Will anyone show up today? I always worry. But, hey, we had a quorum!
Delaine has been “starting a lot of things, then putting them down,” so it's quite a recommendation that she chose to speak at length about Inconvenient People. She summarized a few of the chapters she found fascinating, all dealing with the unjust incarceration of individuals under pretexts of “lunacy” in nineteenth-century England, typically at the request of family members for financial gain. She used the phrase “pathologizing of perfectly ordinary human behavior” and spoke of the changing nature of this practice, including the formation of a Friends organization for defending the accused. “Almost reminds me of witch burnings,” she said.
John, too, started with a Victorian England setting: in The Book Eaters, some people literally eat books... or human minds. (This one, fortunately, is fiction... we hope). He found the one creature, one memoir gimmick in World of Wonders reminiscent of How Far the Light Reaches. Thunder Song did “a wonderful job of weaving together personal history and growing up queer” in a Pacific Northwest tribal society. Mirrored Heavens, “oh god I loved it [...] I thought it wrapped up the trilogy nicely.” He called Chain Gang All Stars “really beautiful” but “so closely connected to real life that it was hard not to take it seriously.” Delaine remarked later that John's description reminded her of Ralph Ellison's story Battle Royal. John has been going to Samizdat often, picking books up on whims: The City and its Uncertain Walls, by Murakami, felt suspiciously like Kafka on the Shore; Brother Brontë was “really fun, well written”; Juneteenth (Ralph Ellison) “writing is impressive” but he struggled with it. Cacophony of Bone “really beautiful.” Brief note on The Dictionary of Lost Words, and Slow Horses a “fun spy thing.”
Madhavi read Shutter and Exposure in preparation for the upcoming Santa Fe International Literary Festival, where local author Ramona Emerson will be presenting. “I felt I should know more about local authors.” She called them both “interesting reads, fun, but not in a lighthearted way. Gruesome.” About Colored Television, by Danzy Senna who will also be at the SFILF, she “didn't know what to think of it [...] found some parts funny, some language insightful, but what is she trying to say?” Themes included struggling artist, struggling novelist, struggling mother, relationships. As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow is a fictionalized but realistic depiction of Syria during its recent civil war. “Recommend it, important for us to know what's going on in the rest of the world. Very raw. Very sad.”
Ed, too, read Shutter and liked its treatment of personal growth issues. The Berry Pickers was phenomenal, beautifully written, highly recommended. Soil is a lovely memoir dealing with gardening, racism, sexism. Unbought and Unbossed, Shirley Chisholm's memoir, was exceptional: what a beautiful human being: principled, determined, strong, honest. The book started off slow but quickly became engaging and fascinating. Two antirecommendations: Dark Laboratory spends more time yelling than informing; and The Perfect Nine is just not Ed's thing. DNF both.
Tracy found Black Sun “a little slow” but then “flew through” Fevered Star and Mirrored Heavens. “Totally enjoyed them.” She especially liked the reference items on the front cover: the list of characters and the map. She referred to them often. She recommended One Summer in Savannah as a “good book,” and sounded awed over the experiences Viola Davis recounts in her memoir, Finding Me: “I have no idea how she survived [her childhood abuse].” Take My Hand was hard to talk about without revealing important plot elements, but she spoke highly of it. Angie mentioned that similar issues are being covered in the new Dark Winds TV series. Bonus book The Rules of Magic was “enjoyable but could've been better; didn't think there was good character development.”
Ellen just finished The Personal Librarian, “oh, it was so good.” She found herself wondering about the protagonist's everpresent worries, about being found out: was it heavyhanded? Or is that really what it was like? (Slight tangential discussion about masking; Ed recommends recent podcast episodes from The Feminist Survival Project and Hidden Brain but fucking Goodreads doesn't allow external links. The Mighty Red was good but “didn't stick with me the way other Erdrich books have.” Themes of “deep dark family secrets, marriages that work and don't work -- mostly don't.” The Reading List was “delightful” (interjection from Madhavi: “so sweet!”) A mysterious list of books, friendship, and a happy reveal. The Twilight Garden dealt with “unlikely friendships [...] a lot about gardening, a lot about different cultures mixing.” Ellen spoke of the garden as a character in itself. She was “swept away” by Crow Talk, from which she was led to The Music of Bees, enjoyed the deep dives into the science of crows and bees. The Beautiful Ugly (no link, Ed can't find this, unless it's a trilogy?) was “fine, not life changing”; Madhavi called it “entertaining.” And she had previously loved The Goldfinch but The Little Friend, by the same author, “felt like a slog.”
Angie called the plant and botany parts of The Cherokee Rose “very cool”, but “the slave ownership and treatment of women, not very cool.” Three main characters, stories told in each of their viewpoints, plus one additional historical viewpoint. “A lot going on with relationships and women and where we belong in the world.” James, “loved it!”, which led her to give So Much Blue another chance: “a lot of race & love & friendship, I enjoyed it.” An Immense World is somewhat denser nonfiction covering some of the senses we have and many that we don't; it took her a longer time to read, little by little.
Thank you everyone for showing up. We had lovely discussions and even time for snacks. Thank you Madhavi for helping with cleanup. Thank you PEEC for the cozy warm space.
Delaine has been “starting a lot of things, then putting them down,” so it's quite a recommendation that she chose to speak at length about Inconvenient People. She summarized a few of the chapters she found fascinating, all dealing with the unjust incarceration of individuals under pretexts of “lunacy” in nineteenth-century England, typically at the request of family members for financial gain. She used the phrase “pathologizing of perfectly ordinary human behavior” and spoke of the changing nature of this practice, including the formation of a Friends organization for defending the accused. “Almost reminds me of witch burnings,” she said.
John, too, started with a Victorian England setting: in The Book Eaters, some people literally eat books... or human minds. (This one, fortunately, is fiction... we hope). He found the one creature, one memoir gimmick in World of Wonders reminiscent of How Far the Light Reaches. Thunder Song did “a wonderful job of weaving together personal history and growing up queer” in a Pacific Northwest tribal society. Mirrored Heavens, “oh god I loved it [...] I thought it wrapped up the trilogy nicely.” He called Chain Gang All Stars “really beautiful” but “so closely connected to real life that it was hard not to take it seriously.” Delaine remarked later that John's description reminded her of Ralph Ellison's story Battle Royal. John has been going to Samizdat often, picking books up on whims: The City and its Uncertain Walls, by Murakami, felt suspiciously like Kafka on the Shore; Brother Brontë was “really fun, well written”; Juneteenth (Ralph Ellison) “writing is impressive” but he struggled with it. Cacophony of Bone “really beautiful.” Brief note on The Dictionary of Lost Words, and Slow Horses a “fun spy thing.”
Madhavi read Shutter and Exposure in preparation for the upcoming Santa Fe International Literary Festival, where local author Ramona Emerson will be presenting. “I felt I should know more about local authors.” She called them both “interesting reads, fun, but not in a lighthearted way. Gruesome.” About Colored Television, by Danzy Senna who will also be at the SFILF, she “didn't know what to think of it [...] found some parts funny, some language insightful, but what is she trying to say?” Themes included struggling artist, struggling novelist, struggling mother, relationships. As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow is a fictionalized but realistic depiction of Syria during its recent civil war. “Recommend it, important for us to know what's going on in the rest of the world. Very raw. Very sad.”
Ed, too, read Shutter and liked its treatment of personal growth issues. The Berry Pickers was phenomenal, beautifully written, highly recommended. Soil is a lovely memoir dealing with gardening, racism, sexism. Unbought and Unbossed, Shirley Chisholm's memoir, was exceptional: what a beautiful human being: principled, determined, strong, honest. The book started off slow but quickly became engaging and fascinating. Two antirecommendations: Dark Laboratory spends more time yelling than informing; and The Perfect Nine is just not Ed's thing. DNF both.
Tracy found Black Sun “a little slow” but then “flew through” Fevered Star and Mirrored Heavens. “Totally enjoyed them.” She especially liked the reference items on the front cover: the list of characters and the map. She referred to them often. She recommended One Summer in Savannah as a “good book,” and sounded awed over the experiences Viola Davis recounts in her memoir, Finding Me: “I have no idea how she survived [her childhood abuse].” Take My Hand was hard to talk about without revealing important plot elements, but she spoke highly of it. Angie mentioned that similar issues are being covered in the new Dark Winds TV series. Bonus book The Rules of Magic was “enjoyable but could've been better; didn't think there was good character development.”
Ellen just finished The Personal Librarian, “oh, it was so good.” She found herself wondering about the protagonist's everpresent worries, about being found out: was it heavyhanded? Or is that really what it was like? (Slight tangential discussion about masking; Ed recommends recent podcast episodes from The Feminist Survival Project and Hidden Brain but fucking Goodreads doesn't allow external links. The Mighty Red was good but “didn't stick with me the way other Erdrich books have.” Themes of “deep dark family secrets, marriages that work and don't work -- mostly don't.” The Reading List was “delightful” (interjection from Madhavi: “so sweet!”) A mysterious list of books, friendship, and a happy reveal. The Twilight Garden dealt with “unlikely friendships [...] a lot about gardening, a lot about different cultures mixing.” Ellen spoke of the garden as a character in itself. She was “swept away” by Crow Talk, from which she was led to The Music of Bees, enjoyed the deep dives into the science of crows and bees. The Beautiful Ugly (no link, Ed can't find this, unless it's a trilogy?) was “fine, not life changing”; Madhavi called it “entertaining.” And she had previously loved The Goldfinch but The Little Friend, by the same author, “felt like a slog.”
Angie called the plant and botany parts of The Cherokee Rose “very cool”, but “the slave ownership and treatment of women, not very cool.” Three main characters, stories told in each of their viewpoints, plus one additional historical viewpoint. “A lot going on with relationships and women and where we belong in the world.” James, “loved it!”, which led her to give So Much Blue another chance: “a lot of race & love & friendship, I enjoyed it.” An Immense World is somewhat denser nonfiction covering some of the senses we have and many that we don't; it took her a longer time to read, little by little.
Thank you everyone for showing up. We had lovely discussions and even time for snacks. Thank you Madhavi for helping with cleanup. Thank you PEEC for the cozy warm space.