Day of the Dead

 Day of the Dead by Gina Hyams
2001
Weight: 12 oz
Method of Disposal: Lending Library

We are fast approaching Dia de los Muertos, which I love learning about, even as I worry about cultural appropriation, the more and more you find skulls and skeletons lining the big box stores.  This book was given to me as part of a Day of the Dead box with an altar and skeleton back when I was in high school...so, exactly what I am talking about, potentially.  

The way I was raised to think of death was as an eternal goodbye, a devastating blow, an open casket, people sharing stories of the dead at a funeral, whether they knew them or not.  There are spreads of Southern Comfort food--potato salad, mashed potatoes, macaroni, cakes--once the funeral is over.  After that day of mourning, we do not do much more as a family.  In private, you can grieve.  I think, maybe once, as a family, we visited the grave of a loved one some years after their funeral, briefly, on the way to some other family event.  People are separated by heaven and hell or there is nothing after death, depending on who you are with.  Since I came out at 13, I have been assured that hell is where my soul will be by some and others have given no thought to it at all.

What I do know for sure is that death makes me worried, upset, confused, overwhelmed easily and fast.  I guess we celebrate lives and living in our own ways, but I love the idea of this holiday.  A day when the lives of those who have died are celebrated and the distance between the living and the dead is not so far away.  The strong family ties and the history all spun up into a colorful, fun, rich, sugary celebration.  From the outside, it looks so beautiful and seems so healthy.  

The more Dia de los Muertos becomes more common place in the US, the more I keep my distance and observe.  Uncomfortable with the conflation of it with Halloween, and the mass production of products made to sell for profit.  Costumes, barbies, action figures, movies, on and on.  I do feel like, from afar, it still has much to teach me though, and I appreciate it.

The Stranger in the Woods

 The Stranger in the Woods:  The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit by Michael Finkel
2017
Weight:15 oz
Method of Disposal: Giving Away

This is a hard one.  The story itself is very interesting, a young man goes off into the woods to survive by way of minor theft, staying hidden, and building a rudimentary encampment in Maine.  He spoke one word to one hiker in 25 years and survived some brutal winters.  He claims he did this without even lighting a fire.  Some people consider him a simple thief, others a convicted felon who made them feel unsafe for years, and others think of him as a wise man who has done the unthinkable and potentially knows some great truths that the rest of us may struggle to obtain or may never obtain.

I am of the train of thought that he is not just a simple thief or felon, and that there is no reason to resent him for being "lazy," as many have, and also that he is not a magical, wise man with all sorts of insight. I do feel for the families that lived in fear and were scared someone would break in with their children in the home, though I do agree with those who think prison time and a life sentence would make no sense in this case. To me, he is just a man with mental health concerns that are unlike most of the population and, because of how his mind works and who he is, he managed to do something extraordinary that many of us could not even begin to conceive of doing.

As for the author, I struggle.  I am excited with him when Mr. Knight (the "hermit") writes him back after he sends him a letter, but things get uncomfortable towards the end when Mr. Knight and his family plead with the author to leave him alone.  On the one hand, I do think he found a special connection with Mr. Knight and that there was something about him that Mr. Knight was somewhat drawn to and, on the other hand, CONSENT.  It is hard though.  Things are not black and white when Mr. Knight says that he will likely kill himself and asks the author to turn away and leave him to it.  Mr. Knight also tells him, at one point, to write whatever he wants and that he is not concerned about it at all.

Some people really think the author is exploiting Mr. Knight, and I really believe the author is genuinely enthralled with him and cares about him.  I think this book was likely a labor of love and enchantment but, when a man tells you to leave him alone enough, you do need to leave him alone, of course, which he ultimately does.  So, I clearly do not know anything and have no answers, but there is no way around the fact that this is a unique and interesting story.

Laughable Loves

 Laughable Loves by Milan Kundera
1999
Weight: 9.1 oz
Method of Disposal: Leaving in Lending Library

How is it that Milan Kundara was one of my favorite authors at some point?  I really did not enjoy this book at all.  I do think he is an excellent writer, but he treats women like trash and there is never a believable woman character.  They are all just receptacles for toxic masculinity and potentially ejaculate, depending on how successful the deplorable, inhumane male characters are.  I hated it.

Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man

 Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man
2020
Weight: 18 oz
Method of Disposal: Giving Away

What can I say about this book that has not already been said?  Likely, nothing.  I can tell you that I read it before falling asleep, and I had nightmares all night about the Trump family.  I kept waking up in the night, in a stupor, frustrated with Robert Trump, who was trying to surrender a dog.  I cannot tell you how many times I woke up gritting my teeth saying, "We will take it.  We will take it.  I can't leave that dog with you.  I told you.  Just let me deal with it in the morning."  I was so tired the next day.  I said something in passing to my Dad in a text, and he wrote back, "You made me laugh out loud about a politician's dead brother coming to you in a dream requesting he surrender his dog to you.  I know exactly what that means.  It means you work too much, and you need to see less news."  He might be right about that!

Also, the other thing that is evident is that if Trump is elected again in November, we are in HUGE (YUGE!) trouble.

Superfudge

 Superfudge by Judie Blume
2003
Weight: 6 oz
Method of Disposal: Lending Library

I have been catching up on all of my children's literature I collected from working in the Children's Department at Barnes and Noble many years ago.  I remember reading Fudge and Superfudge even before that and, of course, Judy Blume.  She has made quite a legend of herself.  I was in my car just the other day when Amanda Palmer came on, belting out a song about Judy Blume.  It was fun to read Superfudge again and now I hope to pass this book on to someone it was really intended for, a child.