Deb Nance
If I had taken a pretest on what I knew about microbes before I read this book, I wouldn't have been able to say much. I would say that most microbes I knew about were bad, destructive if not controlled in humans. I would say that I'd heard a bit of fuss about a few good microbes, most of which were involved in human digestion. And that's about it.
I didn't know much about microbes before I read this book, and most of what I knew (or thought I knew) was wrong.
What I learned from this book (and please correct me in the comments if I am saying this wrong) is that microbes work with living animals and plants in lots of different ways and in all or almost all living animals and plants. Microbes do things for the animals and plants that the animals and plants can't do for themselves, and, in return, the animals and plants do things for the microbes that they can't do for themselves. Each living animal and plant is an enormous ecosystem composed of millions of interactions between microbes and each living thing. Wiping out microbes in living things can also destroy the living things themselves.
Ed Yong's book is full of specific examples of corals and squids and mosquitoes and more and their interactions with specific microbes that live with these living things, and every story is told with cleverness and humor.
I'm no scientist, but I listened to this audiobook avidly and I found it wildly compelling.
Patrick Radden Keefe is a long-form journalist, an old-time investigative reporter, who digs deep into a story, and the stories he chooses to investigate thoroughly are stories of bad guys. Rogues is a collection of twelve of Keefe's most fascinating stories of those who kill and steal and cheat others. My favorites were the story of a man who, mysteriously, was able to find and sell rare fine wines; the world's most notorious drug lord, El Chapo; the man who revived the image of Donald Trump through a tv reality show; the woman who feels compelled to defend “the worst of the worst;” and a woman who became a mass shooter.
John Parra tells stories of his childhood, helping his papi in his father's work as a landscape contractor. Juanito struggles when a friend from school, Alex, looks away and pretends not to see him while he works in a yard. And yet he learns a lot about design and art and the value of work from his time helping his father.
Some beautiful lines from the conclusion to the book: “I see the yards my dad has made beautiful...I remember Alex's face in the window. I turn to a blank page and begin to sketch. I will use my art to tell the stories of hardworking, passionate people who make the world more beautiful. I will tell their stories. I will tell my story.”
You should know before you read this review that
I LOVE ROCKS!!!
(Yes, all caps and three exclamation points. Yes, I love rocks like you love your dog. Trust me. It can happen.)
So, I've been waiting and waiting for this book to be published, for weeks, maybe months. And I was very worried that it would disappoint me; I was expecting a lot out of my first experience reading a book with a rock as the main character.
It did not disappoint me.
Rick the rock lives on the Nature Finds shelf in Room 214. He is content there, living with his friends, acorn, moss, and bark. Then he learns about rocks from the teachers and their lives of action and adventure and, as always happens when we compare ourselves with others, his feelings about his life on the shelf dim, and he plans his escape. And he does escape. He finds himself in a field among a lot of other rocks, and he quickly has an Other-Side-of-the-Fence experience. Fortunately a child from Room 214 finds Rick and restore him to his former position on the shelf, and all is well with the world.
I hope this is just the first adventure of Rick the Rock. I'd love to see a sequel.
“If it's almost Halloween and you
have a new babysitter...be wary.
She might be a bruja! A witch!”
This is the story of a child who discovers her new babysitter is a witch, and the child takes steps to vanquish her. And the child eventually succeed. And feels remorseful. But remember, this is just a story...
This book has the vibe of If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, with back-and-forth cause-and-effect, and it's spiced with a generous helping of Spanish words and Halloween feeling.
Erika L. Sánchez tells the stories of her life thus far in Crying in the Bathroom. Sánchez grew up in Chicago, the daughter of immigrants. She knew from an early age that she wanted to be a writer. Some of her biggest obstacles are debilitating depression, as well as systemic sexism and racism.
I loved Sánchez's young adult novel, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, but this book was a harder sell for me; I am not a fan or memoirs written too early in the lives of people. But that could just be me.
Fellowship Point is the story of respected children's author Agnes Lee and her best friend Polly Wister. The two women are in their eighties and Agnes desperately wants to protect Fellowship Point from developers. The long and complicated history of Agnes and Polly is gradually revealed as book editor Maud Silver tries to talk Agnes into writing her memoirs.
This book was very, very slow, and the plodding felt tiresome at times. I'd consider giving up and then the author would throw in a beautiful and wise thought (both Agnes and Polly are exceptionally wise eighty-year-olds) and I'd renew the desire to clomp on to the end.
One beautiful little quote:
“The world through the looking glass, the parallel universe where life is as it should be, so close to us yet impenetrable except when we accept the graces and the love offered to us. What I have learned is that grace and love are offered all the time, in every new moment, at every glimpse of the sky, or dawn of a day that has never before existed, or squirrel skittering along a branch, or conversation with a sister or a friend, or the sense of time suspended when reading a good book. We are free, always, to accept what is offered; it is we who don't recognize this.”
Anders wakes up one morning to find that his skin has turned dark and he does not recognize himself. As he gets out of the house, he is startled to find that people seem to look at him differently than they did when he was a white man. His girlfriend, her mother, his father—each of these people has his own reaction to the changes in Anders. And then more people begin to change...
I like, but didn't love this book. Much of it felt like stories I've read many times before, especially sci-fi/fantasy. And the sentences that went on and on, most for at least a paragraph, and many for full pages. There was very little dialogue. I didn't really care about Anders or his girlfriend or his father or her mother.
I know the idea is timely, and I can see this would be an interesting book to discuss, and I've heard the author speak intelligently about this book.
But I am disappointed to say that it just didn't work well for me.
Julia thought her sister, Olga, was the perfect Mexican daughter. Olga stayed home after high school with her family, went to community college, went to work as a receptionist, and dated a nice boy.
But now Olga is dead.
And Julia isn't so sure Olga was the perfect Mexican daughter after all...
A beautifully written young adult novel, set in Chicago, one of my favorite cities, and featuring an authentically Hispanic cast of characters.
I couldn't resist checking out this book once I heard about it from a fellow blogger.
Here's the pitch: “There are over a million words in the English language, but the average person only uses 2%(for the math-challenged among us, that's 20,000—doesn't seem like much, does it?) of them! Why use those boring old words everyone else uses when you can expand and build your vocabulary—and have fun doing it!”
And what do I think?
I was happy to see that I know most of the words (after all the target audience is kids, not grownups, like me). Still there is a solid 10% of words that are new-to-me, and that's nice.
Would a kid actually have fun learning these words? I would say a big Yes to that. The words are quirky and fun to say and have fun illustrations and have fun meanings. A random sampling? Mayhem...switcheroo...earworm...simpatico...persnickety...piffle...even quirky itself...so, fun, right?
I believe I need to pick out a few to add to my personal word bank.
Scofflaw (SKAWF-law) noun.
A person who repeatedly breaks rules or laws.
Taradiddle (tar-uh-DID-l) noun.
A tiny lie or fib.
Coxcomb (KOKS-kohm) noun.
Someone who thinks a lot of himself and struts around like a rooster.
Clishmaclaver (KLISH-muh-klay-ver) noun.
Gossip.
To help me remember these wonderful new words, I'll associate them all with a recent American political figure who I do not care for, despite my attempt to live by Jesus' admonition to “love your enemies.” I'll keep this person anonymous but I'm sure you can fill in the blank with the name of a political figure you do not care for...surely we all have such a person in mind, no matter what our political beliefs are.
________ is a scofflaw and a coxcomb who uses taradiddles and clishmaclaver to get his way in politics.
Living Life as a Thank You is a collection of stories of many people which center on the power of gratitude to change lives. Until I read this book, I don't think I realized how powerful gratitude can be in trying to cope with the various disturbances, ranging from mild to almost-debilitating, in our lives. The stories of real people across many walks-of-life offer real-life support for this idea.
Who would guess that something as simple, as...well, childish, if you will, as playfulness can transform your life?
How many times has too-seriousness taken hold of me and caused a rift between me and others? And now that I'm armed with playfulness, how many times in the future will I be able to lighten a tense situation, even if it's just for me, with this new tool?
Courtney Ellis shares stories of times in her life when playfulness saved a situation for her. She reveals that she is not a naturally spontaneous and light person, and I can identify with that. It's apparent, however, that lightness can move us through a lot of difficult situations in life, and I'm determined to take this on as a new strategy.
A. J. Jacobs looks at puzzles of all sorts in his latest Challenge Yourself book. After aiming for bodily perfection (Drop Dead Healthy), attempting to follow the Bible as literally as possible (The Year of Living Biblically), trying to become to smartest person in the world (The Know-It-All), and pursuing a goal of improving himself (My Life as an Experiment), Jacobs focuses on trying to solve the most baffling puzzles ever. He forms a team (with his family!) and represents America in the World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship. He tries to do a Rubik's Cube that's so difficult no one has solved it. He goes to the National Puzzler's League convention and tries to do anagrams with the big boys. He is embarrassingly slow at making his way through a huge maze in rural Vermont. Crossword puzzles. Sudoku. Chess. And more. Jacobs tries them all.
Super fun.
Krista Tippett shares her journey in life, from her early spiritual experiences in childhood with a minister grandfather to her young adulthood in Germany to her return to spirituality in later adulthood.
Tippett's connection to faith evolves as she meets wise and enlightened spiritual teachers, and it was the wisdom she gained from these people that I liked most about this book. Croatian American theologian Miroslav Volf distinguishes between “thick” and “thin” religion. Rabbi Sandy Eisenberg Sasso uses Moses' encounter with God on Mount Sinai and the Ten Commandments to illustrate the difference between spirituality and religion. Journalist Bruce Feiler tells about how his search for Abraham in the Middle East gave him a way to bring together the three faiths of Jews, Christians, and Muslims.
There is a small archive of Tippett's Speaking of Faith episodes here.
Jane falls in love with Duncan almost as soon as she meets him, but the problem is that just about every other female in town has been involved with Duncan, too. Even Duncan's ex-wife, Aggie, still has Duncan over to mow the yard...Can Jane really be with Duncan, a man who has loved so widely?
I adored this book. I adored the sweet characters like Jane and Duncan. I adored the hard-to-get-along-with characters like Aggie and Aggie's husband, Gary. I adored the relationships among the various characters. I adored the way the plot swished and swashed around.
A big thank you to the person who recommended this book to me after seeing how much I loved The Portable Veblen.
I've been reading this book slowly over many months, but yesterday I felt inspired to go ahead and make playlists at Spotify for the remaining months and then do a listen/read combination for the rest of the book.
My takeaways from this book (as well as the original, Year of Wonder):
1. Before I read/listened to these two books about classical music, I knew nothing about classical music. After I read/listened to these two books about classical music, I still know (almost) nothing about it but my idea of what classical music has expanded to include more types of music.
2. I clearly know what classical music I like. I even made a Favorites list from each book. I wish I knew why I like the classical music I like.
3. There's something glorious about listening to classical music. Again, I don't know why.
4. Listening to a classical music selection that I've heard many, many times can be an enchanting and profound experience.
5. Listening to a classical music selection that is new-to-me can be an enchanting and profound experience.
6. The comments of Clemency Burton-Hill about each selection greatly enriched the experience.
Okay, I probably should talk less and listen more. Here's a link to My Favorites from Another Year of Wonder.
When you read a chapter-a-day on a book for three months, you tend to get fiercely attached to the characters, either positively or negatively. That's what happened to me with The Mill on the Floss.
I liked Maggie from page one. She is everything I love in a character.
Her brother? Her mother? Even her father? Not so much.
All of these people as well as her extended family members and her fellow townsfolk forced Maggie into a box that limited her in many ways. Maggie was judged from the very start by her coloring and her dislike of doing the things her mother and others expected from girls and women. Her many strong assets were ignored and she wasn't allowed to develop them in ways that would benefit her or the world.
What a tragedy.
And I quickly grew to wish that Maggie would find a way to find happiness in life without relying on the opinion of her brother. Of course, that wasn't going to happen. Again, a tragedy.
And, worse, her brother blocked all of her ways of finding happiness.
How small others made Maggie.
Reading this book has made me sad for the women who have come before me and who were unable to be allowed to pursue their dreams.
It's 3 1/2, just so you know.
Kip's quiet, and she's surprised to find ten of her favorite characters have stepped out of their world and into hers. A ninja from her TV show. A race-car driver from a video game. An old man from a picture book. Rabbit from a comic strip. And more.
I'm curious to see where this is going next.
Entomologist and former pesticide developer John Hainze takes a close look at all the unwanted weeds and animal pests right under our feet. He looks at the humans' troubled history with bees, ants, hover flies, millipedes, centipedes, bedbugs, fruit flies, silverfish, dandelions, crabgrass, pillbugs, mosquitoes, cockroaches, bacteria, and more. And he shares ways these lifeforms benefit the world, leaving the reader thinking about whether humans are really exceptionally important in the big scheme of things and if humans can coexist with other forms of life and other interesting questions.
It took me a long time to really get into this book; I was more than a third of the way into the story before I really got hooked. But once I did, secrets were revealed, and then more secrets were revealed, and I couldn't stop reading.
Loulie is the Midnight Merchant. Assisted by her jinn bodyguard, Loulie looks for, finds, and sells old magical relics. One day she meets Mazen, a prince in disguise, not permitted to leave his home, and the adventures begin.
The world of the jinn was completely fascinating. Now I'm longing for book #2...and the author has made it clear that the sequel won't be published until at least 2023.
Studs Terkel interviews people from all walks of life, focusing on their experiences with the Great Depression. Some people were involved with government at the time. Others were active with labor unions. Some people were farmers. Others were simply trying to find work and food for their families.
I am fascinated with the stories people told in this book. It was surprising to hear some people sharply criticize FDR, to learn that many people were beginning to lean toward Communism and Socialism, to discover that some initiated schemes designed to circumvent creditors attempting to take people's farms and other possessions.
“Improv is freakin' magic.”
“The secret lies in improv's structure—a set of rules that allows players to stop worrying and second-guessing and to ease into the moment and be completely engaged with their fellow performers.”
“The best-known improv rule is probably “Yes, And,” or the rule of agreement. It's a pretty simple concept, really. When one improviser says something, the other one has to go along with it—but also add something else to the scene. Then improviser number one agrees and adds more. A scene is born!”
“Another thing that gets improvisers “out of their heads” is their childlike sense of discovery and play.”
“I truly believe we all just want to be seen and heard. In order to feel seen and heard, and therefore valued, we have to learn how to see and hear others—without judgment, and with an unbreakable sense of wonder and curiosity.”
An entire book of games and fun that gets us out of our heads, gets us playing again.
Clint Smith visits cemeteries, museums, plantations, and other places associated with slavery and he attends events associated with slavery. He observes carefully and thoughtfully and he questions others visiting the places and attending the events.
The result is this book, one of the best books I've ever read about the history of slavery in America as well as one of the best books I've read this year.
Mary Pipher tells the story of her life and focuses on the ways she was able to find light during the dark times.
A few quotes:
“I was a fleck of dust in an enormous universe, fortunate to even exist. Our lives are as fragile as the smallest falling star that flashes across the dome of night. We blaze for a moment and then we are gone.”
“I didn't feel grief as much as I felt dead. When I experience loss, the lights go out.”
“I struggled on, aware I was not moving forward. I thought, what a strange way to end my life. This will ruin our beautiful vacation...I flipped over on my back and let the waves carry me while I caught my breath...After a while, I heard the sound of waves breaking...I realized, I am going in. I am going in...What had saved me was stopping the struggle.”
“I had been grieving and yearning, wanting my family so badly my heart hurt. A part of me had been hibernating, just waiting for contact with my children and grandchildren to wake me up. Then one day, as I sat drinking my first cup of coffee, from a place deep within, from my heart/mind, a voice cried out, ‘Enough...Enough making yourself miserable...Be happy now. Be happy here. Life is good.'“
“I contemplated what Buddhists call the three poisons—anger, ignorance, and attachment. I had always understood the dangers of ignorance and anger, but attachment as a poison was hard for me to understand...Now at last I understood that my love for my children and grandchildren, my missing them constantly, had caused me to suffer. What could save me was loosening my grip and surrendering to the situation I could not change.”
“I needed to relinquish my cows.” (story of the man with six lost cows)