Court
3.5
I saw the resolution coming, but I really liked the interaction between the main character and the local clerk.
I think that this could have been a lot more, but maybe that's unfair to say of a short story.
I did really like the line of “I'm trying to deserve this” when referring to her ‘super power'. Although the more I think about, I'd say that learning to control it the way she mentions gets her most of the way there in my book plus being willing to help when there's a fire.
Ugh, I also struggled with the idea of a whole turkey being cooked for just three people, maybe it was a small turkey, but then wouldn't it have been easier to cook?
I had to remind myself what chop suey is (meat stewed and fried with bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, and onions, and served with rice) as I have never ordered it before. I love this idea that the aging father was on a quest to recall a simple dish as some of my favorite meals of my youth have been more simplistic (my mother's chicken and dumplings, my own ‘peasant soup', etc.). And then the twist at the end was sweet: the concoction that the brothers had made when they were bored (and perhaps a little resentful) at the restaurant composed of sugar, soy sauce, duck sauce, and then tea that the father unknowingly picked up.
Memory of food and of being around the table with family can be pretty strong.
Spotify says that I've already listened to this, but I don't recall. Soon I'll give it a listen to see if it played in my bag or if it just fell out of my memory.
—–
Second listen was okay, I recalled shortly after starting some of the events. This listening I was much the same. LeVar's reading is pretty good, but I just don't love this story and almost everything in the story is described as ugly or is in some way gross.
I think the only part I really like of this story is the title of the missing book “Things Fall Apart”, although I have not read that book so perhaps I am missing out on something.
—
sigh apparently I did review it the first time I listened to this:
Listed to LeVar Burton read The Yellow-Painted Library. It did well building suspense and revealing the surprise. Not sure if exactly when it was set, but it referenced Things Fall Apart which was published 1958 and it also mentions rotary phones.
First time I listened I scored it a 4, the second time a 3, so call it 3.5.
This one was just okay for me. I didn't love the setting of “futuristic, yet ancient (senatorial?) Rome”
I felt that there was an implied parallel to Ship of Theseus and the destruction of Pompeii, but I wanted more.
I kinda wanted it to be over when the explosion happened, but the invented daughter becoming Caesar wasn't too bad
I'm going to list the questions that were asked & answered in the book and write what I want to recall as “spoilers” next to them so it's easily organized.
Will my cat eat my eyeballs? Not impossible, but they'll go for easier things first like lips and nose after a few days. Also some deceased dog owners had nips on them and the thinking is that the dogs are trying to wake them up.
What would happen to an astronaut's body in space?
Can I keep my parents' skulls after they die? No. In the US most places have laws that would make this nearly impossible.
Will my body sit up or speak after I die? no, but there can be little twitches (I think she mentioned that the longest record time of a movement was something like 12 hours after death) and possibly what sounds like an airy moan if air comes out over the vocal chords
What happens to pets buried in the backyard? (about decomposition rates) Biggest factor seems to be the soil type, depth pet was buried at, and size
Can I preserve my dead body in amber?
Why do we turn funny colors when we die?
How does a whole adult fit in a tiny box after cremation? turns out on average women's ashes weigh about 4 pounds and men's around 6, based on height.
Will I poop when I die?
Do conjoined twins always die at the same time?
If I die making a stupid face will it be stuck? not really, but in general bodies sometimes need assistance in keeping eyes and mouth closed.
Can we give Grandma a Viking funeral? Loved how Doughty got into debunking the flaming arrow onto the boat pyre. Was cool to learn that some ships were brought on land to be burned with the deceased
Why don't animals dig up all the graves? Usually it's too much work, unless a body is buried too shallow
What would happen if you swallowed a bag of popcorn before being cremated? not much, but pace makers can explode so professionals double check for them
If someone is selling a house do they have to disclose if someone died on the property?
What if they make a mistake and bury me while I'm in a coma?
What would happen if you died on a plane?
Do bodies affect the water we drink?
What happens to the food we ate right before we died? I thought it was cool how so went into the forensics of it as well as the anthropological angle
Can everyone fit into a casket? Basically, yes.
Can you donate blood after you die? Was happy to learn yes, which makes sense as organs can be donated
We eat dead chickens, why not dead people? Cannibalism isn't illegal in the US, but usually how one would obtain remains would be. Also prion and other diseases and other foods are better in terms of nutrition and calories
What happens when a cemetery is full? They go vertical and some places rent the burial space
Why don't bugs eat people's bones? She didn't cover it, but it makes me think about how there aren't many creatures that eat wood, I imagine for most of the same reasons, need specialized teeth/digestion and are the nutrients gained worth it? She did mention the bone eating worm, which was only "discovered" in the early 2000's, that feed on the bones of dead whales
What happens to solders who die far away? some are returned and some remain
Can I be buried with my hamster? not in most places, would have to go to special pet cemetery
Will my hair and nails keep growing? no, the skin retracts making it look like there was growth
Can I use human bones from cremation to make jewelry? Unlikely no as the bones will be too brittle to manipulate. However ashes from cremation have been used to make jewelry, tattoos, and paintings
Did mummies stink when they were wrapped?
Why was grandma wrapped in plastic at the wake? To prevent leakage
Each question is given about 5 to 10 minutes with Doughty answering the question and expanding on it. Again, I love how her voice and way of speaking. I appreciate her covering multiple cultures and speaking respectfully, while not resorting to euphemisms as she says that the questions came from kids.
I had read the other book and so was delighted in hearing her reading of this book as she had excellent delivery.
I really appreciate her aim of changing the current American culture around death that sanitizes and obfuscates death and its associated processes.
Excited to start her next book, also in audio format.
I'm reminded of [b:Qualification: A Graphic Memoir in Twelve Steps 43581808 Qualification A Graphic Memoir in Twelve Steps David Heatley https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1567151146l/43581808.SY75.jpg 67804891] as Bamford is/has been members of multiple 12 step/anonymous programs. However I liked her story much better.I really like the “take what's useful and leave the rest” approach.I myself have not been involved in any of the 12 step programs, but I have know a few people who have. So some of what she talked about was familiar to me.I really liked how she talked about her immediate family of her parents and sister. I really appreciated that she acknowledged her privilege while discussing her difficulties and setbacks.
Reading about Rain reminded me that I want to donate blood more often (I have an appetite today). Reading g about Alex broke my heart about the gymnasts and that evil ‘doctor'. Adriana's story was for me an exercise in empathy, it can be hard to have compassion for those with addiction or SUD (substance use disorder) especially when they endanger their children. I have to take a breath and remind myself of my own struggles and be thankful that my preferences are for things a tad less harmful and that choice can be illusory, that she didn't choose her parentage or her depression etc.
I also appreciate Williams' inclusive language and mindset throughout the book.
Read at: https://reactormag.com/the-ones-who-look-katharine-duckett/
Loved the premise and the characters
Quotes I liked: “We found out what people wanted from the angels in the beta testing stage. They didn't want an omnipotent being who can tell them exactly how to get into Heaven. Humans won't just do what they're told to, but they want guidance all the same. It's why we developed two angels, offering variable input. Every action needs to seem like a conversation. A choice.”“We realized too late that a mind without a body can only exist for so long. There is an element of consciousness we couldn't replicate that must be connected to embodiment. To sleep. To dreams. They're important in ways we did not understand.”“we are doing good work. The world—it is better. I keep thinking of where we were a hundred years ago. Fifty. Twenty. Should we give all that up because death has some bugs?”
I don't know how much of this I'll retain but I thought it was interesting and well written.
The weed that killed Lincoln's mother was white snakeroot. White snakeroot contains the toxin tremetol; when consumed by cattle, the meat and milk become contaminated with the toxin.
I also want to remember that yew trees are poisonous, I recall Stewart saying ‘every part is poisonous except for the skin of the berry, but the berry has a poisonous seed' or something along those lines.
Gorgeous art but felt too mysterious or light to be a memoir. Sorry I don't want to gatekeep genres but I come away from this knowing almost nothing about the author. I assume that this was cathartic or otherwise therapeutic for her to make but it leaves me ...nonplussed? She likes plants, has a sibling, and their mother was ...absent, likely negligent, possibly ill? She might have forgiven or made some peace with her mother.
unclear to me if the mother (was it even her mother? I mean she calls her Mum, but she draws her so elderly looking. I call my grandmother ‘mom', I dunno, anyway) committed suicide, succumbed to her illness, or had an accident.
Valente's style continues to delight.
I like the narrator who is, somewhat but not overly, self-aware. And I never get tired of rooting for September and her friends.
I find it amusing that this story also has a time yeti as I just finished [b:Thief of Time|48002|Thief of Time (Discworld, #26; Death, #5)|Terry Pratchett|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388177603l/48002._SY75_.jpg|46982] is there some sort of folklore/mythology I'm missing?
