June wrap-up and plans for July

Hello! How is it possible that June is over? I'm just thankful that it's finally warm! It has led me to become obsessed with making and drinking cold brew iced tea. It's so easy and refreshing, I'll probably be drinking it constantly all summer.

Reading

Let's see how I did in the categories I'm tracking:

Reading Challenge List: The Summer Before The War by Helen Simonson; I'm still working my way through Pioneer Girl.
CBAM: Didn't participate in this one this month
Romance: Currently reading A Scot in the Dark by Sarah MacLean
Nonfic: The Stranger in the Woods by Michael Finkel

So that is ok-ish? I had no plans to read the CBAM this month as I'm probably only reading about 5 or 6 for the year. I'm definitely falling behind on my Personal Reading Challenge but I don't care a whole lot as I've been reading some great stuff. I loved The Summer Before the War, which was on my list for the year, and Touch by Courtney Maum, which was an impulse read. I listened to two great teen audiobooks at the beginning of the month: Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy and If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo.

Listening

Most of my listening this month has been audiobooks, but I've also been spending some time with Lorde's new album, Melodrama, which is quite good.

I have a playlist on Spotify that I listen to while running and I just added All I Want Is You from the Juno soundtrack. I really need to mix this list up a bit more frequently. I'm taking suggestions!

Watching

First lobster roll of the season!

I finished season 1 of The Handmaid's Tale, which has made me quite happy (and a little scared) and I'm still watching the current season of Call the Midwife.

On one of my Fridays off (I was working Saturday that week) I went to a matinee of Wonder Woman. I'm not a big fan of superhero movies because they're basically all the same and I'm very frustrated at how horrible the female characters are. This was probably the best superhero movie I've seen. The movie itself was good (not fantastic), but the character of Wonder Woman was great. She actually had a personality and compassion and was strong and badass. Usually women get to be great fighters or have actual human feelings, but not both.

Knitting

Ugh, not much. And now I've come across my embroidery supplies and really want to embroider something instead.

Doing

At the beginning of June I went to Maine for a weekend. My sister was having a numerically-significant birthday so we had a big party for her, which conveniently was held on my birthday since that was the closest Saturday to hers. (Our birthdays are two days apart. What are the chances?) I got to have my first lobster roll of the summer while I was up there.

While in Maine I bought a church pew (as one does.) It's quite lovely in the upstairs room we just had repainted. Eric questioned my choice and I had to insist that the pew fit with my artistic vision for the room, and I'll admit I felt a bit defensive about the whole thing. But then a couple of days later he bought a concertina, so.

Having a new musical instrument in the house inspired me to pick up my flute a bit for the first time in years. I'm basically starting from scratch, though it's coming a lot quicker than it did the first time.

I also resumed running more regularly and going to yoga again.

As part of my effort to be more informed and involved, I attended an ACLU event about a police surveillance ordinance that would prevent police from using intrusive surveillance without having to go through some official channels to get approval.

Work feels less frantic now that our new teen librarian has started. Earlier in June we held a GeekCon at the library, encouraging folks to dress up and come to the library for crafts and trivia and watching some episodes of shows. The photo of me and Hermione is from this event. I don't know why I look psychotic.

Plans for July

Per tradition, I'll be going to one of the Boston Harbor Islands this weekend with friends. It's usually a leisurely day of strolling, eating, and sitting in Adirondack chairs enjoying the sun and catching up with each other.

Later in the month I'm headed to Bermuda! I'm taking the cruise from Boston with my niece and we are both very excited!

How was your June?

Touch

Touch by Courtney Maum (2017)

Sloane Jacobsen works as a trend forecaster. She predicted the now-ubiquitous swipe, a motion familiar to any smartphone user these days. She predicted the rise of childlessness, and has been hired as a consultant by tech company Mammoth to help gear up for their huge annual conference which will be devoted to the topic. But even as she begins work on tech products for people without children, she senses a huge shift away from technology entirely, a new embracing of person-to-person contact.

Ironically, Sloane is living far, far from that ideal herself. Her long-term partner, Roman, has taken to wearing a Zentai suit and proclaiming the death of penetrative sex in favor of more virtual options. She's been out of touch with her family since she moved to Paris immediately following her father's death. They haven't forgiven her for abandoning them in their grief. As her visions of the future become stronger, she finds her new outlook at odds with both her job and her personal life.

When I read about the premise for this novel I was instantly intrigued. A backlash against our screen-obsessed social-media-driven lifestyles? Yes, please! But it's not just a great idea, thankfully; it's also very well executed. Sloane is a well-known, driven professional, who takes this temporary job at a cutting-edge tech company and then realizes, and begins exposing, how ridiculous it all is. Mammoth has a recognizable corporate culture, but with just enough more to make it slightly alien. Upon arrival, Sloane was given a self-driving car named Anastasia, who not only brewed fantastic coffee but was skilled in the art of conversation. The company not only has a beer pong table (believable), but it provides kombucha on tap, "conflict-free" food, and is "scent-branded," with office diffusers emitting a mixture of citrus and lemongrass. Some employees wore only long johns to work. It seems to take place in the future, but not terribly far off. There's the very sophisticated self-driving car, and the fact that Roman has watched Pitch Perfect 3 many times (it will be released in December 2017), and some indications that perhaps terrorism has increased: "Overhead, the sky was empty. Red alerts throughout the city. Another no-fly day."

I love the way Maum expanded on her themes. For instance, a office discussion about how we rarely have surprises anymore because we rely on technology to tell us if someone has kids before we go on a date with them, or if a restaurant is good before we try it. And Sloane hoped people wouldn't buy into Roman's idea about the end of sex, but acknowledges a generation "raised on a diet of withholding- free from additives, free from BPA, free from communal love." Everything is believable because it's visible in our culture, but it's taken just one step further, which I suppose is the key to great satire.

This story provided so much to think about, and I was kind of excited about Sloane's ideas as I was reading. I knew she would end up making big changes in her life because of her new way of thinking and I couldn't wait to see how that went for her. She had a lot of pain and emptiness in her life, and I felt so invested in her potential happiness. She felt guilty for basically abandoning her family, and as much as she tries to stay in touch with them now, she's just not there and isn't really in the loop about what's going on. This part of the story struck me, because while I've never intentionally avoided my family, I do live two states away and feel pretty removed. This is the only book I've read where a character also felt really out of the loop with their family.

I also liked that her trend forecasting was based not on data but on actual premonitions that came to her in psychic-style visions. It's an unusual blend of technology and New Age ideas that you don't usually come across in the same book. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about that because I don't really believe in psychic powers, but in this case it somehow worked for me.

The Goodreads description compares this novel to those by Maria Semple and Jess Walter, neither of which seem quite right to me, though it's definitely as good as their books. It's not zany like Maria Semple, and the only Jess Walter book I've read was Beautiful Ruins which is historical fiction and completely different from this. So don't expect anything like those, but do expect excellent satire that is fresh and original.

Touch was just published a few weeks ago so I haven't heard a lot about it, but I'm looking forward to hearing what other people think about it. I'll definitely be recommending it a lot!

Best Books of 2017 So Far

Top Ten Tuesdays are hosted at The Broke and the Bookish. Today's list is our favorite books we've read so far in 2017. Yay!

Interestingly, I've only finished about 48 books so far, which means I'm on track to read slightly fewer than usual this year. I definitely feel like I'm reading a little less and taking longer to read each book, but I'm not certain why.

These first two are my only 5-star reads so far this year (I'm very stingy with my 5-star ratings!)

1. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

I think we can all agree that this book is something special. The issues are timely, the characters are realistic, the story is complex and nuanced and thoughtful, and the audio narration is stellar.

2. The Wanderers by Meg Howrey

Character-driven science fiction about astronauts in a Mars mission simulation. I can't tell you what I loved most about it without giving too much away, but I loved spending time with these characters and the writing was accessible and sophisticated at the same time.

The rest of this list was difficult to compile! The first few were easy, but it got harder to choose after that without falling into the trap of listing the most recent ones because they happen to be more fresh in my mind. I have a lot of 4-star reads, so I went back and read my own reviews and compared them to determine which ones I liked more than others.

3. Her Every Fear by Peter Swanson

I honestly don't know why this author isn't more well known. I'm getting a bit tired of thrillers with twists, but this guy does it so much better than most that I'll read anything he writes. If you like Gillian Flynn, you need to check out Peter Swanson.

4. Miss Jane by Brad Watson

The premise was so unusual, and Watson beautifully crafted it into a very compelling portrait of his main character's life. If you like historical fiction about women, definitely pick this one up.

5. The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson

Another work of historical fiction, this one felt very cozy to me in that I wanted to move to this town and befriend all of these characters. It's not cozy though, as the looming war and death begins to affect their lives, but it's so much about coming together and supporting one another.

6. If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo

This story about a transgender girl trying to fit in has so much heart, and managed to be realistic without being cruel about it. Bonus points for being set in a rural area in the South.

7. Ramona Blue by Julie Murphy

Another teen book that takes place in a rural area, also with an LGBT theme, and also really, really good. I love Ramona.

8. The Painter by Peter Heller

I read this way back in January and had to re-read my blog post to remember how much I liked it. Peter Heller is fantastic at creating complicated characters who feel real.

9. The Wild Rose by Jennifer Donnelly

The final volume in the trilogy that began with The Tea Rose. I loved this series the whole way through. It's a must-read if you like historical fiction.

10. After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Reid is a new favorite author. I love the inventive ways she finds to explore relationships, and her books are so easy and fun to read.

There are so many others I want to cram on here, but I'm sticking with ten!

What are you favorites so far this year?

Milk and Honey

Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur (2014)

This collection of poetry touches on themes of love, loss, abuse, and survival. It's divided into four sections, "the hurting," "the loving," "the breaking," and "the healing." Most of the poems are quite short - some only three or four lines - and they are accompanied by simple, but expressive, line drawings.

These verses are simple in that you don't need to puzzle over every line to try and figure out what the poet is getting it, and I appreciated that. At times this meant that I breezed through without thinking about them much at all since they're so obvious in meaning, but at other times I dwelled on a poem or its accompanying drawing. Many of these poems could easily be the sort of anguished poetry you write in high school and are later completely embarrassed by (not that I'd know, of course) but it never quite crosses that line. Perhaps the level of maturity and insight is enough to take it out of the realm of cliche while remaining in a spot that is very recognizable to other humans.

I have a hard time writing about poetry, so I'll share a couple of the short poems here for you to get a taste.

One of my favorite illustrations

i know i
should crumble
for better reasons
but have you seen
that boy he brings
the sun to its
knees every night

and this one:

for you to see beauty here
does not mean
there is beauty in me
it means there is beauty rooted
so deep within you
you can't help but
see it everywhere


Published on Createspace in 2014, the volume is currently experiencing a surge in popularity, though I'm not sure why this has happened after so much time. I heard about it from a coworker who shared a few snippets online, and it looked like the sort of poetry I could get into, or at least understand. It's not for everyone though, that's for sure. The Goodreads reviews are all over the place, and some reviewers hate this collection with a vehemence that is a bit surprising. Some say it's not even poetry because the form is so loose, which is a very odd criticism to me. I mean, if poetry can't be loose and creative, what can? I think poetry is the sort of thing that is very individual and personal; a particular poem or style of poetry either speaks to you or it doesn't.

For me, the experience of reading this book was a bit uneven. I was quite drawn to some of the poems; others, not so much. And that's fine. I really enjoyed the drawings though, and in some cases, the particular combination of verse and illustration. I'm glad that I picked it up.

The Stranger in the Woods

The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the last True Hermit by Michael Finkel (2017)

You might remember a news story out of Maine a few years ago, when a man was arrested for theft and it was discovered that he had been living alone in the woods for 27 years. When he was only 20, Christopher Knight left the world behind without a word to his family and set up camp in a well-hidden area in the woods. He survived by stealing food and other supplies from local camps surrounding some nearby lakes, including a camp for disabled children and adults where he was eventually caught. The author corresponded with Knight and visited him in jail for interviews. This short book is the result of his research.

I think what most people most want to know about Christopher Knight is why he went into the woods. Knight can't really explain it himself, but it's clear that he is not a social person at all, and I can understand why someone might want to just check out from the modern world and go live alone in the woods. He seemed to recoil from a lot of the trappings of life in our society, and it's not hard to blame him when he talks about how unhappy people seem to be at their jobs, and the amount of useless crap they buy. When he left the world Knight was really alone, not Thoreau alone. When mention of the famous author comes up, Knight shows only disdain for the poseur. (What he says is true too - Thoreau talked the talk, but he didn't really walk the walk. He often dined at friends' houses, for instance, rather than staying home alone and cooking food he grew himself. I'm not a fan of Thoreau either.)

I was more interested in the how of Knight's life. Apparently some who heard his story thought he was lying; they didn't think it was possible. For instance, he didn't require any medical help for 27 years. He claims it's because he wasn't around people to get their germs and that may be true. Or maybe he was just lucky. He didn't do a lot of activity that put him in danger aside from the stealing he depended on to survive, and the only times he left his camp were when he needed to stock up on supplies.

As much as I was sympathetic to his desire to get away from it all, I did have a hard time with the theft. You've got to take care of yourself if you're able to, and maybe he should have done a bit more living off the land. He didn't even try to grow vegetables. I think this may have been because he was so ready to just pack up and leave if he was discovered, and maybe he didn't want to start a project that seemed even semi-permanent. Or maybe he just wasn't a good planner. Considering that he seemed to take to the woods impulsively, that could certainly be the case. It's hard to know.

Public perception of the "Maine hermit," as he was called, varied. The local deli Big G's (which you should absolutely visit if you're ever in Waterville, ME, because it's delicious) named a sandwich The Hermit after him. A Dutch artist made a whole series of paintings inspired by him. Of course all the locals talked about him, and I was surprised to hear how many of them weren't upset that he stole their stuff and wished he had been left alone. Others talked of their resentment at having to install security systems on their camps, and how the regular break-ins left them in fear for years. I was curious about his family's response to this whole thing, but for the most part they didn't want to talk to Finkel. Like Christopher Knight, they were all a bit stand-offish. They did admit they thought he was dead that whole time, so of course it was a shock to learn the truth.

Finkel didn't really get enough out of Knight for an entire book (Knight didn't actually do a lot to talk about), but he added some bits about hermits and solitude and whatnot that was actually quite interesting. Did you know that people who live in cities have chronically elevated levels of stress hormones? I didn't, but as someone who lives in a city, I'm not surprised. On the other hand, spending time in quiet, rural settings makes people calmer, less depressed, and improves their cognition and memory. Indeed, Knight reported spending a good deal of time just sitting in quiet meditation and daydreaming, and says he was never bored. However, solitude in the extreme leads to all sorts of bad effects, as we've learned from studies about solitary confinement.

I've been interested in Christopher Knight's story since it first broke, especially since I used to live in that area. But I'm also fascinated by stories of people who just give everything up and break with their life and do something completely different. This was a very quick read, but I found a lot here to think about. It would be a great choice for a book discussion group.

Top Ten Series I've Been Meaning to Start

Top Ten Tuesdays are hosted at The Broke and the Bookish. Today's topic is series we haven't yet read but want to.

1. The Broken Earth by N.K. Jemisin

The first book, The Fifth Season, sounded so great when I first heard about it but I wanted to wait for the whole series to be out before starting it. Otherwise I run into that problem where a new book is released but I can't remember what happened in the last book. But I can't wait to finally read this apocalyptic story. N.K. Jemisin is one of very few black women who write science fiction and I hear she's really really good at it.

2. Cormoran Strike by Robert Galbraith

I love J.K. Rowling and I've heard great reviews of her mystery series, written under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. Her style is so friendly and humorous I'll read anything she writes. I've had Cuckoo's Calling on my radar since it came out, but somehow it just never seems quite the right time to start it.

3. The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer

I'll be honest: part of the reason I've been wanting to read this series is because of the covers. The series of 4 books is both science fiction and fantasy with fairy tale elements - basically, it's everything. I've been trying to decide if I want to tackle it on audio. I hear it's great, but the books are pretty long and I do prefer shorter audiobooks. It's a conundrum.

4. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

There was a lot of hype when this first came out, but I heard the series was consistently good from beginning to end. I put it off so all the books would be released and then by the time they all were, I had moved on. But every time I see it mentioned I think I should pick it up (someday!)

5. Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo

I feel like everyone was reading this series at the same time as Daughter of Smoke and Bone. The first book of this fantasy is Shadow and Bone, which I came really close to reading a couple of times but somehow still haven't.

6. Bill Hodges Trilogy by Stephen King

I've honestly never heard it called that - it's always the Mr. Mercedes series when people talk about it. At any rate, I can't keep up with Stephen King so here I am, having missed this entire mystery series.


These next three I've actually started by reading one book a long, long time ago and then not continuing.

7. The Dark Tower by Stephen King

Speaking of not being able to keep up with Stephen King! I read The Gunslinger back in high school and I think maybe it wasn't as much my sort of thing as King's other books so I didn't keep going. I had in my head that this was a long series, though I just looked it up and there are only 8 books. My vague plan for this series has been that someday Stephen King will die and I will feel very sad, and then I'll remember there's a whole long series of his that I haven't yet read.

8. MadAddam by Margaret Atwood

I read the first book, Oryx and Crake, when it first came out and always meant to get to the second. But, as often happens, I couldn't even remember the first one by then so I just stopped. I've actually been planning to read the whole thing in the next year or so.

9. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Of course I've read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe multiples times. Who hasn't? But it's ridiculous that I never read any other book in the series.

I guess I only have nine. Or, if you count the two series I've read but really want to read again, eleven:

Jessica Darling by Megan McCafferty

For years I've suffered under the delusion that I only ever read the first book and I kept thinking I should finally get around to reading the rest of it. Then I was looking through the little notebook where I've been listing every book I've read since mid-2000 and saw that I've read the whole series. Anyhow, I went to my local bookstore and bought all three books with plans to reread the series sometime in the definite future.

His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman

I loved this series on audiobook! According to my aforementioned book-tracking notebook I read the whole thing a second time, which I didn't remember doing. But kind of. I think I read it in print that time. Anyhow, now that Pullman has announced another series related to that series I want to read it all again in preparation. I think I'll listen to the audio again because it was really wonderful.

Are there any series that you keep meaning to read but haven't? Share in the comments!

The Freedom Summer Murders

The Freedom Summer Murders by Don Mitchell (2014)

In the summer of 1964, three young men who were in Mississippi as part of the Freedom Summer effort to register African-Americans to vote. While there, they were killed by the Ku Klux Klan, with the help of local police. This book, written for teens, introduces readers to the three young men, the terrible events of that summer day, and the long journey to try and bring those responsible to justice.

The book begins with an overview of conditions for blacks in the South in the 1960s, Mississippi's resistance of compliance with integration, and the rise of the KKK. Then the facts of the murders are recounted. The next three chapters focus on the lives of each victim: Andrew Goodman, James Chaney, and Michael Schwerner. The rest of the book recounts the efforts to find and punish the people responsible.

This book reads like a typical nonfiction book for young people. It's a horrifying story, and pretty shocking when you think about how recent it actually was, but it wasn't especially thrilling to read. Honestly, I just wanted to be reading a novel. But we picked this for my book group at work and I did actually want to learn about this dark event in our history.

While I was reading this book, the verdict in Philando Castile's murder was announced. Calling the verdict a miscarriage of justice is putting it really, really mildly and I think my rage was compounded by the fact that I was reading a book in which a cop helped murder civil rights workers because he was horribly racist. I mean, seriously, United States, will you ever learn? It's as though nothing has changed. Of course, today's killings of black men by police aren't intentional, they are "misunderstandings," and somehow that makes it totally fine for these killers to remain unaccountable.

All that to say that this book is still really relevant today, sadly. I'd be surprised if something this blatantly racist happened and the perpetrators got away with it (though maybe not in Mississippi, based on what I've heard) but we've still got a long, long way to go before we achieve racial equality. The author does a good job of relaying that as well, and putting this story in a larger context.