September 2021 Monthly Motif Reading Challenge: Back to School

Appropriate (for those of us in the States), September's motif was "Back to School," and it asked us to "Read a book with a school setting, featuring a student or educator OR read a book to educate yourself on a topic you’re interested in learning more about." I chose to read a book to educate myself on a topic I had been thinking about and read Half the Sky, by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. This book had me alternately enraged and inspired. It focuses on women in developing nations and both the plight that they face and their efforts to improve their situations. There were chapters during which I felt incredibly angry at the world and other chapters during which I felt inspired to help. Sometimes the problems feel so large that they are insurmountable, but the authors do a great job of trying to provide concrete ways that you can help. 

There is discussion of rape, prostitution, and other vicious violence, so it may trigger people who have histories with this. However, it is not "trauma porn" or whatever the term is. Indeed, the authors cite studies showing that when people hear about large groups of people suffering, i.e. "The women of XYZ country suffer rape at the hands of soldiers, who use it as a form of warfare," they tend to care less than when they hear specific stories about specific people. There is something about putting an actual name and personal story to an issue that makes people care more about the problem. So the authors use names and stories of women they have met in their journalistic travels to help tell their stories and impress their points. They also have some incredibly helpful appendices in which they share a whole list of organizations with which one can become involved to help women in the situations they describe in the book, as well as other resources.

One of my biggest takeaways from the book was the need to support education for women. Of course, education is important and should be available to all children, but there is an abundance of evidence showing that when girls are educated, poverty decreases and conditions for women (and everyone) improve. It really made me want to use my charitable giving opportunities to support education for girls around the world because this education is likely to improve all the other issues that they discuss in their book. Of course, that doesn't diminish the need to support other problems. For example, I was appalled to read about the state of maternal health in many developing nations. All women deserve basic care for their reproductive systems and child bearing, and some nations need support to improve those systems. However, some nations also do not fully grasp the importance of maternal health, and educating the women and girls in those nations will provide a group of citizens who will advocate for and make ways for improved systems.

I should note that the book is now over 10 years old, so it's possible that things have changed in the intervening time. Some of the figures are certainly outdated, and it's likely that some of the listed charities have changed. Sadly, I would guess that things have gotten better in a few places, worse, in some places, and stayed largely the same in most places. I would love to see an updated edition of the book with updated figures and resources. I found out the book has also been turned into a documentary, which is available on Amazon Prime, and it appears to be more recent than the book itself (which means it should have updated information on some of those 10 year old figures). I am planning to check it out soon, though I haven't yet had a chance.

Buy it here.

August 2021 Monthly Motif Reading Challenge: Bag of Tricks

August's motif was "Bag of Tricks," and it asked you to "Read a book featuring any kind of magic, illusion, super powers, or enchantments." I chose to read A Secret History of Witches, by Louisa Morgan. I really enjoyed this book. It walks through several generations of a family of witches and the good and bad that each woman experiences. It particularly focuses on the discrimination that women who practice witchcraft experience and how that affects current and future generations of women. It's also interesting to see how the choices the women make affect their futures and the futures of their children. Each woman discovers that there is a cost to their magic and has to deal with the consequences, which sometimes happen immediately and other times happen after years. The book is richly detailed, drawing me into the lives and settings, and I was impressed by how much information there was about the practice of witchcraft. I do not personally practice Wicca (which I think is the correct term for modern people who practice traditional witchcraft?), but the rituals and terminology in this book seemed to me to be correct.

The characters are relatively well-rounded, having both flaws and virtues, and most of them are likable and easy protagonists. The only true villains in the story are what can basically be called witch-hunters. Some characters are more likable than others, and the various ways in which mothers and daughters interact are well represented. I particularly liked the author's idea that each new generation has a whole history of forebears who go with her, providing help in their own way (sort of reminds me of the Christian idea of the "cloud of witnesses"). These forebears give their descendants strength to continue the craft and make it through difficult times in their lives. There are also some objects that pass through the various generations, which appeals to the romantic part of me that finds meaning in heirloom objects.

In general, it's a good book, and I would recommend it, especially if you have an interest in witchcraft and/or generational histories.

Buy it here.

July 2021 Monthly Motif Reading Challenge: Short But Fabulous

July's motif was "Short But Fabulous," and said to "Read a novella, comic, graphic novel, manga, or short book of poetry." I'm not gonna lie - I'm just not a huge fan of poetry. Like, I feel like I should be because it makes me more cultured or something, but I'm just not really. And I'm most certainly not a fan of it when it's for a reading challenge. I mean poetry books are not the sort of thing you just sit down and read, right? They're for occasional browsing when you want to think and be inspired. Anyway, I went with a graphic novel because that's a genre I really just don't read much. I suppose I should have gone with manga if that was my criterion because I have read basically no manga. Anyway, graphic novel it was.

I was really excited to find the graphic novel Nimona, by Noelle Stevenson, because Stevenson is the creator of the new She-Ra and the Princesses of Power series on Netflix. I absolutely adore the new She-Ra and have watched all the episodes with Junior Mate. (My co-captain has also watched them with us and enjoyed them, so not just for girls, btw.) Anyway, I felt pretty sure I would enjoy this novel, after having enjoyed the storylines and characters from She-Ra so much. I was not disappointed, though I will say that I felt like it ended a little abruptly for me. Actually, I guess it's not so much that it ended abruptly as that I kind of wanted more, which I guess is a good thing!

The story is about a shapeshifter named Nimona, who becomes the "sidekick" to the villain, Lord Ballister Blackheart. It has a sort of...medieval but futuristic setting, which makes it interesting. There's also lots of complexity in the characters and plotline - like, who really *is* the bad guy in the story? And what does evil actually look like? How do events in our past shape us into who we are today? I know these sound like some big questions for the graphic novel format, but I feel like this is something that Stevenson does quite well. The drawing is inviting, and the storyline is engaging and easy to follow, while also making you think. I was able to read it all in a few spurts over a couple of days, and I found the panels themselves easy to follow. Sometimes I find myself frustrated with graphic novels because I can't always tell which panel is next in the action, but this book's panels are clear.

I enjoyed the interactions between the various characters and managed to become invested in them, even in such a short format. To be honest, I would be interested in a sequel, mostly because I'd be interested in seeing more from the characters after the events of the book. However, there was one character in particular that I'd like to see again (don't want to give away the ending, so I'll leave out names) because their loss felt sudden and slightly unresolved to me. I mean, I guess that's how the world works sometimes, right? There are times when you get to say goodbye to someone and know that they are going into a happy future and other times when you don't really get to say goodbye or say goodbye but don't get to know anything about how their future goes. Perhaps this is a personal issue I have - I like to know that the characters to which I've become attached do alright in the end, though there are hints about this character, I'd love to just see them again and smile. But again, I suppose that's the reality of life; sometimes we're left wondering. Anyway, I'd say that if you're a fan of graphic novels, you should give this one a read, obviously. However, if you're a fan of strong female characters and/or blurred lines between good and evil and/or futuristic medieval settings (is that a thing?), you would probably also enjoy this book.

Buy it on Amazon here

June 2021 Monthly Motif Reading Challenge: The Great Outdoors

June's monthly reading motif was "The Great Outdoors," which required reading "a book featuring a garden, nature, country, or harvest setting or plot. I belong to a Facebook group for children's books (partly because I have a kid, and partly because I just enjoy children's books), and they had recently been talking about The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett. I realized it had been so long since I'd read it that I didn't really remember it all that well. Thus, when I saw this prompt, I decided it would fit the bill perfectly. (Yes, I read two middle grade books in a row.) I remember really enjoying it when I was a child, and I still enjoyed it, though the book, having been written in 1911, definitely shows its age in some ways.

This book is all about magic, and not the Harry Potter kind. It's about the magic of being a child and discovering the way things grow and how the natural world works. It's about how caring for something and someone other than yourself can make you grow in ways you didn't expect. Mary Lennox, the main character, through caring for a garden, spending time outdoors, and learning to care about two other children around her age, grows from a sickly little child into a healthy young lady. The book definitely insinuates that it is the running around outdoors and the English countryside air that brings about this change, but I would argue that learning to care for things other than herself are part of that change as well. Obviously, that's an emotional and temperamental change, but I firmly believe that emotional and temperamental changes can affect us physically as well. At any rate, it really is delightful to watch the children in the book learn to love one another and the magic of the garden and remember what it was like to see magic in all sorts of things. For anyone who has ever been into gardening, they will also recognize the excitement the chilren felt of watching the garden awaken from its winter sleep. That is definitely one of my favorite parts of spring - going out and seeing which little bulbs are going to sprout first and which perennial plants are sticking up some new leaf stalks.

Now I guess I'll touch on the whole concept of "cancel culture" here for a minute or two. There are definitely books, movies, music, and television that contain themes we consider unacceptable today, most obviously, and possibly significantly, overtly racist terms and viewpoints. The Secret Garden does indeed have some of that content in it. Here's the thing, though: the fact that these ideas are in these various types of media does not mean that we need to erase these things from history. There is valuable stuff in them; otherwise, they wouldn't have become classics in the first place. Even beyond the stories that made certain books classics, though, the themes that don't fit with our current thinking provide opportunities for discussion with one another and our children.

Most of the terms used to describe darker skinned people (generally referring to people from the Indian subcontinent, where Mary was born) in The Secret Garden are not really acceptable nowadays, but if/when I let Junior Mate read the book, we can (and hopefully will) have discussions about why that thinking is out of date and unacceptable now. The answer to these issues is not to erase them or pretend they don't (and never have) exist. The answer is to have conversations with your children about how and why some of these ideas were acceptable in whatever time the media is set and why we don't think the same way now. We give our kids a chance to make the world better by letting them understand the mistakes of our past, as well as the good parts of our past. I mean, running around outside and loving nature are definitely worthwhile things, that many of us may have lost in our currently tech-heavy society. Parenting, and being a good human, honestly, requires work. It's easy to just get rid of things that don't work with our current values, but it's more enriching and valuable to examine them and figure out their place.

Anyway, I think this book is a worthwhile read, and if you are concerned about some of the classist and racist expressions in it, give it a read yourself and decide if you feel comfortable letting your child read it. You can always have the discussions about why we don't think the same way anymore, and you can also have delightful discussions about which flowers pop up first in the spring and the joys of watching the earth come alive year after year.

(This is my copy of the book from when I was a child!)
Buy it on Amazon here

May 2021 Monthly Motif Reading Challenge: Magnificent Middle Grade

May's motif was "Magnificent Middle Grade," which is defined as "a book that is marketed toward ages 8-14." I'm not gonna lie - I really enjoy reading young adult and children's literature, so this was not a problem for me at all. I know that Louis Sachar has been on some reading lists for schools and is sort of considered classic for the newer generation (i.e. I'm pretty sure I've seen this on summer reading lists for kids these days), so I decided to go with one of his award winning books, Holes. I actually saw the stage adapatation of this book years ago at the university in my hometown, and they did a really good job with it. Thus, I knew the basic plot, but stage/film adaptations can never put in the detail that you find in the books. Also, it had been long enough since I'd seen the play that I didn't really remember it all that well.

All in all, I think the book is well constructed. It tells a story in an interesting way, using some flashbacks to previous eras. There's an interesting mystery and survival skills and redemption and all kinds of good stuff. It also pretty strongly suggests that hating or treating people poorly based on something they can't really control (e.g. skin color) is stupid and wrong. I mean, I think this is an extremely important thing for kids to learn, especially as middle grades are when they really start to absorb the culture around them (outside of their home). This book does a good job touching on the subject in an interesting and somewhat relatable way. I think the book deserves the Newbery medal it received, and it's worth a read, even if you're not middle grade aged. There is some mild abuse in the book, but nothing too graphic. It's enough that I would be cautious about letting someone younger than, say 10?, read it. It's possible 8-9 year olds would do okay with it, too, but I would call it an individual decision based on the sensitivity and maturity of the kid.

So I'm going to say something that sounds kind of silly here, but it actually made me happy. Stanley, the main character, is a fat kid. I love this because it's so hard to find fiction where a fat person is actually the protagonist, and even harder to find fiction where the fatness is not the main thing about who that person is. I mean, there is definitely mention of his size and its impact on him, but it is not what defines him in the book. I love this, and I love it for kids who may read it and see themselves in it, and see that they don't have to be defined by their size. I mean, maybe this newer generation of kids has already figured that out, but it took me years, and I still struggle with feeling judged and defined by my weight.

I also like that Sachar has several middle grade books all set in different parts of the South (US). I spent a large portion of my childhood in the South, and I have to say - there was a dearth of children's books set there to which I could relate. I mean, so much children's literature was set in a place with snow in the winters and Northern culture, which was great to read and learn about, but there was so little to read that reflected my own experience. Sometimes, I just wanted to read about a character who had never experienced a snowy winter and had to say, "Yes, ma'am," to her adults. It's nice to see a little more variety in setting for children's books now. Also, even though I now live in a different area of the country, there's still a bit of nostalgia for the place where I grew up, which is a nice itch to scratch with books every once in a while. (My December challenge book for 2020 actually scratched that itch, too.)

So there it is. Do you have any favorite middle grade books?

Buy it on Amazon here

April 2021 Monthly Motif Reading Challenge: Books on the Menu

I really enjoyed my April book for the monthly motif challenge (and I did, in fact, finish it in April, despite not getting to this blog post until July). The motif was "Books on the Menu," and the description said to "Read a book that features food, restaurants, cafes, cooking, or baking, on the cover or in the story." I chose the book Crescent, by Diana Abu-Jaber. Though the book is set in the United States (in LA), this book could have counted toward my March motif, Countries and Cultures, as it delved deep into the expatriate Arabian community in Los Angeles. There have been few times in my life when I've had the opportunity to live near Arab and Muslim populations, so I have never had the opportunity to learn much about them. So this book sort of introduced me to lively characters and their lives in an engaging and interesting way.

I took an english elective class in college that was called "Soul Food," and it focused on the ways in which food and dining together play important roles in our bonding as families/friends/cultures. We had three units, focusing on three different cultures within the US - the African-American culture, the Asian-American culture, and the Latinx culture. All of the books/writings we read were written by women, and they all focused on the importance of food in each culture. It was one of the most memorable classes I took in college, and it enriched and expanded my reading and author repertoire. I share this small anecdote because I think Crescent could easily and beautifully fit into that class. The writing is good and engaging, and it's easy to invest in the characters. I think I particularly felt an affinity with the main character (Sirine), as she was around the same age as me.

I enjoyed journeying with Sirine as she truly fell in love for the first time and experienced all the ups and downs of that time of life. I also really enjoyed the descriptions of cooking and how Sirine found herself and her culture in cooking, learning new recipes, and sharing them with the customers/friends in the restaurant. It really highlighted how food plays such an important role in connecting with others and in evoking home for people. All Arabian expats who visited Nadia's Cafe (the restaurant at which Sirine works) found both community and a taste of home there. There's a bonus in the book, too, as there are recipes to try out at the end of the book! I may be keeping this one, rather than passing it on, so that I can try them out! All in all, I would definitely recommend this one if you like romance stories, if you like and/or want to read more about expat Arabian culture, and/or if you like a good story.

Buy it on Amazon here

March 2021 Monthly Motif Reading Challenge: Countries and Cultures

(I started writing this entry back in early April, but I only finished it in July.)
I finished my book for March only a day or two before the end of March. The prompt for March was "Countries and Cultures," asking you to "Read a book set in a country, or about a culture, that’s different than your own and that you’d like to learn more about." I chose to read The God of Small Things, by Arundhati Roy. It is set in India in the 1960s/1990s, flashing back and forward between the two time periods. To be honest, I found it a little slow at the beginning, but the pace definitely picked up. It was also...kind of hard to read, not because it's a bad read, but because it's kind of sad and deals with some difficult topics. The style of telling is also a little different, but I think it fits the characters.

It's certainly an interesting read for someone not really aware of the social class/caste system in India, as an important part of the book is one upper class Christian family's interaction with a young man in the Untouchable caste and how that association affects all their lives. This really had me thinking about why humans (and maybe all animals?) seem to have this need to separate ourselves into classes, and particularly why we not only separate ourselves in such a way but actually completely demonize some other classes. I kept thinking about how poor people all over the world are blamed for things and dehumanized. Roy does a great job of really illustrating how unfair this sytem is and how the prejudices associated with caste systems ruin not only lives in poverty but the more wealthy lives as well. The book is well-written, though it is a tough read at times. There are some sexual themes in it and moments of child abuse that can be tough to read. However, I think it does a great job of psychological exploration. In general, I would recommend it, though if you prefer lighter reads, this may not be the book for you.

Buy it on Amazon

February 2021 Monthly Motif Reading Challenge: Laughter and Love

I just finished my February book for the Monthly Motif Reading Challenge by GirlXOXO. This month's motif is "Laughter and Love," with a further description to "Read a relationship story, romance, comedy, or feel good contemporary." I chose The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, a choice which may or may not have been influenced by the fact that there is now a Netflix movie based on the book. ;)

In short, I liked the book. It has an interesting format, in that the entire story is told through letters and other writings. That particular element of it reminds me of a book I read last year for another motif, 84 Charing Cross Road. That one is short and full of actual letters written from a book lover in the US to a seller of old books in the UK. It is also from the same time period in which Guernsey Literary Society is set. This one contains fitional letters, but they still transport you to a time when letter writing was the norm for communication with people who weren't living near you. I can easily imagine a woman, particularly a writer, as is the main character, Juliet, in this book, sitting down at her writing desk to write to her friends and familiars about all the goings on since their last letters. Phone calls were expensive, so letter writing was the way to go most of the time. Thus, the book does a good job of evoking time and place.

The characters are also quirky and dear. It is easy to fall in love with the characters of the Guernsey Literary Society, as Juliet does in the book, and it is also sobering to read of their experiences during the WWII German occupation of their island. I think it's especially helpful during this pandemic to remember that many of our grandparents had to live through a difficult time in their lives, too, and it eventually ended. Yes, life was never quite the same afterwards, but they still found joy in living. Author Mary Ann Shaffer did a good amount of research to really understand and convey what life was like both during and immediately after WWII, both in Guernsey and the UK and France. Having grown up in the US, which was thankfully largely removed from bombing and active fighting on its soil, I really had no idea of the continuing impact of the war on Europe. Reading this book gave me a bit more of an idea of what it would have been like to be living in a society that was rebuilding and to find happiness within that time. Honestly, I think we could use a little more appreciation of simple things in our modern life.

I've made it sound like it's all about war and its aftermath, but there is definitely relationship, romance, and feel good in this book as well. As the letters progress, you start to suspect that Juliet is falling in love with another character, and you wait to see what will happen. The ending is satisfying, though I won't deny that I wouldn't mind reading about what happens after the events of this book. For all of the heavy subject matter of the war and its aftermath, there is lots of love and laughter to be found in this book. I would definitely recommend it as a relatively quick and enjoyable read. I'm now off to watch the movie and see if it lives up to the book. :)

See the book on Amazon

January 2019 Monthly Motif Reading Challenge: New to You Author

JANUARY – New to You Author

Read a book by an author whose writing you’ve never read before.

My choice: The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
TL;DR paragraph at the bottom

As someone who makes at least some effort to be familiar with African-American literature, I felt like I was remiss in not having read The Color Purple. It seems so iconic, having been made into a screenplay and a stage play; people have quoted it to me. I felt like I should have already read it. I admit, though, I felt a little disappointed when I discovered about a week before I started reading it that Alice Walker had recently been slammed for anti-Semitic remarks. It's so hard to get away from various prejudices, even among people who themselves have experienced prejudice.

Anyway,I was surprised by this book.

2019 Monthly Motif Reading Challenge

I decided I wanted to do another reading challenge in the new year. I haven't done horribly in reading over the past year, but I do think it's kind of fun to have categories from which you choose and within which other people are working. I decided on the 2019 Monthly Motif Reading Challenge from girlxoxo.com (found through a Google search) because the categories are interesting and quite flexible. It's been a lot of fun researching different books that fit the themes and deciding which ones I'd choose. I'm trying to keep with my goal from the last reading challenge I did by choosing all books written by women, possibly making an exception for books written by men of color if a female author for the category doesn't pop out at me. I don't really want to miss out on great books by white dudes, but they're usually easy to find. It can be harder to find stuff written by women and people of color.

At any rate, I'm excited to start this challenge. I've picked out all my books except for February ("Cover Love") and December ("Last Chance"). Based on the criteria, I won't really be able to pick December's until December gets here. For February, I want to visit a physical bookstore and see what catches my eye. Check out the link (click on the image below) and join me if you want! I'd love to hear what other people are reading and their thoughts on the challenge and their chosen books.

Captain's Log Stardate July 2016: 12 Books Reading Challenge - Book recommended by a friend

I'm still catching up on blog posts, although I'm actually caught up to the current month in my books. July's book was The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, by Marie Kondo. It is my "book recommended by a friend" (who also takes care of Junior Mate for me two days a week).

I was going to do a book recommended by First Mate (one that he's been trying to get me to read for several years, actually). I even started that book, but this one is more pertinent to my life situation right now. You see, I come from a long line of packrats. We save stuff because we might need it in the future. We save stuff because we're too busy and/or lazy to do something with it right away. We save stuff because we feel guilty getting rid of something someone else gave us. (This one is actually deeper than this - my mom and I both have gifts as a love language, so getting rid of something someone gave us feels like getting rid of the person's love.) We save stuff because there are too many memories attached to the things. I am having trouble keeping our place tidy - both in terms of clutter and actual cleanliness. I've been thinking that maybe if I pared down my belongings some, it would help. In steps my friend with this book. He loaned it to me to read. The timing is perfect because we are moving, and I would like to start with a clean slate at the new place.

Over the past few years, my mom and I have been slowly moving away from this and toward letting more things go and cleaning out - simplifying. As I've been clawing out of the depression that set in when Junior Mate was born, I've recently been trying to really declutter. Our upcoming move feels like a perfect opportunity to do this; start with a clean slate. This book is incredibly helpful for people like me for a few reasons. It gives you a simple guideline for how to decide what to keep. (Kondo prefers to talk about what you should keep, rather than what you should discard, because it has more positive connotations and feels less oppressive.) The guideline is whether or not the item sparks joy in you. I'll note here that I had to change the question for my own practice of her method because I'm still finding it hard to find joy in anything nowadays. Instead, for clothing I asked myself, "Does this make me happy? Do I like wearing it?" For books, I asked myself, "Am I excited about reading/seeing this book?" She also gives you a step by step guide for the order in which you should go through your things, leaving sentimental items for last. Additionally, she offers helpful suggestions about how to store your items most efficiently.

I think the thing that helps me the most, as someone who tends to attach too much emotional significance to things, is the way Kondo talks about how to appreciate your items and let them go. Thank the item for the part it has played in your life, and allow it to move onto its next role. She sort of gives each item its own life and encourages you to think about how nothing really wants to sit around being useless. Let that book that's collecting dust on your shelf go so that it can be used and enjoyed by someone else. Her attitude, though a little unconventional, really helped me to give myself permission to let go of stuff, even things given to me by other people.

In short, this book is an easy read, and I recommend it for anyone who wants to declutter their home but has trouble figuring out the best way. I'll warn you that her method does require a bit of time, but it is working for me so far, though I'm not even finished.

Captain's Log Stardate June 2016: 12 Book Reading Challenge - Book that was banned at some point

I know I'm still behind - June posting in September. I'm still trying to catch up!
June's book is a book that was banned at some point (mostly in the southern US), Uncle Tom's Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe.

I chose this book for this category because it interested me, I have never read it, and it fits my goal of all women authors. However, I think it also fits into "book you should have read in school" because it is so important to remember the history of slavery in our country and to remember that, though it feels long ago, it really wasn't. This is particularly pertinent considering the string of African-Americans who have died in police custody in the past few years. We cannot understand why #BlackLivesMatter is important without remembering the history and attitudes that have brought us to the present moment.

I really enjoyed this book, largely because it presents incredibly important material in a narrative format, which for some reason is the easiest format for me to read and ruminate upon. Stowe's characters aren't all as complex as one might like, and there's obviously a paternalistic attitude toward people of African descent in her writing. (This is probably not unexpected for any abolitionist of the period.) However, I thought her depiction of many different experiences of enslavement and different attitudes toward slavery was fantastic. Even those slaves who were owned by good masters (as the hero Uncle Tom is in the beginning of the novel) longed for freedom, not because their life was so harsh, but because it is a basic human longing to be in control of one's own body and destiny. Obviously, Stowe is showing her readers that even those slaves who live under good conditions would rather have their freedom. (She seems to fighting an argument that slaves with good masters probably have better lives than they would as free men.)

I think the arc of the story which I most appreciated was the intermediate arc (with the St. Clare family), in which Tom goes to a new, also kind, master (before being sold again to a terrible master). This part of the story resonated with me on many levels, largely because I feel like many of the attitudes Stowe presents in this intermediate family are still present today. I'll also admit that I found myself thinking that I probably would have been someone with an attitude rather like that of the intermediate owner. As much as I'd like to think I would have been a staunch abolitionist, I suspect that I would have been conflicted as Mr. St. Clare, feeling that slavery was entirely wrong but that it had become a necessary evil and with no real idea of how to change it. However, the part that I felt was VERY important in this intermediate arc was Mr. St. Clare's relationship with his cousin from Vermont, Miss Ophelia. I won't deny that, as someone raised in the Southeastern US, there was a part of me that was glad to see a recognition of racism in northerners who opposed slavery. But I think Miss Ophelia's attitude, particularly, is still very much around today.

Mr. St. Clare may be a slaveholder, but he freely allows his beloved daughter to play with the slave children in the household, walk with the adult slaves, and hug and kiss all of the slaves as friends and family. Miss Ophelia, though adamant that it is wrong and abominable to hold slaves, finds it nearly abominable that Mr. St. Clare and his family are so familiar with their slaves. St. Clare points out to her that she may want to free all the slaves, but she doesn't want any familiarity with them. And she most certainly does not want them moving to her state where "her people" will have to deal with them. She wants freedom for the slaves as long as the consequences of that freedom are kept far from her own life.

Having lived in both the Southeastern US and the Northeastern US, I find that these attitudes are still very much alive. It is quite true that there is still a stronger overt strain of racism present in the South. However, I have found far fewer white Northerners than Southerners who have actually lived in the same neighborhood as and/or gone to school with African-American citizens. I have heard white people talk about entire cities, mostly populated by people of color, with fear and loathing. I hear the "us" and "them" language almost more often here than where I grew up. Admittedly, I think there is certainly some aspect of socioeconomic privilege going on there, and in the Northeast, poorer areas are still largely populated by people of color, while more affluent neighborhoods tend to be almost entirely white. However, I clearly see a racism present in the Northeast that too many people cannot or refuse to acknowledge. The idea that racism is a thing of the past and/or that racism is primarily a problem in the South is just not true. It's just that racism looks different in different areas of the USA, and I think Stowe's characters actually do a pretty good job of showing us how our current racism comes from these attitudes of about 150 years ago.

In short, I think this is an important book and a good read to boot. If you haven't read it yet, and you have any interest in the history of slavery and its impact on current race relations, you should read it.

Captain's Log Stardate May 2016: 12 Book Reading Challenge - Book you've already read at least once

I originally intended to save this category for the end of the year because I was planning to read the first in a series. I knew that I would want to read the whole series again after reading it and wanted to be done with the challenge in order to do that. However, after getting behind in April and May, I decided to go ahead and do this category for May to help catch up. I knew it would be a quick and fun read. My book for this category is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, by J.K. Rowling (picture links to Amazon sale page).

I didn't get into the Harry Potter series until right before the fifth book was released, so this one had been out for a while before I read it. I was also in college when the first book was published, so I can't say that I was raised with HP. However, I really enjoyed the series and had a couple of quite close friends with whom I debated the possibilities for the coming books and talked about theories. During a time in my life when I was pretty depressed and lonely, the online HP community gave me some friends and a place to escape through fanfic and discussion with others. In short, it's been an important series in my life but not entirely life-shaping.

I enjoyed rereading the first book, not only because the books are fun but also because it was a nice change from the academic book I had read just prior. I actually think most of the movies are pretty good and accurate representations of the books, but I love reading the books. They have so many little details that just can't be explained or really represented in the visual form. It still amazes me how Rowling was able to come up with such an elaborate and detailed imaginary world. I don't know if I once had that type of imagination and had it squashed out of me by (my own) perfectionism and schooling or if I'm just not that creative. However, she definitely creates a world that you can enter with your whole mind, and even heart, and grow to love. There are also some great lessons about good and evil throughout the series that are good for both children and adults. I think that's one of the reasons I still love reading children's/young adult novels. Often, the themes therein are ones that adults need to remember or relearn as well. This particular book reminds us that appearances can sometimes deceive, to give people the benefit of the doubt, and that sometimes, supporting your friends is more important than being right.

Captain's Log Stardate April 2016: 12 Book Reading Challenge - Book you should have read in school

I know it's mid-June, so it's a bit strange to make the date April 2016. However, April was busy, and I also had some depression I was dealing with. Thus, it took me until the end of May to finally finish my April book. Hopefully I'll be able to catch up in June with my May book and my June book. Anyway, this month's book is a book I was supposed to read in seminary. Actually, I was only supposed to read a portion of it for my introductory preaching class, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to read the whole thing now. I can't remember if I actually read the portions I marked with a flag or not, but I didn't see any underlinings, which indicates I probably didn't. The book is Women Preaching: Theology and Practice through the Ages, by Eunjoo Mary Kim. (Photo links to the book on Amazon.)

This is a good academic treatment of different roles women's preaching has taken throughout the history of the church. A lot of what Kim has to say focuses on the transformative and prophetic (i.e. challenging) voice of women preaching. Because this was taught as an important role of preaching in my seminary, I appreciate this focus. Kim's focuses are on women preaching the risen Christ (scripture/early church); preaching as subversive rhetoric (medieval/postmedieval church); preaching with authority (Reformation to early 20th century); and preaching and the politics of God (focusing on Korean preachers during colonial and postcolonial periods). Kim uses 2-3 examples in each chapter to illustrate each of these focuses, highlighting not only bits of writing/preaching from each women, but outlining how their very lives were examples of preaching. At the end of the book, Kim shares three different sermons she has delivered during her preaching career.

Generally, I think this is a good book, especially if you're looking for an academic treatment of women preachers through history. It's got good information, gives good examples, and lays down some useful arguments for why women should be allowed to preach. Honestly, though, getting through it made me realize that I just really prefer fiction and/or easy reading. Part of the reason it took me so long to read it was because I didn't really find myself *wanting* to read it. I also found myself busy (and battling a bit of depression) during April and May, but I really just kind of stalled out on it. I am glad that I finally did finish it, but I doubt I'll be picking it up again unless I go back to school for some reason.

Captain's Log Stardate March 2016: 12 Book Reading Challenge - Book You Previously Abandoned

This month's book is The Knitting Sutra: Craft as a Spiritual Practice, by Susan Gordon Lydon. It is a book I previously abandoned and does not really fit into any other category.
(Image links to Amazon's book page)

To be honest, I had two or three other books I probably would have preferred to read for this category, but it was more important to me to stick to my goal of reading only women authors. Thus, I ended up pulling a book out of my donate pile to pick back up and finish. In fact, I never really read much of this book at all. I read bits and pieces of it for a research paper I did in seminary about the meditative aspects of knitting and crocheting. (Looking back through the paper, it appears I didn't even end up using it in the paper.) There were a few good quotes that I liked, but it didn't really meet my need at that time.

I have to admit that it wasn't exactly what I was expecting. To be fair, I've realized that I was sort of hoping for something a bit more academic, which is unfair, considering that this is basically a popular book. It is more of a memoir type book than a discussion of how craft can be used as a spiritual practice. Lydon discusses her own spiritual journey and the important role that knitting played in that journey. It is interesting to hear how craft became an integral part of her spiritual life, but, especially considering that I had already written a paper on the contemplative aspects of knitting and crocheting, I guess I was just disappointed that there wasn't more detail. She does have a lot of knowledge of traditional crafts and their importance in the spiritual lives of the people groups who do them, and she intersperses this information with her own story. However, there is not a ton of detail about each of these groups and the specific spiritual aspects of their crafts.

All in all, it's a pretty good book; it just wasn't exactly what I was expecting from the title. If you are interested in spirituality and how other people incorporate it into their lives, it is a good read. If you are interested in how other people use craft to enhance their spiritual lives, it is a good read. If you are looking for an academic treatment of how craft is used as a spiritual practice or in the spiritual lives of people, it doesn't really fit the bill. It is one person's specific story and not a general study of craft and spirituality.

Here are a couple of quotes I particularly liked and why I liked them:
"And is it possible that female spirituality through the ages may have been concealed in the minutiae of domestic life rather than expressed in the grandiosity and pomposity of churches and sermons?" (p. 10)
~~I think this is especially pertinent to me right now, as I am currently a stay-at-home mom. Every day can feel so monotonous taking care of a baby and a household. This quote reminds me that the simple (or actually quite complex and difficult) business of raising a baby and keeping a house in order are spiritual acts. We forget that everyday living has its own spiritual aspects because we have a tendency to assign deep spiritual significance only to worship services and those who lead them. I have been in seminary with pastors in training (and some who were already pastoring and finishing up the credentials). I can tell you that your pastors have the same mundane aspects in their lives. Part of seminary, actually, is learning to see the holy and spiritual in every aspect of life. And remember that "spirituality" is the job of a pastor, so sometimes that everyday spirituality is even more important to a pastor. At any rate, I like that Lydon recognizes the importance of domestic life to spirituality, especially for women, as we have so often been relegated to these tasks, while men have traditionally been given the privilege of spiritual leadership.

"I learned while writing this book that the purpose of the craft is not so much to make beautiful things as it is to become beautiful inside while you are making those things." (p. 137)
~~This really struck me as I was reading it. It is a great summation of her description of her spiritual journey and knitting. It also reminds us that craft has value and is not just a useless hobby. We make beautiful things for ourselves and others, but the time we use to create those items has its own important role in shaping us. Whether it is a craft that involves intense concentration or one that is repetitive and lends itself to mindfulness meditation, it gives us the opportunity to grow our brains and inner selves. I love this because it is beautiful, but also because it gives me permission not to feel guilty when I choose to craft rather than sweep the floor, for example. Obviously, there has to be balance among crafting and my other duties, but this gives me permission to let crafting help me center in order to be a better mom and housekeeper.

Captain's Log February 2016: 12 Book Reading Challenge - Book You've Been Meaning to Read

This month's book falls into the "Book I've been meaning to read" category. I figure it's easy to do categories like this at the beginning, because I've already got it in mind. I'll save for later those categories for which I don't already have a choice. Marriage and Other Acts of Charity, by Kate Braestrup, is a book given me by my very good friend from seminary, AmenAbility. I think it's been sitting on my shelf for 3-4 years now, so it was about time to actually read it. (Image below links to the book on Amazon.) Also, I'm pretty sure I've decided to do this challenge by reading all women authors. Gotta love an additional challenge. ;)

The book is a memoir, which I didn't really notice until I started reading it. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but this wasn't exactly it. I think I was sort of hoping for some sort of helpful handbook on how to do marriage. First Mate and I are doing okay, but I'm not always so good at this marriage thing. It's also gotten a lot harder since having Junior Mate. Parenting is hard, and it can be easy to feel resentful toward First Mate when I'm home with Junior Mate all day while he's working. I struggle with the understanding that he's had a long day/week at work and wants some down time because I want down time, too. And honestly, there's still this part of me that feels like I don't have a right to complain because I get to be home all day "doing nothing." Not that raising a child is doing nothing - it just doesn't feel like the kind of work you do outside the house. For an introvert, though, it is a bit draining. I love Junior Mate, but I really love nap times and the end of the day when she goes to sleep and I get some time to myself.

Anyway, that was more of a tangent than I intended; suffice it to say that having a baby has made marriage more difficult for me. Braestrup gives some good anecdotes about how marriage is hard for everyone and shares how she overcame a time in her own first marriage (ended by her husband's death by car accident) when she was going to divorce him. Basically, she says that "The Golden Rule" saved them. You know the one, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." For her, it came in the revelation that she wouldn't want to be treated the way she had been treating her husband, so she started treating him how she wanted to be treated. Honestly, this was a little disappointing for me. I mean, I suppose it's true - this is a great way to work on a marriage, and perhaps the only real advice one can give or receive. However, I wanted something more concrete. Maybe I even wanted some reassurance that it's supposed to be hard and that it would get easier. Instead, I got that it's hard. Because let's face it: we're selfish beings, and constantly trying to do for others what you would want instead of doing it for yourself is hard. This was especially true for First Mate and me during the early months of Junior Mate's time here. We were both so tired and emotionally drained that all we could do was take care of ourselves. Only recently have we been able to care for one another better again.

I think the part I liked the best was her recurring theme of caritas, a Latin word that we translate as charity in English. She talks about it as the kind of love that desires the best for the other person (among other explanations). Obviously, you hope that you feel this way about your spouse (and that they feel that way about you), but thinking about it with the actual words helps to better define it. I have caritas for all the guys I've dated in the past. I truly want them to be happy and have the best; I was certain I was not the best for them, which is why I broke it off. It is actually harder to have continuing caritas for First Mate because we live together and work at this baby-raising thing together. He's not a passing thought or earnest desire for happiness. He is always there, whether I'm in a good mood or not, had enough sleep or not, dealt with a cranky baby all day or a happy baby. It takes more work for me to be charitable to him because I see it when he leaves his socks on the floor or puts his dirty dish right by the sink rather than in it. For this reason, I appreciate Braestrup's reminder about caritas and its importance in a marriage. First Mate and I both need charity as we navigate this difficult and exciting path of parenthood and marriage.

Over all, I would say this is a pretty good book with some poignant reminders of what marriage can be. It's a relatively easy read, and Braestrup is pretty relatable. She's a Unitarian Universalist minister, though she came from an atheist background, so there are some spiritual concepts and biblical references. I would recommend it if you like memoirs and easy reads, but if you don't have a lot of time for reading, I don't know that I would put it on a "must be read" list.

Captain's Log January 2016: 12 Book Reading Challenge - Book You Can Finish in a Day

Since I didn't start the challenge until halfway through January, I chose to do the "Book you can finish in a day" category. Incidentally, the book I chose fits into other categories as well, but I'm putting it in this one. This month's book was Ethan Frome, by Edith Wharton. (Image links to book [for $3!] on Amazon)

This is a book that I read the summer before 9th grade for a summer reading assignment. I hated it at the time. I don't really remember why I hated it at this point, but I suspect it had something to do with the melancholy and sense of hopelessness prevalent in the book. At 14 years old, I had never really had cause to think about or appreciate these themes. I preferred (and often still do prefer) happiness and romance. Back then, I think it was because I didn't want to have to think about such things. Now it's mostly because I struggle with my own depression, and I often feel overwhelmed by the bad things in the world. When I read, I want to believe things can be different, not be reminded how much they can suck. It's the same for me with movies. This read was more enjoyable than the first, but I don't think it's a book that will make it to my favorite books of all time category.

Anyway, a quick synopsis: Ethan Frome is a man living in what we learn to be a rather sad and hopeless situation. The narrator, who frames the story, wonders how he came to be such an aloof and sad figure and gets the opportunity to find out when he and Ethan (who has been driving the narrator to and from work) get caught in a snowstorm. He spends the night at Ethan's farm and somehow pieces together a sad story of a mismatched, loveless marriage and a forbidden yet exciting chance upon new love when a hired girl comes to live with Ethan and his wife, Zeena. Unfortunately, poverty and a sense of right and duty make this chance at new love impossible, and when Ethan's wife tries to send Mattie away, she and Ethan despair and make a fateful decision that will leave all of them in a desolate and hopeless situation. I'll make you read the book for all the specifics.

A couple of thoughts I had while reading: why did Edith Wharton choose to write from a male point of view? What do I think would have been the right thing to do, i.e. are love and happiness more important than duty?

I don't have a problem with Wharton writing from a male POV. I mean, it's pretty common for men to write from women's POV's, so why not have women write from male POV? I mostly wondered about the place of women writers at the time. The book was published in 1911, so women weren't yet allowed to vote. Were women writers taken as seriously as men writers? I know there were plenty of great women writers before the 20th century, but I think I've heard that many of them weren't really seen as writers of serious literature due to their gender. I mean, isn't that part of the reason George Eliot chose that pen name? So I found myself wondering if Wharton wrote from a male POV because writing from Mattie's POV wouldn't have been taken very seriously, as in, "Who wants to read a book about a little lady who has fallen in love with her cousin's husband?" Of course, there are also issues of class at play here. Generally, any of the women who were able to gain recognition for their writing at this time were wealthy, and Wharton is no different. I suppose there's also the fact of the choice that faces Ethan, which is not really present for Zeena or Mattie, and that makes up the main conflict of the book. Obviously, the story would have presented quite differently from either of the main women characters' POV. At any rate, I don't really have any answers or great philosophical thoughts for this question. It just came up for me while I was reading. I was interested in hearing the story from Mattie's POV and/or Zeena's POV and wondered why we didn't get that.

The second question is much harder to consider because it touches on sort of murky moral ground. On the one hand, I have a BA in psychology, and I think it is important to feed love and happiness into your life in order to function fully during the day. I mean, I know from personal experience how hard it is to do daily tasks when you are living with depression, whatever is the cause. On the other hand, Frome is admirable for wanting to follow through on his matrimonial commitment to his wife and his realization that she does not really have the resources to survive on her own (particularly with his own poverty and inability to send alimony). Honestly, I found Zeena to be tiring, and I wanted Frome to leave her and run off with Mattie. However, I think his commitment to being honorable is good and should not be discounted. It's difficult because we currently live in a climate where it is all too easy and expected for people to do the easy thing that makes them feel good. As a society, we expect and sometimes encourage, people to leave their spouses if they find someone they "love more." Perhaps we ought to return to having a little more societal pressure to try harder at those commitments we made before family, friends, and God (for those of us who made them before God). This is difficult for me, though, because I think there are a lot of societal pressures, particularly in some Christian and other conservative circles, that push people to get married before they're ready, often to someone who isn't really a good match for a lifelong partnership. I don't want to punish people for poor choices they may have made when they were 20, but I also don't like how little our society seems to regard marriage nowadays. There must be some way to find a middle ground here. I have a hunch that it may have more to do with how we discuss sex and marriage with our children than with trying to pressure people who are miserable to stay married. At any rate, I admire both Ethan's honor and his desire to love. It would be lovely if he'd been able to have both in one woman.

Have any of you read this book? What were your thoughts? I welcome thoughtful and constructive comments on my thoughts but will summarily delete trollish comments.

Captain's Log Stardate 011516: Get Your Read On!

I promise I'm going to actually write a substantive post again some time. (Babies can take up a lot of time as they get older!) However, I wanted to share with any of my readers a sort of project I'm undertaking with some friends from my graduate school alma mater. We have decided to do the below 2016 book challenge together and talk about our choices in a Facebook group. I invite you to do the challenge on your own or with some friends/family/partner, and feel free to discuss your own choices on my posts if you want. I am working on my choice for January and plan to write up a blog post on that when I finish. Because adult reading has been declining (here's some info on that, from 2014), I think it's a great idea to challenge us to choose one book a month to read using this interesting list. Feel free to download the graphic and share with anyone else.

Here's to getting our read on!