Strider

Strider by Beverly Cleary
2000
Weight: 4.8 oz
Method of Disposal: Leaving in a Lending Library

I am reading children's book in between all of my others.  I need something a little less heavy from time to time to get by.  Working in rescue, every day feels like a life and/or death day.  Survival, Fight or Flight, the best and the worst of people.  Living under a Trump Administration is like an ongoing nightmare.  Besides, with my eyesight going, the print is a little larger ;). 

I remember reading Cleary all the time as a kid, though I did not read Stryder.  It was nice to revisit her work and pleasantly surprising to read about the rescue of an abandoned dog.  It was not my favorite Cleary book by far.  That might be the Mouse and the Motorcycle, Dear Mr. Henshaw, or it might be one of the Ramona books.  I am pretty sure the mouse wins.

Classic and Contemporary Nude Photography

Classic and Contemporary Nude Photography  David Chamberlain
1989
Weight: 2.3
Method of Disposal: Donating

This book was given to me by my grandfather, on the sly, when he thought I was old enough.  There was a certain perceived badness or guilt associated with it, as you could gauge by his well-meaning chuckle and devious smile.  It was not in any disturbing or awkward way.  It was just what happens when we are raised in a culture of body-shaming when the human body is actually quite beautiful and fun to photograph.

Anyway, I am not getting into that today.  I am getting rid of this book because it celebrates the human body, AND I just did the Warrior Dash yesterday in Georgia!  This is the second 5K I have done in my life--the last one was last month, and it was the Foam Run.  A 5K with obstacles is a breeze for many people, but I am still working on getting into shape and am quite chunky, and I am terrified of heights so I am mad proud of myself for doing it and having fun all the while.  I am excited to continue training my body to take on bigger challenges.  We only have our bodies so long and with each year they weaken, sometimes sooner than expected due to illness or accident.  I want to do everything I can while I can.