Books Read Very Recently
1. After posting about my plans to be as grumpy as I want to be, a reader recommended a book in the comments. I picked it up from the library, eager to see what the author - Barbara Ehrenreich - had to say as her previous book - Nickle and Dimed - had helped me gain insights into the struggles faced by those working minimum wage jobs and living below the poverty line in this country. And, considering my less than optimistic mood of late, how could I resist a book with the title, Bright-Sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America?
If you've ever felt others are unfairly recommending that you stifle legitimate feelings of anger and outrage to "put on a happy face," this book is for you. If you've ever been unceremoniously dumped by friends who've decided to eliminate all negativity from their lives, leaving you wallowing in despair and feeling very isolated, this book is for you. If you've ever wondered just how this insistence on positive thinking permeated American culture so thoroughly, this book is for you.
It is enlightening, surprising at times, and enraging at others, but it will leave you with a more clear understanding of why everyone tries to insist you have a good day even when you're on the verge of tears. And it may help empower you to feel comfortable experiencing your true emotions even if they are not purely positive.
2. Not surprisingly, perhaps, the fiction book I read concurrently with the previous one had a bit of a dark edge to it. Written by Jim Knipfel, These Children Who Come At You With Knives, and Other Fairy Tales is full of humorous yet dark versions of familiar fairy tales. The introduction to the book had me laughing out loud as it described how Satan created the world for his amusement, having to make man out of the only material left after making everything else: shit. I've really been enjoying collections of short stories this past year, especially during times that I've been so busy that reading a whole book was simply not feasible. Pick up this book and treat yourself to some freaky and horror-filled tales when you've got a few minutes available here and there.
3. Rural Living in Arizona, a quarterly magazine put out by Arizona Cooperative Extension for the "small acreage landowner." A friend gave me a number of back issues which I've really enjoyed reading. They are well-written small publications packed with useful information such as good forage for livestock, proper management of septic systems and personal wells, venomous local critters (we've got lots: scorpions, spiders, assorted other insects, and rattlesnakes), and so on.
Book I'm Currently Reading
Years ago, I found some interesting scifi/fantasy books in a small thrift store in a little bitty town. Over the course of about a month, I was able to pick up everything in the Garrett, P.I. series written by that particular author - Glen Cook. Sadly, I did not hang onto these books and have regretted it since. Over the past five years or so, when I think about it, I check the shelves at the local used bookstore (Bookman's - a large local chain in Arizona) but have never seen it. This week, I was amazed to find two of the books in different branches in town.
I love Cook's writing and the world he creates. This series blends hard-boiled detective stories with a scifi/fantasy world inhabited by an assortment of beings as well as a whole boatload of gods, ranging from those fading and ineffectual to those that are strong and powerful. Partnered with a dead member of another species whose mind is disinclined to depart just because his body is dead, hounded by strong-minded and jealous wannabe girlfriends, and constantly getting in over his head, Garrett solves all manner of crime whether he wants to or not.
Books Waiting to be Read
1. My sweetie recently watched what he told me was a very interesting albeit somewhat disturbing documentary about social engineering: "Human Resources." To follow up on the subject, he checked a book out of the library. When he finishes it, I'll probably read through it as well. The book is Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Education by John Taylor Gatto.
2. Meanwhile at the library, I checked out Jonathan Bloom's new book American Wasteland: How American Throws Away Nearly Half of Its Food. I don't read his blog consistently (due to time constraints) but always enjoy it when I do. Looking forward to reading the book.
3. Risa Bear has published the first volume in her Starvation Ridge trilogy. I will read fiction online but much prefer a hard (printed) copy so I'm thrilled to have this first book and can't wait to dive into the story. I love Risa's personal blog and really enjoyed her writing when she started Starvation Ridge on a new blog. Since I didn't keep up with the story (those damn time constraints again...), it will be mostly new to me.
4 & 5. Two reference books from National Geographic given to me this week. Illustrated Green Guide: The Complete Reference for Consuming Wisely and Desk Reference to Nature's Medicine. I don't know anything about these but will look through them to see if I want to keep them.
Have you read any of the books listed above? Did you like them?
What are you reading these days (you know, in between all the crazy holiday preparations)? Any recommendations?
13 comments:
Wes and I both love the Garret P.I. series. It was one of the few series that made the cut when we did the great book destash of doom.
I quite like urban fantasy these days and have been reading Mark Del Franco and his Connor Grey series.
Next up on the list will be this:
The Bucolic Plague: How Two Manhattanites Became Gentlemen Farmers: An Unconventional Memoir
I tend to read in fits and spurts but with the Ipad I can read and spin or knit at the same time so I love the multi-tasking of it all.
Fiction authors making the cut (so far) include Auel, Anne Rice, Vonnegut, Anne McCaffrey, and a few others.
I want to get all the Garrett PI books, I think. To keep track, I'm just going to jot down the "metals" I already have. LOL
PS: I was just thinking about you this week. Send me an email and let me know how you're doing!
The Ehrenreich book reminds me of a study about a year ago that says that grumpiness makes us think more clearly.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8339647.stm
Just requested Bright-Sided, it sounded interesting. Although I have to say I just ran into a lady at the doctor's office - I heard her give her birth date which was the same year as my mom. She was in to have a tumor removed, so something scary and bad. She was the most chipper, friendly lady who asked me about my knitting and while we waited we chatted and I was so impressed by her positive outlook. She looked about 15 years younger than my mom, who worries constantly and would never chat with someone in a waiting room, and would fret endlessly about any little thing. So I do understand the point, like if something is awful you have a right to be upset, and I'll be interested in what the book says, but I also see that people who are able to be happy and positive certainly do seem to have something going for them.
My boyfriend very much enjoyed the John Taylor Gatto book and I'm looking forward to reading it - it's currently doing the rounds of our friends who love learning but had miserable experiences in compulsory education. I'm hearing a lot of good things about it from them.
I've just finished "Mistakes were made (but not by me)" by Carol Tavris & Elliot Aronson (http://www.amazon.com/Mistakes-Were-Made-But-Not/dp/0151010986). The basic idea is about how people tell themselves stories to justify their actions and also constantly rewrite history to fit with their current opinions etc - but the examples it uses go much further than that and show how such stories/justifications can devastate lives. Really interesting and well researched - but also easy to read. Would highly recommended.
you could check out http://www.abebooks.com/ for books your local bookstores don't carry
mollyjade - interesting article. Thanks for linking to it.
JAM - you'll find it interesting, I'm sure. Believe it or not, I actually am occasionally cheerful and positive. LOL!
Louisa - just the things my sweetie has told me from it already have me eager to read it. We've talked about some of the impacts compulsory education (and what the book presents) had on both of us. While he had much worse experiences in school than I did, it took me years to throw off some of the social/cultural conditioning.
Thanks for the other book suggestion. I've reserved it at the library.
Anonymous - I haven't ordered from them, but the Friends of the Library here use them for selling some of the more valuable donated books.
I'm currently reading B.Ehrenreich's book: The Slave Next Door: Human Trafficking and Slavery in America Today. She's a powerful writer with solid researching skills.
Enjoy the respite... you'll be back to working your a-- off, all day, in no time when you find a new place...
For a bright moment and a special holiday memory, check out my other blog. Click on the Rockin' Chair Reflections picture and read about: Christmas Miracle - 27 Puppies and Teddies
Great list Chile. I hope to mine it when my "to read" pile diminishes. A major chain bookstore is closing a branch near us and discounting the clearance type books hugely -- resulting in a large stack of books to read. It's hard to resist hardcover and penguin trades at $.48 to $2 -- I rationalize it as way cheaper than the time and gas of two trips to the library which is about what anything off the beaten track requires with my town's library. The Barbara Ehrenreich sounds really interesting, I like her writing.
The most interesting book I read this year was The City and the City by China Meiville. If you like the Kafka-esque side of SF this is for you.
Have you read any of Robin Hobb's fantasy series? They really suck me in.
Aww ... y'sweet.
I've been reading the The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, a series of eleven engaging and rather sweet mystery novels by Alexander McCall Smith. But right now the only books near me are about the Civil War, so I'm doing most of my reading among my online friends, as in here. :)
Dumbing Us Down is the book most homeschoolers recommend to people who might be contemplating homeschooling, but aren't quite over that hump :). What makes that particular book so compelling for us in the homeschooling community is that Gatto was a teacher for thirty years, and he says what most of us know and voices the feelings that prompted many of us to consider homeschooling in the first place. It's a great book! And one I wish we could get into the hands of the people who make funding decisions for our public schools.
I watched the movie you posted. Things like that are dangerous for me. I think about my job in conjunction with stuff like that and it makes me even more dissatisfied with the state of our industrialized health care system. Must. Not. Think. Just. Do.
Which is actually very sad because what some would think the worst parts of my job (wiping butts for instance) I really view as the essence of human kindness and service. Too bad it comes in the package it does with all the other horror that entails.
Risa's series has been quite excellent; I'll have to buy the book so I can put it on my phone and read it at work on my breaks.
Susan
Bujold's Barrayar series (excuse spellings) is what I'm into along with some Terry Pratchett and the odd P D James. Serious fiction never really interests me that much. If I'm going to be serious ,I'd rather read non fiction. Otherwise its detectives or sf/fantasy and mostly re-reads at that :)
Wish I could get books that cheap!!!! Even paperbacks are around $20 here and thats the cheap price! A good hard cover can set you back around the $50 mark so I tend to either get stuff from the library or try for on-line although even second hand can work out expensive because of shipping costs.
viv in nz
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