The Silent Boy

 The Silent Boy by Lois Lowry

2003

Weight: 5.6 oz

Method of Disposal: Recycling (unfortunately)

This is another book that is in such poor shape that I cannot donate it.  The truth is that it was already falling apart when I came into possession of it, and it has only grown worse with each move.  I did want to read it before letting it go though so it was the last book I read in my time off after surgery.

It was a very sad book.  Not the whole time you are reading it, though from the beginning you know the ending will be tragic.  You just do not know how yet.  The tragedy of this book is not some shocking, never heard it before, cannot imagine it happening sort of thing, but something that feels much more common and, maybe because of that, even heavier.  

The book is told from the point of view of a 9 year old girl and much of it is about her feelings and thoughts about a misunderstood boy, who would now likely be diagnosed with autism, but at the time was just seen as different, and even scary to many people in the town.  Though the people that actually knew him knew that he was very gentle.  You could tell by how he loved animals and they loved him.  I cannot say much more without spoiling the book.  Ultimately, I think the author was giving us a snapshot into what it was like for girls and women, for people with autism, for people in different class systems, and for people in general at the turn of the 20th century.  As always, when looking at history, there are moments of nostalgia and plenty of good things happening, but some things can seem unnecessarily bleak due to the customs and beliefs of the time.  It is still haunting in that those customs continue to shadow us today and are not completely gone.

Yes to Life

 Yes to Life: In Spite of Everything by Viktor E Frankl

2020

Weight: 12 oz

Method of Disposal: Giving to my dad 

I thought my father gave me this book, but when I asked him if he wanted it back once I read it and he acted as if he would also like to read it I began to wonder.  I gave it to him.  I do know that the reason it came into my possession is because of him, even if I bought it.

Last year, I was attending a seminar and was asked to consider a quote that might speak to me spiritually or remind me of something important about life and living.  I was struggling to think of an actual quote, though I could find some misquoted snippets supposedly from Buddha overlaid across beautiful, peaceful pictures.  Thank you, Google.

My dad happened to call, and I told him what I was doing.  He immediately recommended a quote from Viktor Frankl and said I should read Man's Search for Meaning.  As soon as we got off the phone, I went in search of it and quickly realized I had read it previously.  At that point, I think I might have then purchased Yes to Life.  It did not seem at all unlikely that a man that survived a concentration camp and the Holocaust to then go on to write books about saying yes to life might know something about what the meaning of life might be or, bare minimum, have an inspiring quote I could share.  The one my dad recommended was some form of this, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”  Something I do consistently try to remind myself ever since.

I did not enjoy Yes to Life as much as Man's Search for Meaning, but the power is still there.  Frankl talks about having started to write this book before his time in the concentration camp.  In fact, he sewed the manuscript into his jacket when he was taken away, though his coat was ultimately taken from him.  At some point, at the camp, he began to focus his mental energy on surviving so that he could share what he had written in the manuscript and, while he lived in the cruelest of human conditions, he began writing it again, in his head.  A large part of what I think he wanted us to know is that finding a reason to live will lead us to finding out how to live, which is not to say that there is much that is beyond your control.  The only thing you can always control is how you react to what is happening around you and/or to you.  We do not need to ask what the meaning of life is.  We need to answer the question of life with meaning.

Rick Bragg

2 x The Speckled Beauty and His People 

Where I Come From: Stories from the Deep South 

2021 

Weight: 20.13 oz

Method of Disposal: Giving two to dad and one to a friend

Two different people gifted me The Speckled Beauty within weeks of each other, and I felt loved.  I had just finished reading Where I Come From, which I purchased at Little Shop of Stories in Decatur, Ga.  Bragg has a couple essays where he mentions The Speckled Beauty and some other dogs, The Dancing Skinny and Pup McGraw.  I had already started naming dogs at the shelter after them.  We are still on the lookout for our Pup McGraw, but we had a Speck, a Speckled Beauty, and a Dancing Skinny.  I guess I should do a Bragg too.

Everyone seems to love Rick Bragg, and I like to buy at least one book anytime I go into an independent bookstore--or really any bookstore these days--so, when I saw his name on the new arrivals wall, I grabbed it right away.  It was a collection of essays, and it was good.  I did think I would have enjoyed them more by stumbling on them one by one in magazines or online but, realistically, that had not happened often so this was my best chance to read them.  I just could not resist reading them all at once, which might have taken away some of the power of them individually.  I thought about my dad several times, especially when he talked about fishing without the idea of catching anything.  My father often says he is going to feed the fish when he goes fishing.

The Speckled Beauty I enjoyed even more.  I liked the feel of reading it.  It was a slow meander and, though my bad dogs are indoors and I would never dream of doing some of the things with them that I read in the book, like his brother using motor oil to treat mange, I am not unfamiliar with this way of being with dogs.  I have met and talked with dog owners like these (Given, I have told them not to use motor oil). Bragg describes his dog, his brother's dogs, his mama's dogs.  They all have a different outlook on dogs and a way of being with them, and they all clearly love dogs very much.  Bragg and his mom take in only the most pitiful of strays and love them no matter how terrible they are, maybe love them because they are so terrible.

But, this book was not just about a dog or about dogs.  It was about people, about the South, about getting older, about loss.  It was beautiful and sad and funny and easy and hard.  At one point, Bragg caught me so off guard that I just burst into tears.  I was not expecting it at all and was shocked, as I laid in bed next to my sleeping wife, holding this book close to my chest, scaring my own dogs who woke with a start when they heard my sobbing.  And, it was not because the dog died, and it was not because of the dog at all.  In fact, the main dog lives in this one, folks.  That is a rarity in and of itself.  It was because Bragg has a way of letting you in so that you do not just read the words but feel them fully.  His indirect descriptions bring up powerful emotions.  He may be talking about a dog, but through that dog we learn so much about him and his family.  

It is good stuff.

Carry On: Reflections for a New Generation

 Carry On: Reflections for a New Generation by John Lewis

2021

Weight: 11.3 oz

Method of Disposal: Giving to a Friend

This book includes some basic, quick reflections on the things that are most important in a life.  John Lewis speaks his most surface level thoughts on marriage, fear, mentors, hope, the future, Covid-19, same-sex marriage, immigration, art, activism, heroes, and so on.  It is a book of reflections.  If you know much about John Lewis, none of this will feel particularly new or insightful, but it is a nice memory of him and his life.  There is no doubt, and it has been expressed by so many people, that we lost a great man in 2020.  This book is an easy read and might be a good introduction for young students.

Asymmetry

 Asymmetry by Lisa Halliday

2018

Weight: 8.8 oz

Method of Disposal: Giving Back to Friend Who Gifted It To Me

This one just did not work for me.  I wanted it to, especially after my dear friend told me that her sister, who passed away this year, had loved it.  As I read it, I had questions for someone that could never answer them.  In the way that death does, this book took on a meaning it never was meant to.  I tried to read someone into it that I wanted to be here still and could not find them.  Not that I would be the one that would find her if someone could.  Someone that really knew her, like my friend, might could do it. So, I want to give her the book back, knowing she will look also.

 It has been a little over half a year since there was a day that her sister and best friend was alive and it, at once seems like it has been no time at all and also seems like it has been an impossibly long time.  Grief is such a brutal component of love.  We have no choice but to endure it.

Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life

 Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

2005

Weight : 12 oz

Method of Disposal: Giving Away

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I did not know Amy, but I think she might have appreciated how I came to discover her.  The universe just fell into place.  I do wish I had found this book in 2005 because I know I would have loved it and would have loved engaging with Amy, hoping to be one of the first one hundred she had encouraged to write her in the book.  

As it were, it was just this year that I was in Oregon and looked in the window of a closed bookshop and saw My Wife Said You May Want to Marry Me by Jason Rosenthal, amongst some other books I thought looked interesting.  I made a mental note to look it up later and, when I did, I read about Amy's Op-Ed, which I vaguely remembered peripherally but had never read.  Later, the book came up as an audiobook I might be interested in and, needing something to listen to, I purchased and downloaded it.  While cleaning out dog kennels, I listened to a husband tell us why his wife was so fun, loving, and full of life.  My heart could not handle the thought of losing Harriet and so I felt immediately connected to this man in this way, as many people do, I know.  He talked about a woman that loved family, letters and words, what might appear to be coincidence.  Immediately following, I looked into her children's books and booked an ultrasound to see what the cysts on my ovaries were doing.  I was way overdue, and I thought this book was potentially a sign to take another look.  As of now, I was lucky.  Everything was fine.  All the cysts were there, but no one was yet causing a problem, and I was grateful to have had that extra push to look, to be so careful.  

Later, Sleater Kinney came to Atlanta with Wilco.  Their show had been postponed due to Covid and was finally happening, outdoors, with vaccination or negative Covid test required.  I was there for Sleater Kinney/  I had no idea who Wilco was, but I knew that Amy and her husband had loved them.  I had just read his book!  So, when they started to play, I thought of this stranger I never knew and tried to imagine what she would have been like.

A couple months later, I was having knee surgery, and my friend surprised me with a box of books.  Some that were her favorites, some she was currently reading, others that her late sister had loved.  I was so excited and so grateful.  She pointed out Enyclopedia of an Ordinary Life and said it was one of her favorites.  I started there and, as I read, I started to feel like I recognized the author.  I did, of course.  It was Amy again.  Her book breathed life into the the image of her I had been given.  Her love of word play and letters made even more sense.  Her optimism and approach to life soaked through each page.  At times I felt like I was just like her.  At other times, I thought my friend was just like her.  And, still at other times and far fewer, I could not relate at all.  I enjoyed getting to know her via this "encyclopedia!"  When she wrote it, she did not know when or how she would die.  She says so herself several times.  It was painful in those moments.  

Still, how wonderful to have put your impact on the world in so many ways. That even a total stranger could look around and see these beautiful parts of Amy sprinkled around.  Not falling all at once like an avalanche but slowly, peacefully, landing here and there, touching different people.  I am so sorry her family had to say goodbye to someone they clearly loved so much.  I am grateful that she and they shared her legacy.

1036 Books, 744.60 LBS

 As of today, I have recorded and given up 1036 books, weighing 744.60 lbs!

A Day No Pigs Would Die

 A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck

2005 edition (copyright 1972)

Weight: 3.2 oz

Method of Disposal: Recycling (because it is in such poor shape)

(spoiler alert)

I brought this book with me to Mexico because it was in such rough shape that I figured I could just recycle it after having read it on the plane.  The cover was missing and pages were torn.  I'd had this mangled copy awhile, and it is possible I was scared to read it, loving animals as I do.  It had a great title though, and it did call to me.

I will tell you that I read half of it on the way to Mexico and was not overly impressed but understood it was a young adult book from a certain time.  It had all the lessons on being a man, responsibility, hard work, modesty that I am accustomed to in the young reader classics.  I couldn't give a damn about being anyone learning to be a man, but the characters were admirable in their grit and determination.  

I read the other half on the way home and did not handle it well--the main character's pig and friend was slaughtered due to being infertile and the family being poor.  I completely fell apart and then his dad died, and there was no coming back.  I was just flying over the ocean, bawling, and embarrassing Harriet who could not get away from me, despite her headphones being on loud and her leaning out into the aisle.  The tears were coming down my face and collecting on the ridge of my mask, my nose was running, which is bad for several reasons.  One, it is uncomfortable, inside a mask. Two, no one wants to be blowing their nose on an airplane now that we live in COVID world full-time all the time.  

I was also relieved to have an outlet for my stupid emotions and a distraction from real life.  We had just flown a dog named Scrappy home to his mama who had been deported over two years ago and had been in an ICE detention center in Ocilla, GA before that.  The things that people do to other people are appalling and discouraging, and I know that is an understatement.  Yet, some people are so strong and determined.  They still see the good and the value, and they are grateful for it, instead of just angry.  Somehow.  Scrappy's mom is one amazing lady, and we could  were so glad to be reunited.  You could see it right away.  We flew in, spent one night, and flew out.  It was a lot packed into one small trip and a long time coming.  My mother had fostered that dog all these years, waiting for this moment she would not end up being able to be a part of.  There was the unpredictability of ICE and Homeland Security and then the truly unexpected Covid-19 pandemic.  One thing I know for sure, there are people out there that are far stronger than I have ever dreamed of being and Scrappy's mom is one of those people.  The United States is missing a good one, and it was a decision our country made and poorly executed.

Introducing Buddhism

 Introducing Buddhism by Chris Pauling (Vadanya)

2001

Weight: 6.4 0z

Method of Disposal: Donating

Some days, even just reading about Buddhism mellows my restless mind.  That is likely a sign I should go further with it but, for now, I just pick up books and read.  This feels like a great, basic, introduction, as the author intended.

Last Night in Paradise

 Last Night in Paradise by Katie Rophie

1997

Weight: 9.7 oz

Method of Disposal: Donating

Do I love everything that Rophie has put out in the world? No.  Do I love most of it?  No.  Did I buy this before I knew much about Rophie?  Yes!  Was I disappointed when I found out more?  Definitely.  Did I still read it?  Absolutely!  Did I hate it?  I did not!  It took me too long to read it for sure but, when I did, I felt transported to a time when AIDS had been around long enough that people realized it was not a "gay disease"  but not so long that people were not still terrified.  I really enjoyed Katie's voice and perspective, and I did not feel like I was holding a mirror up to my own feelings, memories, and opinions, which can be a real positive experience. I do not read to find out what I already think.  I do think it was even better to have read it so many years after it was written.  Living in the moment but being so young and getting bits and bobs of the news and pop culture, buying into some of the fear tactics, and then later living during Covid and looking backwards and then looking to where we are now, it brought some pieces together and made for good retrospection.

That being said, I do think it is possible to cross a line into not being helpful and into being proactively hurtful.  I could live the rest of my life without needing to read anymore of her thoughts on date rape, sexual harassment, and #metoo.  

Striking at the Roots: A Practical Guide to Animal Activism

 Striking at the Roots: A Practical Guide to Animal Activism by Mark Hawthorne

2010

Weight: 12.8 oz

Method of Disposal: Donating

To think, I have been carrying this book around all this time, and it is essentially PETA propaganda.  I cannot think of an animal rights group that has less of my support, despite our common disdain for factory farms, research with live animals, and other animal abuse.  Their tactics have made them a laughing stock and made animal rights activist everywhere look bad.  Not to mention, their open disdain for no-kill shelters, which goes directly against the work I have been doing the last 14 years.  They could not be more wrong about what no-kill looks like to me.  In addition to that, Best Friends is well on the road to proving them wrong on a large scale.  Given, they will never see it that way, because they would rather see an animal euthanized than to be adopted out as a companion animal to most people.  Always out for the shock value and getting news coverage, they will do all sorts, like boycott Jimmy Carter for fishing, send naked women to protest in the streets, petition to change "ham lake" to "yam lake," and show you graphic, brutal pictures to scare you into doing the right thing.  

A lot of people seem to like this book and, if I could manage to step back from hating how often PETA is used as an example and/or cited, I guess I could see that some of it might be useful for a completely green, young person, who has not yet done any activism or been to any protests.  Within this book, there is an incredibly basic introduction to civil disobedience.  In that way, it is a touch useful.

Either way, to each their own.  I am donating it because everyone has the right to choose how and who they want to engage with and, God knows, we do need more animal rights' activists.  The things we do to animals in our society (and in almost every society) are deplorable and overwhelmingly sad.  We are brutal and, with factory farms in particular, we are worse than heartless.  We are cruel and inhumane torturers.  I know THAT sentence makes me sound like PETA but, in that case, it is true.  The people at those facilities are also treated terribly so it is should be no surprise that the animals are.

Women and Aids

 Women and Aids by Jane Richardson
1988
Weight: 7 ounces
Method of Disposal: Donating

This book is extremely dated at this point, but it was interesting to read for so many reasons.  Living through the start of AIDS and the start of COVID would have been wildly different for so many reasons, but, having lived as an adult during the time of a pandemic, there are certain things I feel like I was more attuned to or attentive to now.  Not just the fear and the unknown, but the attempt and the struggle to manage people's reactions and to preserve a sense of humanity.  The constant reassurance that we can all still care for each other and that our fear should not make us react with hatred.  It should not make us ostracize sick people.  

Another thing I found interesting was reading this and knowing the strides we have made sense AIDS blew up on the scene in the 80's.  I could fill in some of the missing gaps in information and answer some questions.  Some things I had to Google, and I learned that way.  In other areas, I was sad to know that there were still so many things happening then that are still happening now.  The author was seemingly a compassionate person who recognized homophobia, racism, ethnocentrism, when possible, and that was much appreciated.

All in all, this was a quality book.  It was clearly more useful when it was written than it is now, but it is an excellent layout for how to write a sensitive, helpful guide on a virus that people do not know much about.

Lincoln in the Bardo

 Lincoln in the Bardo by George Sanders

2018

Weight: 14 oz

Method of Disposal: Donating

I always love reading a unique, experimental novel.  It is not always easy, but sometimes you just have to let go and let George Sanders.  I struggled at first to understand what was happening, but I ultimately decided to blindly trust the author and believe.  I was not disappointed.  I loved that the characters this book revolved around were the Lincolns.  It was so intriguing to see Lincoln in this new, fictionalized way, grieving his son, Willie, who the real Lincoln did lose in real life.  It made me think differently of the actual Lincoln, the Civil War, and his personal crises.  What a thing to go through and what a terrible time to go through it.

This author's imaginings of the afterlife were so different to anything I had or have ever thought up.  It was bleak, humorous, and often depressing, but I appreciated all of it.

All My Puny Sorrows

 All My Puny Sorrows by Miriam Toews

2019

Weight: 12 oz

Method of Disposal: Donating

I had heard amazing things about this book, and I understand why.  I found it to be challenging and difficult, like dealing with mental illness is.  It was not unskilled, and the author had clearly put her heart into it.  It is a book about a sister who spends her life trying to stop her own successful sister's death by suicide.  It was heavy, dark, and frustrating.  I cannot say I enjoyed it as much as others did, but I see the value in it.  

I am glad there was no reason given for the sister's desire to die, though I see that many reviewers craved that.  But, that is the problem with mental illness, isn't it?  There is not always a reason or a clear reason other than it is something that resides inside a person and takes over their life.  It IS frustrating.  There is no easy fix.  If there was, so many people could be saved and this book would not likely exist.

Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady

 Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady by Florence King
1990
Weight: 12 oz
Method of Disposal: Donating

This book.  The reviews crack me up because so many people are hung up on the descriptions of lesbian sex, the fact that she sleeps with and uses men, the vulgarity of her language.  It is telling to me that these are the things that really disturb people.  I give props to this person who said the lesbian sex was repulsive to her and yet she gave the book 5 stars.  Kudos to her for sticking with something outside her comfort zone and still finding the beauty!

I, for one, loved to listen to her talk about sex, sexuality, and gender roles!

What shocks me is that no one seems to be talking about how she writes about race and racism in the book.  It seems to me that she is very much of the mindset that the South is the South and you just have to work with it.  You are a friend of black people if you work within the system to help 1 or 2 of them you know personally, but you would never try to dismantle that system, or actually get to know any of them in any real way.  She talks about racism from the edge of it, just taking a peek inside, and then running away from it full force.  It did not impact her life so much as it was happening around her.  It just totally took me out of the book.  

I know that literature can be mired in the timeframe it was written, but that does not make me love it anymore.  I just kept thinking about how it made me feel and then wondering how it might make others feel.  It just was not great.

The War of the Worlds

 The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
2002
Weight: 6 oz
Method of Disposal: Donating

If you plan to read the book and have not already, I give away the whole story below!

I read this because it was a classic.  I have read about it many times, but I have never read it.  It seemed like an easy fix to take this short novel to the bath and try to get away from work for a bit.  It was surprisingly good.  I guess what I mean is that, of course, it was well done and that is why we still read it all the years later, but it was also just good even though I had no interest in reading a book about aliens from Mars attacking England.  I enjoyed it and felt compelled to keep reading it despite that being the premise not in spite of it.

As in most English Classics, the women characters are never fleshed out humans and always leave much to be desired.  They had me for a moment with the ladies in the carriage, who the narrator travels with for a bit.  I could see them clearly when they were overcome by a gang of criminals, rescued by the narrator, and then returning the favor be wielding a pistol.  That decisive woman with a gun intrigued me, but that potential storyline never grew to be anything to write home about, and the narrator's wife is even less of a person and not featured often.

The description of the Martians tearing through the countryside, then into London, and battling ships at sea was something to imagine!  The English army failing to defend the country at every turn.  Not because they were not a strong human army, but because the Martians were such a formidable foe.  Then, the best part of all, the thing that finally killed the aliens was the bacteria that humans had been fighting off for ages.  Most excellent conclusion!

Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home

 Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home by Ilona Bray, J.D., Attorney Ann O'Connell, and Marcia Stewart
2019
Weight:1.5 lbs
Method of Disposal: Donating

We should be moving into our first home next month! This book made me feel a lot better about entering a world I felt ill prepared to tackle.  I was able to get used to the basic vocabulary of real estate, be exposed to different agreements I might enter into, and it gave me a checklist of things I needed to do and in what order I should do them.  Harry already knew much of what was in the book, being someone who has always loved the world of real estate.  She is constantly creeping around the house market, looking at all the homes going up for sale.

If you are looking to buy your first home but are feeling nervous, I would definitely recommend this book and also a great realtor who will be there for you as you make your way through the very expensive, exciting, and complicated world of home buying.

We cannot wait to get into our new home!

Untamed

 Untamed by Glennon Doyle
2020
Weight: 1.05 lbs
Method of Disposal: Giving to a Friend

I have wanted this book since before it was published, though I am quite new to Glennon Doyle, having just over a year ago discovered her at a Leadercast Conference.  It is hard to imagine us all packed into that auditorium now.  She had me laughing so much and, ever since, I have been on the hunt for this book, which finally was published.  Ultimately, a friend gave me a copy AND Harriet bought me a copy for Christmas.  I think Harry might have been trying to imply something when she bought be the LARGE PRINT edition.

I really enjoyed reading this book.  It does not include groundbreaking feminist ideology or tell us more about human sexuality than we previously knew, but it delivers information about both and so many other things in a fun, open, and useful way.  I loved (if love is the right word) when Doyle was talking about asking her kids if they were hungry.  The boys, in unison, immediately said "yes."  The girls looked to each other to determine silently if they themselves were hungry and one girl spoke up with "no."  I like how she describes the strengths of each of her kids and how different they are.  I appreciate her insights into addiction and living post-addiction.

There is a section of the book where a friend of hers says something about how she was "born that way," and she makes the argument of why could I not choose this for myself because it is GOOD.  Every time I hear "who would choose to be born that way," my soul cringes.  There was a time when I would not have chosen this, when I was young and scared, but now I would choose this and choose Harriet fully, knowingly, and 100 times over.

This is a good, fun, meaningful read.  I recommend it!

Twilight

Twilight (The Twilight Saga, Book 1) by Stephenie Meyer
2008
Weight: 1.1 lb
Method of Disposal: Donating 

I remember when Twilight came out and women in their twenties and thirties were flooding the bookstore I worked at to get their hands on a copy.  They freaking loved that shit.  One woman emphatically told me it was the BEST book she ever read.  Later,  I dated someone who loved to get high and giggle at the ridiculous movies and the acting.  The looks, the facial expressions--it was all a little too much for me.  I was determined to read Book One and to understand, but I just could not get there.  But, that makes me the odd one out.  This book was and is well loved.  I guess I grew up with and continued to pine away for Christopher Pike and Anne Rice.  

My copy of this book still has an EXCLUSIVE POSTER INSIDE, you lucky ducks!

El Camino A Cristo

 El Camino A Cristo by Elena G. De White
2002
Weight: 2.2 oz
Method of Disposal: Donating

I was alone, on a road trip, when I stopped at a rural, dark gas station.  A stack of these books were being given away outside the bathrooms.  I remember the feeling of freedom, the slight fear of being alone at night on the road, and the anticipation of seeing and experiencing new things.  I was younger, my eyesight was better, and I had little to no fear of death.  

I do not know what this book actually says anymore, but I remember how I was feeling when I picked it up.  I see that some other folks have given it really positive reviews on Amazon.  Maybe another grandmother somewhere will cherish this book as much as one other woman's did.  I am pretty sure it missed the mark with me, and I likely should never have taken it.  Maybe there was a reason though.  After all these years, it may make it to the right person.  Someone who is interested in finding their way to Christ.

I know I am, But What Are You?

 I know I am, But What Are You? by Samantha Bee
2010
Weight: 13.7 oz
Method of Disposal: Donating

I love Samantha Bee!  I was excited when she came out with a book, and I could enjoy her humor in another form.  I came to Bee when watching her short videos on The Daily Show.  I would get on the website just to watch her videos alone, and they were hysterical.  As is her book.  I love being caught laughing out loud while reading.  Pre-pandemic.  That never really happens to me now.

The Spirit to Serve: Marriot's Way

 The Spirit to Serve: Marriot's Way
1997
Weight: 9oz
Method of Disposal: Donating

Who better to learn customer service from than the service industry?!  This book is dated, but it still covers the basics of customer service and shines a light on what many people love about staying in certain hotels.  Mariott has been in the news lately for launching another Shanghai property (their 50th), the Marriott Bonvoy expanding their leisure destinations after the rough year the travel indusrty had in 2020, opening their 100th property in Tampa, etc.  So, as you can see, the company is still competing in 2021.

Zami: A New Spelling of My Name

 Zami: A New Spelling of My Name by Audre Lorde
1982
Weight: 14 oz
Method of Disposal: Donating

I am currently on a little bit of an Audre Lorde kick and have just re-read Zami: A New Spelling of my name.  One thing I absolutely love about Audre Lorde is that she is so seemingly honest and raw.  She is open about things that many people would keep private.  I think about her walking the streets with a knife in her coat, not knowing what she is doing or why, but disgruntled with upset about a recent breakup and her girlfriend finding a new partner.  This is not okay, and she knows this is not okay.  She does nothing with that knife, and she admits to having done it in her biography.  She writes about being a woman loving woman and a black woman in a time when that was even more shunned, ostracized, and legislated against than it is now.  She talks about trying to form a triatic relationship when no one around her was doing that and how it, ultimately, failed because no one in the relationship really knew themselves all that well.  We read about heterosexual feminists who cannot accept lesbianism or queerness of any sort.  They have no room in the movement.  Lorde writes about the anguish of losing her childhood bestfriend.  A friend that came to her for help and who she was unable to help at that time due to her fear of her parents anger.  She had no idea that meant her friend would end up dying by suicide, but it haunts her into adulthood.  She did not realize the abuse that friend was enduring at the hands of an adult man.  And yet, she also shows us beauty, determination, strength, and a will to fight and live.  

There is so much packed into this biography about race, class, coming of age, being a woman, loving women and people hating it, loving sex.  It ends with Lorde still in her twenties, and she still had so much life left to live.  She would pass away at 58, battling cancer, but she packed so much in to the next thirty or so years, and she left the world a more beautiful, empowered place.

I am now re-reading Sister Outsider.  I always appreciate the context Zami gives me for the rest of Lorde's work.

On Our Backs Guide to Lesbian Sex

 On Our Backs Guide to Lesbian Sex edited by Diana Cage
2004
Weight: 1.12 lbs
Method of Disposal: Who knows?  Seriously, who knows what I can do?

I never know how to rehome sex books.  All the guides, erotica, and photography.  There are so many great books I am sure someone out there would devour, but I never know how to get them from Point A to Point B.  I do not want to sell them, and I do not want them to get thrown out if I donate them.  Does anyone have any suggestions?  I have recently discovered that in the UK you can recycle your sex toys.  It is a money losing proposition and yet Lovehoney will do it.  Amazing.  

This particular sex guide is good in that it covers a lot of ground.  It takes you from cunnilingus, to fisting, to strap ons, to needles, to fire, to being fat and sexy, to being disabled and enjoying sex, to pornography, to tribadism.  All sorts.  You will get a good basic definition, some first hand accounts, some reminders about consent, and some photos.  For some people, the book seems to be too blunt and outspoken, but that is what Off Your Backs was for.  It pushed the borders of normal and celebrated the erotic without being curbed by the societal pressure to hold back.

That being said, if you are not a beginner and have not shied away from the risqué, there is not much here to learn at this point.  Or maybe, I have just oversaturated myself with sex, bdsm, kink information over the years.  This book is now over a decade old, and it shows in some areas.  The parts about online dating and the pornography recommendations are just two areas I can think of.  I also think, if done now, there would be even more about consent, safe words, gender fluidity, more sexualities represented...just more.

I will always appreciate Off Our Backs and this book still has an audience.  Hopefully, this book will find a new home and not end up in the landfill.  Someone that can handle profanity and diverse sexual desires.  Rest assured, it is your grandparent's, and possibly your parent's, worst nightmare.

Curious George Goes Camping

 Curious George Goes Camping by Margaret and H.A. Rey's
1999
Weight: 7 oz
Method of Disposal: Donating

I was packing up some home supplies and deciding what to donate, what to trash, what to recycle, and what to keep.  I have not been able to bring myself to throw out my camping supplies, despite not having gone camping in the last 8 years.  I am determined that Harriet will try it at least once.  We have used some of the items when the power has gone out or when we have, for some odd reason or another, had an unusual sleeping arrangement.  Like, when our senior dog had an accident in bed.  Poor girl could not help it, but we had to seek refuge.  

H is bound and determined that camping is not for her, and I am afraid she is 100% right, but it is worth a shot!  Right?  

This is a children's book about a curious little monkey that wanders away from camp.  "There is a lesson about forest fires--'Fires can be nice, if you're careful,' said the ranger.  George agreed.  Especially for roasting marshmallows."

A Dream of Ice

 A Dream of Ice: Book Two of the Earthend Saga by Gillian Anderson and Jeff Rovin
2016
Weight: 10 oz
Method of Disposal: Donating

I was so excited for another book co-authored by Gillian Anderson, of course.  Without the X-files and Sex Education, I have to find something to fulfill my desires.  I have watched The Crown.  I finished The Fall years ago.  Playing By Heart, The Mighty Celt, The Last King of Scotland, Bleak House, Hannibal, Great Expectations.  She may be prolific, but I consume it all too fast.  There just is never enough Gillian Anderson in the world, I guess.

The Stopping Place: A Journey Through Gypsy Britain

 The Stopping Place: A Journey Through Gypsy Britain by Damian Le Bas
2018
Weight: 1.02 lbs
Method of Disposal: Giving Away

I bought this book on my last trip to England, along with too many others.  I am just trying to collect all the information I can about all the things I do not know and, of course, read anything that brings me closer to Harriet.  Not that her upbringing has much to do with Gypsy Britain.  It has very little, though people identifying themselves as Romani did stay on her grandparent's land periodically, there were horse sales, and sometimes caravans of people passing through in the North.

I have occasionally heard about gypsies.  In Russia, in England, in Ireland, in Victor Hugo.  It is not uncommon to hear a sneer along with the word.  When pressed, people will tell me about theft and people who leave trash in their wake, but these same people seem to know very little about where the people they label "gypsies" come from, what motivates them, what they find important, how they identify.  Now, clearly not all gypsies are the same or come from the same bloodlines or even countries, so why all the generalizations.  Like all other groups of people, there is so much more than the stereotypes  you were raised with.  Look around you, take a peek into history.  All I know for sure is that, if anyone claims to be able to sum up a group of people in a few sentences, you should not trust them.

I have so many questions.  This book is just a scratch on the surface, but it is a start. More to come!  I will leave this book in a lending library because you never know who might pick it up without a care or a thought and then learn something new.

The Russian Icon

 The Russian Icon by Irina Solovyova, Vera Laurina, Irina Rodnikova
2007
Weight: 1 lbs
Method of Disposal: Donating

I used to dream of visiting Russia.  I feel like I have let that dream go.  It is a little sad and a little okay.  I am still in awe of the strength, writing, and art that has come out of that country, but I am also horrified by the human rights violations, death, and lies.  All countries have their crimes, but Russia seems to have more than their fair share.  And yet, so many courageous people persevere.  

How To Talk to a Liberal (If You Must)

 How To Talk to a Liberal (If You Must): The World According to Ann Coulter
2004
Weight: 1.4 lbs
Method of Disposal: Recycling

Every now and then I feel like I should read something abhorrent just to see what people who are nothing like me are reading and taking in.  I do not know why I would have chosen Ann Coulter of all authors, but the Laura of 2004 had her reasons, I am sure. 

Let's see if I can highlight some of the golden tidbits so that you can spare yourself.

"Want to make liberals angry? Defend the United States."

"My position hasn't changed since the column I wrote the night of 09/11.  For reasons I cannot understand, I am often asked if I still think we should invade their countries, kill their leaders, and convert them to Christianity.  The answer is: Now more than ever!"

"The invasion of Iraq has gone fabulously well, exceeding everyone's expectations--certainly exceeding the doomsday scenarios of liberals."

The title of chapter 3 is "A Muslim by Any Other Name Blows Up Just the Same."

"I tuned in late and consequently can speak only to the last three hours of Halle Berry's acceptance speech at the Academy Awards last Sunday. But inasmuch as she engaged in wild race-baiting to get her Oscar, Berry's expressions of shock were not very believable.  She has spent weeks complaining about one time she did not get a role because of her color.  It was the part of a forest ranger.  Arnold Scwarzenegger probably has trouble getting roles as a ballet dancer, too.  And yet, still, somehow white guilt worked on Hollywood liberals!  Berry had successfully mau-maued her way to a Best Actress award--and then acted surprised.

It's interesting that Berry makes such a big deal about being black.  She was raised by her white mother who was beaten by her black father.  But clearly, Berry has calculated that it is more advantageous for her acting career to identify with the man that abandoned her rather than the woman who raised her."  

In case, at this point, you are wondering.  Ann Coulter is a racist and also a shitty human being.  I could keep going, but I am not sure it is worth the extra pain and toxicity it would add to the interwebs.

Tomorrow is Inauguration Day.  Let's just hope no one dies.  There are some seriously angry, unhinged, and brainwashed people out there right now.  Ann Coulter would not think it possible, but I hope we are able to preserve the beautiful things about the United States, protect our democracy, and make the world a safer/kinder place.

The Lure of the Lancashire Witches

 The Lure of the Lancashire Witches by Jennie Lee Cobban
2011
Weight: 12 oz
Method of Disposal: Donating

I read a book by Jeanette Winterson about the Lancashire Witches right when Harriet and I started dating.  At this time, Harriet had moved back to England, and we were long distance.  We spent a lot of the time on Skype, learning about each other, our families, our past, where we grew up.  As it turns out, the "witches" were in Harriet's hometown, over 400 years ago.  Her mom, who is a most excellent gift giver, bought me this book so I would be able to read the history alongside the fiction.  

In the 1600's, Lancashire was seen as a place on the outskirts, known for its crime and sexual deviance.  It makes total sense then that, over 400 years later, I would find the love of my life there, right?  6 of the 12 accused came from two families.  There was Elizabeth Southerns (Demdike), and her lineage, and there was Anne Whittle (Chattox) and her family.  It is thought that these two families slung accusations at each other, which was clearly a terrible idea for everyone involved.

This dark and sinister history can be tracked down by interested folks in modern times, and it is. Anything terrible, after so many years, can become a tourist attraction, but "witches" seem to hold a special lure.

The Art and Craft of Papier Mache

 The Art and Craft of Papier Mache by Juliet Bawden
1990
Weight: 2 lbs
Method of Disposal: Donating

I remember discovering and falling in love with Papier Mache as a child.  I made masks, pigs out of soda bottles, animals, all sorts.  I dreamt of making a papier mache Noah's Ark, which turned into me making an ark out of popsicles sticks, which turned into an utter disaster.  The wet scraps of paper, the paste, the fun of creating something new--I loved it all.  

This is a book seemingly more geared towards adults that still hold that sense of fun and creativity in their hearts.  There are boxes, bowls, frames, hats, masks, dolls.  I have not done papier mache in ages, and I am not sure if the luster is still there for me to start again.  I am passing this book on, hoping it is there for someone else, and that this book encourages and inspires them.

Growing Up Gay/Growing Up Lesbian: A Literary Anthology

 Growing Up Gay/Growing Up Lesbian: A Literary Anthology Edited Bennett L. Singer
1994
Weight: 15 oz
Method of Disposal: Donating

This was one of very few lgbt books I was able to find when I was growing up, and I cherished it.  I remember trying to get my father to read it and offering to make a book cover for it so that he could read it on the plane when he was flying for business trips.  No one would have to know.

I did not realize that I was being introduced to some amazing writers I would later study in college, like Gloria E. Anzaldua, Audre Lord, Jeanette Winterson, and Dorothy Allison.  I would end up reading all of Annie on My Mind, The Well of Loneliness, Zami, Oranges are Not the Only Fruit, and Rubyfruit Jungle.  Dad should have taken me up on my offer.  

Lilies and Cannonballs

 Lillies and Cannonballs Review: Volume 1, Number 1: Spring/Summer 2004
Weight: 12 oz
Method of Disposal: Donating

This literary review brought me back to a different time.  A time of Bush, Rumsfeld,  Cheney, War, the Patriot Act, WMDs (or the lack thereof).  It was a dark time, but we had no idea then just how dark it could get.  

Secrets of Tallulah

 Secrets of Tallulah: Histories, Mysteries, and Colorful Tales from Georgia's Nineteenth Century Mountain Resort by Brian A. Boyd
2003
Weight: 7.2 oz
Method of Disposal: Donating

I have been to Tallulah Gorge several times now but, after reading this book, I would like to go back with new eyes.  It is hard to imagine photographers in the 1800's dragging all that equipment with them to take photos of people hanging out in the treacherous landscape.  I am glad they did though.  It is fun to see the old photos of when Tallulah Gorge was a big vacation destination.  

I have always loved exploring Georgia.  Day trips are easy to pack into the weekends and the dogs can go.  During the pandemic, it has been a particular blessing to be surrounded by so many trails, waterfalls, mountains, and outdoor activities.

Tallulah is brutal with all if its steps, but it is a great place to take someone from out of town, even though just looking at the suspension bridge gives me the shakes.  I am proud to say that, despite my fear of heights, I have crossed it several times.  I also feel that I should never have to do it again.

Mau Mau and Kenya

 Mau Mau and Kenya: An Analysis of a Peasant Revolt by Wunyabari O. Maloba
1998
Weight: 1.47 lbs
Method of Disposal: Donating

In college, I took a Women, War, and Militarism in Africa course.  It was hard, valuable, and a lot packed in.  How to cover all of Africa in one semester?  Our teacher tried to help us scratch the surface and inspire us to look further and regularly.  I remember her telling us that it is important to read news from other countries' media outlets and not just those in the United States.  At the time, my French Professor was encouraging the same.  It seems like obvious advice, though it definitely is not something a lot of people I know do.

This book was much like that course.  A detailed description of the Mau Mau but trying to pack a lot into one book.  It was valuable and insightful, and it made you want to look further.  It brings to light the strength of people standing up against colonialism and also the terrible things that they suffered and endured at the hands of the British.  It shows the complexity and problems with trying to define and easily contain people within one label.  It paints the Mau Mau in a very different light than what others had previously said about the them, something that was needed.

It has been a long time since that class, but it was a memorable one.

Cootie Shots

 Cootie Shots: Theatrical Inoculations Against Bigotry for Kids, Parents, and Teachers: Plays, Poems, and Songs Edited by Norma Bowles with Mark E. Rosenthal
2000
Weight: 1.9 lbs
Method of Disposal: Donating

I am not an educator, and I do not work with children.  I am confident that I would not be the best person to review this book.  What I do like, is having helpful conversations with kids about race, ability, sexuality, gender, consent, age, and culture instead of acting like every person is the same and that you need to see no differences.  This way of thinking hinders children, as they exist in a world where racism, sexism, ableism, etc DOES exist and then they do not have the words or comfort level to further explore and understand this.  If we do not have the language, we cannot learn and progress.

This book offers playful ways to get children talking and learning about diversity.  You know it is going to be good when one reviewer claims it will cause gender confusion in children and encourage cross-dressing!  Mostly this book receives 5 star reviews, and it looks like that particular reviewer was never inoculated.  Do you see what can happen?

The Poisonwood Bible

 The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
1998
Weight: 1.9 lbs
Method of Disposal: Donating

I think this is my last copy of the Poisonwood Bible!  Some books just have such a wide audience and so many people recommend them that you end up inheriting multiples of the same book.  That is definitely what happened with The Poisonwood Bible.  I am trying not to take duplicates of the same book to the new home.  This is a harder feat than you would expect, and I am consistently surprised to find books like this one still in the library.  Not because I did not enjoy it, because I did.  I am glad to be able to share it with someone else now.

The Audacity of Hope

 The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama
2007
Weight: 9.6 oz
Method of Disposal: Donating

If I had not already been a fan of Barack Obama, I would have become one after reading his memoirs.  I cannot begin to tell you how much I miss having a competent, collected, savvy leader.  I know there are many people out there that can empathize.  His memoirs were great.  They were interesting and inspiring. He showed you some flaws, many of his strengths, his passion for helping people, and his sense of community.  The love story of Barack and Michelle was fun to read about.  He had a perfect past to set him up for leadership.  He had spent ample time in other countries, which broadened his mind, no doubt, but he had a clear love for America and was an established American (since that was such a big issue to the birthers, like Trump himself).  His work as a community organizer, his upbringing, his family, his being young and doing what young people do--all of it made him a real person that so many of us could connect with/see ourselves reflected in for so many different reasons and in different ways.

Obama really did give me hope and made me expect more and want better.  I did not feel like the things I had heard growing up about politicians held true anymore, not to me.  I was able to break out of the mindset that "all politicians are corrupt" and that "both parties are the same."  The idea that the government does not exist for the people.  I began to really think about just how hard of a job it would be to be the President of the United States of America.  I can tell you, even if it were on the table, I would turn that job down!  It takes a special person, and Obama was uniquely special.

I would not have wanted him to serve more than 8 years because I appreciate our democracy and the rules that are in place to stop us from having a dictatorship.  That being said, it is hard to imagine how different 2020 would have looked with a leader like Obama.  It is painful anyway, because the last four years have been so trying and overwhelming.  I wake up every morning expecting there to be another massive news event or emergency and, most of the time, there is.  I think of Naomi Klein's Shock Doctrine, and I see it happening all around me.  It is terrifying.  

We are really in a mess now and, while I am grateful to Biden for stepping up, I do not envy him.  Can you imagine being the leader of this ship?  

To this day, I am soothed by Obama's words when he speaks publicly.  His voice is reassuring and his composure helps me regain mine.  I dream of having another leader like him.  What a difference we could make in America.  Also, and I never quite realized how much this meant to me before Trump, what are all the great American things that we could preserve.  This has been a scary time for our democracy, and I am worried about how much damage has been done, though I hope this is just the chaos of old ideas dying off.  The rallying cry of people who no longer have a footing in a new, more progressive world.  I want to hope that we are on the precipice of something we can all be proud of creating, even as it looks like we are losing ourselves to global warming, violence, and individualism.  Thank you, Obama, for helping me know that dreaming big is not being unrealistic.  It is important and necessary.  We have to dream big to make big changes, and the changes we make (for better or worse) will be felt for generations to come.

Are Women Human?

Are Women Human? And Other International Dialogues by Catharine MacKinnon
2006 Weight: 2 lbs
Method of Disposal: Donation

 

In college, I did an independent study on Catharine MacKinnon, and I have never been able to give up the books from that course.  We studied them closely and constantly.  There were only three of us, working with our professor, to discuss and understand the work.  MacKinnon argued that pornography should be illegal and that it subordinates women.  I am not anti-pornography, but she is one smart woman and has some powerful ideas.  It was powerful to have someone pushing me and teaching me, constantly. If nothing else, you could use her work to make a strong argument for sex industry reform, and people have.  She has done incredible work on sex equality and the law, impacting sexual harassment, prostitution, rape, war crimes.  It is really impressive stuff.

Reading MacKinnon and reading the feminist scholars that tried to tear up her work made me terrified of ever trying to write or publish anything in the field of Women's Studies.  There are a lot of smart people out there, and there is a lot of anger and complexity to the ways people are oppressed.

I have read and re-read my MacKinnon books, and I know it is time for someone else to have them.  I am still not brave enough.  

You gotta love the title of this book though, right?  

 

 

Ice Cream

 Ice Cream: Contemporary Art in Culture: 10 Curators, 10 Contemporary Artists, 10 Source Artists
2007
Weight: 6.5 lbs
Method of Disposal: Donation

Goodbye 6 lb art book.  Our last 5 or so years together have been sweet, even if we spent most of that time distant and distracted with each other.  When I held you, I was curious, and my heart was filled with intrigue.  My favorite moments with you were when I flipped your pages, gently in my hands--especially that first time when I did not know anything about you yet.

In that time, the excitement has dimmed little by little and, now, the weight seems to WEIGH on me more and more and our time together seems to be coming to an end.  You lived with someone else before me, and you will live with someone else again.  When you see that new glimmer in your eye, you will feel safe again.  I hope you enjoy it, and I hope they enjoy you even more.

Thank you for the time and for opening my mind just a little more.

Different Hours

 Different Hours: Poems
2000
Weight: 12 oz
Method of Disposal: Donating

We have been looking at buying a house so it is time, yet again, for another big push to send more books out into the world.  Unfortunately, I have to read them before they go out, and there is no time for reading between work, house hunting, pets, and general life.  In other news, I need another knee surgery soon so maybe I can get a week off!  Albeit, on pain medication and in bed, but you get what you get!

Apart from me and mine, the United States of America continues to implode in new and unexpected ways.  Maybe the power of democracy can stop it after all.  God help us.