The Homo Handbook

The Homo Handbook: Getting in Touch with Your Inner Homo: A Survival Guide for Lesbians and Gay Men  by Judy Carter
1996
Weight: 1 lb

This is a humor book that I am completely, and I am completely unsure how I came to be the owner of it.  A lot of it makes more sense in the 90's when it was published, but there are still some things that are so applicable it will make you laugh out loud.  Those moments are unexpected but nice.

 I read this book in the perfect way though.  I really do not think there is a better way than my way.  I had just started dating the woman I love, and she was in her first lesbian relationship.  She picked the book off the shelf and got into bed with me.  She might have shown more interest in this book than any other one I have seen her encounter before or sense.  We read it together and laughed and talked about stereotypes and truths and relationships and lesbians.  We actually were able to have a lot of serious conversations while flipping through this decidedly not serious little book, and we had a lot of fun doing it.  Who knew it would be so helpful?
 

TWEAK

Tweak: Growing Up on Methamphetamines  Nic Sheff
2009
Weight: 10.4 oz
Method of Disposal: Donating

I recently picked this book off my shelf at random.  I did not read it all in one day like many people said they did.  I found it very difficult to get through.  It follows the life of a drug addict and at every turn things get worse and worse and worse and better and worse.  As a reader, you watched things happen and wanted to shout "no" or "stop" or "you know what he just did to you, right?" But the bad things happened anyway.  It made me feel sick and sad.  The desperation, the trying, the messing up.  This book was successful.  It gave you an inkling as to how painful addiction can be and how difficult it can be to overcome.  The relapses and the pain caused along the way.

Nic describes being raised with money and around money.  In many ways, this added to his addiction, as he could still money and housing from people who had it.  It also is what gave him a chance at survival, as his parents/friends/whoever could afford to get him into rehabs repeatedly.  I am afraid to Google his name, but I hope he was able to overcome once and for all this time.  I cannot imagine how difficult it would be coming from any socio-economic situation.

The Encyclopedia of Animals

The Encyclopedia of Animals  Harold G. Cogger
2002
Weight: 5.2 lbs
Method of Disposal: Donating

I am getting rid of this book for the same reason I got rid of the Sharks and Whales one from earlier today.  This one is only slightly more difficult to let go because it has all sorts of animals in it, including adorable baby hedgehogs and platypuses.  Who ever gets to see a baby platypus in real life?!  There is a polar bear on the cover, which makes my heart swoon.  It is so difficult to handle when one comes to the realization that polar bears may become extinct in our lifetime due to global warming.  They are such beautiful, big, strong bears.

It is really amazing to think about how many different types of life there are on the planet and, no matter how many times I look through books like this over the years, there is always one I have never heard of, seen, or imagined.  I hope someone who truly loves animals and the Earth finds this book super cheap and loves it as I have or more.
 

Redefining Our Relationships

Redefining Our Relationships: Guidelines For Responsible Open Relationships  Wendy-O Matik
2002
Weight: 8 oz
Method of Disposal: Gave to a Friend

I just re-read this book, and I really enjoyed its simplicity and message.  Oddly, I am in the position of doing the opposite.  I have entered into a monogamous relationship and have decided that I am ready to commit to one person for the rest of my life.  While this might seem counterintuitive to this book, I am a firm believer that guidelines from the world of polyamory are useful and very needed for people whether they are in a monogamous or open relationship.  The critical insight on jealousy and communication benefit us all.  These books expound on being thankful for what you have, allowing your partner to grow as a person, realizing that you do not own someone else, examining the jealousy you will inevitably encounter and finding ways of dealing with it in a healthy manner, and loving yourself and your partner(s).  I am thankful I got the chance to read it again.  I will always be respectful, thankful to, and happy to know that there are people out there in polyamorous relationships.  I will continue to learn from them, as I do from people and books on monogamy.

I am focusing now on building trust and respect in my own relationship, remembering to always work on communication and our mutual growth, and ensuring that we focus on the things that we are lucky for and not always the things we wish we could change--like distance.  I am grateful that I have an optimistic partner that gets me on the right track when I start to stray and who is willing to hear me out when I push her to think about new ways of being and doing things. 

I gave this book to a friend who is thinking a lot about the relationship she is in.  It may not help her like it has me over the years, but it is worth a shot!

 

I'm Back!

The Nature Companions Sharks and Whales
2002
Weight: 3.8 lbs
Method of Disposal: Donating

 

 

I have not written in over two months.  This is, by far, the longest I have been away from this blog since I started it.  I might have been a little distracted by the month and a half long visit from Harriet and making huge life decisions.  I had a fantastic time and now I have so much to plan and do.  I need to get back to getting rid of the old and making room for the new.  I am in the process of selling some items I have owned for some time in an effort to save some money (or possibly just pay the bills--which I am struggling to do this month!), donating items that other people might want but I no longer need since there will be another person living in this house (they should not have to move my clutter out of the way just to sit down, right?), and doing the paperwork and planning needed to make some big and very happy changes in my life.  It is all very exciting, albeit daunting.

It seems strange that I hold onto books like this one.  I mean, really, how often do you need an encyclopedia and/or guidebook to sharks?  I love sharks in general, though even after owning this book for almost ten years, I am not very good at labeling them.  Labeling sharks is not part of my career.  I do not interact with them on even an annual basis.  I have only been around a shark that was not confined by humans 5 times in my life. I guess I always thought I would teach myself more about them, but let's be real.  I flip through this book maybe once a year and probably not even that much.  I am more inclined to go to Google for a shark-related question than this book.  It is useful to open it and learn about something I never thought to ask, and I have done that enough.  I need more shelf space, more life space, and less clutter.  When I was a kid, I lived for books like these.  Maybe this one will find some like-minded child that believes they can change the world by saving the animals and, in the process, learning about every species of animal out there.