The best part of reading this book was this conversation
My husband: What are you reading?
Me: It's a cemetery restorer who stumbles into a mystery. Oh,The best part of reading this book was this conversation
My husband: What are you reading?
Me: It's a cemetery restorer who stumbles into a mystery. Oh, and she can see ghosts.
Him: So...it's aspirational.
Anyhoo, it was a fun read, but I was craving a resolution with the Devlin/Amelia storyline which ain't gonna happen because this is a series. Which I should've known. It says so right up there....more
The series, in general, and this book, in particular, are such a delight.
It reminds me of the movie reviewer who sneered at Pitch Perfect 3 saying it The series, in general, and this book, in particular, are such a delight.
It reminds me of the movie reviewer who sneered at Pitch Perfect 3 saying it was okay if you liked silliness and female camaraderie.
Well, I do.
Which is not to say that Raybourn's work is silly because it's not. It's like James Bond + female camaraderie complete with action and humor and...a chicken? I love that Billie, Helen, Nat, and Mary Alice are in their 60s and still kicking ass. They also have their own little squabbles still just as any family would.
I really should gather these and then read them together. I keep forgetting what has happened since last I read. Still, I love this series for whateveI really should gather these and then read them together. I keep forgetting what has happened since last I read. Still, I love this series for whatever reason. Maybe it's because Toboso and I are birthday buddies....more
Why it took me so long to read this book, I'll never know. It was a sheer delight.
First, Poppy is the kind of historical figure we're all looking for,Why it took me so long to read this book, I'll never know. It was a sheer delight.
First, Poppy is the kind of historical figure we're all looking for, someone who is very aware of the ways historical society is holding her down but also very determined to live life on her own terms. She's also curious and pragmatic and passionate all at once.
Archer was created for all of us girlies who love a tortured hero. All buttoned up. All afraid to care and yet...so kind to Poppy. He sees her as a person, a quality not often seen in some of the best romances. His respect for both her and her interests? *chef's kiss*
This is the sort of angsty push me pull me that I was was in my repertoire.
Oh...and there's some kink--very much a part of character, which is always a nice touch....more
If you're new to the injustices in the world at large and in this country in particular, then this book may very well radicalize you. If you are alreaIf you're new to the injustices in the world at large and in this country in particular, then this book may very well radicalize you. If you are already familiar with a lot of what's going on, then large swaths of this book may weigh you down with reminders. [Edit: while I was going through my highlights, I came across the theme of hope. How hope is necessary. So...keep going. Find the hope. Remember that, as this book says, "cynicism is a creeping enemy."]
I, of course, chose to read this book at a very heavy time, a time full of wrongs that need to be righted. It feels as though there are more wrongs than usual, but that's probably a function of my privilege. I admit that.
I think I was hoping for more directives, more ideas. This is, instead, a book from those who have been in the trenches far longer than I have. They know far better than I do that there are limits to what individuals can do. At the end of the day, the directive of this book is to take care of each other.
I'm going to repeat that: at the end of the day, all we can do is take care of each other.
Those who are in power right now are counting on the divisions they have sown. It's hard to fight for justice when you don't trust your neighbors, much less strangers. The ultimate activism, best I can tell, is to maintain your trust and to continue to extend a helping hand.
I'll be adding highlighted passages from this book eventually, so be on the lookout for those. I know this review isn't as coherent as my reviews usually are because I read this book in bite-sized chunks over time and because I have deadline brain. [Edit: I have added those highlights. I suggest you read them rather than relying on my deadline review]...more
I'm trying to figure out why this book didn't speak to me the way it spoke to so many other people. I think it's a combination of things: 1) I'm on deI'm trying to figure out why this book didn't speak to me the way it spoke to so many other people. I think it's a combination of things: 1) I'm on deadline so I'm cranky and very hard to satisfy right now, 2) this story is more of a how and less of a why, and 3) it's a very serious book, as well it should be.
I'd say this book will really speak to people who want to sink into a place and time. It probably also appeals to those who haven't come across the types of discrimination Peters details. Definitely a must for folks who like multiple POVs and present and past timelines intertwined.
Since the writing is very evocative of time and place and the subject matter is interesting and necessary, I can only conclude that I skimmed parts of this because *I* was in a mood.
Oh! I can see this book really appealing to folks who loved Lisa Wingate's Before We Were Yours....more
Imma have to hit pause on this one because it's making me soooooo angry.
Why? Because I lived through the nineties, and looking at that time in retrospImma have to hit pause on this one because it's making me soooooo angry.
Why? Because I lived through the nineties, and looking at that time in retrospect proves Yarrow's point that the 90s were a backlash to any strides women made in the 70s and 80s. Rolling back Roe v Wade, Title 9, the Voting Rights Act, ACA, and anything else the current admin can get their hands on is rolling back any strides made for women and/or people of color. I'm tired, and I know I'm only tired from one intersection of my being, so all y'all who have multiples points, I salute you. You are incredible for pushing back against all of this unnecessary hatred.
Anyhoo, I've made it to Chapter 4 where Yarrow has discussed reclamation of the word bitch, Buffy, Charmed, how the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal was ultimately sexist, and what happened to Dr. Elders. I got too mad to function. To sum up, Elders suggested that sex education should start when kids are younger (it should--in an age appropriate way), that sex ed shouldn't be abstinence based (because that doesn't work), and that masturbation should be taught as a part of sex education to combat AIDS and teen pregnancy ("self abuse" only "abuses" the self, yo). My takeaway was that Clinton should've resigned for being a horndog. Elders' comments were misrepresented and became the fodder for late night jokes. Because she was fired, our nation still suffers from higher rates of STDs than other developed nations.
Because she was fired, we also have among the highest rates of teen pregnancy among developed nations.
Maybe we should've listened to the Condom Queen.
So, maybe I'll come back to this book when I can handle it.
I also checked this book out of the library. The style is very similar to rupi Kaur, and I'm still not sure how I feel about the -[thing in italics] sI also checked this book out of the library. The style is very similar to rupi Kaur, and I'm still not sure how I feel about the -[thing in italics] situation, but here we all are.
I like the premise of this collection, but it's angry. I'm not in an angry place right now. I'm in a tired place. I looked Lovelace up, and, yeah, she's younger than I am. I'm thinking this collection would really appeal to the thirtysomething women are just now getting to that part of life where men start dismissing them because they don't look as young and/or have put on weight and/or are crowding in on higher level positions. Bless. It gets both better and worse, my little chickadees.
I doubt there would be a market for my tired middle-aged woman poetry, so I don't mean any of that as shade. Twenty-five-year-old Sally would've loved these poems and thought she understood them only to reach thirty-five or so and go "Ooohhhh, I get it now."
As part of this year's exploration of poetry, I checked this book out of the library. At first, I wasn't enthused because I had no desire to read abouAs part of this year's exploration of poetry, I checked this book out of the library. At first, I wasn't enthused because I had no desire to read about a break up, BUT this collection of poems opened up in such lovely ways. Kaur's work is accessible, beautiful, and a meaningful look at her life as a woman/immigrant daughter/student of life.
A few I liked:
perhaps we are all immigrants trading one home for another first we leave the womb for air then the suburbs for the filthy city in search of a better life some of us just happen to leave entire countries
learning to not envy someone else's blessings is what grace looks like
if you have never stood with the oppressed there's still time -lift them...more
It's Julia Cameron doing Julia Cameron things complete with lots of stories about her dog Lily.It's Julia Cameron doing Julia Cameron things complete with lots of stories about her dog Lily....more
That time I called a publicist to get a quote, and then I saw a book by one of their clients and had to check it out...
I wouldn't call this a perfect That time I called a publicist to get a quote, and then I saw a book by one of their clients and had to check it out...
I wouldn't call this a perfect book, but I would call it charming. Described as "cozy horror" to me, I would say it's small town southern fiction with a supernatural bent. I suppose their descriptor is far shorter.
Four generations of women work at a funeral home where they put back down the dead who rise again--at least things start getting out of hand. Each family member has a story, but I was, as always, partial to the. butterscotch popping granny of the bunch....more
Oh, Kristan Higgins. How do you always make us both laugh and cry?
This book is for all of us awkward nerds who had to reinvent ourselves then tear ourOh, Kristan Higgins. How do you always make us both laugh and cry?
This book is for all of us awkward nerds who had to reinvent ourselves then tear ourselves apart and stitch ourselves back together as a more authentic self.
I particularly loved Nora's mom, Sharon, and prickly niece, Poe. Sullivan Fletcher is a delicious hero. I would love to be friends with Xiaowen. I *might* cuss as much as she does, but then she would one up me just cuz.
It's funny how we change over time. I absolutely fell in love with the Transcendentalists when I was in Ms. Keller's American lit class. As I read reaIt's funny how we change over time. I absolutely fell in love with the Transcendentalists when I was in Ms. Keller's American lit class. As I read read this version of "Self-Reliance," however, I wasn't as enthralled.
Much of the essay takes on a conservative bent. Or maybe I can better see Emerson's privilege. Or maybe the essay is framed that way from the quotes that are highlighted, and the quotes within.
On the one hand, I think this is an interesting way to approach literature because the editors/authors break up the essay into digestible chunks. On the other hand, it definitely felt as though there were an agenda here.
In the spirit of this year's word "Both...and," I bring you this book. It's important to avoid falling into binary thought, the idea that because I loIn the spirit of this year's word "Both...and," I bring you this book. It's important to avoid falling into binary thought, the idea that because I love my country it has never done wrong. If individual people are made up of both good and bad and countries are made up of individual people, then wouldn't it stand to reason that countries sometimes do bad things? This is an oversimplification of a grave injustice done to Black Americans, but it's so, so important to study American history rather than American mythology.
Late in the book Rothstein quotes a textbook as saying something akin to "African-Americans found themselves living in segregated communities."
Um...they just woke up one day and bam! Segregation. No, I don't think so. I think that's a sentence purposely phrased in the passive voice to undercut the actuality of the situation: government policies combined with the overt racism of lots of white folks intentionally segregated communities, a practice that has had devastating consequences for Black folks in particular.
To sum up Rothstein in a nonacademic way--and one that will miss some key points because I accidentally took this book back to the library before I wrote this review:
1. The early end of Reconstruction meant that the formerly enslaved were pushed into the lowest paying jobs, many of which exploited them. See cropping, share. 2. Woodrow Wilson started this idea of home ownership specifically as a way to segregate communities. 3. Federal policies insured that only white people could take advantage of these opporuntities. Only white folks could get a mortgage. Zoning ordinances and neighborhood "covenants" expressly forbid Black people from moving into middle class neighborhoods even if those families had the means. 4. Governments worked with realtors to steer white families to white neighborhoods and Black families to Black neighborhoods. It was assumed that property values would go down due to nothing more than the color of a person's skin. 5. White families were able to take advantage of government programs for favorable mortgages as well as the GI bill in order to build up generational wealth. Black families were barred from these same programs. 6. Interstate systems and other "community" projects were used to further segregate communities, always pushing people of color into smaller, poor neighborhoods with crappier schools and pushing shite families out to the suburbs with nicer schools. 7. Precedence was given to highway construction rather than mass transportation which further kept Black folks isolated in poorer neighborhoods. 8. When middle class Black families attempted to integrate neighborhoods, especially in the postWWII era when housing was scarce, violent mobs kept them from doing so. The police did nothing--or they charged the folks who integrated with inciting violence rather than charging the mobs who were throwing rocks, putting burning crosses in lawns, setting houses on fire, tossing bombs.
Now, I want to pause here, and I'm going to put this in all caps because it's incredibly important:
THESE POLICIES WERE NOT LIMITED TO THE SOUTH. SAN FRANCISCO, ST LOUIS, CHICAGO, NYC, BALTIMORE, AND JUST ABOUT EVERYWHERE ELSE YOU CAN THINK OF used government policies as well as local ordinances to maintain segregation. To lay it all at the feet of the South is to ignore the larger problem.
That larger problem is that segregated housing has impacted the education, generational wealth, and community of Black Americans. As Rothstein points out, other minorities particularly immigrant communities have chosen to live in like-minded communities but only Black Americans have been kept from housing due to federal policy.
This book also reminded me of the book Hot, Hot Chicken which goes into detail about how these housing policies affected Nashville. What always kills me are stories of "urban renewal" that leveled vibrant, middle class Black neighborhoods. These policies were systematic and cruel.
And I know I left out a ton of information. I'd recommend reading this book yourself, but gird your loins for some very academic language. I'm half-tempted to do a video series where I could describe books like this for folks who are either too busy to read dense prose or who simply don't like "school." I loved school, and I still love learning. As you can see from the length of this review, I MADE some time even though I'm on deadline....more
I decided I wanted to read more poetry this year, and I saw this book at the library.
For the most part, sadly, I do not retain poetry other than the I decided I wanted to read more poetry this year, and I saw this book at the library.
For the most part, sadly, I do not retain poetry other than the one about chickens by the wheelbarrow and the classic purple cow. That said, I think reading poetry improves my prose. Reading poetry by women heals my heart and makes me think.
Baer has some good ones in here, but I think I'm most partial to "Help Wanted: A Bonus Wife" because what mother hasn't thought at some time or the other that they could use another set of hands? My second favorite is one entitled "Grounds for Divorce" in which her husband recounts the births of their children "like a camp counselor describing cold lake water." Fun times.
Anyhoo, glad I picked this one up. I think I'm a little old for all of these to resonate with me in terms of subject matter, but I appreciate Baer's way with words....more
Normally I hate to encourage folks when they say something like "I'm the funniest," but I gotta admit..My first foray into the Jen Hatmaker Book Club!
Normally I hate to encourage folks when they say something like "I'm the funniest," but I gotta admit...Tyler Merritt is pretty damn funny. I appreciate and somewhat resemble his dedication to both sports and musical theater.
Even more so, I relate and resemble his tendency to mask all things serious with humor. And his tendency to relate just about everything to a song lyric since I just thought "Hi! It's me. I'm the problem it's me."
This is a funny, poignant, highly readable memoir about, well, all of those topics mentioned in the subtitle. I especially appreciate his take on biscuits (yes) and on Jesus (quit hijacking the Lord, please and thank you)
I'm also very excited that I managed to finish this book a day before the book club meeting....more
A book on journalism that almost reads like a thriller. I'd be shocked if there isn't a movie version of this somewhere in the works. Well, I know it A book on journalism that almost reads like a thriller. I'd be shocked if there isn't a movie version of this somewhere in the works. Well, I know it won't be Miramax...
I add the qualifier of almost only because once Farrow gets past having the New Yorker piece published, it gets a little...lost? All very important information, though, and tying in the Matt Lauer allegations and the Tr*mp allegations only makes sense considering the connection to The National Enquirer and their whole cottage industry of burying stories. I've seen a criticism that Farrow talks too much about his personal life, but I didn't feel that way at all. He pretty deftly tells a bunch of different stories that wind into one, and his personal story is one of those threads. Similarly, I can't fault him for wanting to work things out with NBC. The heart wants what it wants, and sometimes it takes a lot to realize we can't MAKE things work the way we want them to. Oh, and mazel tov to him and Jonathan.
This is not a book for the faint of heart. So many women were assaulted, their lives irrevocably changed, their careers killed. And for what? Some guy who couldn't take no for an answer. Not only that, but there was--and still is--a whole network of men who will protect each other. We women are...disposable.
Beyond the abuse of women, there's a larger abuse of power, and I think we should all be deeply concerned by how men--and it's almost always men, isn't it--in high places can kill a story. It behooves us all to think critically about what gets reported and why. Whose story is told; whose story is left out.
Farrow doesn't mention this, but I made the connection that Ann Curry was let go not long after she informed HR that they had a problem on their hands with Lauer. Meredith Vieira was shuttled to her own show that was subsequently canceled at about the same time for probably the same reason. Add two more women to the ranks of those who faced demotions of a sort. That's a hunch for Vieira who no doubt deserved her show, but it kinda smacked to me of a way to put some distance between her complaint and her firing as if to guard against any law suits. Other employees experienced this.
What still shocks me is the number of people who are still there. I suppose the Comcast guy isn't going anywhere since they bought NBC Universal, but allllll of the lawyers are still there. I understand that they took their orders from other folks, but still. I think of all the actresses who were blocked from roles, all of the women journalists who were traumatized and then fired, and even Rich McHugh who doesn't appear to be living on a ranch in New Zealand like a certain someone.
Another important takeaway, something I've been realizing in the past few years is that we, and by we I mean me, have to be careful about those we defend. Some guys probably didn't legitimately know how bad Weinstein was because Weinstein wasn't calling them up to his hotel room and doing the things he would do. Respect to Colin Firth for apologizing that he didn't do more. Similarly, I have learned the hard way that some white people have one face and one personality for me but a completely different one for people of color or for people in the LGBTQ community or...you name it. I look like a "Karen." One of my greatest regrets is being slow on the uptake in that regard.
At the end of the day, absolute power really does corrupt absolutely. With oligarchs owning the press, that's one less check, one less balance. Also, I wish the world would pay more attention to how people treat each other when looking to a leader. Men who abuse women do not make good leaders. People who systematically mistreat other people due to their race, gender, religion, or politics do not make good leaders. Behold, exhibit A; *gestures widely to the world around her in the year 2025*
And now I need to go read a romance with a feisty heroine and a hero who solidly has her back as a palate cleanser, because between this book and the Brazilian movie I watched yesterday, I am...not feeling all that optimistic....more
Let's be honest, I keep reading this series for the characters rather than the mysteries. Holmes and Lord Ingram's romance is progressing nicely. AlsoLet's be honest, I keep reading this series for the characters rather than the mysteries. Holmes and Lord Ingram's romance is progressing nicely. Also, happy to see the Treadles reach an accord.
Somewhere, somehow, though, I lost the thread of the mystery in the last few pages. Probably on me, if we're being honest, because I like to read multiple books at once and may have forgotten some details here and there. The explanation just didn't hit as well as it usually does.
Buuuuutttt I'm here for the characters, so I continue on. And do take seriously my caveat because it was probably user error....more
As my friend Maggie says, hurt people hurt people. Shame causes us to hurt both others and ourselves. This book is another entry on God's syllabus that reminds me that in order to be compassionate to others we must also be compassionate to ourselves.
And most importantly for this day and time (and always)
From Mavis Leno: "If you want to make a difference, the next time you see someone being cruel to another human being, take it personally. Take it personally because it is personal."
Which is to say, I'm sorry for all the times I allowed my shame to hurt any of you. Truly.
Perfection is unattainable, something it's taken me a while to figure out, but small improvements are the way we get better. To quote Mike Myers as Middle-Aged Man, "I'm working on it! I'm working on it!" ...more
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