Our House in the Middle of Our Street

The most recent stack Although this post might say it's March 1, 2022, I am currently sitting half-way through March while trying to get this done in the next thirty minutes that I have to myself. It never lasts long enough! Only half of this stack got finished, though I've completed a few since this photo was taken, my reading has mostly been for the kids' school book stack. That is just the reality these days as they are reading novels (or I am reading them aloud) and to keep up with all of it just takes most of my (slow) reading time. I'm a quarter of the way through my most recent Plough magazine issue, and have high hopes for reading Joy Clarkson's Aggressively Happy over the course of the next month, but even my book club reads are suffering.  January The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah - This was my book club's January pick and it was long and not my favorite Hannah book. If I never read another Dust Bowl book I'll be happy (I think this was #4...). It...

  Canoeing down Pitt River in Pitt Meadows  This is a good spot to stop you---before I'm even ahead-- and tell you that by putting off the reflecting on these books before months have passed, that I don't remember all the details now. When I talk about a book with someone, I can typically remember the general jist, whether I liked it or not, and how I *felt* reading it (or completing it). This is what I can offer you right now, in these reviews. Some, I will not remember much detail, but the jist.  The Tradition by Jericho Brown - This book of poetry was a 2020 Pulitzer Prize winner, so I knew I wanted to check it out after I heard Brown on the On Being podcast and was entranced by his conversation. I remember liking this book of poetry but not loving it. It was mostly about the body, and it's connection to the world in many different ways.  Master of None by Jordan Raynor - This is the second book of Raynor's that I've read, and I enjoyed both of them. I had my l...

This has taken me much longer than I anticipated to get a book list together from my libraries' archives, type out, and fill out with links. The links are primarily from Massy Books , an Indigenous-owned bookstore in Vancouver, BC, but when they couldn't be found there they are on amazon.  I didn't give any descriptions of these books because you can click on them to know more, and there are  so many listed. Each and every one of these picture books and young adult (YA)  books,  have been read by my family. Yes, some of them are about political figures or events during the civil rights, but most are about black or people of color who have done amazing things: art, science, inventions, history makers or  fiction books with diverse characters.   With the Black Lives Matter movement happening right now in the US, I thought I'd share some that stood out to us in the past two years of our reading. Diverse books are important in any home, and every single on...

photo credit Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi -  I can't believe this is Gyasi's debut novel that she wrote in her early 20s. It's stunning, complex, beautifully imagined, and very raw. It's a story that weaves through history and follows two women and how drastic their lives are once divided: one gets put onto a slave ship, the other married to a slaver in Ghana. The historical novel traces one generation per chapter from the 1700s and jumps the reader back and forth into present day at the story's end.  The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead - This book is probably the most graphic fiction book I've ever read. It's a Pulitzer and National Book Award prize winner, and the writing is absolutely searing. This book is about Cora, a woman who escapes slavery but is running from state to state via the magical realism of a train on the underground railroad, complete with flowers in a vase atop a checkered tablecloth waiting with a basket of food for her at some of t...

photo credit If you read the first part of this series, you will know that this post will be about non-fiction books that have helped me understand the perspective of black, biracial, and indigenous people. I will make a note with each one as to which perspective it is written from, and why I included it. Following each post will be a few books that I am wanting/waiting to read.  Reading is the primary way we can be put in another's shoes, understand a different perspective, and grow in empathy and compassion for those I do not share the same views with, or have just never been exposed to. It's one of the most influential acts we can do, as humans: read -> think -> grow.  I've Been Meaning to Tell You by David Chariandy - This book is slim -it may not take you more than an hour or two to finish, but it's a father's story-letter to his daughter about his growing up as a minority and the roots of racism, along with infusing hope into the next generation for a ...

Artist Jane Mount The first night of the protests that started after George Floyd's murder by a Minneapolis police officer had my mind racing. I was reading and listening to news reports on and off, and have been for nearly two weeks now. I have been online way too much than is good for me, but I can't  stop reading because I am learning so much. In such a short amount of time, I've learned all about some of the systems that protect the police, what happens when the social contract is up, and that moment of realization that I'm someone to fear , and most importantly, what it looks like to be(come) anti-racist .  I know I am learning so much about racism just in the last two weeks alone, and here I thought I was someone who 'knew'. Dang, I was so wrong. So misinformed. So clueless and ignorant--still am. I am committed to learning more, speaking out when appropriate, and shutting up when appropriate. The only way I can try to help in the immediate time period,...

First time skiing at Silver Star in Vernon, BC. It was gorgeous! January was full of skiing, school, routine, and planning. A lot of mental and physical energy were spent planning for the next two months (they'll be doozies!) and figuring out how everything can fit together like Tetris. I was also reading a very heavy book (that I finished on Feb. 2, so it won't be listed here) that I wasn't overly keen to grab most nights, but knew I needed to complete. I hope February will be filled with about 4 solid reads that I'm already counting on appearing  from the library this week. What I have for January is a bit of a random list, but here we are.  * Real-Life Rules by Mariah Bruehl  - This is a non-fiction, teacher-led activity book for tweens. I will buy anything Mariah Bruehl puts into the world (only 2 so far) because her books are warm, thoughtful, beautifully aesthetic and meaty. This book is all about guiding tweens and early teens through activities geared ...

I literally can't believe I read this many books in July. Now, mind you, I probably finished three the first week that I had been reading for some time, so that feels like cheating a bit, but I found myself very busy, with a lot of restless energy, and very little desire to read especially towards the end of the month. My brain is feeling overloaded from so much. I'm specifically not planning any outings for myself or the kids the last two weeks in August because hoo-boy do I need to actually start planning our homeschool year.  The Wondering Years by Knox McCoy - This is a memoir from a co-host of the popcast , which isn't a podcast I listen to, but a friend of mine does and she loaned me the book because hello! 80s and 90s pop culture references! It was funny and I enjoyed it but the Christianese message at the end of most chapters I found to be a bit corny. Start From the Heart by Kathy Koch - This was a book I got from my mother-in-law at the beginning of the ...

Surprisingly, I read more in the blips of the month before and after my trip than I did in all of February! * Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Pete Scazzero - This was a book I was going through with my small group, and boy was it good. It's a book that, upon finishing the first time, you shake your head a bit, wonder at what you just read, and realize you need to immediately start over to absorb more. Highly recommend for just about everyone. * Traveling with Pomegranates by Sue Monk Kidd - This was a mother-daughter travel memoir intermixed with changing life seasons and gorgeous scenery...pretty much right up my alley. A bit melancholy at times, but the writing, oy. Monk Kidd talks about the beginnings of her bestseller--The Secret Life of Bees, while simultaneously coming to grips with mothering her daughter in a new way. Loved it! It was an unexpected book club pick and I was here for it. * Prairie Suite by Twyla Hansen - This is a short book of poetry about the ...

the hopefuls Februrary wasa  slower book month, but unfortunately because of this month's fewer days, there are 2 books that won't make this list that I will probably complete in that time period. Harumph. Only two of the above books were completed, and one wasn't even started. That, I'm assuming, will also be our March read-alouds fate, barely any output this month, but partway through a number that we'll finish by the end of next. * China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan - This is the second book in the Crazy Rich Asians series, and it did not disappoint. It clocked in just under 500 pages and was again, my favorite read of the month with the humor, cultural context, and ridiculous storyline. I have now gotten to the end of each of these books with the thought, "dangit! Now I'm going to have to read the next one" because I don't like spending time with a 450+ page book. These are worth it, however, and I fully intend to read the last in ...