We Are Stars and Other History Stuff
"The Earth and every living thing are made of star stuff." from Star Stuff by Stephanie Roth Sisson
Humans divide themselves into usually tidy labels and categories: Southerner or Midwesterner, rap or jazz, Stephen Colbert or Jimmy Fallon, Colonial or mid-century ranch. It's our very own checklist of who we are or imagine ourselves to be. We group ourselves by zip codes, religion, voting habits, ancestry, and income levels. Book groups may be made up of like-minded people who only read 18th century English literature or science fiction. And how many Thanksgiving dinners have been made tense when that otherwise quiet uncle or sister-in-law suddenly explodes into a political rant...which happens to be the exact opposite view of every other member of the family?
"We are all connected; to each other biologically; to the Earth, chemically; to the rest of the universe, atomically. Not only do we live among the stars, the stars live within us." Neil deGrasse Tyson
We are the same, made from the same stars, and while we may try to understand each other's assorted ideas or beliefs, it can be frustrating and not illuminating when those concepts are just too unfamiliar. Taking to the street, we wave signs and shake fists. People sitting at home watching the news react by either reminding themselves to write a check because, finally, someone is making sense, or becoming nervous about those people. How many times do you cross the street to avoid a homeless person who is sitting on a curb? Or sigh in exasperation when an elderly person holds up a check out line while shakily counting out his bills and coins? At lunch, do you avoid sitting next to the needy co-worker who always seems to have family drama?
How often do we remind ourselves that we are all made of stars?
"Red stars are either very faint or very luminous, while the bluer a star, the more luminous it is." Robin Kerrod - Eyewitness Books Universe
It's gotten harder to understand our neighborhoods, states, country or even ourselves. Breaking news comes at us faster, louder with bickering pundits 24 hours a day. Podcasts. Twitter. Facebook. We try to sort it out and decide where we fit in. Is this normal, we ask. And how will it all end? We worry. We get angry. We pledge to read more, to vote.
How often do we remind ourselves that we are all made of stars?
"It takes light from distant stars billions of years to reach Earth. By the time it gets here, the stars are billions of years older than they were when the light left them. So we really see the stars as they used to be. Looking at the stars is like looking into the past." Mary Pope Osbourne - Magic Tree House Fact Tracker Space
Maybe some of our questions will be answered by looking backwards. History has a way of helping to sort out the present and, perhaps, shaping the future. Our human nature being what it is, we certainly aren't the first people to feel as though we've tumbled awake, groggily asking what happened or what's wrong (expletives optional).
And how often do we remind ourselves that we are all made of stars?
"A star is basically a clump of fusing gases giving off light." C. Saucier - Explore the Cosmos
Suggested Reading
Letter from Birmingham Jail - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
1968 - Mark Kurlansky
Hue 1968 - Mark Bowden
Team of Rivals - Doris Kearns Goodwin
Theodore Rex - Edmund Morris
Undaunted Courage - Stephen Ambrose
Guns, Germs and Steel - Jared Diamond
The Guns of August - Barbara Tuchman
What If? - Robert Cowley (editor)
The Suffragette - Sylvia Pankhurst, Emmeline Pankhurst
Twenty Years at Hull House - Jane Addams
The Complete Works of Nellie Bly - Nellie Bly
A Vindication of the Rights of Women - Mary Wollstonecraft
A People's History of the United States - Howard Zinn
Playing With Fire - Lawrence O'Donnell
Grant - Ron Chernow
The Witches: Suspicion, Betrayal,and Hysteria in 1692 Salem - Stacy Schiff
The American Spirit - David McCullough
Destiny of the Republic - Candice Millard
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee - Dee Brown
And the Band Played On - Randy Shilts
The Civil War - Shelby Foote
The Story of Civilization - Will & Ariel Durant (11 volumes)
How the Scots Invented the Modern World - Arthur Herman
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind - Yuval Noah Havari
The Written World: The Power of Stories to Shape People, History, Civilization - Martin Puchner
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America's Favorite Novel is...?
"
So many books, so little time." >>>Frank Zappa
Could you choose one, just one, favorite book? Would it be a favorite story from childhood? College reading list? A novel that your book group discussed (and kept you up all night reading?)
I'll be thinking of the best books of my life as I watch PBS' The Great American Read, Tuesday, May 22. (Check your local listing for time) Viewers can expect to see authors and passionate readers talk about their own favorite books.
The list of 100 novels selected for the vote is sure to get a lively discussion started. Eyebrows will be raised at some of the choices and English teachers may throw out a few literary bon mots as PBS voters discover a reading list with novels as diverse as A Tree Grows in Brooklyn or Fifty Shades of Grey. There are serious novels - 1984, Their Eyes Were Watching God and The Book Thief. There are classics - The Grapes of Wrath, The Sun Also Rises and Jane Eyre. I was happy to see children's fiction also represented - Charlotte's Web, Where The Red Fern Grows and Anne of Green Gables.
Using the list as a guide, I'll tackle a few classics this summer that I've somehow missed reading: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (Carroll), Don Quixote (Cervantes), and Pride and Prejudice (Austen).
For more information, including a full list of the 100 novels, quiz and how to vote, check out the PBS website:
http://www.pbs.org/the-great-american-read/home/
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New books in May:
Fiction
Love and Ruin - Paula McLain
Miss Subways - David Duchovny
Old Black Magic (Spenser series) - Robert Parker/Ace Atkins
The High Tide Club - Mary Kay Andrews
By Invitation Only - Dorothea Benton Frank
Endless Beach - Jenny Colgan
To The Moon and Back - Karen Kingsbury
Nonfiction
Not That Bad - Roxane Gay
Margaritaville: The Cookbook - Carlo Sernaglia & Julia Turshen
Spring - Karl Ove Knausgard
Paul Simon: The Life - Robert Hilburn
I'm Keith Hernandez - Keith Hernandez
Pops - Michael Chabon
Calypso - David Sedaris
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Cheers to the Oxford comma
"I found a great many pieces of punctuation and typography lying around dormant when I came along - and I must say I had a good time using them." >>Tom Wolfe
It's official: shrug, dismiss, ignore punctuation at your own peril.
As reported in Time magazine, a dairy in Maine will pay its drivers a whopping $5 million "after a judge ruled that the lack of one Oxford comma in a list of tasks legally exempt from overtime pay meant their work wasn't covered by law."
So there.
If you're confused about commas, keep this definition in mind. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the Oxford comma is the "optional comma before the word and at the end of a list. The Oxford comma can be used to clarify the meaning of a sentence when the items in a list are not single words. Example: These items are available in black and white, red and yellow, and blue and green."
Looking for more information about our evolving language? Check out A World Without Whom: The Essential Guide to Language in the Buzzfeed Age by Emmy J. Favilla, a Buzzfeed copy chief. Favilla opens the debate by declaring the Oxford comma the "cilantro" of punctuation and a "bad boy." The book also tackles wide-ranging topics such as writing about sensitive matters, social media, and a list of British profanity.
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Dear Hannah
"Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world." >>Harriet Tubman
Dear Hannah,
This weekend, as you graduate and move forward into the next stage of your life, you'll hear a lot of reminiscing from your older relatives. We'll be asking ourselves where did the years go? How did Hannah grow up so fast? A family member was recently sitting at a stop light when the thought suddenly occurred that if the baby we all gushed over is now graduating from college, how old does that make me? Because we remember when you were born, and the way you entertained us at the family reunion belting out a Britney Spears song. We remember when you won awards at school, landed your first summer job, and when you learned to drive.
Family events - weddings, funerals and graduations, are times to gather and embrace, celebrate and reflect.
And, oh boy, hand out the advice.
That's the other feature of every graduation. Along with reminiscing, arrives boatloads of advice. Between the Hannah-as-a-little-girl stories, will be an abundance of serious life counsel. But please bear with us. It's not merely advice. It's also wishing that we could go back to our own 20s and be smarter. Tougher. To have had at least a few things figured out. That same woman at the stoplight who was struck that you're graduating, also wishes she'd known how to navigate office politics, where the supply closet was, and how to deal with difficult professional situations.
You were raised by two parents, grandparents, and an aunt who all believed in helping out. A covered dish, a card, a warm hug. In an office, those can be substituted by equally considerate gestures such as a smile, a surprise afternoon snack, an offer to stay late and help.
Don't be afraid to ask questions but don't be afraid of following your own instincts. If you make a mistake, own up to it, figure out how to make it right, and if necessary, apologize.
And now for the occasional landmine that is a co-worker or boss. Co-workers can be a fun, interesting, supportive part of our professional lives. They can also be frustrating, demanding and underhanded. Hopefully your generation has more awareness of bullying and harassment. When you start your new job, learn what the policies are concerning harassing behavior. Know the boundaries. Know your own boundaries. If someone bullies or harasses you in any way - document! Tell a trusted friend. Tell your HR representative. Try to never be alone with that person. Conversely, there are stories to share after work with friends accompanied by glasses of wine and laughter. I had a co-worker who chose lunch time to wander into the lounge area to floss her teeth as a group of us settled in to eat. I wasn't sure whether to laugh in disgust or go eat in my office. After the assistant director recovered from her own shock, she politely asked the staff person to floss in the bathroom. The woman left the lounge and as far as I know, never flossed outside of a bathroom again.
Keep a tidy office! It doesn't have to be sterile, but occasionally stand at the door and try to see your office as a co-worker or visitor would. Does the office look like a creative diligent person works there or resemble a room from A & E's Hoarders series?
Keep your social media tidy. To repeat, it doesn't have to be sterile, but occasionally stand back and read your posts as a co-worker or visitor would. Does your social media sound like a creative diligent person?
Be kind.
Hold on to your grace and belief in humanity. An easy and fun way to hold on is to read a picture book. You'll have an enjoyable flashback of your mom reading to you while escaping into another world. Pick up a book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Eric Carle, Lois Ehlert. If you've had an especially tough day, read a Sandra Boynton book OUT LOUD and laugh along with zany hippos, cows and dogs.
We are so proud of you, Hannah. Always remember that you have your very own cheering section known as your extended family.
Take a deep breath and start moving forward.
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Books for graduates (and everybody else, too!)
This is Water - David Foster Wallace
Make Good Art - Neil Gaiman
Seussisms - Dr. Seuss
She Believed She Could, So She Did - Kathy Weller
What Now? - Ann Patchett
I Wish You More & Dear Girl - Amy K. Rosenthal
In Conclusion, Don't Worry About It - Lauren Graham
Yay, You! - Sandra Boynton
Congratulations, By the Way - George Saunders
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Is it snowing again?
"Here cometh April again, and as far as I can see, the world hath more fools in it than ever." Charles Lamb, essayist & poet
Hey, Mother Nature, it's time to make the donuts, wake up and smell the coffee, shake a leg.
In other words, it's time to wake up and allow spring to fully bloom and shine. Release the sun, please. We were told that the first day of spring was March 20. So far, spring has been coy and mildly flirtatious. There have been soft days, warm days when the spirit feels fully awake and rejuvenated. But the snow falls (again), shovels rest (again) against the house ready to get to work on snowy sidewalks, winter coats and gloves are pulled (again) from the closet with a sigh.
Dear Mother Nature: since December we've had temperatures well into the negative numbers; we've pumped gas when the thermometer read 16 degrees; we've had day after day of not seeing a blink of sun; we've had nights of gusty winds pounding the house and dropping tree branches. We get it. Seasons are notoriously difficult with transition. Please prove T.S. Eliot wrong - April does NOT have to be the cruelest month.
Now we ask (beg, really) for warmth, color, and tender green leaves. We promise to step outside and appreciatively take deep breaths of fresh air. Mother, you're right about human nature - soon we'll be complaining about hail and sunscreen and allergies run amok. But until then, please send some rays of sun and yellow tulips. Thanks, your biggest fan.
It's time for new books and adventure, even if it's raining or snowing. In April, we can get advice, learn new ways to cook pasta, solve a mystery and read about all kinds of families.
Nonfiction
Leslie Jamison - The Recovering
Lauren Graham - In Conclusion, Don't Worry About It
Michael Benson - Space Odyssey
Outside Magazine - Out There
Cecile Richards - Make Trouble
Barbara Ehrenreich - Natural Causes
Andrew Morton - Meghan
Giada deLaurentiis - Giada's Italy
Ali Wentworth - Go Ask Ali
Sloane Crosley - Look Alive Out There
Madeleine Albright - Fascism
Fiction
David Balducci - The Fallen
Meg Wolitzer - The Female Persuasion
Charles Frazier - Varina
Madeline Miller - Circe
Curtis Sittenfeld - You Think It, I'll Say It
Robyn Carr - The Family Gathering
Mystery/Thriller
John Sandford - Twisted Prey
Mary Higgins Clark - I've Got My Eye On You
Stuart Woods - Shoot First
Martha Grimes - The Knowledge
Anne Hillerman - Cave of Bones
Lisa Scottoline - After Anna
Jo Nesbo - MacBeth
Iris Johansen - Shattered Mirror
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Ready or not, it's 2018
The beginnings and endings of all human undertakings are untidy.
>>John Galsworthy
Maybe it was the Christmas music or the jingle bells or the bustle of fellow bookstore shoppers that caused me to fall for the marketing ploy of readers' socks. Because I know there is no such thing. But these were not ordinary socks. They were red thick cable knit cotton with a fluffy white lining. Comfortable and warm. Immediately I pictured myself curled up with a good book sporting cozy socks.
To his credit, my husband didn't (outwardly) laugh or roll his eyes when he found me standing over the basket, socks in hand while loudly exclaiming, "they're for readers!"
A pair of the socks left the store with me.
Along with the Times Square ball, temperatures have fallen all over the United States. Here in the upper Midwest, we've set records of low temperatures. I've given myself pep talks about how bracing or invigorating it is grocery shopping when it's 7 degrees. Or, how great it is to even have a high of 7 degrees because some days haven't reached zero.
In my drafty old house, cold air is an unwelcome guest. Frigid air blows in around the doors and windows. The rooms don't feel warm until the thermostat is set at a mind boggling 72 degrees. Even then as soon as the furnace shuts off, cold air quickly rushes back in and we return to shivering even while wrapped in fleece. One happy surprise has been discovering the red socks really are warm and, dare I say, practical.
It's no surprise that January celebrates hot tea, soup, and a reading blitz. My hands will regularly be wrapped around a hot cup of tea while thinking of what I'll read next. And I'm a believer now in the power of readers' socks and their comfortable coziness and cheer on a dreary day. Maybe next year, January will also be known as Readers' Socks Month.
Start your book blitz today with a new book.
Fiction
The Immortalists - Chloe Benjamin
Brass - Xhenet Aliu
Still Me - JoJo Moyes
Our Lady of the Prairie - Thisbe Nissen
The Largesse of the Sea Maiden - Denis Johnson (a collection of his short stories)
A State of Freedom - Neel Mukherjee
Neon in Daylight - Hermione Hoby
The Monk of Mokho - Dave Eggers
Promise Not to Tell - Jayne Anne Krentz
Robicheaux - James Lee Burke
Fools and Mortals - Bernard Cornwell
Shroud of Eternity - Terry Goodkind (fantasy)
Sisters Like Us - Susan Mallery
Fall from Grace - Danielle Steel
Dark in Death - J.D. Robb
Into the Black Nowhere - Meg Gardiner
City of Endless Night - Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child
Nonfiction
This Will Be My Undoing - Morgan Jenkins (essays)
Brave - Rose McGowan (memoir)
Swearing is Good For You - Emma Bryne (science)
Anatomy of a Scandal - Sarah Vaughn
When They Call You a Terrorist - Patrisse Khan-Cullors
When to Jump - Mike Lewis
Tell Me More - Kelly Corrigan
Jackie, Janet and Lee - Randy Taraborelli (bio)
Winter - Karl Ove Knausgaard (autobiography)
January is Book Blitz Month, Hot Tea Month, National Soup Month, International Creativity Month, and Get Organized Month.
January Celebrations
4 -Trivia Day
9 -National Poetry at Work Day (or, read Mary Oliver)
14 -International Kite Day (Maybe in Miami??)
15 -Martin Luther King Jr Day
18 -Winnie The Pooh Day (Celebrate A.A. Milne)
23 -National Handwriting Day (Pick up Jenny Pearson's The Art of Cursive Handwriting)
24 -National Compliment Day
25 -A Room of One's Own Day (read the full essay by Virginia Woolf)
28 -Grammy Awards
29 -Thomas Paine Day (It's the perfect time to read Common Sense)
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