Books of August 2023

 Nine books this month. I am on a tenth one, but it will end up being book one of September, because I won't finish it tonight...I need to write, not read, for awhile!

Before the books--this morning I spent several hours working in the yard because it was nice and cool outside. I got two blisters from the garden clippers on my right hand. The one on the side of my thumb is normal, but look at the beautiful shape of the one on my middle finger!

When I shared the picture, both my daughter Nancy and my friend Janice exclaimed, "The clippers love you!!" It still hurts, but that heart of my finger feels like a bit of a reward for my work outside today! And if I were to give the finger to anybody--which I have never done, and I am not about to start now!-- it would be a mixed message, wouldn't it!! 

So...books...

1. Pretty Good Number One: An American Family eats Tokyo (2013 - this one 2016) by Matthew Amster-Burton. The copyright date is different because I chose to ILL the large print book. My eyes adore large print. This is a memoir of living and eating in Tokyo. Matthew and his daughter Iris are particular fans of Japanese food, and it is a fun read to watch them trying different foods. (Matthew's wife prefers the food of their home country, England.) The best part of living in Tokyo for Iris is the freedom that children enjoy there! The parents are much less helicopter-y when it comes to going out and about. 

2. I had a sudden thought this month--"It has been a long time since I read a Jaclyn Moriarty book! I wonder if she has something new since the last book of hers I read." And she does. It is The astonishing chronicles of Oscar from Elsewhere (2022) which is another adventure for the children of the extended family of Nettlestones. The Nettlestone Cousins and Alejandro (the once and future prince) are on a mission to save the elves in Dun-sorey-lo-vey-lo-hey from sleeping themselves into oblivion, when they meet Oscar from elsewhere. (Australia. He is totally from Australia.) Although his trip to their world is a bit perplexing to everyone, they couldn't have saved the elves without him and his board with wheels. Jaclyn Moriarty is an excellent story-teller! Such a fun read.

3. The Bangalore Detectives Club (2023) by Harini Nagendra--Josie came across this title (since she also works in libraries and comes across titles of books they don't have in their collection) which I requested through ILL. Harini is an ecologist in India, and this is her first novel--she usually writes academic papers. It was interesting. She is exploring the life of a wife in 1920s India. Kaveri isn't content to just sit at home, and when she and her husband are at a dinner where a murder is committed, she can't sit still and watch innocent people take the blame. Her new (match-made) husband Ramu is a willing accomplice. Good thing his mother is out of the house for a few months--she would not have been a fan of Kaveri's activities!!

4. The Unwedding (2024) by Ally Condie. Ally Condie is another writer I had not read for a few years--since 2017. I looked it up! In 2017 her book jackets said nothing about an MFA from Vermont College, which she has completed since then. When I saw that she had, I wondered if my friend Marti Leavitt had taught her! They both are successful authors. Turns out Marti was not one of Ally's teachers, except in a workshop. Ellery's vacation weekend turns into a nightmare with murders and a storm. Well, it kind of started out as a nightmare, too, because Ellery is using the vacation she and her husband purchased for their 20th wedding anniversary. But a few months ago, he decided to take another direction (and a new girlfriend) so Ellery is on her own. She makes new friends and helps solve a mystery and it turns out kind of okay. And it is a well-told story.

5. Hope Springs (2022) by Jaime Berry is a debut novel for younger readers--not YA, more for tweens, but I liked it. (A good story is a good story.) Jubilee's grandma, who is her legal guardian, always wants to move, but Jubilee hopes they can stay put for awhile. When they move to Hope Springs, TX, Jubilee finds friends and a purpose, and even makes progress in building a better relationship with her mother (a professional singer who is on the road a lot) and finally finds a home in Hope Springs TX.

6. Curiosity (2015) by Gary Blackwood is historical fiction, and I found it very interesting. A short summary: Rufus, crippled from birth, is orphaned and earns his keep playing chess from inside a machine called the Turk. Rufus' time inside the Turk is during the time that Mälzel was the machine's owner (he features in the linked article) and took the machine to the United States.

7. Trouble with Gender: Sex Facts, Gender Fictions (2023) by Alex Byrne, who is a philosophy professor at MIT. I found this book fascinating. He is kind of looking at the approach to gender disphoria currently sanctioned (all you have to do is say it, and that's it--you are diagnosed. Without looking at trauma or any other things that might be causing you angst) which is weird to him as a philosopher, because it is important to look at things from many possible angles. I especially liked this paragraph, on page 137: "People are sometimes not completely forthcoming. They may leave details out. They may subtly distort their biographies, not intending to deceive, but as a means of maintaining an acceptable self-image. More straighforwardly, they may misinterpret their feelings and behavior: we are far from transparent to ourselves. And on occasion they may simply lie. That first-person reports of sexuality are sometimes inaccurate is more than plausible--sometimes it is provable. Being judiciously skeptical of narratives by transgender people is merely to treat them as human beings."

8. Property of the Rebel Librarian (2018) by Allison Varnes. Wow. If I had read this book in 2018, with its story of book banning and shutting down libraries and villainizing librarians, I would have thought "How bizarre! Glad this is fiction!" But now, in 2024, I live in a state that has banned 13 books so far, and made a law that if three parents don't like a book, it is banned. (Easy to see how one parent with an axe to grind could find two friends to go along with it.) And I live in a country where 17 states are thinking they will criminalize librarians for book recommendations. Like, what? Fahrenheit 451 here we come! Let's burn all the books! I never thought of my profession as risky, but I guess I need to think again. (I will talk about this book in our library book group in September, because we are supposed to read a book about libraries.)

9. The Swallowtail Legacy: Wreck at Ada Reef (2022) by Michael Beil. For our library book group, in August we were supposed to read books about schools, and though I didn't re-read any of them, I showed and telled about Michael Beil's "Red Blazer Girls" books, which I have read with enjoyment in the past. And reminding myself of how much I liked his books caused me to look for something new by him. This book was very good, just like his other books. Lark's family goes to Swallowtail island in Lake Erie for the summer and adventure awaits. Such a fun island--horses and bikes and golf carts. No cars on the island. Michael Beil created such interesting characters! 

I opened with a picture of destruction to my finger (though beautiful destruction because heart) and will close with a picture of destruction in the library. Or, I guess "deconstruction" is a better term.

It is going to get worse before it gets better. Fun times!!

Charity is Kind

This content was not written by me, but what this woman, Tiffany Elkington, said resonated with me so much that I want to "keep" this, so I can read it again. This woman is not my friend; I have not met her, although I would like to. I have, because of this article, found out more about her, and I think she is a wonderful human being. She posted this late last night, both on her own Facebook wall, and as a post on a group, TNAT, that we both belong to.

Tiffany Elkington

Charity, the love of others, is truly a rewarding life pursuit. It can enhance our lives and provide us lifelong interpersonal connections with others.

 
Sometimes opening ourselves up to knowing what another person is going through or has gone through enables us to be kinder, more empathetic, and more loving. I like to picture a God that really knows me and also would like me to really know others.

Since I'm seeing a lot in my Facebook feed -- especially from practicing Christians -- about the Olympic boxing match and the "travesty" of a "man" punching a woman, I've decided to post something here to give my dear friends and family the opportunity to know more about our human family, to gain further light and knowledge, if you will.

My apologies in advance to my non-Christian friends and family for going down a bit of a Christian rabbit hole here. I promise the knowledge concerning these matters is good regardless of religious affiliation or non-religiosity.

Paul, from the New Testament, spoke about charity and what it is and also what it isn't. In 1 Corinthians 13 Paul says: "Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth..."

Paul continues...
"When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known."

Knowing more about others enables us to mature and become more charitable. We may currently be a bit in the dark, viewing things "through a glass, darkly." Humility allows us to be teachable, to be willing to look through a new and oftentimes more enlightened lens. Sometimes greater knowledge creates cognitive dissonance and may clash with things we already know or believe. Sometimes gaining knowledge can be uncomfortable. But on the positive side, knowledge can open us up to greater understanding and compassion. It can enable us to have a wider lens with which to view the world.

Charity -- pure love -- requires us to know one another, to be enlightened about one another. In this particular case of the female boxing match, it's very likely Khelif (one of the boxers who some are calling a man) could be a person presenting with all the outward "parts" of a female but may have 46XY chromosomes. Sometimes a person, maybe not Khelif since the testosterone levels were high, but some folks have a degree of AIS (Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome) where their cells don't process testosterone so they're XY but appear female. Regardless, it's very possible Khelif presented at birth as a female. There's all sorts of human conditions that can break from the typical, cleancut versions of male vs. female. Perhaps Khelif lived childhood as a female. They lived adolescence as a female. They moved into adulthood as a female. And eventually they entered the upper echelons of female sports as a female.

 
At some point, they probably underwent some sort of scientific testing required from sports authorities that led some sports organization to say, Hm, is this person really a female??? Now mind you, it's very possible there was no indication to Khelif or Khelif's parents, family, friends, doctors, etc., up until that point that Khelif was anything other than female.

 
So this is where charity comes into play. There are some people who are not clearly 100 percent male or 100 percent female. It is my opinion, that to truly be a Christian -- not a symbolic Christian, a Christian in name only -- to be a performative, life changing true disciple of Jesus -- it is our duty to love everyone exactly how God gave them to us. Period.

 
Being intentionally mean to Khelif in order to double down on "being right" is not Christian and I would argue it's pretty uncomfortable to watch Christians be mean, intentionally or unintentionally, to somebody because they haven't taken the time to learn about the many ways humans are born.

 
I would imagine Khelif has been pretty distraught over the news from some sort of "scientific" test that says they're "in between" male and female.

 
The decision-making officials in these sports organizations may not know exactly what to do either when someone is "in between" either. Two different sports governing bodies may come up with two entirely different verdicts on what it means to be female.

 
Let me just argue this: We need to give grace to people who are born this "in between" way. We need to be compassionate and not persecute or ostracize or mock them.

 
At the end of creation, God declared: "It is good." If God could call this wide variety and diversity of human family good, then who am I to say otherwise. Creation is good exactly how it is.

 
I've posted a video that shares more details about the middle ground between females and males. I hope you'll take the time to receive further enlightenment.

 
Another video that is specific to sports and the difficulties that can arise when trying to define gender is from the series "Sports on Fire" episode 4 "She Runs Like a Man." That video is currently available through Amazon Prime.

 
I highly recommend both.

 
Here's my last plea. Let's put in the time to move from an elementary school/secondary school understanding of gender into something more enlightened so we can know more and be better to each other.

(Note actually from me: this BBC documentary began production in 2009 and was released in 2011. There was no gender axe to grind at the time. This is simply a documentary made on the topic of Disorders of Sexual Development.)

July 2024 Books

 This month was dominated by non-fiction reading, sometimes in conjunction with research I am doing. 

1. You won't be surprised that I read somebody's master's thesis: Jo Anna Kneeland's Theraputic Barre: A qualitative analysis (2012) by Charlotte Hart was a good read, because I was interested in the dance methodology of Jo Anna Kneeland, who is such an interesting person, as well as an important dance pedagogue. So, it might not make for great reading for everybody, but if you are interested in reading the thesis itself as well as the appended interviews with students of Kneeland, then it is worth reading.

2. This one is fiction: Between the Lines (2012) by Jodi Picoult and (her daughter) Samantha Van Leer. I needed something light amid all the non-fiction, so I looked for this foray into fantasy by Jodi P. I have enjoyed her other not-fantasy books, which my granddaughter Rosie got me into when she lived chez nous, and so I thought I would try this. Interesting spin, with the book being full of "live" characters who must dash to their places on the set when the book is opened.

3. The spark: the legacy that changed the dance world (2017) by Cheryl Ale. I am sure it is clear this is also a nonfiction title! This book is about teaching ballet, and while there is no index, and it is not made clear (from the title) what exactly ignited the spark, it was in fact the Kneeland methodology as taught by Kneeland and also Ruth Petrinovic. I had Janice make subject headings with their names for our copy, and maybe some other libraries will use our record from OCLC if they get this book. Nonfiction books without indexes are a little bit annoying to me.

4. Cassandra in Reverse (2023) by Holly Smale. Cassandra is a neuro-diverse person, and it took me a few chapters to start liking her, and then I thought she was quite lovely. She learns that she can go back in time and "fix" things, but honestly, can you? You fix something, you mess something else up! This was a fun and touching read.

5. I finished reading the Book of Mormon, which I have been listening to, not reading with my eyes, while doing my morning planks and balances. I started January 1 and finished July 7. Now I am back to my most usual New Testament four gospels during my morning exercise ritual.

6. Swipe up for more! Inside the unfiltered lives of influencers (2023) by Stephanie McNeal. This was so interesting to me! Like I know, or know of, people whose "work" is being an influencer. It is not "work" I envy at all. (I remember that Grant let me know some of the downsides, like people turning up at their house, strangers, and while none of them were ever horrible, Grant recognized that they could have been. And being obligated to create content all the time.) This journalist interviewed a variety of influencers, focusing on three in particular: Shannon Bird, a Mormon Mommy lifestyle blogger, Caitlin Covington, a fashion influencer, and Mirna Valerio, a plus-size, black, outdoorswoman who became a sports and sporting goods influencer. Super interesting read!!

7. Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America (2023) by Heather Cox Richardson. Dr. Richardson is a historian at Boston College. In this book, she looks at democracy since the very beginning of America. I mean, she does that, but the book starts now and wanders around in history not in strict chronological order, but drawing parallels between various events in US history. She demonstrates that America has always had a democracy problem--the fight has always been on, because there are always, and have always been, people who want to be oligarchs. And if we the people want to live in a democracy, we have to stand up to oligarchs. Highly recommend.

8. Shiver (2009) by Maggie Stiefvater. I have read and enjoyed Maggie's books in the past. This is one of her earlier books that I just happened upon on the juv sorting shelves. I really liked this tale of werewolves and warmth.  (Shivering, in contrast, can be dangerous.)

So there you have it! Eight books this month, five nonfiction and three fiction. On to August reading!