Out Sick, Listen, and Read

Have I mentioned I rang in the new year with sickness? Yes, 2019 has been a struggle for me up until now. This is the first weekend I've felt like myself in the last month. There's no need to go into details about the whole thing, but I will say that when I'm too sick to read, you know it's bad. It's also the reason I didn't blog last Sunday. I'm not a whiner, but I'd felt physically bad for too long and was afraid if I managed to blog at all, I might have a meltdown. I'm one of those "grin and bear it" kind of people, so meltdowns don't go well on the very rare occasions when I have them. Trust me. (See? I spared you all that. You're welcome. ;)

I am also one of those "silver lining" kind of people, so...the good news is that because I wasn't up to reading last weekend, I listened. And I enjoyed everything I heard...

Unfu*k Yourself

I love brutal honesty. If you like it, too, or you just need to hear some, Gary John Bishop's Unfu*k Yourself is a definite Audible winner. Bishop narrates his own book and gives you a good, common sense "talking-to" (as my grandma used to say).

I should tell you, I'm not a self-help book person. At all. But I feel like Bishop's is not a self-help, it's a guide to help you clear your thinking and help you understand the importance of life choices. I agreed with everything he said because I'm at an age where experience has already taught me...the hard way. I wish I'd had his voice in my ear 35 years ago. Would I have listened? I'd like to think so.

In an ever-changing world, where the more ways we have to communicate, the less truly connected we are, people need to learn their own minds. They need to know how to live authentic lives instead of social media ones. Personally, I think everyone would benefit from hearing what Bishop has to say, whether it's to learn...or to confirm.

(Side note: Bishop is Scottish and has a lovely dialect. Listening was a delight.)

Almost Everything

If you don't know Anne Lamott, you're missing out. I fell in love with her words many years ago when I read Bird by Bird. The book had such an impact on me, I wrote in the front of the book when and where I began the journey into her world of words. I think she's quite amazing.

All that being said, I'd never heard her read her own words until last weekend. I was excited to hear her Audible narration of Almost Everything. I knew what to expect, personality wise, because I've read her writing and her deadpan, dry sense of humor comes through in most everything she writes.

Almost Everything is funny and wise and sarcastic and hopeful. Lamott acknowledges the world could end any moment, but she also believes we should live with the hope it won't. I told you I love brutal honesty, and Lamott has plenty of that with a bit of dark humor, but she also believes in kindness and empathy and love.

I have to say that I was more than a bit offended when I read a book review that called this book "new age" stuff, when it isn't at all. (But, you know, ignorant people who limit their exposure to the world around them tend to be...labelists.) Lamott may talk about spirituality in a way that a strick denominationist may not understand, or that a diehard atheist may not care to hear, but that's because they lack the ability to entertain a thought without accepting it and moving on. At no time is Lamott preaching her beliefs, some things simply come out as a reference in a few anecdotes she tells. Labelists don't like it when they have difficulty labeling you, and I assure you Lamott is quite good at avoiding those labels, as she believes in many good things in many different ways. I should also mention I don't agree with everything she says,.. but I'm certainly entertained by it.

To sum it up, in terms you might understand better,...if you enjoy brutal honesty, a sense of humor that's a bit twisted, and a heart full of light and goodness with a Lily Tomlin voice, Anne Lamott is for you.

Sea Creatures

I read Sea Creatures, by Susanna Daniel, this weekend, and I thoroughly enjoyed it as a solid read. By that, I mean it's excellent writing, well-paced, interesting, and thought-provoking about the ordinary things in life. It also makes you wonder what you'd do in the same circumstances if the push in your life came to shove.

The plot revolves around Georgia, our narrator, who moves to Florida with her husband and toddler son. Her business has shutdown and her husband, a professor, had an incident that caused him to lose his job. They buy a used houseboat, park it in her father's boat slip and try to start over. There are two main problems in Georgia's life: her husband's terrible night terrors/sleeping disorder and her three year old son won't talk, won't make a sound. Oh, there are other problems, to be sure, but those are her most difficult ones at the opening of the novel. 

Georgia tells us about her life in fragments, flashbacks, to help us understand who she is as the main story moves along, and it flows well. The author weaves a good story about what makes us who we are, why we make the choices we make, and how loving the people in our lives is a complicated thing that only our own hearts can define.

Good book.

Good Things Come in Fours

If you read my blog from a few days ago, you know that I read some random books that didn't work out. I will not be reviewing those, as they are not really worth mentioning and were obscure finds that should remain...obscure. I am, however, going to talk briefly about the last four good books I read.

First, I read Langston Hughes' The Ways of White Folks. If you've never read this book, you should. It is a collection of short stories and, while it is difficult to read realistic fiction that depicts the truth of a time in America's history, I do think it's important to read about it and learn from it. I remind my students all the time that if we do not learn from history, history will repeat itself. I tell them it is the responsibility of their generation to know the mistakes of the past to make sure they don't happen again in any way. It is the responsibility of every generation. (And, it is at times like this that I find myself so grateful to have had Mrs. Meeks for my middle school history teacher. Wherever you are, Mrs. Meeks, thank you for what you added to my life. It continues to serve me, and my students, well.)

Second, I read L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables. If you're thinking that's a far cry from the first book, you'd be right. Oddly enough, I even chose to begin reading my third book, The Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou, as I was reading Anne of Green Gables. I guess, you might say, it kept me grounded. Montgomery's book was published in 1908, and I couldn't help but wonder who "Anne" would have been for little African-American girls. While little white girls grew up dreaming of being Anne or Laura Ingalls Wilder from the Little House series, what did little black girls dream of being? Who were their role models? Who did they relate to? These are good questions that should be asked for they answer other questions.

Did I enjoy Anne? Of course, I did! When my friend, Tammy, recommended it to me, she told me I remind her of Anne. I had to laugh a few chapters in because the fact Anne loves to talk...is most definitely a good comparison to me! I think it's a delightful book about a precocious child that anyone would enjoy reading, just as I think that Maya Angelou's work should be read and enjoyed by everyone. I don't always combine two books to read, but I find it does make me think more - which is always a good thing. It's important to see things from different perspectives.

My fourth book, which I just finished, is Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar. Now, before you think I now combined the oddest of books ever, let me explain...

Remember when I blogged that I had read some "fluff" and wanted something more? Well, right after that a friend of mine posted the BBC's list of 100 novels you should read:

http://www.listchallenges.com/kaunismina-bbc-6-books-challenge?ref=share

So, I took the list challenge and found that I'd read 34 of them. Then another friend of mine mentioned to hold off on reading The Bell Jar, but I'd already read it a long time ago. I decided I should pull it off my bookshelf and read it again. (After all,...I am still that precocious child and, if you warn me away from something, I'm heading straight for it! ;) )

Now, I can't go into all the ways my brain works when it comes to why I read what I read and how I get out of it what I get out of it. I am aware all of us approach a book from our own angle, our own life experiences, our own perspectives. Again, like Hughes' and Angelou's works, it isn't a read that is easy on the heart or the mind, but I do think it's an important voice that needs to be heard. I especially think it's an important voice for women to listen to. If you research Plath's life and her death, you'll gain even more understanding about what I mean. Her life is a lesson for us all.

Next...

If you wonder what I'm up to next, I didn't really know until just a moment ago. I saw a quote of Don Carpenter's posted on Goodreads. Along with the quote, it mentioned that Anne Lamott dedicated her bestselling novel Bird by Bird to Carpenter. My brain said, "Wait, I've read that book!" So, I searched my "favorites" bookshelf...(yes, of course, I have a bookshelf just for my most favorites, don't you??)...and, sure enough, there it was! I opened it up and found I had made notes to myself back in June of 2006, I even noted they were "important" notes. I also found tons of notes I'd written in the back and throughout the book.

Wow,...SOOOOO much has happened in my life since 2006...

I've decided it's time to take a journey through this book again. My "to read" list is going to have "to wait" a little longer. As my note in the book says, "this is important." :)

Happy Reading!