately she was tasked with being the spokesperson for the Obama administration after the Benghazi attack and then she became a scapegoat for the right wing, in spite of all investigations finding that she did nothing wrong. She continues to be vilified by Republicans to this day.
She's now on the list of potential candidates for VP for Joe Biden. </span>Her parents were both highly accomplished educators...her dad was a Cornell professor and her mom was an educational policy scholar who helped design the Pell Grant system. Rice was raised amidst the political and policy world, mentored by Madeleine Albright, headed to Stanford for her undergrad degree (to the chagrin of her parents, who wanted her to go to Harvard), studied at Oxford on a Rhodes scholarship, and earned her M.Phil and Ph.D. there. She worked on the Dukakis campaign and served for Bill Clinton and Barack Obama while they were presidents.<br />
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This book is packed with stories about her childhood and young adulthood, diplomacy and policy work here and overseas, and family. She married her college sweetheart and has two children--one a diehard liberal and the other a Trump supporter. Yikes!<br />
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Susan Rice is a rock star, and I enjoyed learning about all she's accomplished in her time on earth.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-675693465209723258.post-48711533369485881972020-05-05T20:41:00.001-07:002020-05-05T20:41:26.243-07:00A Reliable Wife<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYF_OVyyon6VmKhKh0j_9-AUPKbmoeByhiTuYOQuBRC_l6oIbNcCQtgDeyHpdO0c6pK4_2e2ju8lmuGH2Kh_GEcXcQK7YfJjQic5Kv4cL_3MoySzOemIr70pieV9vg-ypz6qZjF8YgBU/s1600/7018208.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="316" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIYF_OVyyon6VmKhKh0j_9-AUPKbmoeByhiTuYOQuBRC_l6oIbNcCQtgDeyHpdO0c6pK4_2e2ju8lmuGH2Kh_GEcXcQK7YfJjQic5Kv4cL_3MoySzOemIr70pieV9vg-ypz6qZjF8YgBU/s320/7018208.jpg" width="212" /></a><span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>A Reliable Wife</i></b></span><span style="font-size: x-large;">, by Robert Goolrick</span><br />
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Set in cold northern Wisconsin in the early 1900s, <i>A Reliable Wife</i> is the story of many people from various backgrounds who share something in common: miserable childhoods lacking in love and nurturing. Wealthy businessman Ralph Truitt asks for "a reliable wife" to come join him in the far-flung north, and Catherine Land claims she fits that bill.<br />
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I don't usually read books that get less than 3.5 in Goodreads ratings, but I found this on our bookshelves. Since the library is closed right now, I've been taking this opportunity to read through some of the books we actually own...and I forgot to look up the review on Goodreads first.<br />
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Furthermore, in the past couple of years I have made a concerted effort to read mostly authors who are women and people of color. I hesitated before choosing this book, because it doesn't fit that category.<br />
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Last night I revisited my decision when I realized that ALL of the women in the book--Ralph Truitt's mother, his first wife, and then Catherine herself--were horrible and completely unredeemable. I questioned whether I should keep reading. But I then I realized that, in fact, all of the characters were unlikable...not just the women.<br />
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I couldn't sleep last night (coroninsomnia), so I stayed up and read (and finished) the book. The main characters grew on me and I became more concerned about what happened to them in the end.<br />
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Goolrick is a talented writer, but I must confess that at times I found myself scanning through the text. Something about his writing style reminded me of Hemingway, not one of my favorites. Overall, though, an interesting story about deeply unhappy, unloved people. If that sounds appealing to you, give it a try. I think I need something a bit more cheery next!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-675693465209723258.post-83211749276316727512020-05-02T14:34:00.002-07:002020-05-02T14:34:50.966-07:00Real American: A Memoir<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ep3tAxCDGfxYaU4Qm6aSOJHzF6fXw1r8aHKw7IdfkxLvGXpDv7tCvarQrjzm9IDa7RFu1OLTCqwEXt5IjoU8OyfiJ1DlziJWKi82LihZgAjBOCOacL7NoQyaTBYMZ388V_CH0MUwXGI/s1600/33898879.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; clear: left; color: #0066cc; float: left; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="265" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ep3tAxCDGfxYaU4Qm6aSOJHzF6fXw1r8aHKw7IdfkxLvGXpDv7tCvarQrjzm9IDa7RFu1OLTCqwEXt5IjoU8OyfiJ1DlziJWKi82LihZgAjBOCOacL7NoQyaTBYMZ388V_CH0MUwXGI/s320/33898879.jpg" width="212" /></a><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>Real American: A Memoir</i></b></span><span style="font-size: x-large;">, by Julie Lythcott-Haims</span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzglIBaq5szouWfdd70bIgvuQCu0TSaUy1oSTt8RuOZDoj5Z-6Q_wS0h79Z3RCUVkNMXtSAwxRpGRSjWMyklSGY2Gw-Jt-u2-n0rbi7tVV3WPNvz_yezHIN7hcdPXj7k9n5y_rA-R_bqw/s1600/33898879.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<i>Real American</i> is a book, like Ta-Nehisi Coates' <i><a href="https://mariesbookgarden.blogspot.com/2015/11/between-world-and-me.html">Between the World and Me</a></i>, or Robin DiAngelo's <i><a href="https://mariesbookgarden.blogspot.com/2020/04/catching-up-great-nonfiction-reads.html">White Fragility</a></i>, that all white people need to read...or even better, listen to, which is how I absorbed this beautiful and heart-breaking memoir. (And of course, people of color should read it too!)<br />
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If you are white, it will make you profoundly uncomfortable (a condition we white people need to feel a whole hell of a lot more often), and it will make you think and view the world differently and more sensitively, like the other two books.<br />
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<a href="https://www.julielythcotthaims.com/">Lythcott-Haims </a>was born to a white (British) mother and a Black American father. All her life she never felt like she fit into either race, beginning in kindergarten when her friend asked, "What are you?" In high school, her best friend described her love of "Gone With the Wind" and told Lythcott-Haims that she thought of her as "normal," but not Black. Her locker was defaced with racist slurs on her birthday. These are just a few of the racist acts she experienced.<br />
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After being raised in an academically focused, cosmopolitan family, she attended Stanford University in the 1980s before earning her law degree at Harvard and an MFA in writing from the California College of the Arts. After working as the Dean of first-years at Stanford for 10 years, she wrote <i>How to Raise an Adult</i>, an acclaimed treatise on how not to helicopter parent.<br />
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Much of the book is about her growing-up years, and it's a love letter to her parents, neither of whom had easy lives. Her father eventually became a prominent pediatrician and served in Jimmy Carter's administration...but he made the decision to raise his family in predominantly white circles, which had a huge impact on her throughout her life.<br />
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In the second half of the book, as she ends up marrying a white Jewish man and becomes a mother herself, she comes to grips with her low self-esteem and lack of a sense of belonging. She elaborates on the constant microaggressions she and other people of color receive every day...even (and especially?) at fundraisers for her children's school when a few people show up in costume and blackface.<br />
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I urge you to read this unforgettable book. I just happened across it when I was looking for an audio book for a car journey, and I think it needs a lot more attention!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-675693465209723258.post-71033976779460303022020-04-25T12:38:00.001-07:002020-04-25T12:38:14.294-07:00The Canterbury Sisters<span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><i><b>The Canterbury Sisters</b></i></span><span style="font-size: x-large;">, by Kim Wright</span><br />
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A nice, light read...that was the order after being immersed in all the coronavirus news and also having read a lot of heavy nonfiction lately. I went downstairs into our cluttered study and found <i>The Canterbury Sisters</i>.<br />
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Given the fact that we are two English majors, avid readers, and professional writers, some of our friends might be puzzled at the lack of books in our main living space. That's because they are all hidden away downstairs on packed bookshelves and piles on the floor! One advantage of being confined at home and having our libraries closed is that I will finally make a dent in our own library. Last year Mike and I gave away 2/3 of the books we owned in a fit of Kon Mari decluttering. But we still have loads!<br />
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<i>The Canterbury Sisters</i> fit the bill for a distraction. I started the book while taking a highly unusual bath, prompted by a rainbow bath bomb sent by my beloved friend Catherine. I was informed by my 13-year-old that I was in the bath for well over an hour, possibly for an hour and a half...reading. Good for the soul.<br />
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Che de Milan is the daughter of a narcissist who has died. When her mother's ashes arrived, they came with a plea to take her to Canterbury Cathedral. On that same day, Che received a "Dear Juanita" letter from her long-time lover, dumping her. She booked a ticket to England.<br />
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Although she originally wanted to take a solo walking tour to Canterbury from London, things didn't turn out the way she'd planned. She ends up with a group of American women, Broads Abroad, and from the very beginning she's not too happy about that. She loses her phone, her fifth limb, on that very first night, but it turns out to be just the ticket to distract her from her usual life and focus on the present.<br />
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A wine critic and a critic of everything else, Che is not a particularly likable character. But because the book is told in the first person, we only see things from her perspective. She looks down on all the other women in the beginning of the story.<br />
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Akin to <i>The Canterbury Tales</i> (which I read once upon a time in college), their tour guide, young English professor Tess, informs them that each of them should tell a story about love on their walking trip. And it was the stories that I actually enjoyed most about this book. They were not all directly about love, but each story shed more light on that particular character's life.<br />
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By the end of the novel, Che (named for the revolutionary by her hippie parents) is more likable...but I'm not sure she's someone I would want to befriend. She told a great story though, and in times like these, that was enough for me!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-675693465209723258.post-49413592534521031772020-04-21T17:06:00.002-07:002020-04-21T17:06:53.337-07:00Best Books of 2019I've been capturing my top books of each year since 2001. You can access <a href="https://mariesbookgarden.blogspot.com/p/b.html">all of them here</a>.<br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">*I continue to read books mostly by underrepresented voices. </span><span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">Only the asterisked books are by straight white men.</span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;">Fiction</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"></span><span style="color: blue;"></span><br />1. <i>Theory of Bastards</i>, Audrey Schulman<br />2. <i>The Great Alone</i>, Kristin Hannah<br />3. <i>The Satapur Moonstone</i>, Sujata Massey<br />4. <i>The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane</i>, Lisa See<br />5. <i>I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter</i>, Erika L. Sanchez<br />6. <i>Before We Were Yours</i>, Lisa Wingate<br />7. <i>The Dead Women of Juarez</i>, Sam Hawken*<br />8. <i>We Have Always Lived in the Castle</i>, Shirley Jackson<br />9. <i>A Man Called Ove</i>, Fredrik Backman*<br />10. <i>Outlander</i>, Diana Gabaldon<br />
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<span style="color: purple; font-size: x-large;"><b>Nonfiction</b></span><br />
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1. <i>White Fragility</i>, Robin DiAngelo<br />2. <i>Shameless</i>, Nadia Bolz-Weber<br />3. <i>Dear Church,</i> Lenny Duncan<br />4. <i>Educated</i>, Tara Westover<br />5. <i>We Are Displaced</i>, Malala Yousafzai<br />6. <i>Everything Is Figureoutable</i>, Marie Forleo<br />7. <i>Big Magic</i>, Elizabeth Gilbert<br />8. <i>Over the Top</i>, Jonathan Van Ness<br />9. <i>You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start<br />Living an Awesome Life</i>, Jen Sincero<br />10. <i>Getting Started in Consulting</i>, Alan Weiss*<br />11. <i>My Love Story</i>, Tina Turner<br />12. <i>In Pieces</i>, Sally Field<br />13. <i>What Happened</i>, Hillary Clinton<br />14. <i>The Diabetes Code</i>, Dr. Jason Fung<br />15. <i>Delay, Don’t Deny</i>, Gin Stevens<br /><br />
You can find reviews for these books by searching in this blog.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-675693465209723258.post-77485544908251307472020-04-21T17:00:00.000-07:002020-04-21T17:13:27.846-07:00Catching Up: Great Nonfiction ReadsI seem to have read even more nonfiction than fiction in the last several months!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqmgr0rXE6TqohILitFxkq7fhVn91HUDiGjLv8kpdQHOum87fEtXtdLUy9Qeqpy2zcuks3kwEq3usiGAJR2AdAHze9MI9R96226RQRbQn8_6y8q7Dl3uKi3_uF-0cPSFzoOGjeWAiWjTU/s1600/24453082.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; clear: right; color: #0066cc; float: right; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="299" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqmgr0rXE6TqohILitFxkq7fhVn91HUDiGjLv8kpdQHOum87fEtXtdLUy9Qeqpy2zcuks3kwEq3usiGAJR2AdAHze9MI9R96226RQRbQn8_6y8q7Dl3uKi3_uF-0cPSFzoOGjeWAiWjTU/s200/24453082.jpg" width="125" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqmgr0rXE6TqohILitFxkq7fhVn91HUDiGjLv8kpdQHOum87fEtXtdLUy9Qeqpy2zcuks3kwEq3usiGAJR2AdAHze9MI9R96226RQRbQn8_6y8q7Dl3uKi3_uF-0cPSFzoOGjeWAiWjTU/s1600/24453082.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #b00000;"></span><br /></a><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b><i>Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear</i></b></span><span style="font-size: large;">, Elizabeth Gilbert</span><br />
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Yes, it's a bit woo-woo, but it was just what I needed at the right time, as my dear friend Caley knew as she chose it for our book group. I loved the story about Gilbert's idea for a novel, landing with Ann Patchett after she let it go. Gilbert believes that ideas have a life of their own, and they are demanding to be expressed.<br />
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“The universe buries strange jewels deep within us all, and then stands back to see if we can find them.”<br />
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Her comment that “It might have been done before, but it hasn’t been done by you!” reminds me of my entrepreneurial hero, Marie Forleo, who exhorts her students not to worry if someone else is doing the same thing as you...because you will do it in your own unique way. People don't just hire a service or product...they hire the person behind the creative idea.<br />
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Judging from the reviews, people either love or hate this book, and this was also the case with my book group. I loved it, but mostly because I read it at the right time in my life...when I had a creative idea (starting and working on my own business), just urging me to believe in it.<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b><i>Educated</i></b></span><span style="font-size: large;">, Tara Westover</span><br />
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This story was so astonishing it seemed almost preposterous, but it certainly demonstrates the power and resilience of the human spirit. Tara Westover was raised in an isolationist Mormon family in remote Idaho. At times it was difficult to read, especially trying to understand her desire to maintain connections with her dysfunctional, violent, and gaslighting family members after she escaped and made a life for herself, but that's what abuse does to a person. A great read, and a great true story.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>Getting Started in Consulting</i></b>, Alan Weiss</span><br />
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A friend who had started her own business recommended this book to me. I found it to be a great start in setting up my own consulting business. I haven't followed everything Weiss recommends (for example, he recommends you mark up your subconsultants by up to 50 percent!), but I used it for the basics. I especially appreciated the way he inserted words of wisdom from other people who had set up their own consulting firms.<br />
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It tends to be more male focused, while much of what I've been reading and the people I've been following have a more female-centered approach, but still a valuable resource.<br />
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<span style="color: lime; font-size: large;"><b><i>In Pieces</i></b></span><span style="font-size: large;">, Sally Field</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbcQA9M9sHzmcuQn2uPS9D9-JIH2QMgevt5cnHqsfhJcbMtTdRoRauieKQTfNndU9SIKGvp4BPxZa6qbsMABFhyphenhyphen1UkG8_aeeMDcFR_liu_1xBhIPBxkBa_cQ3yLL1PCMCcc2X4VfeFWe0/s1600/Sally.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="264" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbcQA9M9sHzmcuQn2uPS9D9-JIH2QMgevt5cnHqsfhJcbMtTdRoRauieKQTfNndU9SIKGvp4BPxZa6qbsMABFhyphenhyphen1UkG8_aeeMDcFR_liu_1xBhIPBxkBa_cQ3yLL1PCMCcc2X4VfeFWe0/s200/Sally.png" width="131" /></a></div>
Growing up on "Gidget" and "The Flying Nun," followed by "Norma Rae," "Places in the Heart," and "Steel Magnolias," I've always loved Sally Field, especially playing the matriarch in "Brothers and Sisters" and seeing her impassioned speeches in support of LGBTQIA rights.<br />
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I listened to <i>In Pieces</i> on audio so I could hear Field tell her story. I was taken off guard to learn she had been sexually abused by her stepfather...somehow I had not seen any information about that before I read the book. She hated "The Flying Nun" and "Gidget," and Burt Reynolds was a complete tool and waste of space.<br />
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Listening to Sally tell her story felt like an old friend sharing her intimacies with me.<br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;"><b><i>Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption</i></b></span><span style="font-size: large;">, Bryan Stevenson</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi10bukAOh3XPSzIbGdKRgW_kyk7ZRd-UzsWfcx1uCV5VNYqV3iYydwZkF7bpbpkmsWXI08YmxMyu73AKk5LLIVhx70FskU_vqpaHmEivjLyXLbO1BZjtvcvBaG9dprYCoKbgl1MwziNOA/s1600/JustMercy.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="263" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi10bukAOh3XPSzIbGdKRgW_kyk7ZRd-UzsWfcx1uCV5VNYqV3iYydwZkF7bpbpkmsWXI08YmxMyu73AKk5LLIVhx70FskU_vqpaHmEivjLyXLbO1BZjtvcvBaG9dprYCoKbgl1MwziNOA/s200/JustMercy.png" width="131" /></a></div>
I wanted to read Stevenson's book before seeing the movie. Bryan Stevenson is a hero for the neglected, the abused, the convicted without a fair trial, and those who are forgotten on Death Row. <i>Just Mercy</i> relates his stories of working tirelessly on their behalf, combined with facts and historical context about the prison industrial text and racism in this country. I found this book to be tragic, moving, inspiring, and infuriating. Highly recommended.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii1Ghi3EICplKSzfASBLZ4MiLEA7rij00xEY2rFyn8WgOin8wYOOt2xQC7ZX7BMJ68Vq6v2hBKwVFXxKVQkQi2A5dIx9MxBapTkNGbrkOl63fmqkcwvUnWa9UoFcpb92hOjQuB0w0lK1A/s1600/38657798._SY475_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; clear: right; color: #0066cc; float: right; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></a><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>My Love Story</i></b>, Tina Turner</span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwRafyqAny-EiEyWBrkbIiIuhCDgrmVAE_8Tmwl1w6zjj62GiRwpIMnSQsMYuHKHKyih4vcTrdJSYBGPZi0IOkZmDhdJMLKupAkPDLTm9fPhXPvPGeS9TiDyZcl2lATo6lrhpiuH4XHxo/s1600/38657798._SY475_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii1Ghi3EICplKSzfASBLZ4MiLEA7rij00xEY2rFyn8WgOin8wYOOt2xQC7ZX7BMJ68Vq6v2hBKwVFXxKVQkQi2A5dIx9MxBapTkNGbrkOl63fmqkcwvUnWa9UoFcpb92hOjQuB0w0lK1A/s1600/38657798._SY475_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; color: #0066cc; float: left; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii1Ghi3EICplKSzfASBLZ4MiLEA7rij00xEY2rFyn8WgOin8wYOOt2xQC7ZX7BMJ68Vq6v2hBKwVFXxKVQkQi2A5dIx9MxBapTkNGbrkOl63fmqkcwvUnWa9UoFcpb92hOjQuB0w0lK1A/s200/38657798._SY475_.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="132" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwRafyqAny-EiEyWBrkbIiIuhCDgrmVAE_8Tmwl1w6zjj62GiRwpIMnSQsMYuHKHKyih4vcTrdJSYBGPZi0IOkZmDhdJMLKupAkPDLTm9fPhXPvPGeS9TiDyZcl2lATo6lrhpiuH4XHxo/s1600/38657798._SY475_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; clear: left; color: #0066cc; float: left; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><b></b><i></i><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><b></b><i></i><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br /></a>Another book I listened to on audio, Tina Turner's memoir begins with heryears she has had to stop touring because of extensive health challenges...but I read that she's publishing another book this year. Tina Turner is a rock star in more ways than one...she has endured horrible hardships in her life, including the suicide of her beloved son a few years ago, yet she still remains hopeful and resilient at age 80.<br />
wedding to the love of her life in Switzerland...and then three weeks after this highly awaited day, she suffered a massive stroke and had to learn how to do everything all over again. She looks back on her life, beginning with her birth as Anna Mae Bullock in Nutbush, Tennessee, and describes her awful existence with the abusive Ike. In her later <br />
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-size: large;"><b><i>Over the Top: A Raw Journey to Self-Love</i></b></span><span style="font-size: large;">, Jonathan Van Ness</span><br />
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Of course I had to listen to this one on audio. It's Jonathan Van Ness! I love this guy, although I know some people find him a bit hard to bear. He pours his guts out in this memoir, and I loved his raw vulnerability, honesty, and truth. Watching "Queer Eye," what many people would not imagine is that Jonathan Van Ness was pretty damn poor before he landed that gig. Trigger warnings for sexual and drug abuse, drug use, eating disorders, cancer, and homophobia. I love his podcast too ("Getting Curious"), in which he interviews experts on a wide variety of topics...essentially anything that piques his interest.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>Shameless: A Sexual Revolution</i></b>, Nadia Bolz-Weber</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie1k3xExh-qeQvRaI-ATQXv6O3wKfoiN6hGdAQv1NCvO5KgSvgLadqaEyWFh_iaQk_ZuNQQuBzpu4-_N-kqexnJK3IZsvD3cv5Xs_gH0qo8t6ON_4LVZaw4c4VU5_jDjQ6-gc4tOWBKKo/s1600/40144666.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="273" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEie1k3xExh-qeQvRaI-ATQXv6O3wKfoiN6hGdAQv1NCvO5KgSvgLadqaEyWFh_iaQk_ZuNQQuBzpu4-_N-kqexnJK3IZsvD3cv5Xs_gH0qo8t6ON_4LVZaw4c4VU5_jDjQ6-gc4tOWBKKo/s200/40144666.jpg" width="136" /></a></div>
I feel extremely lucky that we were at Holden Village when Nadia Bolz-Weber was writing the first drafts of this book, and she workshopped them with us in large sessions. Of course, she's Nadia Bolz-Weber, so even her first drafts were brilliant. Of all the books she's written, this one is my favorite. I have to laugh, reading all the negative reviews on Goodreads, with people claiming her book is not biblical or adhering to Lutheran doctrine, etc. They are completely missing the point.<br />
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“It doesn't feel very difficult to draw a direct line between the messages many of us received from the church and the harm we've experienced in our bodies and spirits as a result. So my argument in this book is this: we should not be more loyal to an idea, a doctrine, or an interpretation of a Bible verse than we are to people. If the teachings of the church are harming the bodies and spirits of people, we should rethink those teachings.”</div>
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The church has a major problem with sex. Until we solve this problem and embrace the fact that God created sexuality as a gift, not a sin, Christianity will continue to alienate and harm people.<br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b><i>The Sex Lives of Cannibals: Adrift in the Equatorial Pacific</i></b></span><span style="font-size: large;">, Maarten Troost</span><br />
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Maarten Troost moved to Tarawa, a tiny South Pacific island in the Republic of Kiribati, with his then-girlfriend, now-wife. Travel writing? Count me in! I was intrigued. This was a book group choice, and many found it to be an interesting read. I, however, would not recommend it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGk27dYovFAVOEpyW4TOUcc-wWm0liZxg6utSjVdzIwEg_EijJf_3OB9ESTwDmU7FoeqGG2AzwnOHTDuBvTf3GPaKo0jZl1uvXh0bcx6qe1JvA8MqiCcffgp33yNV_4u8C1w4EOSAfw_A/s1600/11077.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="308" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGk27dYovFAVOEpyW4TOUcc-wWm0liZxg6utSjVdzIwEg_EijJf_3OB9ESTwDmU7FoeqGG2AzwnOHTDuBvTf3GPaKo0jZl1uvXh0bcx6qe1JvA8MqiCcffgp33yNV_4u8C1w4EOSAfw_A/s200/11077.jpg" width="129" /></a>I found Troost to be a whiny, full-of-himself bore who feels sorry for himself, hardly writes anything about his girlfriend's very different experience of the island, and treats the islanders themselves like pariahs. The titles of his books--<i>The Sex Lives of Cannibals, Getting Stoned with Savages, </i>and <i>Headhunters on my Doorstep</i>--are meant to be tongue in cheek, but they speak more of his personality. He never gets to know any of the I-Kiribati or makes much attempt to appreciate anything about living on the island.<br />
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After leaving Kiribati, he lands a plum job back at the World Bank. Reading this book reminded me why I prefer to read books by women and people of color. Troost represents exactly the type of privileged, overpublished white guy whose books I do not want to read.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDFukyfCLgB8emg9u8LBzKKhGPIC9lw4lAMdhWW15AHCecgiuI1atLPDsnLfuJIR6GJyOibNgX6Ws4e8trl-qPcVCtoKWhkDY1SMm_Y4KOaRyvc5ZFxdJMQbkS-QTKjn_71JnQc1eoC40/s1600/43708708.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="240" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDFukyfCLgB8emg9u8LBzKKhGPIC9lw4lAMdhWW15AHCecgiuI1atLPDsnLfuJIR6GJyOibNgX6Ws4e8trl-qPcVCtoKWhkDY1SMm_Y4KOaRyvc5ZFxdJMQbkS-QTKjn_71JnQc1eoC40/s200/43708708.jpg" width="133" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism</i></b>, Robin DiAngelo</span></div>
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Every white person needs to read this book, as soon as possible. I have recommended it repeatedly. Until we white people face our "whiteness" problem, we will never be able to begin to fix our own racism. This book is a great start. That is all. </div>
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<span style="color: lime; font-size: large;"><b><i>We Are Displaced</i></b></span><span style="font-size: large;">, Malala Yousafzai</span></div>
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According to the United Nations, "an unprecedented 70.8 million people around the world have been forced from home by conflict and persecution at the end of 2018. Among them are nearly 30 million refugees, over half of whom are under the age of 18."</div>
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These figures are mind-boggling. No one chooses to be a refugee. It's one of the worst things that can happen to a person, or a people. It breaks my heart when Americans, sitting in their comfortable houses with plenty to eat, do not understand that people do not flee here unless they have no other options available. These stories will move you and remind you of how far we have to go as a civilization. </div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b><i>You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life</i></b></span><span style="font-size: large;">, Jen Sincero</span></div>
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I began listening to this book at just the right time in my life, when I had a serious case of imposter syndrome.<br />
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Some may say it's just another self-help book, but I found it helpful. I remember driving down the freeway, shouting out loud "YOU ARE A BADASS!" and it actually felt healing for me.<br />
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“You are perfect. To think anything less is as pointless as a river thinking that it’s got too many curves or that it moves too slowly or that its rapids are too rapid. Says who? You’re on a journey with no defined beginning, middle or end. There are no wrong twists and turns. There is just being. And your job is to be as you as you can be. This is why you’re here. To shy away from who you truly are would leave the world you-less. You are the only you there is and ever will be. I repeat, you are the only you there is and ever will be. Do not deny the world its one and only chance to bask in your brilliance.”<br />
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“You are loved. Massively. Ferociously. Unconditionally. The Universe is totally freaking out about how awesome you are. It’s got you wrapped in a warm gorilla hug of adoration. It wants to give you everything you desire. It wants you to be happy. It wants you to see what it sees in you.” <br />
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If you need a shot in the arm or a boost in your self-esteem, give this book a try. I liked Sincero's funny, flippant style.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>Thick and Other Essays</i></b>, Tressie Cottom McMillan</span><br />
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One (white male) reviewer on Goodreads used the term "firebombing" when describing this book. He thought that McMillan wasn't nice enough, I guess, and how dare she criticize David Brooks? That attitude (Black women need to be nice) is telling, given the fact that firebombing has been used for mass destruction of Black people since the Civil Rights Movement.<br />
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This book by sociologist Dr. Tressie Cottom McMillan, contains a number of incisive, insightful essays about race and racism, white people, Black girlhood, academics, sociology, beauty, and other topics. The most powerful essay for me was about the high mortality rate for Black women in labor and childbirth, when McMillan shared her own heartbreaking story. Dr. McMillan is a writer and wise voice to follow.<br />
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<span style="color: #351c75; font-size: large;"><b><i>Untamed</i></b></span><span style="font-size: large;">, by Glennon Doyle</span><br />
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I loved this book. First of all, if you cannot abide Elizabeth Gilbert or Brene Brown, steer clear. Glennon Doyle is not for everyone.<br />
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I first found Doyle when she was getting known as a "mommy blogger," writing about her "littles." (Aside: I hate the term "littles" when referring to one's children!) She was also an evangelical Christian at the time and had a long history of anorexia/bulimia, addiction, and anxiety. She continued to pour her heart out on the web after she learned her husband had been unfaithful. (Talk about being public about what a jerk you are...being unfaithful to a well-known blogger!) Through therapy, she found a way to forgive her husband and wrote about their continuing journey in <i>Love Warrior</i>. Then, while on the road to market that book, she met and fell in love with soccer superstar Abby Wambaugh.<br />
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I got to hear Glennon and Abby tell their story on stage a few years ago. It's clear they were made for each other. Now they have formed a co-parenting team with Doyle's ex-husband, Craig.<br />
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<i>Untamed</i> is about Glennon's journey back to herself, after a lifetime of trying to please everyone else and becoming the image of what she thought God and her parents wanted her to be. Yet again, this book came along at the right time for me, at the beginning of the coronavirus lockdown. I rarely read books a second time, but I might reread this one.<br />
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“When women lose themselves, the world loses its way. We do not need more selfless women. What we need right now is more women who have detoxed themselves so completely from the world's expectations that they are full of nothing but themselves. What we need are women who are full of themselves. A woman who is full of herself knows and trusts herself enough to say and do what must be done. She lets the rest burn.”</div>
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<span style="color: yellow; font-size: large;"><b><i>The Yellow House</i></b></span><span style="font-size: large;">, by Sarah M. Broom</span><br />
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Sarah M. Broom's book, <i>The Yellow House</i>, is a story about her family of 12 children, born to Simon and Ivory Mae Broom. Sarah (born as Monique) was only six months old when her father died, leaving Ivory Mae, who did not know how to drive at the time, with several children at home and a rambling, ramshackle house she bought with her own money at a very young age.<br />
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It's also a story about New Orleans, specifically New Orleans East, where the yellow house, with a life of its own, stood until it was split in half during Hurricane Katrina.<br />
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It's about a family displaced, and about a young writer who can't stay away from New Orleans for long, trying to recover from great losses, even traveling to work in Burundi to grieve and rediscover herself...and seeing many parallels between wartorn Burundi and hurricane-torn New Orleans.<br />
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It's about the Black, working-class experience on the outskirts of New Orleans, and the glaringly obvious distinction between the touristy French Quarter. It's about a failure of infrastructure and corrupt leadership, a failed safety net, and the displacement of people who cannot afford to live in New Orleans any longer.<br />
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And still, it's a love affair of sorts for New Orleans. All wrapped up in a towering, split-in-two Yellow House.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-675693465209723258.post-20703078305058070772020-04-20T19:38:00.000-07:002020-04-20T19:38:50.742-07:00Catching Up: Great Fiction ReadsI have gotten really behind with my book reviews, and it's hanging over my head! So in this post and the upcoming ones, I will attempt to catch up with what I've read in the past several months. First, a fiction roundup!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><span style="color: blue;">The Testaments</span></i></b>, by Margaret Atwood</span><br />
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Judging from some of the reviews on Goodreads, many readers believe that this sequel to <i>The Handmaid's Tale</i> was unnecessary, similar to what they said about <i>To Kill a Mockingbird</i>. A writer always takes a huge risk writing a sequel to a beloved, highly acclaimed novel. Even when they write a different type of book (e.g., JK Rowling writing <i>A Casual Vacancy</i> after Harry Potter), they are skewered in the reviews because it was not what readers expected. I find that reaction to be tiresome!<br />
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I actually really liked <i>The Testaments</i> and found it to be a suitable conclusion to <i>The Handmaid's Tale</i>, and it complemented the Hulu series well. The story takes place 15 years after the founding of Gilead, and it is told from the perspectives of three different people, including Aunt Lydia. If you prefer endings that are unresolved, stay away from <i>The Testaments</i>. If you'd like to see a resolution for Offred and others, and get some hope, read this sequel.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj80zTq_kMLul-1NrbVqPQCkrZBY1qIzHK-XCOaG2VFF-qUBxcK2wFsar8gdZLQ2N5fWnDofDjHwKYFdrOZnPExYu8sgqvzZAU490kpYNoxqddrEZecWTqQA-mSqX2U7CWidnt9Qk-Ttsw/s1600/33376821.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; color: #0066cc; float: right; font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj80zTq_kMLul-1NrbVqPQCkrZBY1qIzHK-XCOaG2VFF-qUBxcK2wFsar8gdZLQ2N5fWnDofDjHwKYFdrOZnPExYu8sgqvzZAU490kpYNoxqddrEZecWTqQA-mSqX2U7CWidnt9Qk-Ttsw/s1600/33376821.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; clear: left; color: #0066cc; float: left; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="309" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj80zTq_kMLul-1NrbVqPQCkrZBY1qIzHK-XCOaG2VFF-qUBxcK2wFsar8gdZLQ2N5fWnDofDjHwKYFdrOZnPExYu8sgqvzZAU490kpYNoxqddrEZecWTqQA-mSqX2U7CWidnt9Qk-Ttsw/s200/33376821.jpg" width="130" /></a><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><i><b>Sweet Bean Paste</b></i></span><span style="font-size: large;">, Durian Sukegawa</span><br />
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I loved this sweet story of Sentaro, an ex-con who runs a doriyaki shop, and Tokue, a woman who has Hansen's disease, otherwise known as leprosy. Although I lived in Japan in the late 1980s, I was not aware that people with leprosy were isolated in sanitoriums and not allowed to mingle with the public until 1996. Japan was one of the last developed countries to quarantine leprosy patients for life. Tokue was wise and resilient in spite of lingering discrimination and prejudice, and Sentaro's life was so much richer for his relationship with her. She shared her friendship so freely in spite of the way people treated her. I discovered recently that this book has been made into a movie (available on Kanopy), which I look forward to watching.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5dEKW6bIdmEx3rMwqWsxE7DAAOVOgSbyphWYvU2J9I_HKWE_iBzZcfPavPmtwDOYntXkzg-9hPR1nHxrRrqylFCmwpDx8tzf6VqxgcWC_ybHcVQp41vYah_qpfS-I-FSpeBQCGod0LT4/s1600/35068618.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; clear: right; color: #0066cc; float: right; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="314" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5dEKW6bIdmEx3rMwqWsxE7DAAOVOgSbyphWYvU2J9I_HKWE_iBzZcfPavPmtwDOYntXkzg-9hPR1nHxrRrqylFCmwpDx8tzf6VqxgcWC_ybHcVQp41vYah_qpfS-I-FSpeBQCGod0LT4/s200/35068618.jpg" width="131" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5dEKW6bIdmEx3rMwqWsxE7DAAOVOgSbyphWYvU2J9I_HKWE_iBzZcfPavPmtwDOYntXkzg-9hPR1nHxrRrqylFCmwpDx8tzf6VqxgcWC_ybHcVQp41vYah_qpfS-I-FSpeBQCGod0LT4/s1600/35068618.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><span style="color: #073763; font-size: large;"><b><i>On the Come Up</i></b></span><span style="font-size: large;">, Angie Thomas</span><br />
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I love Angie Thomas, author of <i>The Hate U Give</i>, especially after having her seen her in person when she was promoting this novel. <i>On the Come Up</i> is about Starr Carter, who has a true gift for rap, taking after her dad who was gunned down in the streets. She traverses a world of gang violence and school, where she feels like she can never get ahead. She's damned if she tells her truth through rap, and she's damned if she doesn't. Generally not drawn to rap because of the misogny in much of it, I now have a much greater appreciation for the art of hip hop. It is poetry, and rappers are gifted artists, even if I don't always like what they are saying. I will read everything Angie Thomas writes.<br />
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<span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><b><i>Women of Juarez</i></b></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: medium;">, Sam Hawken</span></span><br />
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After seeing t<a href="https://marie-everydaymiracle.blogspot.com/2019/11/two-plays-to-see-in-portland-this-month.html?fbclid=IwAR2daAfd-hLhgDImfPDIMLWyonbMYLANg6YdYIfc4TgHVKXxnjEfatgCRi8">he gripping play "La Ruta" at the Artist's Repertory Theater</a> in November, I was determined to read more about the missing and dead women of Ciudad Juarez. That's how I found <i>The Dead Women of Juarez</i>, a gut-wrenching, dark story narrated by a washed-up addict American boxer Kelly Courter who is love with a Mexican woman, Paloma, and gets wrapped up in organized crime and drug dealing. It's difficult to read, violent, and sad, but I would expect nothing less given that it's about the feminicide in Ciudad Juarez, one of Central America's great tragedies of this century. This book stuck with me for a very long time.<br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b><i>A Man Called Ove</i></b></span><span style="font-size: large;">, Fredrik Backman</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4RFeJnFo2Z0i9G22hJ6qdjklMsL2GKw5rnnnpAedOIJ5FUBrL8NHTxiG_vxKLBReOCljQnj2Wk4027ifp4-KVU925ay8B3nNG8QUWiCXlvciSO-vEw_8rP0iyARfMRP4VGpm7NWTFBG0/s1600/18774964.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="309" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4RFeJnFo2Z0i9G22hJ6qdjklMsL2GKw5rnnnpAedOIJ5FUBrL8NHTxiG_vxKLBReOCljQnj2Wk4027ifp4-KVU925ay8B3nNG8QUWiCXlvciSO-vEw_8rP0iyARfMRP4VGpm7NWTFBG0/s200/18774964.jpg" width="130" /></a>It took me a while to appreciate Ove and like him as a character. I don't have a lot of patience for curmudgeons who only like things to be done a certain way and who can't abide change. I appreciated the way Backman gradually peeled the layers back on Ove's character, so we could understand what contributed to his difficult personality. In the end, I was cheering for him along with all the other readers.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter</i></b>, Erika L. Sanchez</span><br />
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As a Mexican-American girl, Julia feels that she can never measure up to her sister Olga, now dead. She does not feel loved by her grief-stricken, stressed-out parents, and as an adolescent, she's actually not very lovable at times. As she unravels the love-hate relationship she had with her "perfect" sister Olga, she also unravels the truth of Olga's life. She wasn't as perfect as everyone thought.<br />
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I chose this book as the first in a series of "Voices from the Margins" for a book group I led. This is a strong young adult novel about contemporary Mexican-American girlhood and an easy read.<br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;"><b><i>Before We Were Yours</i></b></span><span style="font-size: large;">, Lisa Wingate</span><br />
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I did find one of the main characters, Avery Stafford, to be supremely annoying. This was one of these southern books I felt really lacked understanding or awareness of race (like <i><a href="https://mariesbookgarden.blogspot.com/2010/09/help-interesting-read-but-white.html">The Help</a></i>). For example, one scene takes place in a slave cabin...and the characters (and presumably, the author) didn't seem to see any parallels between all the Black children that were kidnapped and sold...a far bigger scandal than the Tennessee Children's Home Society. This lack of awareness tainted the book for me.<br />
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<span style="color: lime; font-size: large;"><b><i>The Satapur Moonstone</i></b></span><span style="font-size: large;">, Sujata Massey</span><br />
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<i>The Satapur Moonstone</i> is another great book by one of my favorite authors, Sujata Massey! The second in her Perveen Minstry series, <i>The Satapur Moonstone</i> follows up <i>The Widows of Malabar Hill</i>. As Bombay's only woman lawyer, Perveen is given special access to women in purdah. Set in 1922, this adventure takes Perveen up into the remote mountains, where she acts as a liaison between the royal family, beset by tragedy, and the British agent there. I read everything Massey writes, whether it takes place in Japan or India, and I'm never disappointed! Minstry is a strong, independent, and bright professional woman in a man's world, and she bristles against British colonial rule and patriarchal traditionalism while knowing she must be careful to not be too obvious about her views, lest she lose clients. I look forward to the next book in the series.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL3x8-3XApXPnO9RIBxDK59vBDH-CR_QBo4ZRUgXS496fGz0BmkosNp_SoK9-ny5tDZEoYrPmxZhv0iy0BXderq_oiq19PaNBaYobN_qIfnTLmRghKgWCMdaDOEvObswQikuL10CzbbtM/s1600/34912895._SY475_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="313" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL3x8-3XApXPnO9RIBxDK59vBDH-CR_QBo4ZRUgXS496fGz0BmkosNp_SoK9-ny5tDZEoYrPmxZhv0iy0BXderq_oiq19PaNBaYobN_qIfnTLmRghKgWCMdaDOEvObswQikuL10CzbbtM/s200/34912895._SY475_.jpg" width="131" /></a><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><b><i>The Great Alone</i></b></span><span style="font-size: large;">, Kristin Hannah</span><br />
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Compulsively readable, <i>The Great Alone</i> is about a family who ventures off to the wilds of Alaska, completely unprepared, and once there, is forced to face the demons of PTSD, domestic violence, and mental illness. I really enjoy Kristin Hannah's writing, and this book was hard to put down. It reminded me of Jon Krauker's <i>Into the Wild</i>...a man who doesn't fit into the Lower 48, seeking his fortunes and answers in the wilds of Alaska. Not an easy book to read, though, because of the domestic violence.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEgHlkVqAKd61_5OBo7htYhP2Vy3iJBqwWp4RnGZwgpiqZgFCuiDcASfMCy1SJAFtv3THVsWT-I_Po46tkQ5TQqf7ny6iYccEacif_J7B2Hl-yDz3ZRZuiJVM-gGyDPcAm5lVtr30CAWw/s1600/we-have-always-lived-in-the-castle001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="607" data-original-width="400" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEgHlkVqAKd61_5OBo7htYhP2Vy3iJBqwWp4RnGZwgpiqZgFCuiDcASfMCy1SJAFtv3THVsWT-I_Po46tkQ5TQqf7ny6iYccEacif_J7B2Hl-yDz3ZRZuiJVM-gGyDPcAm5lVtr30CAWw/s200/we-have-always-lived-in-the-castle001.jpg" width="131" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>We Have Always Lived in the Castle</i></b>, Shirley Jackson</span><br />
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Most people know Shirley Jackson for her short story, "The Lottery," like me. From what I've read about Jackson, she was a fascinating, quirky person. This short novel fits that description as well. It's the story of two sisters, Mary Catherine and Constance, who appear to be agoraphobic and highly unusual. Their family has been struck by great tragedy. Jackson brilliantly unravels the mystery, one layer at a time. Spooky, mysterious, weird...another book group choice by my friend Katie. This is a great example of why I like being in a book group...I had never even heard of this book, and Katie had read it as a y oung person. I liked it!<br />
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My oldest son, Christopher, just watched Jackson's "The Haunting of Hill House" on Netflix, and liked it. Adding it to my list!<br />
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b><i>The Sun Is Also a Star</i></b></span><span style="font-size: large;">, Nicola Yoon</span></div>
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<i>The Sun Is Also a Star </i>was another young adult read I chose for the "Voices from the Margins" book group, and all of us enjoyed this day in the life of a Jamaican-American girl, Natasha, whose family was due to be deported. She meets a romantic, idealistic Korean-American boy, Daniel, whose views of the world sharply contrasted with her own science- and reality-focused beliefs. As children of immigrants, both Daniel and Natasha are far more American than their parents, and certainly far more American than Jamaican or Korean.</div>
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This is the kind of book that makes you almost cringe at the number of coincidences...but outside of that, I loved it. It reminded me a bit of <i>The Fault in Our Stars</i>, but the immigrant version...so even more interesting.</div>
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“I don't believe in love."</div>
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"It's not a religion," he says. "It exists whether you believe in it or not.” <br />
― Nicola Yoon, <i>The Sun Is Also a Star</i></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><i></i><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "times new roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b><i><span style="font-size: small;"></span>The Power</i></b></span><span style="font-size: large;">, Naomi Alderman</span></span><br />
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This book blew my mind. <i>The Power </i>is a dystopian novel, imagining what it would be like if women had a course of power running through their collarbone, capable of great strength and power. I read it for my book group, and it produced an outstanding discussion.<br />
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Some found the book to be highly disturbing (there is a great deal of violence), and all of us found it incredibly creative and thought-provoking.<br />
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As women, we would like to think that if we were in power, the world would be a more compassionate, gentle, and civilized place. This book turns that theory on its heel...but as I argued in our book group, the women who were most likely to use their power for harm were the ones who had been horribly abused by men or male power structures. So it's not an apple-to-apple comparison. The book lays bare the broad, damaging effects of the patriarchy, and does it in sometimes subtle, sometimes overwhelming ways. This book will stick with me for a very long time, much like <i>The Handmaid's Tale</i>. It's actually an antithesis to <i>The Handmaid's Tale</i>.<br />
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-675693465209723258.post-29699333823683492192020-01-20T13:31:00.001-08:002020-01-20T18:18:35.844-08:00When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir</i></b></span><span style="font-size: x-large;">, by Patrisse Khan-Cullors and Asha Bandele</span><br />
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My Lutheran-Catholic church <a href="https://motaspirit.org/">Spirit of Grace</a> has been studying two books: <i>When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir </i>by artist, organizer and freedom fighter <a href="https://patrissecullors.com/">Patrice Khan-Cullors</a><i> </i>and minister, theologian, and civil rights leader Howard Thurman's <i>Jesus and the Disinherited</i>. I just finished <i>When They Call You a Terrorist</i> today on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day.<br />
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I was particularly inspired to pick it up when I saw a friend open our worship service by sharing her thoughts of the book. This white woman has worked for social justice her whole life and has traveled to the important sites of the civil rights era in the south. As she described what she learned in this book, she was brought to tears. I knew I had to read it right away.<br />
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<i>When They Call You a Terrorist</i> is the beautifully written story of a Black girl growing up in inner-city Los Angeles by a hard-working single mother and a father and stepfather who come and go. Although raised in poverty, she and her family fiercely love and protect each other...as they have to do big time when her beloved brother Monte is repeatedly targeted, beaten, and incarcerated for his mental illness.<br />
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Patrisse emerges from her childhood with a feisty, creative, and confident spirit in spite of the fact that she sees firsthand the destructive damages of racism every single day. And when Trayvon Martin and so many other Black children and adults are gunned down and their assassins go free, she knows she has to act. With a team of other Black women and people in the queer community, she starts a movement, #BlackLivesMatter. Not only do they fight against racism and hatred, but they also take care of each other's mental, physical, and spiritual health because so many of them have been traumatized by racist violence on a daily basis.<br />
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And what do these committed activists get for their efforts? They are called terrorists. They are terrorized by police departments. They are killed in their cars. They are the ones called racist.<br />
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<b><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Today, on this holiday when we celebrate the greatest civil rights leader of our time</span></b>, people will be sharing his quotes freely on social media. But as author/activist Ally Henny wrote on Facebook,<br />
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"You might be seeing a lot of activists telling you not to quote King today<br />
unless you’re standing up for black folks every day. <br />
Maybe you’ve been confused or bothered by this. “But shouldn’t we be honoring Dr. King today?,” you might be asking yourself. And yes. We absolutely should be honoring King today. <br />
The issue is that, if you’re out here sharing quotes and whatever else by Dr. King, but you’re not living the principles that he stood for, your “commemoration”<br />
rings hollow to the black folks in your circles. <br />
Today is a “safe” day to talk about race. It’s a day where a lot of folks want to get sentimental and talk about race in America as if we’ve somehow arrived. We haven’t. <br />
What are you going to say the next time white supremacists march? <br />
What are you going to say when the next black persons is murdered by the police?<br />
What are you going to say when black kids in your community<br />
are trying to learn in inferior environments? <br />
What are you going to say when your coworker does something racist? <br />
What are you going to say when your company, church, school, or other institution that says they’re “committed to diversity” but they’re an unsafe place for black, brown, and indigenous people? <br />
Posting a quote, picture, or speech doesn’t mean crap if you’re not out here every other day fighting white supremacy."</div>
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Here's who needs to read <i>When They Call You a Terrorist</i>:</div>
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Every white person who thinks we've transcended racism.</div>
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Every person who has ever uttered "All Lives Matter" or "Blue Lives Matter."</div>
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Every white person who thinks they are "woke."</div>
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Every white person who has never had to fear their children being arrested for just existing.</div>
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Every white person who looks away when #BlackLivesMatter comes up in discussion.</div>
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Every white person who voted for Trump.</div>
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Every white person who voted for anyone else but Trump.</div>
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Every white person who thinks that police are always fair and friendly.</div>
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Every white person who believes people should "pull themselves up by their bootstraps."</div>
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Every white person who thinks there are more drugs in Black neighborhoods than white ones.</div>
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Every white person who thinks that people in prison deserve to be there.</div>
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Every white person who lives in a predominantly white neighborhood or community.</div>
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Every white person who has never been pulled over and questioned because of their race.</div>
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Every white person who can conveniently stop thinking about racism when they want to.</div>
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Every white person.</div>
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And everyone else too. </div>
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Patrisse Khan-Cullors is our modern-day MLK Jr., and she needs to be heard. What will you do on this day of commemoration? I am going to start by listening.</div>
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<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-675693465209723258.post-15492738752282651322019-11-12T20:11:00.000-08:002019-11-12T20:14:39.954-08:00The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: orange; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane</i></b></span><span style="font-size: x-large;">, by Lisa See</span><br />
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Amazingly, because I love books based in Asia, this was the first book I'd read by Lisa See. I'm not sure why it has taken me so long!</div>
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I enjoyed this family saga about a Chinese girl, Li-Yan, who was born into a very poor Akha tea family in the Yunnan Province. I'd never heard of the <a href="http://factsanddetails.com/asian/cat66/sub417/item2745.html">Akha </a>or their strict traditions before, so I was </div>
fascinated to read this story.<br />
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The story soon takes a dark twist, as Li-Yan's mother is a midwife, and Li-Yan witnesses a birth of twin babies. Because the Akha follow 100-year-old traditions extremely faithfully, her mother kills the babies (twins are bad luck) and exiles their parents. </div>
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Clever, independent Li-Yan chafes against the misogynist, old-fashioned rules of her tribe, and when her own path takes a difficult turn, she leaves the village.</div>
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I won't say any more because I don't want to spoil the story, but I do want to say that Lisa See does an exceptional job tackling the complications of Chinese adoptions...and giving the reader a great appreciation for tea, especially the aged Pu-er tea.</div>
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I read this book for my book group, and I hosted the evening we discussed it. I ordered Chinese takeout and remembered I had intended to buy some Chinese tea for the occasion. On the off chance, I raided our tea cabinet, and what did I find? A box of Pu-er tea, which my husband had purchased on a whim. I was delighted at this lovely piece of synchronicity!</div>
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<a href="https://amzn.to/2Qd9Z6T">Read it</a>, and drink some Pu-er tea! #NaBloPoMo2019</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-675693465209723258.post-78953537594375349352019-11-12T19:29:00.002-08:002019-11-12T20:14:31.192-08:00Becoming<div style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>Becoming</i></b></span><span style="font-size: x-large;">, by Michelle Obama</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrvU5bAIFX5lJShopZpzRy-ci6OUE74-7IJ2jl0luRQXzffU3K0zMK58dckOc77ICgunYlrGpLlhlnNGIlMLBLo0OnvEsTbz4sBsJlp63awSzzrwnQlEyJWlpAbMRTG4Ajcw4j5kJlUV0/s1600/38746485.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="312" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrvU5bAIFX5lJShopZpzRy-ci6OUE74-7IJ2jl0luRQXzffU3K0zMK58dckOc77ICgunYlrGpLlhlnNGIlMLBLo0OnvEsTbz4sBsJlp63awSzzrwnQlEyJWlpAbMRTG4Ajcw4j5kJlUV0/s320/38746485.jpg" width="210" /></a></span></div>
I read <i><a href="https://amzn.to/372vlcX">Becoming</a></i> earlier this year, and I loved it. Although her family did not have much money or resources, she grew up in a family of deep, consistent love on the south side of Chicago, rich in memories.<br />
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A few of my most vivid memories of the book were when she learned how to play the piano from her strict Great Aunt Robbie, who had a strict protocol about lessons. The students could not move ahead in the book until they had accomplished a particular song. This struck Michelle as particularly boring and unfair, so she played ahead in the book and got in trouble. I could relate so much to Michelle's reaction, chafing at this rule! Some rules are meant to be broken!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiZNaGd6G6prtzedauGkLJ4fcMx-LjhIYPMIeuiQQTy8GugTk1reHaSRKh2EyuzjOMsYlqVpAFSy2LMbm3g4M1Q7f3DvV88fyEHIiU53-tSFHqwpABS2oTOsltP9BKTHnA8uacRQkCjZw/s1600/38746485.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a>At her first piano recital, Michelle learned her family's circumstances were not like everyone else's. Great Aunt Robbie's piano had a chip to mark the middle C. Sitting at a beautiful grand piano for the recital, Michelle panicked because she could not find middle C. Great Aunt Bobbie came to her rescue, pointing out the C. </div>
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“Maybe she knew that the disparities of the world had just quietly shown themselves to me for the first time." </div>
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She and her brother Cliff shared a small bedroom, jerry-rigged into two extremely small areas. Her parents were strict but she always felt loved, and although her dad became ill with multiple sclerosis, he continued to work tremendously hard for as long as he could. Michelle followed in her parents' hard-working footsteps, committed to academic excellence, and earned two Ivy League degrees.<br />
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I admired her self-awareness when she realized, working as a corporate lawyer, that this life was not for her. After meeting a much more laid-back and carefree Barack and losing her best friend from college to cancer, she reinvented herself and her career. I enjoyed learning about Michelle's professional life and aspirations--we heard so little about the real Michelle when she was first lady.<br />
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“For me, becoming isn’t about arriving somewhere or achieving a certain aim. I see it instead as forward motion, a means of evolving, a way to reach continuously toward a better self. The journey doesn’t end.” </div>
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Reading about Michelle and Barack's courtship made me smile...they were so different in so many ways, but alike in the ways that mattered. She is still not a fan of politics, but knew that he was meant to be a public servant and would not stand in his way.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting ready to hear from Michelle in Portland!</td></tr>
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Michelle writes extensively about parenting and balancing her work and family life, especially as Barack was away from home more frequently because of his political career. She was determined to protect her daughters from the privileged life as much as she possibly could.<br />
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She also writes about the value of female friendship, which is also sacred to me.<br />
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“Friendships between women, as any woman will tell you, are built of a thousand small kindnesses...swapped back and forth and over again.” </div>
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And about how challenging it can be to be a woman:<br />
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“Women endure entire lifetimes of these indignities—in the form of catcalls, groping, assault, oppression. These things injure us. They sap our strength. Some of the cuts are so small they’re barely visible. Others are huge and gaping, leaving scars that never heal. Either way, they accumulate. We carry them everywhere, to and from school and work, at home while raising our children, at our places of worship, anytime we try to advance.” </div>
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And where "when they go low, we go high" came from:<br />
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“Since childhood, I’d believed it was important to speak out against bullies while also not stooping to their level. And to be clear, we were now up against a bully, a man who among other things demeaned minorities and expressed contempt for prisoners of war, challenging the dignity of our country with practically his every utterance. I wanted Americans to understand that words matter—that the hateful language they heard coming from their TVs did not reflect the true spirit of our country and that we could vote against it. It was dignity I wanted to make an appeal for—the idea that as a nation we might hold on to the core thing that had sustained my family, going back generations. Dignity had always gotten us through. It was a choice, and not always the easy one, but the people I respected most in life made it again and again, every single day. There was a motto Barack and I tried to live by, and I offered it that night from the stage: When they go low, we go high.”</div>
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I closed the book feeling inspired by the life she has lived, much of it so publicly, and sad for what we have lost as a country.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With my heart full!</td></tr>
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My husband and I were extremely lucky to be able to see Michelle when she came to Portland, and it was a night I will never forget! I wiped away tears many times. She designed her book tour so it was a conversation with someone who knew her well. In Portland, it was with Sam Kass, the Obamas' personal chef starting in Chicago, and who designed the garden and healthy cooking at the White House with her. It was funny, poignant, endearing, and intimate, and it filled my heart!<br />
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“For every door that’s been opened to me, I’ve tried to open my door to others. And here is what I have to say, finally: Let’s invite one another in. Maybe then we can begin to fear less, to make fewer wrong assumptions, to let go of the biases and stereotypes that unnecessarily divide us. Maybe we can better embrace the ways we are the same. It’s not about being perfect. It’s not about where you get yourself in the end. There’s power in allowing yourself to be known and heard, in owning your unique story, in using your authentic voice. And there’s grace in being willing to know and hear others. This, for me, is how we become.”</div>
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#NaBloPoMo2019Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-675693465209723258.post-70378558397866081982019-11-07T14:03:00.000-08:002019-11-12T20:15:59.916-08:00Outlander<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>Outlander</i></b></span><span style="font-size: x-large;">, by Diana Gabaldon</span></div>
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The first time I'd heard about <i>Outlander</i> was many years ago, when Mike won a Willamette Writers award, and Diana Gabaldon was the keynote speaker at the awards banquet. I remember her as quirky and intriguing...here was an academic scholar and professor with a Ph.D. in behavior ecology, becoming famous for writing a bodice-ripper historical, time travel, Scottish novel. My most vivid memory of her speech was she decided to write <i>Outlander</i> because she loves men in kilts! She had just signed the contract with Starz to produce the book as a television series. Anyone who has watched the TV show knows how much Gabaldon loves men in kilts! </div>
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<i>Outlander</i> is set in 1945 after the war, and it's about an English nurse named Clare. She's married to Frank, a nerdy academic, and they travel to Scotland so he can research his ancestors and they can try to rekindle their romance after being separated during the war. Intrigued by the stone runes, she finds herself falling back into time to the 1700s where she encounters Jamie and her husband's evil ancestor, Black Jack Randall (played incredibly well in the show by Tobias Menzies, who also plays Frank). </div>
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After hearing Gabaldon, I researched the book to see if I should read it, but honestly the romance genre kept me away. After the TV show began to get popular, I finally tried it out but I gave up because I was trying to read the e-book and the length in that medium made it more difficult to read. However, I got totally hooked on the show. I have always been drawn to time travel, and the combination with historical fiction is a perfect fit for me. I love learning the Scottish history.</div>
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When my book group voted to read <i>Outlander</i> this year, I was all in to give the first book another try. Claire is a fascinating heroine, and Jamie is sexy, sensitive, and strong...perhaps unrealistic characters for their times but fun nonetheless. I really enjoyed it and eventually will read more in the series. My friend Kristin has already moved on to the other books. Not everyone in the group loved Outlander, but it led to a great--and hilarious--discussion.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The night we discussed <i>Outlander</i> and hilarity ensued</td></tr>
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My friend Nicola read many of the sex scenes out loud in a Scottish brogue, and there's much to laugh about in the book...especially the sex scenes! While I wasn't paying attention, Nicola and Katie got hold of my phone and put this nude of a wet Jamie on my phone wallpaper. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The phone wallpaper, edited with my "Thumbs"<br />
comment to cover his privates--<br />
I can't remember why we were laughing<br />
about "thumbs" but it was a story</td></tr>
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I do need to put a trigger warning in this review. The book has a few rape scenes, including one that includes torture (at the end of the book). It was extremely difficult to read and even harder to see dramatized in the show. With that said, Gabaldon handles the PTSD resulting from the sexual assault in a sensitive, insightful way.</div>
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Of course, some of this book (and series) is unrealistic. I am not a fan of the scene in which Jamie disciplines Clare because she disobeys him and puts the entire group at risk, and then she forgives him afterward. I know it was a different time, but it didn't seem to fit with Jamie's character. </div>
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It's frothy with a healthy dose of sex, set in two different historical times and places...great fun.<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; float: none; font-family: "montserrat"; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">#NaBloPoMo2019</span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike></div>
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-675693465209723258.post-2168989071826613662019-11-04T21:54:00.004-08:002019-11-11T17:26:58.823-08:00What Happened<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnAk1XV_SQCkm4Q5SvMBfHjbq0m5D4GT6A-WOdg7OHS9Pwi3yQb2XLeFYRZFcqGkiIJJLanCtcAqKA464loHEFvKSVZs_FKNEmky8KchnI6LOfWoCsTdgl6TdyCmDKokTSalnAGaY0568/s1600/34114362.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; clear: right; color: #0066cc; float: right; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; orphans: 2; text-align: center; text-decoration: underline; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="315" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnAk1XV_SQCkm4Q5SvMBfHjbq0m5D4GT6A-WOdg7OHS9Pwi3yQb2XLeFYRZFcqGkiIJJLanCtcAqKA464loHEFvKSVZs_FKNEmky8KchnI6LOfWoCsTdgl6TdyCmDKokTSalnAGaY0568/s320/34114362.jpg" width="212" /></a><span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>What Happened</i></b></span><span style="font-size: x-large;">, by Hillary Clinton</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"></span><b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />
Of course, I listened to this one on audio so I could hear Hillary narrate <i>What Happened</i>. Hillary reminds me of many women I've worked with, who came of age in their careers in the '70s in a male-dominated field...she is tough, has had to make tons of sacrifices (e.g., taking Bill's last name), and is not always authentic and relaxed because she is trying to fit in and be accepted in spite of her core strength (not fitting into the classic feminine stereotype). Even though she is awkward, nerdy, and wonky, I greatly admire and respect her as a woman, diplomat, civil servant, and mother. She has great love for her country and her family.<br />
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Sometimes I find it hard to understand why she stuck with Bill, but this memoir gives more insight into that situation. She has a great fondness and affection for him, and who am I to judge her for choosing to stay with him after he embarrassed her in front of the whole world?<br />
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This book, like Michelle Obama's <i>Becoming</i>, brought me to tears several times...because I think of what could have been and what should have been. Hearing her describe election night from her perspective, and that incredible speech she gave the next day, brought it all back for me. The great hopes of having our first woman president, someone who has rock-solid experience internationally and diplomatically, who could swallow her pride and go work for the person who defeated her, who can work with all sorts of personalities, who has advocated for women and children for her whole career...such a huge loss.<br />
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I will read everything Hillary Clinton writes. <b><span style="font-size: x-large;">What happened</span></b> is that she got nearly three million votes more than Trump. And the Republican party, which has always been terrified of the "Red Menace," is now consorting with Russia.<br />
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What happened is that our country got shafted. If Hillary had won, we'd actually have a skillful, diplomatic, effective, team-building president instead of the terrifying president-pretender we have now.
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</iframe> <span style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline !important; float: none; font-family: Montserrat; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">#NaBloPoMo2019</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0