Book a Week 2016 - BW3: Martin Luther King

[Rosie_0801]

I picked up the third in the Feist's Serpentwar series from the library just now. I've been rationing out the second and now I'm going to BINGE READ!

[Chrysalis Academy]

I finished Steven Brust's "To Reign in Hell."  The copy I read has been passed around, smells of smoke and there were business cards and other items falling from the pages as I read.  The story is a fantasy telling of the revolt of angels at creation and is cleverly done.  My younger self would have loved this and at this age I find it interesting (I'm not big in to science fiction or fantasy at this age in general).

 

Jane and I are on the same wave length as far as thinking about censorship this week.  I've been thinking about it on a broad scale while listening to Noble Peace Prize speeches and I've been thinking about it in my own life as I debate censoring my own voice.  But I am reminded of all those who did not censor, who were brave and stood up and spoke even when it was ugly and hard to do so.  I'm especially taken with this poem by Shane Koyczan:

 

 

 

;)

 

That was remarkable, thank you for sharing.  And that book sounds like something I would like, too!  :)

[Rosyl]

Trying to keep up with this thread and I am a day or so behind.  Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the MLK conversation.

I finished 2 books

6.  The Rescuer Suzanne Woods Fisher

5.  A Town Like Alice  by Nevil Shute  I loved this one. 

I have had it on my kindle for a year and finally read it.  I enjoyed the fact that it was written from the perspective of the lawyer.  So many of the books I have been reading are 1st person narratives and non-participant narratives, and I am bored with that perspective.  That sounds weird saying..  I don't know if it is because I am older and I have read so many books or there is nothing new under the sun, but I am bored with the 1st person narrator and non-participant story telling of the part of the author. 

 

4.  Jackson Bog by Michael Witt.  
3.  Toward the Sunrise by Elizabeth Camden     

2.  Wonderland Creek by Lynn Austin

1.  Crucial Conversations by Patterson and Grenny

 

[Lady Florida.]

 I'm especially taken with this poem by Shane Koyczan:

 

 

;)

 

This is beautiful!

[KathyBC]

I saw an interesting-looking murder mystery at the library and thought it would make a nice break between more intentional reading. The Cutting Season (Locke) is set on a Louisiana plantation that is now a tourist attraction, the fields rented to corporate farming. It ties the current murder of a migrant worker to the past disappearance of a former slave, a relative of the main character. There were two contradictory details in the first chapter that almost made me quit reading, but I continued, to experience an unfamiliar setting through completely different eyes than my own.

[SEGway]

I finished Partners in Crime by A. Christie. I didn't like it as much as the first story featuring Tommy and Tuppence, but it was a fun read.

 

We finished The Black Cauldron by Lloyd Alexander as a family read aloud and started The Castle of Llyr for the next round. I'm trying to do voices to help them keep the characters straight. Not terribly impressive, and my Gurgi sounds like Elmo, buuuuuut...it's a fun revisit for me.

 

I also finished Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, which I enjoyed, but it seemed weirdly deja vu-ish. And that kept getting in the way of my enjoying the story. Mr. Crouch and Mr. Vandermar were reminiscent of two Pratchett characters that I can't quite remember their names. The whole thing was just close enough to a Discworld plot and just far enough removed to be disorienting for me. (And make me want to read some Pratchett soon, too. :) ) It felt like a grownup version of a coming-of-age novel. I liked it overall.

 

Entries by Wendell Berry was an impulse check-out at the library. Some of the poems are really haunting. There's a section toward the end of it that speaks to his care of his father at the end of life. A few of those passages really got me. Some of the earlier poems weren't very memorable. I'm glad I read it, though. 

 

The conversation about white privilege is really thought-provoking for me. I have Between the World and Me on hold at the library because of this thread. A bit late to the party, but better late than never.

[Pam in CT]

re: The Cutting Season by Attica Locke

I saw an interesting-looking murder mystery at the library and thought it would make a nice break between more intentional reading. The Cutting Season (Locke) is set on a Louisiana plantation that is now a tourist attraction, the fields rented to corporate farming. It ties the current murder of a migrant worker to the past disappearance of a former slave, a relative of the main character. There were two contradictory details in the first chapter that almost made me quit reading, but I continued, to experience an unfamiliar setting through completely different eyes than my own.

 

I read this a few years ago.  As you say, there are some weak spots, but I mostly enjoyed it.  By the end I was thinking about plantation-turned-historical-sites/tourist attractions differently; since then when we've visited them on road trips (which we still do) I find myself looking through a slightly altered lens.

[Jane in NC]

I finished Steven Brust's "To Reign in Hell."  The copy I read has been passed around, smells of smoke and there were business cards and other items falling from the pages as I read.  The story is a fantasy telling of the revolt of angels at creation and is cleverly done.  My younger self would have loved this and at this age I find it interesting (I'm not big in to science fiction or fantasy at this age in general).

 

Jane and I are on the same wave length as far as thinking about censorship this week.  I've been thinking about it on a broad scale while listening to Noble Peace Prize speeches and I've been thinking about it in my own life as I debate censoring my own voice.  But I am reminded of all those who did not censor, who were brave and stood up and spoke even when it was ugly and hard to do so.  I'm especially taken with this poem by Shane Koyczan:

 

 

;)

 

Mesamin sent me off in search of more Shane Koyczan. Here is a Ted Talk he gave on bullying.  It is a goodie:

 

https://www.ted.com/talks/shane_koyczan_to_this_day_for_the_bullied_and_beautiful?language=en

 

[Runningmom80]

Just started The Help. (My therapist actually brought it up which inspired me to read it. :lol: )

 

I finished The Whole-Brain Child.  It was dry and hard to get into at first, but I felt the info was solid.  I've been using some of the advice and it seems to flow well with our family. I definitely recommend it.

 

 

My list

1. The Alchemist

2. Between the World and Me

3. The Whole-Brain Child

4. The Help

[Kareni]

My book group met last night to discuss the Martian.  There were nine of us there including my daughter and a prospective new member; it was a lively meeting.  I'd say that the book inspired potatoes au gratin were the food hit of the evening.  Several of us asked for the recipe.

 

 

After getting home, I finished my re-read of the historical romance The Many Sins of Lord Cameron (Mackenzies Series Book 3) by Jennifer Ashley.  I enjoyed it once more.

 

 

"He is a man of simple tastes—and complex pleasures...

Cameron Mackenzie is a man who loves only horses and women—in that order—or so his mistresses say.

Ainsley Douglas is a woman with a strong sense of justice and the desire to help others—even if that means sneaking around a rakish man's bedchamber.

Which is exactly where Cam finds her—six years after he caught her the first time. Only then, she convinced Cam she was seeking a liaison, but couldn't go through with it because of her husband. Now a widow, she's on a mission to retrieve letters that could prove embarrassing to the queen. Cam has no interest in Ainsley's subterfuge, but he vows to finish what they started those many years ago. One game, one kiss at a time, he plans to seduce her. And what starts out as a lusty diversion may break Cam's own rules—and heal the scars of a dark and damaging past..."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[sarahjokim]

I'm on chapter 19 of Don Quixote. I find it humorous and charming at times and also very slow going.  It's interesting - usually books I enjoy I find hard to put down but this book makes me laugh and makes me fall asleep. :)  

 

I also finished listening to The Martian audiobook - definitely recommend this one!  

[Woodland Mist Academy]

I'm on chapter 19 of Don Quixote. I find it humorous and charming at times and also very slow going.  It's interesting - usually books I enjoy I find hard to put down but this book makes me laugh and makes me fall asleep. :)

 

 

I can relate. It was definitely not a gripping, can't put it down, page turner. It was more like a steady, constant companion who never demanded my attention, but was always patiently waiting for me...

[Lady Florida.]

I'm on chapter 19 of Don Quixote. I find it humorous and charming at times and also very slow going.  It's interesting - usually books I enjoy I find hard to put down but this book makes me laugh and makes me fall asleep. :)

 

 

 

 

I can relate. It was definitely not a gripping, can't put it down, page turner. It was more like a steady, constant companion who never demanded my attention, but was always patiently waiting for me...

 

That was my experience with DQ as well. Fun parts, boring and repetitive parts, interesting parts. Easy to put down but just as easy to pick up again. It had me scratching my head at times wondering why it's a classic. Other times I could see how often later writers took their cues from Cervantes.

Edited January 22, 2016 by Lady Florida

[Mesamin]

I'm on chapter 19 of Don Quixote. I find it humorous and charming at times and also very slow going.  It's interesting - usually books I enjoy I find hard to put down but this book makes me laugh and makes me fall asleep. :)

 

I also finished listening to The Martian audiobook - definitely recommend this one!  

I had a friend explain that authors were sometimes paid by the number of words in their work- thus Don Quixote gets a bit wordy at times.

[Robin M]

I saw an interesting-looking murder mystery at the library and thought it would make a nice break between more intentional reading. The Cutting Season (Locke) is set on a Louisiana plantation that is now a tourist attraction, the fields rented to corporate farming. It ties the current murder of a migrant worker to the past disappearance of a former slave, a relative of the main character. There were two contradictory details in the first chapter that almost made me quit reading, but I continued, to experience an unfamiliar setting through completely different eyes than my own.

I remember that one. I read it years ago when it first came out.  2012 I think. I had read Locke's debut novel Black Water Rising, which was quite good. He kind of reminded me of John Grisham at the time.  Just like Pam, it gave me a totally new view of plantations and made me want to go sightseeing.   :laugh:

 

 

To add to Eliana's fabulous list of books, here are a couple lists from Off the Shelf 

 

12 Essential Books about Race in America

 

13 Significant Books on Civil Rights for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

[PeacefulChaos]

I'm plugging along with The Heavenly Man, still.  Once I sit down and start reading it, it isn't hard to keep going for awhile, but it's the picking it up that I have to be diligent about getting around to.   :lol:

Not that it's bad.  It's an easy read.  But yeah, as I had mentioned previously, it's a lot of the same thing over and over again.  I'm not in any way trying to diminish this man's experiences AT ALL.  It just doesn't necessarily provide the most exciting read lol.

That said, I can't say I don't enjoy it anyway.  Idk.  It's a conundrum.   :lol:

 

 

I did end up writing up a post about Captivating, which was so long it's going to end up being in 3 parts.  I did the first one on the shaky theology.  

 

 

ETA: and the second on feminism and Christianity.

Edited January 22, 2016 by PeacefulChaos

[Kareni]

I finished a VERY short novella today.  (Did I say VERY short?  My Kindle predicted it would take me 26 minutes to read the work.) 

 

15 W. Gibson by Aubree Lane

 

"1954 - Stockton, California

Knowing Uncle Sam is about to come knocking, twenty-one year old Jimmy Franks saves the government the cost of a stamp and preemptively enlists in the Navy. He loads up on stationery and pens, and with a heavy heart, kisses his lovely bride goodbye. Leaving his precious Suzy is the hardest thing he’s ever had to do.

Pregnant and left alone to deal with their feuding families, Suzy Franks is heartbroken when Jimmy ships out for the Mariana Islands. Knowing Guam is considered safe and that she will eventually be able to join him offers her little solace. Suzy's mettle is put to the test. Her husband's letters of love brings comfort, but 15 W. Gibson is a lonely place without him."

 

 

The description attracted me for two reasons.  First, I'm drawn to epistolary novels.  Second, I used to live in Guam, so I was interested to learn how Guam would be described.  (It didn't hurt that the novella was free at the time; that is no longer the case.)  It was a pleasant little read.  One thing that was intriguing was to learn some 1954 prices -- i.e., $12.00 for a three minute phone call and $325 for a commercial flight to Guam from San Francisco on a once a month flight.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Angelaboord]

I'm plugging along with The Heavenly Man, still. Once I sit down and start reading it, it isn't hard to keep going for awhile, but it's the picking it up that I have to be diligent about getting around to. :lol:

Not that it's bad. It's an easy read. But yeah, as I had mentioned previously, it's a lot of the same thing over and over again. I'm not in any way trying to diminish this man's experiences AT ALL. It just doesn't necessarily provide the most exciting read lol.

That said, I can't say I don't enjoy it anyway. Idk. It's a conundrum. :lol:.

I started reading The Heavenly Man a couple of years ago and still haven't picked it back up. I'm not sure if it is a book a reader can really *enjoy*... I couldn't get past the part where he describes how small his ears had become from starvation. For some reason the entire narrative made me feel sort of hopeless, considering that I doubt I will ever be called to respond in that sort of heroic fashion. I don't think the intention of the narrative is to make readers feel that way, but cumulatively, that's the way it made me feel. Anyway, I know it was written to be inspirational, but maybe there was just too much to actually be inspirational? Maybe it's a function of editing? Or maybe I'm just a weenie. [emoji5]

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Edited January 23, 2016 by Angelaboord

[idnib]

Sending good thoughts to anyone dealing with inclement weather today. May you have warm drinks, working power, and good books!

Edited January 23, 2016 by idnib

[PeacefulChaos]

I am snowed in... at work.  Granted, work is 2 blocks from home and we can easily walk there, but it's less the matter of getting home and more the matter of someone else coming in to work when I get off!!  DH works here, too, and is shoveling... lots and lots of shoveling.  So all 3 kids are here at work with me.  No big deal but it's BO.RING.

 

Here's hoping that I don't end up here all day.  I worked til 8 last night and came in at 8 this morning - not bad hours, but even though my kids are good I'm not sure they won't go insane with nothing to entertain them but a DS and a TV for 12 hours straight today.  And similarly, I'm hoping that people do come in tomorrow.  

 

Aish....

[Jane in NC]

Sending good thoughts to anyone dealing with inclement weather today. May you have warm drinks, power, and good books!

 

Echoing this.  Here on the coast we have not seen snow or sleet although yesterday's rain has formed a slick surface on our deck.  I assume bridges have slippery spots. Hence the decision to stay indoors with our warm drinks, power, good books and (in my case) a sewing project.

 

Stay safe all!

 

[Lady Florida.]

Adding to the chorus of warm wishes for all of you in the path of the snow storm. I hope you have plenty of reading material and your beverage of choice. Stay safe and warm!

[Kareni]

Public service announcement ~

 

 

Do not start re-reading a favorite book at 11:30pm.  It will suddenly be 2:00am, and you will have finished said book.

 

 

The Year We Fell Down (The Ivy Years Book 1) by Sarina Bowen

 

"The sport she loves is out of reach. The boy she loves has someone else. What now?

She expected to start Harkness College as a varsity ice hockey player. But a serious accident means that Corey Callahan will start school in a wheelchair instead.

Across the hall, in the other handicapped-accessible dorm room, lives the too-delicious-to-be real Adam Hartley, another would-be hockey star with his leg broken in two places. He’s way out of Corey’s league.
Also, he’s taken.

Nevertheless, an unlikely alliance blooms between Corey and Hartley in the “gimp ghetto†of McHerrin Hall. Over perilously balanced dining hall trays, and video games, the two cope with disappointments that nobody else understands.

They’re just friends, of course, until one night when things fall apart. Or fall together. All Corey knows is that she’s falling. Hard.

But will Hartley set aside his trophy girl to love someone as broken as Corey? If he won’t, she will need to find the courage to make a life for herself at Harkness — one which does not revolve around the sport she can no longer play, or the brown-eyed boy who’s afraid to love her back."

 

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Nan in Mass]

I,ve gotten to the point where I am rationing The Martian. It was my husband,s idea and he keeps reminding me when I get caught up in the book and forget. He doesn,t reread, unlike I, but he is impatiently waiting for enough time to pass that rereading will work. I,m not sure why I am finding it so absorbing and so much fun, but I am. I gave it to my youngest and my husband for Christmas before I had read it myself, going by descriptions here and from other people I trust, and it probably was one of my more successful presents.

 

Nan

[felicity]

My reading feels all fluffy when compared with the books many of you read. I've put several of the books I've heard about here on  hold, but then I also tend to get overwhelmed and intimidated. And right now my dh is traveling a lot and Girl Scout cookie season is beginning so I think the big, intimidating books might have to wait until March.

 

But I did finish The Paris Wife which was enjoyable even if I did know what was going to happen in the end. There were some slow spots, especially when Hadley was talking about how miserable she was without him. I kind of wanted to shake her and tell her to go do something. It also did the impossible and make me want to read some Hemingway. I haven't read anything by him since being forced to read Old Man and the Sea in 10th-grade English class. I think I might try The Sun Also Rises.

 

We're still listening to the 3rd Harry Potter and I'm still reading Queen Bees and Wannabes. I had that on my kindle app and realized that I would like to be able to highlight and take notes, so I got a real copy of it. I know I can do that on the kindle, but I'm a margins person.

 

As for my own next book, I have A Mad Wicked Folly and Lock In by John Scalzi, both of which I think I heard about here. I also am partway through The History of Love, but I keep forgetting it's there. It hasn't caught my attention really.

[mumto2]

Hoping everyone in the path of the storm is safe and cozy with lots of good books.

 

Sadie, Good luck with your apartment hunting. :grouphug:

 

I haven't had much time to read but managed to finish my kindle prime choice Holy Islandhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24273148-holy-island?ac=1&from_search=1which is a British crime novel set in Lindisfarne which is a place that has fascinated me for years. I have visited but the tide table always means we can't stay as long as I would like. Pretty place with a very small village. I loved the first half of this book. For awhile I thought it was going to be one of the best crime novels I have read recently (good characters, not too much description, and a little bit mystical) but as the book finished an ever increasing need for violence combined with a bad ending made the book a 3*. I might go ahead and read the second in the series but not sure.

[Bluegoat]

OMG.  Huck.Finn.   :lol:

I actually have a print of that picture, which I inherited from my nana.  When I was a little girl, I thought it was of my aunt.

[Pam in CT]

I remember that one. I read it years ago when it first came out.  2012 I think. I had read Locke's debut novel Black Water Rising, which was quite good. He kind of reminded me of John Grisham at the time.  Just like Pam, it gave me a totally new view of plantations and made me want to go sightseeing.   :laugh:

 

 

To add to Eliana's fabulous list of books, here are a couple lists from Off the Shelf 

 

12 Essential Books about Race in America

 

13 Significant Books on Civil Rights for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Thanks for these.  I think I'll add The Warmth of Other Suns, on the first list, to my towering stack.  I'd also put in a strong plug for Anne Fadiman's The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, also from the first list, which a friend who works in public health pressed upon me when it first came out and which I have subsequently pressed upon several others.  It's category-defying -- a little public health, a little social justice, definitely a race/cultural angle, and a whole lot on the US health care system and its systemic holes.  Rose, if you haven't come across it, you might find it interesting viz. Being Mortal -- the medical issues are different, but there are other overlaps in.. well, spirit...

 

 

 

Sending good thoughts to anyone dealing with inclement weather today. May you have warm drinks, working power, and good books!

Thanks.  Thus far we have all of those.  And we haven't had a single flake all year until this, so I'm enjoying it...

[Bluegoat]

I'm still plugging away at The End of Growth.  It's good, but like a lot of books of that type, I feel he repeats himself a fair bit.

 

I've started Small Is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered.  This is a book I've kept running into but never got around to reading, and I now realize I ought to have.  The scope is much wider than I would have thought.  It includes a discussion of the limits of economics as a discipline and some of its historical underpinnings. There was a very interesting chapter where he swaps out the materialist assumption which he says underlie western economics (without most economists realizing they are assumptions,) for Buddhist assumptions, largely as a way to show the difference that would make in the analysis and methods of the whole discipline.  In the second part which I have just started, he has moved on to a discussion of education which I think would be really interesting to many people at TWTM, and now he's talking about the worldview of the 19th century.

 

I think I'll probably re-read it once I'm done and give a more detailed/finished review.

 

The author, for anyone interested, is E. F. Shumacher.  He was German, and studies economics at Oxford as a Rhodes scholar, and worked with Keynes.  He was the chief statistician for the British Control Commission, and chief economic advisor for the national Coal Board.  He founded the Intermediate Technology Development Group and was president of the Soil Association.  Small Is Beautiful is considered one of the most influential post WWII books.

[Jane in NC]

I'm still plugging away at The End of Growth.  It's good, but like a lot of books of that type, I feel he repeats himself a fair bit.

 

I've started Small Is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered.  This is a book I've kept running into but never got around to reading, and I now realize I ought to have.  The scope is much wider than I would have thought.  It includes a discussion of the limits of economics as a discipline and some of its historical underpinnings. There was a very interesting chapter where he swaps out the materialist assumption which he says underlie western economics (without most economists realizing they are assumptions,) for Buddhist assumptions, largely as a way to show the difference that would make in the analysis and methods of the whole discipline.  In the second part which I have just started, he has moved on to a discussion of education which I think would be really interesting to many people at TWTM, and now he's talking about the worldview of the 19th century.

 

I think I'll probably re-read it once I'm done and give a more detailed/finished review.

 

The author, for anyone interested, is E. F. Shumacher.  He was German, and studies economics at Oxford as a Rhodes scholar, and worked with Keynes.  He was the chief statistician for the British Control Commission, and chief economic advisor for the national Coal Board.  He founded the Intermediate Technology Development Group and was president of the Soil Association.  Small Is Beautiful is considered one of the most influential post WWII books.

 

My age shall now show.

 

I read Small is Beautiful, Limits to Growth, End of Affluence, etc. in the mid '70's.  These books had a profound effect on decisions I made then and now.  (I was a seventeen year old college student when a cultural geography prof introduced me to these books.)

 

In all honesty I should probably revisit Shumacher.  In recent years I have thought of Small is Beautiful often in light of my decision to eat locally grown/harvested food and support local entrepreneurship.  I'm really glad you discovered this book and find that it continues to be relevant.

 

 

 

[Chrysalis Academy]

Thanks for these.  I think I'll add The Warmth of Other Suns, on the first list, to my towering stack.  I'd also put in a strong plug for Anne Fadiman's The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, also from the first list, which a friend who works in public health pressed upon me when it first came out and which I have subsequently pressed upon several others.  It's category-defying -- a little public health, a little social justice, definitely a race/cultural angle, and a whole lot on the US health care system and its systemic holes.  Rose, if you haven't come across it, you might find it interesting viz. Being Mortal -- the medical issues are different, but there are other overlaps in.. well, spirit...

 

 

 

Thanks.  Thus far we have all of those.  And we haven't had a single flake all year until this, so I'm enjoying it...

 

You know, I think I have that book on a shelf somewhere. I haven't ever read it, but I heard an interview with the author and picked it up at a book sale. I'll have to put it on my TR stack! Thanks for the suggestion.

[Onceuponatime]

We are pretty much snowbound here at about 8" and still coming down, with a fierce wind blowing. Dh got sent home from work early yesterday. And ds2 declined the opportunity to go work ( optional), because he didn't think he could get home afterward. I know it sounds wimpy, but this area is not very prepared to handle this kind of snow and the roads are a mess.

 

I finished up Undeniable today, while I sneezed and sniffled. If you've got to have a cold, it's nice to have an excuse not to go anywhere. The book was very readable and engaging, but I was familiar with a lot of the material already. Next up Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons.

[Kareni]

A couple of other books that are/were being read here but not by me ~

 

 

My adult daughter is currently reading a fantasy (historical but set in another world) which she is enjoying.  I started reading this some months ago but put it down because of the violence.  My daughter is enjoying it but concurs that it's quite violent.  She was surprised to see that it's actually categorized as young adult. 

 

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

 

"“This novel is a harrowing, haunting reminder of what it means to be human — and how hope might be kindled in the midst of oppression and fear.†— The Washington Post

“An Ember in the Ashes could launch Sabaa Tahir into JK Rowling territory…It has the addictive quality of The Hunger Games combined with the fantasy of Harry Potter and the brutality of Game of Thrones.â€â€”Public Radio International

"An Ember in the Ashes glows, burns, and smolders—as beautiful and radiant as it is searing."—Huffington Post 
 
“A worthy novel – and one as brave as its characters.†—The New York Times Book Review
 
A “deft, polished debut† (Publishers Weekly, starred review), Sabaa Tahir‘s AN EMBER IN THE ASHES is a thought-provoking, heart-wrenching and pulse-pounding read. Set in a rich, high-fantasy world with echoes of ancient Rome, it tells the story of a slave fighting for her family and a young soldier fighting for his freedom.

Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free.
 
Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.
 
It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.
 
But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.
 
There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself."

 

**

 

And my husband read a goodly part of Tim Stark's non-fiction work Heirloom: Notes from an Accidental Tomato Farmer before it needed to go back to the library.  He'd share amusing snippets from time to time.

 

"Situated beautifully at the intersection of Michael Pollan, Ruth Reichl, and Barbara Kingsolver, Heirloom is an inspiring, elegiac, and gorgeously written memoir about rediscovering an older and still vital way of life.

Fourteen years ago, Tim Stark was living in Brooklyn, working days as a management consultant, and writing unpublished short stories by night. One evening, chancing upon a Dumpster full of discarded lumber, he carried the lumber home and built a germination rack for thousands of heirloom tomato seedlings. His crop soon outgrew the brownstone in which it had sprouted, forcing him to cart the seedlings to his family’s farm in Pennsylvania, where they were transplanted into the ground by hand. When favorable weather brought in a bumper crop, Tim hauled his unusual tomatoes to New York City’s Union Square Greenmarket, at a time when the tomato was unanimously red. The rest is history. Today, Eckerton Hill Farm does a booming trade in heirloom tomatoes and obscure chile peppers. Tim’s tomatoes are featured on the menus of New York City’s most demanding chefs and have even made the cover of Gourmet magazine."

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

[shage]

I,ve gotten to the point where I am rationing The Martian. It was my husband,s idea and he keeps reminding me when I get caught up in the book and forget. He doesn,t reread, unlike I, but he is impatiently waiting for enough time to pass that rereading will work. I,m not sure why I am finding it so absorbing and so much fun, but I am. I gave it to my youngest and my husband for Christmas before I had read it myself, going by descriptions here and from other people I trust, and it probably was one of my more successful presents.

 

Nan

I am completely absorbed in The Martian. What a great plot!

[Kathleen.]

Is everyone enjoying the snow - or not? :)

I read "As You Like It' by William Shakespeare and my 9yo read a bunch of picture books by Sarah Stewart.

 

:)

[felicity]

Oh, I remember hearing about Heirloom a few years ago I think when I read a bunch of local food books, including all of the authors mentioned in the snippet. I remember being so annoyed the library didn't have it and I couldn't afford to buy it. Now they have it and I just reserved it. Thanks for reminding me. Or thank your husband, maybe.

 

 

**

 

And my husband read a goodly part of Tim Stark's non-fiction work Heirloom: Notes from an Accidental Tomato Farmer before it needed to go back to the library.  He'd share amusing snippets from time to time.

 

"Situated beautifully at the intersection of Michael Pollan, Ruth Reichl, and Barbara Kingsolver, Heirloom is an inspiring, elegiac, and gorgeously written memoir about rediscovering an older and still vital way of life.

Fourteen years ago, Tim Stark was living in Brooklyn, working days as a management consultant, and writing unpublished short stories by night. One evening, chancing upon a Dumpster full of discarded lumber, he carried the lumber home and built a germination rack for thousands of heirloom tomato seedlings. His crop soon outgrew the brownstone in which it had sprouted, forcing him to cart the seedlings to his family’s farm in Pennsylvania, where they were transplanted into the ground by hand. When favorable weather brought in a bumper crop, Tim hauled his unusual tomatoes to New York City’s Union Square Greenmarket, at a time when the tomato was unanimously red. The rest is history. Today, Eckerton Hill Farm does a booming trade in heirloom tomatoes and obscure chile peppers. Tim’s tomatoes are featured on the menus of New York City’s most demanding chefs and have even made the cover of Gourmet magazine."

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Bluegoat]

My age shall now show.

 

I read Small is Beautiful, Limits to Growth, End of Affluence, etc. in the mid '70's.  These books had a profound effect on decisions I made then and now.  (I was a seventeen year old college student when a cultural geography prof introduced me to these books.)

 

In all honesty I should probably revisit Shumacher.  In recent years I have thought of Small is Beautiful often in light of my decision to eat locally grown/harvested food and support local entrepreneurship.  I'm really glad you discovered this book and find that it continues to be relevant.

 

 

 

More than just relevant, I'm finding it almost prescient.  Some of the things he was thinking about with regards to values are I think even more marked in the political sphere now.  And the rise of libertarian economics has made it quite relevant too.

Edited January 24, 2016 by Bluegoat

[Nan in Mass]

I looove snow. I wish we had gotten more. Off to help my husband shovel. : )

 

Nan

[TechWife]

This week, I read Such Good Girls: The Journey of the Holocaust's Hidden Survivors, by R.D. Rosen. It tells the stories of three different women who, as Jewish children,  hid from the Nazi's in their home countries during World War II. Not only does he give some of the details about how they hid, he delves much deeper, exploring the effects of the trauma on the lives of the hidden children.  Mr. Rosen gives the reader a glimpse of  what it means to feel guilty over surviving and how the hidden children still grapple with what it means to loose one's identity - to live a lie. These children had new names, new religions, and in some cases, new families. In many cases, they did this so well, that many of them grew up not remembering their original names, or those of their parents. Some even didn't remember being Jewish to begin with. How do you process all of that and come out on the other side? 

 

I am also reading The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander. It's a slow read as it is written in a somewhat academic manner. I am about 1/3 of the way through it, too early to have formed an solid opinion. I will say, though, that the more I read in this book, the more questions I have! 

[Chrysalis Academy]

I remember that one. I read it years ago when it first came out.  2012 I think. I had read Locke's debut novel Black Water Rising, which was quite good. He kind of reminded me of John Grisham at the time.  Just like Pam, it gave me a totally new view of plantations and made me want to go sightseeing.   :laugh:

 

 

To add to Eliana's fabulous list of books, here are a couple lists from Off the Shelf 

 

12 Essential Books about Race in America

 

13 Significant Books on Civil Rights for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

 

I read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks last year. It was powerful, fascinating, and upsetting from the perspective of the window it opened on race - the interaction/attitude with race and the medical system, and the experience of a black woman and her family growing up in the south, period. Parts of it were quite horrifying, but I am glad I read it.

 

I found Lies My Teacher Told Me quite eye-opening and it has affected the way I teach history, for sure.

 

I enjoyed The House on Mango Street, and The Hunger of Memory has been unread on my shelf for years.  Most of the minority population where I live is Latino rather than black or Asian, and my sister in law is from Mexico, so I feel like understanding the history and experience of Latino immigrants is really important for my children. It's something we are so close to, but really don't understand. It can be hard to help children make that connection, and to find books that help them to see through other eyes, but aren't too brutal or horrible.  Age-appropriate, KWIM? 

 

I am also reading The New Jim Crow, about 1/3 of the way in, and also have many questions. When I read the Intro I thought she made a lot of sweeping statements, and while I agreed with many of them, I didn't feel like she was supporting them all adequately. But now that I'm into the text proper, I'm finding the argument more and more compelling, and the amount of support- endnotes, references, etc. is almost overwhelming. She is making her case like the good lawyer that she is.  This is an important book.

Edited January 24, 2016 by Chrysalis Academy

[Ethel Mertz]

While looking for Heirloom: Notes from an Accidental Tomato Farmer on goodreads, I stumbled across Treasure (#1 in Seed Savers Series) by S. Smith. Looks like I may have to bump it up to the top of my "To Read" list.

 

In the meantime, I've got several books going: Gertrude Stein's biography of Alice Toklas (am loving it so far), Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, and Mineral, Eric Metaxas' book on Bonhoeffer (fascinating read and great insights into Germany leading up to and during WWII), The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (with DS), and The Wild Muir (again with DS).

 

We're snowed in today, so I am hoping to get some good reading time by the fire.

[Pam in CT]

re Small is Beautiful: Economics as though People Mattered:

...I've started Small Is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered.  This is a book I've kept running into but never got around to reading, and I now realize I ought to have.  The scope is much wider than I would have thought.  It includes a discussion of the limits of economics as a discipline and some of its historical underpinnings. There was a very interesting chapter where he swaps out the materialist assumption which he says underlie western economics (without most economists realizing they are assumptions,) for Buddhist assumptions, largely as a way to show the difference that would make in the analysis and methods of the whole discipline.  In the second part which I have just started, he has moved on to a discussion of education which I think would be really interesting to many people at TWTM, and now he's talking about the worldview of the 19th century.

 

I think I'll probably re-read it once I'm done and give a more detailed/finished review.

 

The author, for anyone interested, is E. F. Shumacher.  He was German, and studies economics at Oxford as a Rhodes scholar, and worked with Keynes.  He was the chief statistician for the British Control Commission, and chief economic advisor for the national Coal Board.  He founded the Intermediate Technology Development Group and was president of the Soil Association.  Small Is Beautiful is considered one of the most influential post WWII books.

 

My age shall now show.

 

I read Small is Beautiful, Limits to Growth, End of Affluence, etc. in the mid '70's.  These books had a profound effect on decisions I made then and now.  (I was a seventeen year old college student when a cultural geography prof introduced me to these books.)

 

In all honesty I should probably revisit Shumacher.  In recent years I have thought of Small is Beautiful often in light of my decision to eat locally grown/harvested food and support local entrepreneurship.  I'm really glad you discovered this book and find that it continues to be relevant.

 

 

Showing mine as well -- this was one of the foundation texts of my undergraduate economic history class.  I also should revisit.  Thanks Bluegoat for bringing it back to consciousness.

[Robin M]

Link to week 4 - please continue conversation in new thread