Adventures in the Library

Okay--time for a couple of year-end wrap-up's. One is my list of 'finished' in the book queue. I must think I'm going to see some pattern or have an 'ah ha' moment when I browse back through the stacks. Can't say that happens, but it's fun to look.
Anyway--happy to say the library continues to call my name regularly & I've added over sixty titles to the 'read' list this year with little effort. I hit some of the first half highlights in July, so here's some more.

With my 'commute' time I've continued to enjoy books-on-tape--which is really books-on-disc these days! Helps me feel good about car time & definitely better than late night radio reception in our island world.
Got through 16 this year--including all three of the Girl With the Dragon Tattoo books--before the film frenzy began or I might not have ventured in. I know there are mixed feelings about this trilogy--especially as it pertains to women--but once I got past the beginning (hard), I was immersed. Salander is my hero--such a survivor. (I have mixed feelings about seeing the new movie, despite loving Daniel Craig. There are some things I wonder aren't best left in the mind's eye vs. splattered across the big screen. If you go see it, I welcome any opinions.)

I've continued my fascination with memoir, having logged another 16 this year.
By far the most notable is The Chronology of Water by Lidia Yuknavitch. Not a book for the faint of heart--but it's so well written & a right-between-the-eyes woman's book.
Few books make me want to start at the beginning as soon as I finish the last page...

I devoured eight Colin Cotterill books with only one remaining...*dang!*
I especially liked Killed at the Whim of a Hat. He's just great; that's all there is to it...
Added another 2 delightful Erik Larson books to the 'read' list, Thunderstruck I especially liked.
Sprinkled in a variety of historical novels & history for good measure--plus some just plain fun novels.
One of those was a gift from Nick last Christmas, Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell--really an intriguing read--& discovered recently it will Tom Hank's next big screen event. Not sure how they'll translate it to film but it's got me curious...
Stay tuned! But now I gotta run to the library...

Read Any Good Books Lately?

One of the deals I made with myself when I left the-job-that-ate-my-life was to re-learn to read.  Doesn't sound difficult, but pleasure reading had become a true challenge during the siege of graduate school.  Then came kids and then a killer job...and reading--for my own enjoyment--fell to the bottom of the list. Reading for work took more time than one often credits, and actually is not a good example of how to read for pleasure.
During my six month hiatus last year I fell headlong into reading--anything, everything, all the time! It was joyful! Once I started back to work I challenged myself to maintain that spark for reading what I want to read--and to nurture that new relationship I'd developed with my library. I also know that I'm abysmally poor at New Year's resolutions--and this felt a lot like one of those. I doubted my abilities...
Happy to say, though: half way through the calendar year I'm fairing well, and almost a full year from starting a new job, I'm managing to find space for both work & pleasure reading.  Hooray!
I'm still kinda stuck on memoirs--don't know what that's about but I'm not too concerned. Finding new authors (to me) is always fun--falling down the well of infatuation at the beginning of a new relationship.

So here are my top picks for the first half of the year (although I haven't met one I didn't like yet):

 The Company of Liars by Karen Maitland--England in the plague era; characters you learn to truly care about; and surprises that you didn't see coming (not a common occurrence).

 The School of Essential Ingredients by Seattle author Erica Bauermeister, a wonderful & touching romp through a cooking class and it's participants.

 The Glass Castle by Jeannette Wells. A memoir so fantastical it reads as though it should be fiction. I just heard she has a book based on her grandmother's life; gotta add it to the cue.

Sarah's Key by Titiana de Rosnay - the heart wrenching parallel stories of occupied Paris in the summer of 1942 & the rediscovery of the dark story at the 60th anniversary; seems bleak but can't put it down once you start.

I've also discovered a new author, Colin Cotterill (thanks to my bro!) & have been enjoying spirit filled mysteries in post-war Laos.

What's been your favorite book(s) so far this year?

Please share so I can add it to my list... 8-)

Chase the Blues Away...

oh yeah!

We had a rare treat last Friday!
We used the Valentine's gift for my sweetie: tickets to see James Cotton in a lovely theater in Mt.Vernon. What an amazing musician with a great band, too! (Joe & Amy: he's back in Chicago in November...)

With 67 years of performing under his belt, he's had an amazing list of collaborators & mentors (including long runs with Howlin' Wolf & Muddy Waters), and a long list of accolades (including being inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame & a Grammy).

at the 2010 Chicago Jazz Festival

His voice is gone now, but that doesn't seem to influence his ability to play all night--no question about the tag "Superharp".
Definitely jump-around music!

The Year of SSR

As the new year is about to launch, I relish looking backwards at the year finishing up.  In the reading department it's been fun to peruse this year's take--and very fun to recognize there's been a year's take to ponder! Hopefully that trend will continue. When the boys were young, there was a school term that wandered the house regularly: SSR.  Stood for 'Silent Sustained Reading'. I've definitely been earning my SSR points for the year!

Probably above all, it's been the year of the memoir.  That wasn't preplanned--but once I entered the genre it was hard to step out. Didn't really want to.
I have not read some of this year's memoir headliners--notably George W & Sarah's second. Why knowingly stick your finger in the ghost-writing socket? (My favorite Mudflats has done a nice 'twelve days' tribute to Palin, including her book.)
Instead, I've been randomly pulling items off the library shelf & in most cases have been pleasantly surprised. By my count, I've finished sixteen memoir this year, with another five that might be considered 'second-hand-memoir' (told by another).

Top three for the year I think would be: McCraken's An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination, O'Brien's The Things They Carried which launched me into all of his books, and Steil's The Woman Who Fell From the Sky.

Close runner-ups: Janzen's bittersweet Mennonite in a Little Black Dress and Patchett's timeless Truth & Beauty.

I happily 'met' authors Christopher Moore (Lamb was my favorite) & Ariana Franklin. Slowest slog but worth it: Baker's Family of Secrets. Fanned my love of Tracy Kidder with three additional works by him this year. Also worth noting, Ivin's Bill of Wrongs & Stockett's novel, The Help. 

I know a book or so a week isn't a land speed record but it's about a ten-fold improvement for me! And that doesn't count the many wonderful books on quilting & all the related techniques that I've enjoyed diving into.
Here's to all the places I'll go & people I'll meet in the books of 2011...

Fond Farewell

Sixty six.  Chronic lymphocytic leukemia.  How sad. 

In 1978 she was "An Unmarried Woman" with Alan Bates, when I was becoming an unmarried woman, too.  

She was beautiful, talented, a role breaker.  

I will miss her.  

Good bye & best of luck on the next great role.

Imagine

Today is the birthday of John Lennon.

Hard to imagine him at 70--he's frozen in our minds at 40.  

Also hard to imagine it's been 30 years since he left us.  

Remarkable how often he's present in our daily lives.  

Remembering his messages is comforting.  

Imagining his input during these times can be reassuring 

(and sad too, knowing we are without it).  His legacy remains...

Worth Noting

Just finished this delightful read. Jennifer Steil tells her story of a recent year spent in Yemen as an editor for an English language Yemeni paper.
It's warm, personal, and a tiny window into day-to-day life in a Muslim culture--especially as it pertains to women.  As a westerner, she has the unique ability to 'see both sides'--or in her perspective, function as a third gender with much more freedom than a native Yemeni woman.  I hope she has more books in her future...

Farewell & Thank You

With sadness, the news arrived that Tony Curtis left us--one of my all time fav's.  The list is long, but I especially loved the pairing with Jack Lemmon in "Some Like it Hot", and I will always remember the chilling effect of his portrayal of "The Boston Strangler" as I sat in a dark theater.  

Thanks for the memories...

Farewell to Summer Reading

My year of pleasure reading is winding down as the school term is looming ahead--I hope to keep it up but I'm sure the pace will be changing dramatically!  I've read such great volumes--all could be commented on but I'll spare you.

Tracy Kidder, however, deserves special accolades.  The first book I read of his several years ago, Mountains Beyond Mountains, should be required reading for everyone. (That's a hint.  If you've not read it, put it in your line-up!)

This year, I read My Detachment (unusually, a personal memoir from the Viet Nam war), and Among SchoolChildren (a great story of public education in America)--both excellent.

I just completed Strength in What Remains--an incredible story of Deo, a survivor of the Burundi genocide that miraculously ends up in NYC with $200 in his pocket, knowing no one, & understanding no English.  A former medical student in Africa becomes a homeless person in America--with a mission to return to med school.  An honest, haunting & inspiring story--and told so well by one of my all-time favorite authors.  We are all richer from his writing--and the people who's stories he chooses to tell.

HiDef Slow Mo

We've watched water balloons splat, drops fall, etc. but you gotta love the dog shots (even if it is a commercial)!
I connected with this via one of my favorite sites I periodically visit, The Year in Pictures...

My Winter of Summer Reading

I was just clipping right along with my 2010 reading as noted previously.  A fairly good mix of novel, memoir, art & history.  I've always been a supporter of the 'summer reading' concept.  You know, the lighter fair that works on a beach chair in between busy summer activities--if one presupposes 'summer' & sunny relaxation have arrived!


That train of thought suggests that serious reads are best tackled in the darker, colder times of year. Usually I concur, but I didn't follow that track this year.  Maybe because we were so late starting summer this year, or maybe because I had actually accomplished much of my 'summer reading' in the spring.  In any case, I've been in another land and time for a few months that I thought I would share a little.

In the late spring, I accidentally segued into the 1960's--most of it making my mind go tilt because it required dusting off some old memory boxes that had been fairly successfully locked away.  It seemed to have started with the library's reading project featuring Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried" (which I would  highly recommend, by the way).  Nick remembered reading that book for a high school class--but the book & the author were new to me--sorry I missed him the first time he entered our house.  In the midst of the book, PBS did a special on the anniversary of the My Lai disaster, and there was Tim O'Brien as a talking head... weird coincidence.

A shotgun of 60's revisiting happened in quick succession:  "My Detachment" by Tracy Kidder (anything he writes is well worth it...), "If I Die in a Combat Zone" by Tim O'Brien, & then Kathryn Stockett's "The Help" (excellent novel I would recommend).  I thought I was gonna have to check into a rehab facility to get me back into real time, but fortunately I was on a wait list for Tim O'Brien's next requested book.
Hard to explain. Those books put you right back into the time: music, smells, events--which aren't good things necessarily--along with the emotion, frustration, fear, etc. --which aren't necessarily bad things, either. Except now I'm an adult & that gut-wrenching, visceral remembering of 'feeling' from that time can be seductive.  Kind of the putting-you-finger-in-the-light-socket seductive, if you know what I mean.  Okay, step away from the sixties, now ma'am.

So I shook my head, shook off the deja vu, and threw myself into some fast fiction--back to summer reading.  When those books were returned, though, on the next excursion to the library--two more hand grenades jump into my bag:  the "Bill of Wrongs" by M. Ivins (previously mentioned) and Russ Baker's "Family of Secrets".  If you sing the old Sesame Street song, "three of these things belong together, three of these things are kind of the same...", there is certainly a connection with these two books--topics, players, Texas journalists, etc.  Also, both books allow you to digest a certain number of pages before you have to slam the book shut, toss out the expletive-deleted under your breath and go do something else while your gut settles down again.  In contrast to each other, however, Molly's book is a fast, occasionally gallows-humor, cynical satire item (which I love)--extremely sharp torture but it's over soon.

Russ Baker's 500 page tome, "Family of Secrets", on the other hand,  is a dense-pack of factoids telling a century of tales regarding "the Bush dynasty, America's invisible government, and the hidden history of the last fifty years."   It is a slow slog and a treasure trove of the trifecta of money/resources, covert activities, and power/politics.  One of Baker's colleagues suggested naming the book "Everything You Thought You Knew is Wrong", which I think is perfect.  Each page is packed with head-tilting info that reads like a fantasy nightmare, a bad high--this can't be true, right?  This is just a laundry list of innuendo & coincidences--that's at about page 100.
By about page 250 (ok I've passed the pictures at the centerfold...) I'm starting to feel more like Mel Gibson in "Conspiracy Theory".  I'm starting to enter into the den of believability & my palms are getting clammy--I don't think I can keep doing this. In this nightmare, some villains I've loved to hate for decades actually become victims of the dark side they've helped to create--that can't be right, can it?...but I read on.  Too late I figure out it would have been best to read with a white board close at hand with names & fish-bone diagrams to try to keep it all straight...

By about page 350 or so, it truly becomes a labor of love to finish the thing rather than follow the urge to get as far away from the jaws of the shark-book as possible.  But I finished it.  Every last page.  It's not a book I can love, but one I can respect. And I celebrate the tenacity of Russ Baker & the obsessive hunt for connecting the dots that in the end is investigative journalism.  I don't necessarily buy all of the connectivity of power & wealth as plotted & sinister--but the book succeeded in making me ask (repeatedly) why did I/do I believe that is how things came down?  Is my ('our') version really an urban myth that I've held tightly to all of my life?  Is the deeper, smarter version of fooling the electorate really this deep and dark?

My mind has most definitely gone tilt in a big, big way, and this time it's not just the grief & music & peace/love/dope revisited.  This time the frame those banners hung on is under the lens.  And then every event since then.  That's a good thing--but playing some old Jefferson Airplane & Peter, Paul & Mary won't help with this.  Nor will a twelve-day with a couple of two day follow-ups.

I'm most definitely taking a book-break back to some summer reading fair--at least briefly.  But I will also be following Russ Baker's blog, WhoWhatWhy. along with some others that I know will keep asking the hard questions.  Thanks, Mr. Baker...but now I gotta get the shark-book back to the library.  It's overdue--and someone might be watching.

So Many Books, So Little Time

I'm just now reaching a place that I can start articulating the 'leaving my job' phenomena. I think it just takes time, but by definition the process has you in the middle of it--or you are in the middle of processing--so any ability to be objective or find insight, is limited at best. I've just passed three months since I've stepped away from the desk. I have been guilty of helping with some small projects, answering questions, hearing out some problems, but for the most part I am no longer of that world.

I'm not going to dwell on it, but I am starting to talk about it a little. Here are some beginning observations:

Except for two occasions (plus one vacation to California) I have not been out of jeans in three months. That may not sound like much, but it is to me. It's so great not needing to linger in the closet, bleary-eyed at o'dark thirty, wondering what magical wardrobe combination will suffice today. It's so simple.

I'm gaining on the vice scorecard; not perfect, but better.

I think that has helped contribute to the the next item: actually sleeping with some success. Not working has certainly impacted sleep--and I've had several of the silent conversations with self asking "is it good that you're sleeping more? and more soundly? maybe it's really because you're depressed? do you feel depressed?" You get the idea...jury is still out on the sleep factor (plus I must confess I think it's just a waste to sleep more than six hours).

I am once again in love with reading. Truly. I had a major reading injury occur when I entered grad school in 1980 & can't honestly say I ever recovered--until now. Don't get me wrong: I've read forest's worth of material in thirty years, but it was mostly work-related. Pleasure reading had become primarily an anecdote for insomnia (that does work!). But increasingly I feel like I'm devouring things.

Plus--perfect timing--the newly remodeled/expanded (beautiful!) library in town reopened about six weeks ago. It is a dream. My new candy store. I can order anything I want on line--and it just appears on a shelf waiting for me. I can check in/check out without needing to talk to a soul unless I want to. I can just wander & peruse--and bring home anything I want! I feel like I did in third grade when my friend Jeanine & I were like caterpillars eating our way through the neighborhood library. It was a race. It was miraculous. It's addicting! (but the jury wanders into this arena, too, from time to time: "You know, you're spending an awful lot of time reading! Add the reading time to the sleep time & you may have a time wasting problem!") I've taken some tips from friends that use library sites--and I added my list to the blog, just for fun.

For now, I'm working on giving myself permission to just 'be' for awhile--and hold back on any criticism or judgement as best I can. It's only three months. I don't think I've been damaged too much so far.

More about refocusing life some other time. I think I need to get started on that book....

Creativity ala Natalya Aikens

One of the blogs I enjoy following is art by natalya (in the list on the right). She's an inspiration both in the work that she produces, but also because she actively works at the discipline of her art.

Each year she focuses on a 'journal' process for herself--and unlike many of us, she produces! This is one of her daily journal pages from last year.

So go here to check out what she's doing this year--now a monthly (vs daily) project. It will (once again) be great to follow her progress!

In Memorium

Another amazing woman--a true pioneer & role breaker for all of us--passed away yesterday. As long as I can remember, Eartha Kitt was so vital, so positive, so sensual. She was open about the challenges of being a mixed-race child of a single mother but never bitter (at least publicly) or apologetic. At the time, I was a bit disdainful of her taking the Cat Woman part on Batman (the series), but in hindsight--it must have been a hoot, and a risky, bold thing to do. She will always trump Madonna on 'Santa Baby' in my book!
And it sadly is a season for paying honor, as Harold Pinter also passed away this week. Also such an influence on my generation--not just as a playwright, writer, but an activist willing to speak his mind. I'm so glad that he received the Nobel while he could still revel in the fact that he was respected & admired on a grand scale.

Odetta

I was saddened to hear today of Odetta's death yesterday. She was such an influence on me--and many/most of us. If there is any blessing: she performed right up to the end, she shared with us every minute she could. What an incredible woman. "It was in those songs I could get my fury and anger and hate out," Odetta said in a 2005 interview. "When I was that furious and singing, it was overpowering. But in singing through those emotions, it really did heal me." Pete Seeger & Harry Belafonte helped her get her start--and one of her first 'causes' was to work on freeing the Rosenburgs. She had released an album recently, and I heard her interviewed not long ago on NPR. She was still so vital, so resolute, so committed. She certainly will live on in our actions & our hearts.

Sticky Ideas

Last month, Jim & I went to the Seattle Art Museum and while we were there, of course we stopped in to the museum store. We both laughed when we met at the cashier with some of these in our hand--aren't they wild?! They're African porcupine quills--and no, the pricklers aren't harmed to get them, they are gathered after the animal sheds them. I tossed a pencil into the picture to give a perspective on the size--don't think I would want to cross paths with one of these guys on the move; they obviously are much bigger than the American version (these can get up to 60 lbs)--and these are so sharp! That being said, as soon as I saw them I started thinking of ways to use them--how about you? Any ideas? I have some peace scrolls that I'm making that are just a perfect width to use these as a hanger. Beyond that, I'll still be imagining some other applications--as will Jim with his pile!

P.S. ...and what were we seeing at SAM, you ask? I'll go for ANY impressionist exhibit, and was again thrilled with this one; the bonus was essentially a second side-by-side exhibit of the many artists predating the impressionists that obviously influenced their techniques & styles. Fascinating to realize how much impact the pre-impressionist artist(s) had on what was seen as such innovative work. Quite fun. So fun in fact, that I couldn't resist the wonderful companion book to the exhibit that was on sale for 1/2 price as the end of the exhibit was looming. What a score!

March marched on!

Wow, what happened to March?!
One minute it was coming in like a lion--and it went out the same way! Lots of days of snow on Whidbey at the end of the month--go figure!

St. Pat's flew by with some corned beef delights, got to have a few days with Devin for spring break--and before you knew it, it's April Fools!

Got a couple of visits to the new, improved Oystercatcher during the month. What a treat that is! Menu is a little more adventuresome, the larger atmosphere is so pleasant, and they serve Czech pilsner now! Same great service and good times...come to Coupeville: we'll take you there!

Ended the month with a special treat: went to a great concert with good friends in lovely downtown Coupeville. Three hours of incredible music, the see-to-believe kind, and much fun. Carlos Del Junco and friends. Amazing harmonica plus great guitar & bass. They're from Toronto & do two tours in the states a year--and Coupeville gets to be on their list! Henry, the very happy & funny bass player, has a daughter in Brno, CR. It is a small world sometimes... (got her name, Nick; we're thinkin' that should be a mystery adventure--see if you can find her!) Anyway, if you're interested, check him out--and most definitely see him if you ever have the chance (there's a video on the link).
Will add a post soon with my March UFO. Can definitely say: not enough quilting or sun for the month. April looks to be an improvement in both categories!

Free is good!

I really enjoyed this clip you may already know it--it was new to me, & was a brief 'feel good' endorphin boost! (I most liked the first little 'old' lady, and the skateboarder!)

Tune-ful

OK, I admit it: I've fallen into a Snow Patrol hole, and I can't get out. Guess I don't want to... 8-)