a gorgeous early sunrise in Fort Langley
Revenge of the Librarians: Cartoons by Tom Gauld - This was a silly little comic book that was almost like the Far Side but with Librarian/book people humor. Read it in one sitting, laughed a lot. LOTS of book references; for the literati that's enticing.
Hidden Systems by Dan Nott - Ok. Another comic book (non-fiction) that was SO fascinating I actually made Ani read it for part of her Science work. This book describes in words AND helpful drawn pictures how the internet, electricity, and water systems are all around us and yet I knew next to NONE of this information. When any of these systems don't work, our lives basically come to a standstill, so I'd guess that most people would actually find this fascinating. Especially nerds. We like this kind of thing a lot. Brain candy!
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard - I followed along with one of my favorite writers, Gracy Olmstead, and her summer book club this year because this is a book I've always wanted to read but never made time for. I am so glad I did it with a large group, and an adept writer who asks beautiful and intriguing questions about the material. It's non-fiction (or a deep study in place? a scientific enlightenment journal? a nature memoir of Tinker Creek?) and is a slow smoulder. You cannot read this book fast; or in my humble opinion, you'll likely miss 70% of what Dillard is trying to tell you about the natural world in her backyard when she was in her twenties. The writing is *chefs kiss*, and the fascination, grotesque or beautiful, of the flora and fauna is superb. Five stars.
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner - This was a book club pick and it was really fun! It's almost more of a foodie memoir than a memoir of the woman's (singer/artist Japanese Breakfast) relationship with her mother, but the only thing I didn't like about this book was the final few chapters - they ended very quickly, and spanned too much of her 'now' life after the good pacing of the first 80% of the book. It was sort of like whiplash. If you love memoirs, relationship dynamics, and foodie descriptions (and travel!), you might enjoy this book.
Read-Alouds:
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave by Frederick Douglass - This memoir is not only an impressive story, but the history behind what Douglass has done for future generations of Black Americans is absolutely monumental - and it starts with this memoir. A little blurb doesn't really seem to do it justice, but with all the history we have studied thus far this year (you'll see other books in Nov-Dec titles, too), everything from 1780s until 1920s (where we've stopped for Christmas break) is so interrelated and the attitudes, progressive protests and policies, etc. - Douglass has had a hand in, well past his death. Five stars. Please read (especially if you're American).
Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe - Speaking of Douglass, who was a contemporary of Stowe's, this book is a novel that has multiple subplots, numerous characters, and even finds it's way as a theological girding of the many forms of popular "Christianity" (I.e. similar to moralism, universalism, etc. today), and how horrible these 'religious outpourings' were for the slaves during this time in the southern states. This book has been charged with sentimentalism, and maybe it is...but both myself and the kids loved it, and bawled at the end. Uncle Tom is truly a Christ figure and his story and faith is the reason why Beecher Stowe was called "the little woman who started the great war" (civil war). Absolute must-read in one's lifetime. Five stars.
Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith - Sigh. This book was fine. It's hard to go from the first two into a book that is less than it's predecessors. It gave all three of us a very real taste of what the Civil War was like for the young men who were responsible for their part in it - no matter what side they were on. So much of this book was based on real people, places, battles, and situations, which I appreciated. We read it alongside the following book, Blood and Germs, which was very helpful and honestly gave the civil war much more 'weight' than I think it would otherwise. I also liked that this book looked at the men's (on both sides) actions and weighed their character and motivations; and came out with 'humans are complex individuals'.
Blood and Germs by Gail Jarrow - This book is a non-fiction book about literal germs and medical information that all took place during the civil war. From amputations to flu, diptheria, and diahrea outbreaks that caused side A to loose to side B and back again - it was so interesting and also grotesque. You couldn't help but feel for everyone: the men who had to endure the sickness/medical procedures, and the doctors + nurses that worked basically non-stop in disgusting conditions. Well worth the read but not for the faint of heart (lots of historical photos), would never let a kid under grade 5 read/look at it, though. Junior high and older.
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