Horses With a Mission: Extraordinary True Stories of Equine Service by Allen and Linda Anderson 2009 Weight: 10 oz Method of Disposal: Mailing to my niece
Animal rescue has ruined me for books like these. I get judgmental when people make stupid mistakes or see what they want to see with an animal, while missing what is clearly, actually happening. I cannot suspend my rescue brain long enough to just enjoy the read! Apparently, even with horses.
That being said, I enjoyed hearing about so many horses being rescued, loved, and cared for, especially for the length of their natural lives. I hate how so many horses are given up or euthanized once they are no longer seen as useful.
I am hoping my niece will enjoy this book. I know she is not all that keen on reading yet, but she loves all things horse. I love all things rescue. It seemed like a perfect combination and so I have mailed it to her.
Genie: A Scientific Tragedy by Russ Rymer
1994
Weight: 7 oz
Method of Disposal: Lending Library
This book was depressing on so many different levels. This poor girl (now woman) seems to have spent her whole life being used for someone else's greater good. At some point the scientists in this book were no longer able to be in contact with Genie, and the author was not, so maybe things started to improve for her, but it did not sound like it. It seemed like her future would be very bleak indeed.
How this poor child could be pulled from one of the worst abusive situations the world had seen and then end up abused in her foster placements is beyond me. There was so much media attention and, even with the world watching, they could not keep her safe. It is devastating and just shows the world for what it is. Somewhere there is some person who has experienced such little joy in their lives. They have been to hell and back and hell and back and hell again. Their life is unrelenting, and it has nothing to do with who they are or the choices they made. At that same time there are countless other people growing up at the same time with all the opportunities and all the joy and also not always based on their choices--though they have likely been lucky enough to make a ton more decisions and have been faced with many more choices than Genie ever got the chance to.
If you are looking for hope, redemption, someone beating the odds, people doing the right things for the right reasons, then do not look here. This book is not that. This is not to say that there weren't people who loved Genie or helped her. There were but, ultimately, as a whole, it would seem that she was failed terribly.
Durable Goods by Elizabeth Berg
1994
Weight: 8.8 oz
Method of Disposal: Giving to Tracy
I was smitten with the first half of this book. I loved the 12 year old girl and, though we were very different at that age and living in entirely different circumstances, I felt I could relate or remember so much through Berg's descriptions. Katie is an inquisitive little girl with a slightly older best friend who believes herself to be the walking source guide on womanhood and femininity. Her dad is an abusive military man that keeps her and her older sister moving about the country. Their mother is dead after having suffered illness. Berg really captures the agony of pre-teen-dom. I am so impressed.
The last half is heartbreaking. It is still good, but it did not have the same magic the first part had. I do believe I have found a book I recommend. It is a quick read, and you will care about the main characters.
Bottled Up by Jaye Murray
2004
Weight: 4 oz
Method of Disposal: Leaving in Decatur, GA
I just read this the other day because I was not feeling well and was laying around. I wanted something easy and quick to read so I picked a teen lit book. I thought it was pretty good. I appreciated many components of it. It was important to see how many positive influences Pip had to have and how a little luck also went a long way to setting him on the right track. I appreciated that the adults were portrayed as people who didn't always know what the right thing to say or do was. It could be an important read for many teenagers, whether they are going through something difficult or not.
It has rave reviews on Amazon and a lot of people praise the authentic teenage voice. I am not going that far. Particularly in the beginning, I had trouble believing in Tye-dye loving, drug using Pip. I felt like the description of marijuana use was WAY over the top. The portrait painted of the alcoholic father was good, but the portrait of the mother was really lacking. It was an alright book. I am afraid I will loss it soon to my declining memory.
Our Guys by Bernard Lefkowitz 1998 Weight: 1 lb Method of Disposal: I'm thinking about it...any suggestions? It will be gone by Wed. no matter what.
In honor of Switzerland’s refusal to extradite the lovely Roman Polanski I am getting rid of OUR GUYS. I mean, who cares? Really. As Whoopi Goldberg said, “It wasn’t rape rape.” Whatever the fuck that means!
In OUR GUYS the author leads us through his exploration of a brutal assault that occurred in 1989 when a group of wealthy teenage boys raped a 17 year old disabled woman with a broomstick, a baseball bat, and their selves. The boys had grown up with her. They knew her, and their parents knew her. The author spends many years doing research and conducting over 200 interviews. In the end, he uncovers a school board, parents, and a community that tried to cover the whole thing up. They were not successful in that endeavor as this book was published, a movie was made, it was turned into a LAW AND ORDER episode, and it made national headlines. I still think they ultimately won. The boys were punished far more lightly than they should have been. At the publishing of the book, charges were dropped against a couple of the boys and some others were up for an appeal. In 2005 Richard Corcoran, Jr (his charges had been dropped and he had won a $200,000 settlement from the whole ordeal) shot his estranged wife and boyfriend before killing himself *. Another student involved, Chris Archer, was accused of rape again when he went to university in Boston. The charges were dropped. 13 boys were in the basement when the young woman was brought in to be abused. It seems that most of them (if not all of them) received a slap on the wrist and a lot of bad publicity. It probably wasn’t rape rape. You know?
When will we stop worrying about the lives and careers of the rapists over those that they victimize? I think back on my own rape and how expensive it was. I went to the Emory Emergency Room for a rape kit, and I was promptly sent a customer satisfaction survey and the bill. My financial backing to pay the bill fell through, but I thought I would have some time to figure it out. Nope. I got a threat that I would be sent to the creditors. I am lucky enough to have a support system and so was able to get out of that hole. Not everyone has people who can or will do that for them. You cannot be raped if you are poor**. I believe the fee was around $500 and it was only so cheap because I did not get the rape kit that you need to file a report—which can be $1,000+. How much did my rapist have to pay? Nothing. I never saw him again, and I hope it stays that way.
So, fuck you Mark. Fuck the guilty people of 1989 Glen Ridge. And FUCK YOU Roman Polanski. As for Switzerland, you have really let me down this time.
**http://health.usnews.com/health-news/blogs/on-health-and-money/2008/2/21/rape-victims-can-be-hurt-financially-too If you have been raped or someone you know has check to see if you have a local rape crisis center. Many of them will foot all or a large part of your bill, as well as send someone to make sure your rights are protected. Because I live in Georgia I would like to give a shout out to the Dekalb Rape Crisis Center.
