The Invington Diaries / Monty Don

It's no secret that I love plants and gardening, and it is probably also no secret that I also love pretty much everything Monty Don has written or filmed, and this book is no exception. This was my second time reading it, and I don't doubt there will be a third time. It goes through a year in his garden (although the entries are taken from about a ten year span), reflecting on the hows and whys and whens of everything, all while being thoughtful, gentle, and informative. I'm very aware that gardening books aren't for everyone, but if you watched some Big Dreams, Small Spaces or Monty Don's French Gardens on the netflix and enjoyed it or felt buoyed up in the bleak midwinter, then I highly encourage you to see if your local library has this book on its shelves.

There are bits about children and family, and bits about plants, and bits about dogs, and bits that I read out loud to Josh, and bits that made me laugh, and all in all it's a really good example of how well a journal can work as not just a record, but a way to tell the story of a place and a way to see patterns emerge. While I was reading this I got an idea for a haskap berry hedge mulched with woodchips and underplanted with crocuses.

The only glaring fault in this book is the weird design choice on the front cover to put the dot of the "i" into the loop of the "g". Once I noticed it I couldn't stop staring.

The Witches / Stacy Schiff

   Every once in awhile things will suddenly start popping up everywhere, in a way that I associate with the word "synchronicity", although I think my terminology is faulty. This has happened with two things lately, the first is Dungeons & Dragons, which has been showing up ALL OVER THE PLACE. A small selection of instances: an acquaintance on the fbook who said he wanted to get into playing tabletop role-playing games, The Adventure Zone along with other podcasts, a set of knuckle tattoos in the shapes of various dice used in D&D posted by the artist who did my latest tattoo, and in Stranger Things. It seems like a lot of D&D!

is the universe telling me to play D&D?

   The other one has been more spread out, and the other one is witches. Suddenly, witches are showing up everywhere. On the exact day that I finished reading The Witches by Stacy Schiff, A Century of Murder - which is a documentary about witch hunts mostly in Scotland in the 1500's-ish - appeared on my "recommended for you" tab on Netflix. There was another book - Six Women of Salem - I was trying to put a hold on that led me to The Witches in the first place. Basically: what is with witches and D&D, and is it actual sorcery, someone let me know. And now that I've read this book about witches I've also realized that it's Fall, otherwise known as Spooky Reading Time.

   So: I started reading(listening to) The Witches because suddenly witches were everywhere and I've always wanted to know more about Salem anyways (I haven't read The Crucible because my deep dislike of Death of a Salesman has kept me away from it, please someone let me know if I need to read that play, or see it). The Witches is a very long book. Goodreads says it is 417 pages, and the audiobook version that I listened to was just over 18 hours. That's a lot of reading! There are a lot of Puritans to keep straight! Who on earth names their son "Increase" and/or "Cotton"?!

   First: two genuinely baffling things:

• The last of the executed women weren't exonerated until The Year of Our Lord Two Thousand One; and,
• A few years after 1692 people from the area were like "at least we didn't BURN anybody" AS IF BEING PRESSED TO DEATH IS BETTER THAN BURNING, and as if you didn't really do anything wrong by hanging innocent people because at least they didn't get burned.

   As a function of being very long, this is very thorough. Now that I've read it, I'm wondering why it isn't billed as a scholarly source instead of just a lil history book on witches. This thing Goes Into Detail; BUT it still somehow manages to be a bit scattered and confusing timeline-wise. This impression, however, could be largely due to my sometimes zoning out while listening.  Even so, I learned a great deal and knowledge that I already had was greatly fleshed out. I now know names like Sarah Good and Bridget Bishop and Rebecca Nurse, women whose primary crimes were things like being poor, being ornery, being old, or being loud. It was a horrifying time to be an even slightly unlikable woman in Salem and the surrounding areas. 

   Schiff also includes the stories of the "afflicted girls", and how their lives played out post-1692. Some of them were fine, and went on to get married and have babies and live out their lives, while others died early or remained in an afflicted state until they died. Before talking about where they ended up, Schiff talks about how the witch trials began in the first place. 

   While trying to answer the question of why the girls started to accuse people, Schiff spends a great deal of time dwelling on hysteria. As soon as the word "hysteria" popped up, I was off put and disappointed. Schiff used the term interchangeably with conversion disorder, and I wish she would have just used the more accurate and specific diagnosis to describe what she had arrived at as a possible cause of the beginning of the accusations. "Hysteria" has a fraught history, and isn't in use anymore as a diagnosis, so why pepper it throughout the theorizing on what caused the fits, hallucinations, and convulsions? There was so much talk of hysteria and nary a mention of ergot poisoning and it just left a bad taste in my mouth. 

   To sum up this somewhat disjointed review: very informational, kinda dry, too long, "hysteria" isn't a real disorder, and I was planning on reading Schiff's book about Cleopatra but now I don't know if I will. 

My Boyfriend Barfed in My Handbag / Jolie Kerr

   This book is about cleaning and I am totes smitten with it. Who knew. My Boyfriend Barfed in My Handbag...And Other Things You Can't Ask Martha came into my life via the Get Booked podcast and promptly used some dish soap mixed with warm water to wash away my reading slump (thank you for your cure suggestions, you lovely people) and by the time I was on page 8 (literally) I had given it am emphatic five stars, with some of my enthusiasm drained by the end but only because this book seems overtly aimed at het/cis women who are, ostensibly, in charge of cleaning (why you gotta be like that, Kerr). HOWEVER, that does not detract from the SHEER USEFULNESS of this book, I used it THIS VERY MORNING to help me clean something.

   This is a book that makes liberal use of all-caps and exclamation marks and drrrrrrragged out words and is exceedingly self-aware. Marie Kondo is probably a genius but probably also crazy. Jolie Kerr is also probably a genius and knows that she can come off a bit bonkers. These two women (along with Gretchen Rubin, if I ever actually manage to finish a book of hers instead of starting it and saying "yesssss" and then falling off the wagon a third of the way through) are going to whip my life into shape, I can feel it.

   This book has it all, including a well-laid-out index which you can use in case of emergency. I got this book from the library but I'm going to buy a copy to keep on hand (and I'm in the midst of a serious possessions-purge so that is SAYING SOMETHING).

   Jolie Kerr also has a column!

Dead Mountain / Donnie Eichar

   I don't remember where I heard about this book but if it was from you, THANK YOU, because it was really good and really nuts.

   SO, Donnie Eichar heard about and decided to investigate the infamous Dyatlov Pass Incident, where nine experienced mountaineers mysteriously fled from their tent in sub-zero temperatures in almost-Siberia and died in the snow. When the bodies were found they were mostly missing boots and any kind of substantial outerwear, and the tent had been cut open from the inside with a knife. There was no evidence of anyone other than the hikers being anywhere near the tent at the time, and no one has been able to figure out what happened to them since 1959, until now (maybe).

   At first I was all "I am NOT going to like this Donnie fellow," because he seemed like he was the type of person who is weirdly entitled to other people's stories. But, he spends a portion of the book saying that he felt like he was intruding, like it wasn't his business or his place to investigate this story, and so on, and I said, "okay, Donnie. I guess we're cool." I'm sorry I assumed you'd be a prick, Donnie Eichar. You don't seem like one.

   I read this book over Christmas/New Years at home and at a campy-retreaty thing, which maybe isn't the best time to read something that says DEAD MOUNTAIN on the front because people will say "cheery reading, eh?" and "festive" and ""what in the world are you reading?" and "are they dead yet?" NON-STOP while you do. But I do like to enthuse about stories like this, so whenever people asked I'd say "GET THIS, so imagine you're in Siberia, right?" and carry on with the bits of mystery and weird sequence of events that investigators figured out, and then say "CRAZY, right?" and get back to reading. My brother swiped it from me and read it in a day.

   The conclusion that Eichar eventually comes to is a somewhat anti-climactic when compared to some of the more alien-heavy theories that people have espoused over the years, but it makes sense. If you're looking for some investigative-journalism type reading then I highly recommend this one.

Some Tiny Reviews

The Romanov Sisters / Helen Rappaport 

   ARE YOU READY TO GET SAD? Because if you aren't sad yet, you're GONNA BE.This book is really good but also daunting in that there's a dark cloud hanging over the whole thing. Well, there's like eighty dark clouds with one especially giant, especially impenetrable dark cloud.

   Humanizing historical royals! A better understanding of many different motivations! Non-dry writing! Win win win (no matter what).

The Girl With All The Gifts / M. R. Carey

   I had to stop listening to/reading this because I was having trouble turning my back on dark spaces; it is very scary. I thought this book was for children. CHILDREN. It is not, and I was not prepared. I reckon I'll come back to this one, because it is quite good, but not for awhile here.

   Zombies! Experiments! Too scary for me at this time!

Step Aside, Pops / Kate Beaton

   I don't think I'll ever have anything bad to say about Kate Beaton, she is a national treasure. I gave The Princess and the Pony to my nieces and they love it. I could have gotten them a fat pony stuffie for Christmas and I am only just now realizing my grave error.

my new motto

 

South / Ernest Shackleton

   Polar exploration, will you ever cease to amaze me? PROBABLY NOT.

   I have almost too many feeling about this book to actually write about it. It's composed of Shackleton's recollections and journals/logbooks/etc, as well as excerpts from the crew's logs and diaries. That description makes it sound pretty boring, probably, and while some parts (such as lengthy descriptions of daily ice conditions) may not be everyone's cup of tea they are certainly mine. I could listen to polar explorers talk about ice all day. Ice floes? Ice bergs? Sea ice? Glaciers? Don't matter, I do not tire of ice. Unless the ice is in my real life, because ugh winter.

SO MUCH ICE TO TELL ME ABOUT

   SO: in case you do not know the general story of the Endurance expedition, here it is: Shackleton sets out for Antartica with a ship full of men and dogs with the intended goal of crossing the continent from the Weddell Sea to the Ross Sea. The Weddell Sea is notoriously bad sailing (which is why the main station in Antarctica other than the one at South Pole is at McMurdo Sound), and alas, the Endurance was caught in sea-ice and crushed.

   The portion of the book describing the Endurance being locked into ice and slowly crushed then ultimately abandoned when it sank was so difficult for me to read that I had to take long breaks from reading. I was very emotional about that ship.

   So the ship sinks and Shackleton and the men are left on the ice with a couple of lifeboats, some tents, as many supplies as they could rescue, and the dogs. SO begins a long trek/float/sail/wait for good conditions to trek/float/sail to Elephant Island, a desolate bit of rock in some of the worst sea in the world. From there, Shackleton and a select few make their way to an island with a whaling station on it, but there is definitely rough sea and briny drinking water and glacier crossing to deal with before they can get help and EVEN THEN: its months and many attempts before they can get back to the blokes on Elephant Island and rescue them. NONE OF WHICH HAD PERISHED (unless you count their dogs which were all eaten because meat is meat when you are stranded in Antarctica).

   AND IT DOESN'T STOP THERE because if you're going to cross Antarctica you need some peeps over on the other side to pick you up when you are done and to depot some supplies. The Ross Sea party also had a rough go of it, and suffered fatalities. It's hard and sad to read, especially since these men received (and still receive) much less acknowledgement than the Weddell Sea party.

   And then after all of this, they get home during WWI and some of them just hop right into the fighting after years living on seal meat in dismal conditions.

it was v cold

   Basically: I want everyone in the world to read this book and I want to go to Antarctica and I need to read more about the Age of Exploration because I'll never know enough.

   p.s. do yourself a favour and google Frank Hurley's photos from all the expeditions he took to Antarctica as well as from WWI.

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up / Marie Kondo

   ALRIGHT FINE, you were right, internet. I did need to read this cleaning book. Since finishing it I've been looking at my closet/drawers with an eye to purge, purge, purge, asking myself if my possessions spark joy, and shirking Marie Kondo's rule of doing it all at once in one big sweep by slowly working through a couple categories of items in spare moments. I said goodbye to a large number of earrings and necklaces. I went through two decorative type shelves, and bid a bittersweet farewell to a couple of things which were weighing me down.

    I also went through my dresser drawers and let me tell you, KonMari folding will make your drawers the most beautiful things you've seen in your entire life*. All my shirts are so accessible! It's a revelation. It certainly makes doing laundry more fun.

   Basically, Marie Kondo thinks you shouldn't keep anything that doesn't spark joy, and that you should take proper care of the things you do keep. This is a philosophy I can get on board with, and which meshes with my idea of "if you love it, keep it, who cares what other people say." Once again, liking your possessions is entirely acceptable. Really, we OUGHT to like our things. If you don't know it to be useful or believe it to be beautiful (thanks, William Morris), then why have it? Maybe I won't start talking to and thanking my shoes every day, but I will start being more mindful of the care I give to my shoes, which is, I think, what the main idea of this book comes down to. Am I being mindful of the things I own, and my thought patterns around them? Am I a mindful shopper? Am I mindful of how my stuff affects my every day life? Mindfulness for the win, y'all.

   I've only just started going through all my things, but I already feel better about the space I live in. It's great, go ahead and get this book and read through it (SO short) and don't throw the baby out with the bathwater and start to clean your home. A++ book. 


   *Possibly a slight exaggeration. But they are definitely worthy of taking a picture and instagram-direct-ing it to your sister.

The Photographer / Emmanuel Guibert

   You may recall my effusive post about The Initiates and how much I loved it, and now it has led me to this book and I love it even more as a result. The Photographer follows Didier Lefevre on a mission with MSF/DWB in Afghanistan in 1986. How much did I know about Afghanistan in 1986 before reading this book? NOTHING. And now I know a little and really, that's a step forward in my life.

   SO: Didier Lefevre was given an assignment by Medicins Sans Frontieres to photograph the work of some of their doctors, and very few of the photos were ever published. This book has reams of the photos accompanied by comics to carry the narrative. The combination is visceral and the story is by turns harsh and uplifting. I cried a bit. It took me quite awhile to read, just because there's so much going on and so much to look at and the subject matter is heavy. A large portion of the book deals with just getting to and from Afghanistan, and the amount of time and work it took to arrive at the assignment location. It's astounding. I'm at a bit of a loss to properly review this book. Just read it.

   I'm not sure how it happened, but the majority of my reading about the Middle East in the last couple of years has been in comic book form. This one is one of the better ones, and has made me move Joe Sacco's Palestine closer to the top of my to-be-read list. Also: I'm becoming more and more convinced that I need to pay more attention to French comics-writers/artists. Dem francophones, am I right. 

   I need more nonfiction comics in my life! Tell me what to read!

A Bunch of Pretty Things I Did Not Buy / Sarah Lazarovic

   Sarah Lazarovic wants to remind you that it is okay to like your clothes, and to that I say, "thanks for the reminder, Sarah Lazarovic," because sometimes I feel guilty for liking my stuff. 'Cause it's just stuff, you know? Isn't liking it materialistic and shallow to like things? Shouldn't I be trying to attain a more ascetic lifestyle? Why is there so much stuff on the walls in my room? Why are there so many clothes in my closet? Why do I have so much stuff on my nightstand? Let's not even get started on the sheer number of blankets, pillows, and yes, stuffed animals on my bed. And I like all of these things! I'M A MONSTER.

DID MY ACTIONS MAKE THIS SADNESS HAPPEN?!

   But no, Sarah Lazarovic is here to tell us that it is okay to like your stuff. She acknowledges that getting dressed is a viable outlet for creativity, a statement she accompanies with illustrations following her evolving fashion-sense from preteen to teen years, which reminded me of my own weird fashion sense when I was a pre/teen (there were a couple years where I refused to wear jeans and only wore black but was decidedly not goth, it was an odd time). She ALSO wants us to be mindful consumers, and to prioritize a kind of consumerism that builds community. Everybody loves building community. Something else I love: hierarchy of needs-esque graphs and Sarah Lazarovic includes one of those, how excellent:

    For a very short book full of illustrations, this little tome packs in a lot of insight. I handed it off to both of my sisters as well as my ma, and they all appreciated it. It makes me think I should probably read some Gretchen Rubin because a) I have never read any of her books, and b) my mom who is a smart and voracious reader really likes Gretchen Rubin. A Bunch of Pretty Things I Did Not Buy, summed up: it is okay to like your stuff, clothing is/can be creative, share stuff with your pals, remember that buying quality is almost always better than buying quantity, and maybe we should all avoid impulse internet shopping.

The Initiates / Etienne Davodeau

   Everyone stop what you are doing and stop reading whatever comics you're reading and pick up The Initiates and be delighted. It's about comics and about wine and most importantly, about FRIENDSHIP. You heard it here first. Davodeau writes comics, his friend Richard Leroy makes wine, Davodeau asks Leroy if he wants to teach him about the world and process of wine-making, while being taught about the world and process of comics-writing. Cue a year of adventures at various comics conventions, vineyards, publishers, restaurants, and much much more.

   Let's talk about the art: it's lovely. It's perfect. PERFECT I SAY. Take a gander at this here spread:

so moody

   AM I RIGHT? I am constantly astounded by what people can do with black, white, and grey. It's like the art in The Walking Dead, no colour, which is exactly right for the story. I think colour would take away from the story here.

   Here is something I love to see/hear/read about: people who clearly love and are passionate doing what they do. It's a really beautiful thing. I remember seeing a video of David Bowie performing Rebel Rebel  and being blown away by how much he loved what he was doing in that moment. It's the same love and passion that I see in a lot of rock climbers. People who love what they are doing are the people I want to learn from and get to know, even if that just means getting to know thier work. Davodeau is passionate and knowledgeable about comics, Leroy is passionate and knowledgeable about wine, and it definitely comes through in the whole tome. Reading this book made me want to a) read a ton of comics, b) take a wine-tasting course, c) keep a sketchbook, and d) go to France. I put several comic books on hold as they were mentioned in the book, and there's even a bibliography of sorts at the end, listing the books that Davodeau assigned to Leroy for his comics-education.

   Here is something else I love: friendship. It's a strong theme here and I couldn't be happier. This book gets a resounding 10/10 from me. Seriously folks, it's spurring me to action and what more can you ask from a book? I want to gather all my pals with all their specialized knowledge and trade knowledge and experiences with them and teach and be taught and expand my horizons. It's making me think about what I have and what I know and how I can give those things to the people around me. Basically what I'm saying is READ THIS BOOK STAT.

   Here's the David Bowie video because I can't mention it and then not show it to you:


   P.S. for those with an aim to diversify their reading, this is a work in translation by a French author in a non-conventional format! Bam.

three small reviews of three small books

   While I was finishing up this past semester I was desperate for some reading but had reading-guilt over pulling out any big tomes instead of my school books, and so: the short audiobook to the rescue again. I chanced onto three excellent reads (listens?) but after writing thousands of words for school I do not have much juice left for blogging. AND SO: mini reviews!

   For a good long while I've been meaning to read The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion, so naturally I read the quasi-follow-up Blue Nights instead. Here is what you can expect from Blue Nights:

• Grief
• Reflections on aging
• Fear of the unknown
• Loneliness
• Discussions about adoption
• Memories upon memories

   Do not let this list dissuade you! This book is excellent, even as it is fairly despairing. Joan Didion has lost her husband and her daughter, and it is heart-breaking. I have been reading quite a bit about grief lately, and I'd say that this book comes in second only to A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis, which you all must go out and read immediately if you have never done so. Also: if you've never ventured beyond the Narnia books in your Lewis-fiction readin, PLEASE read Til We Have Faces and then read the space trilogy, you will not regret it.

   Back to Blue Nights. There were many things that stuck with me, one of them being, oddly enough, a moment when Didion essentially says "I know that a lot of people who read my books don't think I or my family can really suffer, because we are rich" and then goes on to ask how people can think like that, and how you can discount one person's suffering because it is different from another's. 100% my life is better than someone living in a refugee camp, and Joan Didion's life was certainly more interesting than mine, but I do no understand people who refuse to sympathize or empathize with people because they are wealthy or famous or have famous friends. Her husband and daughter died within months of each other! That is excruciating no matter how much money you have.

   </rant>

   The Art of Communicating by Thich Nacht Hanh is one of the gentlest books I've read, and I loved it. There are tenets of Buddhism which I do not agree with, but I am not one for throwing babies out with bathwater, and this book has so many babies in it and so little bathwater that it is definitely worth your time. Thich Nhat Hanh talks about communication as food, and how it is good to make sure you are getting the right kind of nourishment. He talks about the "six mantras" which are basically ways to make sure you are using loving speech, which I am hella on board with.A selection of things to say to people (or yourself), in your own words: "I am here for you," "I know you are here for me, and that makes me happy," "I know you suffer and that is why I am here for you," "I suffer, please help," "This is a happy moment," and "You are partly right."

   I won't be able to explain this book and its ideas as well as Thich Nhat Hanh can so you should probably just read this book. Love and compassion are for everyone, and mindfulness is not limited to Buddhism, and oh my goodness it is so beneficial to make a practice of taking a deep breath before speaking, especially in more tense conversations. Communication! It's important.

   I probably don't have to tell the book blogging world that Nora Ephron's I Feel Bad About My Neck is par excellance, and that having the author read the book is delightful, and that I listened to the last essay in the collection twice in a row because it was that good.

   Sometimes I think that I am doing well in the arena of being indifferent to my looks (but in a good way) and then I read Nora Ephron talk about the things she does to maintain her appearance and I remember all the lotions and haircuts and waxing appointments and supplements I make use of, and I say "wow, I am not nearly as chill about my looks as I thought." It's a bit of a disappointing revelation, until I remember how far I've come in the realm of body-acceptance (really far) and I cease being disappointed, and recall that all my make-up wearing and hair-removing is done for no one but my own self, because I like it. TAKE THAT, weird self-imposed expectations of cultural defiance!

   TO SUM UP:

   All three of these books are great and I need to read more Joan Didion. 

Girl in the Dark / Anna Lyndsey

   Once upon a time I wasn't a memoir-reader, and then came Bossypants, and then I was all about memoirs (to the degree that I read maybe one or two a year instead of zero). I decided that I should probably read stories from people with varied backgrounds, and so I read Persopolis, which was on my list anyways, and now I've finished Girl in the Dark and OH BOY: Y'all need to get on out there and read every book I've mentioned so far and please don't pass by Girl in the Dark. It's good and heartbreaking and hopeful and sad and bewildering.

   Anna Lyndsey's skin is severely photosensitive, and when she says severely she means severely. This ain't kid stuff. She's not just someone who gets sunburnt easily. Basically, her skin reacts to light so badly that she lives most of her life cooped up in a completely blacked-out room, aside from a couple stints of skin craziness remission. She talks about what it's like to try to block out every particle of light, what she does with her time (loooots of audiobooks, and word games to play in the dark). She talks about the fear of being left alone, and how it is difficult for her to listen to music. She talks, bluntly and honestly, about suicide, and about what a life is worth when it doesn't seem to contribute to the outside world and can't even be in the outside world. She talks about being in love and what love and commitment look like when one person can't be in the light.

   This book is short and small and has so much packed into it. There is a lot about healthcare and what it's like to be chronically ill and how to build up a community when you can't leave your house, as well as talk about love and books and the logistics of everyday life when daylight is a no-go. BUT if you want a strictly chronological timeline from point A to point B then you should still read this book but don't expect it to follow an orderly timeline. Ach, just read it! It's great! It'll take you very little time to read! It's got a great cover! It's honest and conversational! It'll make you want to reach out to people in your life who might be sick and/or homebound! It isn't sensationalized! You'll get annoyed at anyone who interrupts your reading time! (Who am I kidding, that's the story of my LIFE. I'm reading, let me read, or someone gonna get hurt real bad.)

   Long story short, Anna Lyndsey says that words are wonderful and she is correct.

Men Explain Things to Me / Rebecca Solnit

   The first essay in Men Explain Things to Me, also called Men Explain Things to Me, has been floating around the internet for quite some time, and it's quite possible that you've seen/read/heard of it before. If not, here is a link to the essay, complete with a wee prologue. Just scroll down a bit and voila: essay. It's an excellent read.

   Men Explain Things to Me eases you into the collection of essays with wit and cleverness, but just you wait because the second essay is going to punch you in the gut, and could feasibly be subtitled "violence against women, by the numbers". But first we read about the silencing of women by non-violent means, which often takes the form of men explaining something to women that the women A) did not ask about, B) already know about, C) understand better than the man does, or, D) wrote a book about as is the case with Solnit.

   Men-explaining-things (I don't really like the word "mansplaining") is something that happens to me, and it is always weird and uncomfortable. It is so, so good to know that this isn't just my experience, but happens to everyone from Rebecca Solnit who has written several books, to the friend who recommended this to me who has a Fine Arts degree. They are by no means ignorant people, and still they get pompous and patronizing lectures. Solnit points out, and I'd like to as well, that she loves gaining new knowledge, and loves having things she wants to know about taught and explained to her. I've told friends before that I am "interested in everything" when they say they think they're boring me. I want to know about others' lives, work, reading, pastimes, projects, and who knows what else. What I don't want is to be condescended to, belittled, or silenced. I don't think any of us want or appreciate that.

   It's a bit difficult to write a cohesive post about a book of essays, so let me just say that this slim volume (seriously, an afternoon or two's worth of pages) is well worth your time, and could function as a Feminism 101 for those who haven't done any sort of gender-studies reading or research. Solnit talks about some very important things, which you can't afford to ignore.

   I'll issue a warning here, that this book deals frankly with both non-violent and violent aggression against women, including sexual assault. If that is going to be triggering for you, consider skipping this book.

   As a bonus, this book falls under one of my book-related resolutions for this year, which is to read twelve books that other people recommend. One down, eleven to go.

The Art of Asking / Amanda Palmer

   You've probably seen Amanda Palmer's TED talk, but if not, here it is:

   Now that you have for sure seen Amanda Palmer's TED talk (which could function as the back cover synopsis), we can have a nice wee chat about this here book. It's great! Read it! There are a bunch of swears, and she talks about things like the difference between working as a statue and working as a stripper, etc, so if those bother you then maybe don't read it but otherwise it is an all-around great read and it's lovely and inspiring and heartbreaking and GET THE AUDIOBOOK because it has songs! AUDIOBOOKS WITH SONGS, WHO KNEW.

don't we all

   Basically, Amanda Palmer wants everyone to be more comfortable with being vulnerable and more accepting of help and she talks about working as a living statue, and living with artists, and being in various bands, and living her life on the internet, and her friends, and Neil Gaiman, and being married, and on and on and just says "here is my experience, I've learned things and am learning things and I want to share them with you" and it's just so great. UGH.

   This book came along at a good time for me, as I've been having conversations about this kind of thing (asking for and accepting help, not feeling guilty about being given things you don't really deserve) because I am not super good at it but am working on doing it better. The big thing for me is that I'm 25 (until next week, happy birthday to moi) and I work part time and school full time and I live with my parents. For awhile I was feeling somewhat embarrassed about living with them still when a friend said to me "you know, that's a bit disrespectful. Your parents are giving you a huge gift, and it's a giant blessing, and that's the way you should think and talk about it. Don't let people make you feel guilty or inadequate over having understanding and loving parents" And you know what? She was totally right. My parents are great, and I am so glad I have them, and if they weren't giving me the gift of a home, I wouldn't be able to work at a job I love or further my education. I'd maybe be able to do one of them, but definitely not both and probably not either. So! Thanks, Mom and Dad. I love you both. 

   Amanda Palmer also talks about the difficulty of understanding intent over the internet, and how things can be horribly misinterpreted and suddenly become a huge deal when they were never meant that way. Sometimes things should be a huge deal, and should be exposed and confronted, and sometimes things are interpreted wrong, and it is our job as consumers of information to show some grace and to try to see both sides. Don't stop discerning, but don't jump to conclusions either. Be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. 

   Some major take-aways from this book: Just ask. It is hard sometimes, and awkward, and might not work out how you want it to but nothing ventured, nothing gained, am I right? Accept help. Even if you think you don't deserve it, even if you worry that people will look down on you. Show grace. Show grace when you accept help, when you give help, when you see something questionable on the internet, when you see someone else in need of help. Examine your paradigm. Why do you think that way? What is it rooted in? What's your first reaction? How could you act differently in this situation? AND LASTLY: make and/or appreciate some dang-diddly art. 

How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less / Sarah Glidden

  Every time I write a post about a comic book I have to resist the urge to write a long post about why I disdain the term "graphic novel". It's a struggle.

   So: Sarah Glidden and her friend took a Birthright trip to Israel, on a tour that focused on the history and politics of the places they went as opposed to being focused on shopping or all-out sight-seeing.This book is the result of that trip, and Glidden manages a level of even-handedness and openness that is impressive. She goes into the trip with a certain set of ideas about Israel and the situation there, and has many of them challenged. She talks about propaganda and preconceived notions and the history of Israel and it's all very well written and drawn. Read it! Or at least consider reading it.

   It is a bit difficult to write a post about this book. It's very good, Israel is very complicated, you will probably gain some insight by reading this wee tome. 

   Maybe you are unsure of the literary value of comics, or you just haven't tried out the medium to see how you like it, or you are a comic lover who doesn't know what to read next. I think I can safely say that I speak for myself and the comic lover when I say that comics are worth your time, and can deliver stories/messages/ideas in a way that no other medium can. Yes: there are ridiculous comics, but there are also ridiculous books and TV shows and movies and newspaper articles and things from every other media source. Comics get a bad rap sometimes, which I attribute to the 90s, but let me encourage you to give them a go. There are some true gems out there, and you don't even have to look very hard to find them.

   Some comics other that How to Understand Israel which may expand your ideas about comics or which you might enjoy: Persopolis / Marjane Satrapi, Jerusalem and Burma Chronicles / Guy Deslisle, and Magneto: Testament, Red Skull: Incarnate, and Battlin' Jack Murdock from Marvel. One I've read and loved but which comes with a lots of violence, it is classified as a horror story warning is Locke & Key and if you've ever talked with me about comics for more than five minutes I've probably a) talked about how much I love Locke & Key, b) peered at you through narrowed eyes while wondering if you'd like it, and c) lent you a copy of the first volume and then pestered you for your opinion thereafter.

   I love comics, I think you might too, you just have to get the right ones. It's like books! Some people love some of them and some love others. I have a friend who hates 1984 but I love it and have 1984 shirts and a "doubleplusgood" necklace and that's just life, ain't it? You gotta find what you like. 'Nuff said.

HHhH / Laurent Binet

   SO: this book took me a very long time to read. I started it sometime last year, and have been sending it back and forth to the library ever since. I took a long break from it when I was listening to the audiobook of Army of Evil : A History of the SS. There are only so many books about the SS or the SD or Nazism in general that you can read at one time before it starts to tell on you. But, after some consideration, I sent Army of Evil back to the library and picked up HHhH again and at last: I have finished it. I'm glad I made the switch.

  Laurent Binet wants you to know the struggles behind writing a historical account and the allure of fictionalization. The book is labeled as a novel on the cover, but Binet goes to great lengths to research the events he's writing about, and loathes making up conversations or situations (or so he says. Reading William Goldman has given me a severe distrust of authors who break the fourth wall). He agonizes over what to include and what to leave out and how to do justice to the people who were the Czech (and Slovak) Resistance during WWII. He's been studying Operation Anthropoid for years and this book is the result.

   Operation Anthropoid, what is it? The year is 1942 and Reinhard Heydrich is the man in charge in Czechoslovakia. He is also the person who came up with the Final Solution, and was instrumental in the development and organization of the SS and SD. "HHhH" stands for Himmlers Hirn heißt Heydrich, which means "Himmler's brain is called Heydrich". Basically, this is an evil man. So: two men, Jozef Gabčík and Jan Kubiš, are tasked with assassinating him.

   While they weren't initially successful in killing Heydrich, he did die a few days after the assassination attempt due to some sort of infection, no one really knows the exact cause. Cue reprisals. The Gestapo couldn't find Gabčík and Kubiš at first, but that didn't stop them from completely destroying two villages, Lidice and Ležáky, killing hundreds of people, and offering rewards until finally a man came forward and betrayed Gabčík and Kubiš, as well as much of the anti-Nazi organization in Prague. The story of the assassination comes to an end when Gabčík, Kubiš, and many people who were working with them are all either dead or soon to be dead. Karel Čurda, who betrayed them, went on to act as a Gestapo spy for the rest of the war. He was hanged in 1947.

    I believe it is important to remember what has come before, and that doing so helps us understand how we got here, and maybe somehow honours the people who were brave and true, and reminds us to be vigilant, and that using "but it's sad/depressing" as an excuse to not read history is the worst. And so I encourage you to find events you don't know much about and then find books about those events and then read them. Maybe it'll be this book, maybe it'll be another one, either way, reading about history is important, don't fail to do it.

Homage to Catalonia / George Orwell

   This review is turning out to be difficult to write; this was such a good book and was so full that I am not sure how to correctly express my reaction to it and feelings about it. I finished it on Saturday and almost immediately pressed it into the hands of of friend with many a "you  must read this", and I sent texts to bookish friends telling them that Homage to Catalonia simply has to be their read, and I want to give it to people for Christmas and birthdays and hang over them until they read it. If that gives you any indication of my deep appreciation for this book, then maybe you too will find it and read it. The tone is conversational and gentle, and Orwell tries to be as even-handed as he can.

   Instead of several more paragraphs of gushing, I'll just put some quotes in here and call it a day:

"One of the most horrible features of war is that all the war-propaganda, all the screaming and lies and hatred, comes invariably from people who are not fighting"

"If there is one thing I hate more than another it is a rat running over me in the darkness. However, I had the satisfaction of catching on of them a good punch that sent him flying."

"Smillie's death is not a thing I can easily forgive. Here was this brave and gifted boy, who had thrown up his career at Glasgow University in order to come fight against Fascism, and who, as I saw for myself, has done his job at the front with faultless courage and willingness; and all they could find to do with him was to fling him into jail and let him die like a neglected animal. I know that in the middle of a huge and bloody war it is no use making too much fuss over an individual death. One aeroplane bomb in a crowded street causes more suffering than quite a lot of political persecution. But what angers one about a death like this is its utter pointlessness. To be killed in battle — yes, that is what one expects; but to be flung into jail, not even for any imaginary offence, but simply owing to dull blind spite, and then left to die in solitude — that is a different matter. I fail to see how this kind of thing — and it is not as though Smillie’s case were exceptional — brought victory any nearer."

"The word 'shot' gave me a sort of inward shudder. A bullet had entered my own body recently and the feeling of it was fresh in my memory; it is not nice to think of that happening to anyone you know well."

   Honestly, I wish I could get across what this book is like, but I don't think I really can. Read it, please.  It's available online here.

What Every Body is Saying / Joe Navarro

   I was going to start this post with "Hello, my name is Glynis, and I am a huge dork," but then I remembered my disdain for people who introduce themselves with caveats such as "I'm dumb" or "I'm stupid" or "I'm crazy" or "I'm weird" (UGH, people, stop saying you're "weird"). It's not that I get my hate on for self-depreciation, because it can be funny, but sometimes we take it too far and it just gets ridiculous. It's mostly women who do this. More than once I've been introduced to someone or just met them or am still getting to know them and they'll make one of these statements, "hello my name is ____, and I'm stupid," and I want to firmly grasp their shoulders, look sternly into their face, and say "WHAT THE HELL?" Because let's face it, introducing yourself with an insult is the worst.

   If some of the first information I have about you is that you claim to be stupid, then chances are I will file that away under "Truths About So-and-So, Direct From the Horse's Mouth". What I'm saying is: I will think you are stupid, because you told me to think so, and it will take actual work on my part to override that. And if you've ever done this in the secret hope that someone will say, "oh my gosh! No! You're so great/smart/pretty/whatever!" then please re-evaluate your compliment-fishing stratagem. One day people are going to stop contradicting you and you are going to be standing there with the words "I'm stupid" that you just declared about yourself hanging in the air, and people are going to be sick of bolstering your ego/self-confidence and guess what? That's going to suck.

   If you feel the need for a compliment or a kind word, then speak kindly about yourself. Ask for corroboration, not contradiction. Even better: if you wish to be complimented, then compliment the people around you! You know what's better than saying "I'm -insert negative thing here-"? Saying "hey, you are looking good today my friend, and that bit of info you added to our previous conversation was spot-on. It was great and you are great and I'm glad we're friends." Which do you think will add more joy to your life: disparaging comments about yourself, or uplifting comments about others? That question is rhetorical, obviously edifying other people goes way beyond putting yourself down.

   If you know me, you know that I'm not always the best at this. Just yesterday some disparaging comments about myself popped out of my mouth and I regretted them immediately after. Not only did I add ammo to a negative self-image which I have been working to undermine, I also put my friends in a tricky position. I'm not saying that we can't acknowledge the negative aspects of our character, because ignoring all that means it's not getting worked on, but that we don't celebrate or emphasize them, and we don't insult ourselves. Let's make a pact, shall we? Just be kinder. Kinder to others, kinder to ourselves, etc. Let's stop disparaging ourselves.

   WOW, okay.

   So: I read Joe Navarro's What Every Body is Saying and it was excellent and I recommend it to everyone. I've been trying to decipher body language the past few days, and while it remains somewhat difficult, it is good to know what kinds of things to look for and what kinds of things my own body is telling the world. Also, Joe Navarro is adorable, check out this quote: "I give hugs freely because they transmit caring and affection so much more effectively than mere words. I feel sorry for those who are not huggers, they are missing so much in their lives." OMGosh.

   The reason I was going to say something about being a dork is that I find body language studies fascinating. I watched Lie To Me for awhile and would try to figure out the tics and tells before the show revealed the solutions. I pored over the chapters Malcolm Gladwell wrote about facial tells. It all seemed strangely mysterious and like it would take eons to understand until I got my hands on this book and Mr Navarro made the whole thing simple and accessible. He splits body language into two simple categories, comfort and discomfort, and proceeds with interpretation from there. He also gave this gem of advice: if you saw some body language and you aren't sure what it means, try to recreate it in your own body and observe how you feel. So simple! So easy! I'm sure we've all read about those studies that say "hey, if you force yourself to smile/laugh, it'll make you feel way better, we promise" so it just makes sense that if I recreate a posture I'll understand a little better how the originator was feeling. Our bodies contribute to our minds! Wow.

   There's a TED talk about power posing, you should look it up and watch it and then exclaim, "WOW, the human body is AMAZING." Because guess what? It totally is, and it sure ain't dorky to think so.

Redefining Girly / Melissa Atkins Wardy

   This book wasn't quite what I wanted it to be, but that it not to say that it wasn't insightful and valuable. It is less cultural research and examination and more practical parenting advice to implement, so if you read it and you don't have children, you might get somewhat less out of it than the author intended. However: recognizing the severe sexualization of young girls is the first step towards remedying it, and this book will definitely raise your awareness.

   Basically, this book is a big reminder that girls become women, and carry the things they learn in childhood about their potential, their value, their abilities, and their purpose into adulthood and pass them on to the people around them (including their children, if they have any). If girls in elementary school are told that they need to be sexy to be acceptable, then we have a problem. Girls don't have to wear pink. Girls don't have to play with dolls that have waists smaller than their heads. Girls can be interested in dinosaurs/cars/science. (on the flip side: boys don't have to wear blue. Boys don't have to play with toys that glorify violence. Boys can be interested in dolls/baking/dance.) Why not encourage a young girl to explore and adventure and allow her to pursue things that interest her, instead of indulging in exploitative and restrictive cultural values? Seems like a beneficial trade to me.

   Also, there are a myriad of things you can praise a young girl for besides her appearance. Yes, little girls are adorable and you can tell them so. You can also tell them that they are clever, or a hard worker, or a fast runner, or helpful, or courageous, or interesting, or kind, or creative, or strong, or so many other things. Conventional attractiveness is a dangerous thing to overemphasize, as I am sure we all know. Maybe, just maybe, telling girls that their value is inherent instead of earned through being pretty/sexy/hot will result in women who respect their bodies, who pursue their goals, and who have a less complicated time being vital contributors to society.

   To sum up the book: treat young people as if they are complex human beings with a variety of tastes and passions, and don't allow young children to be sexualized. Pretty simple. Everybody benefits.

non-fiction

   Since resolving to read more non-fiction I have come across some real stunners, and since I don't want you to miss out, I will share some recommendations with you here.

   Let's get the obvious out of the way first: I recommend Blink / Malcolm Gladwell and Nurtureshock / Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman. Both engaging and informative, with applicable ideas and new ways of looking at things. Bronson, Merryman, and Gladwell are all journalists so their science sometimes gives way to anecdotal evidence, but on the whole their books are worth your time.

   Alone on the Ice / David Roberts. Okay, I know, I love Antarctica and polar exploration and you might not be quite as interested in the subject matter as I am but by Jove, this is a good read. How about we read and learn about real effort and heroism instead of lionizing Robert Falcon Scott's cowardice? Thanks. People I would much rather learn about: Roald Amundsen, Ernest Shackleton, and DOUGLAS MAWSON. There are so many more books about people exploring the far reaches of the south and north; it's a nearly inexhaustible supply and I have zero complaints about that.

   Among my interests that are probably not widely shared is an undying fascination with rabies, and when I saw the cover art for Rabid / Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy, I was powerless to resist. A cultural history of rabies?! Put it in my brain.  Unfortunately for some of my friends my reading of this coincided with a three hour drive, at which time I carried on and on about rabies facts. After I told them about research being done on how the rabies virus crosses the blood-brain barrier, one of them said "I have never met anyone as interested in rabies and Antarctica as you are." A lot of my conversations somehow work their way back to those things and I'm only sort of sorry.

   Another book that I haven't been able to keep to myself while reading is The Poisoner's Handbook / Deborah Blum and I once again apologize for talking about mincing tissue so much. (I just looked up The Poisoner's Handbook on Goodreads and it led me to a book about pin pointing the time of death and one about blood transfusion during the Scientific Revolution. OMGosh.) I learned more about Prohibition from this book than I have from anywhere else, and it is so extremely interesting. Oddly enough, I have now read about the Ruth Snyder/Henry Judd Gray murder case in four different books. They were so spectacularly incompetent that everyone who talks about murder in the 20s talks about them and their sash-weight murder plot. The best-laid schemes of mice and men gang aft agley, am I right?

   And because I love lists: a list of books I haven't read, but I'm not sure why because they are sure to be most excellent:

• In Cold Blood / Truman Capote
• Stiff / Mary Roach
• South / Ernest Shackleton
• What Every Body is Saying / Joe Navarro