Showing posts with label #Refugees. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #Refugees. Show all posts

#IMWAYR February 24, 2015

Welcome! It's #IMWAYR time again, when bloggers share what they have been reading and find out what others have been up to. Kathryn hosts the adult version of this meme at Book Date. Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers host the kidlit rendition. I'm also connecting up with the Sunday Salon. These are fabulous places to start your search for what to read next.


February has been a challenging month! I haven't been able to get much reading done. I've read a lot of news and magazine articles, but not many books. I did manage to finish up my Valentines day fridge magnets, but the grandkids told me they liked the brownies more. 

 
My Aunty Joan finally passed away so the house was full of people for a while. Isn't it fascinating to learn about early life of someone you only new as an over worked wife and mother? I had no idea that in her teen years she took flying lessons to become a pilot!

Then we headed off to Vancouver where we had tickets to see Ronnie Burkett's Wonderful Joe show. We visited with family and friends and tried to do more in six days than we would have done in a month when we were living there.

Adding to all that, the political upheaval has left me feeling worried and anxious. The following cartoon from the New Yorker describes my feelings completely.


Titles with a 🍁 indicate this is a Canadian or Indigenous Canadian Author and or Illustrator.
Clicking on the title will take you to the Goodreads page of the book

PREVIOUS BLOG POST
BEGINNING CHAPTER BOOKS

4 stars

The Weird Sisters: A Note, a Goat, and a Casserole by Mark David Smith & Kari Rust (Illustrator) April 15, 2022  🍁

When three witch sisters move to the town of Covenly, not everyone is happy. They open up a pet store, and their first customer is Jessica Nibley, who is missing her pet goat. Together they head off in search of the goat, and whoever is sending nasty messages to the new citizens. Thankfully it all turns out alright in the end.
I really appreciated the humour and Kari Rust's fun illustrations. I'm looking forward to reading more of this series and sharing it with my grandkids.
 
YA GRAPHIC


This is the third book in the Surviving the City series. The teens are forced to address the discovery of children's bodies buried on the grounds of residential schools. 
In the end they conclude that together they can help each other and their people heal from the injustices of the past, as well as those in the present. 
Natasha Donovan's art work is just gorgeous. 

YA/ADULT FICTION


In this third book in the Tiffany Aching series, her new mentor, Miss Treason, takes her to a dark Morris dance - a ceremony where Summer passes the world over to Winter. Unable to stop herself, she joins the dancers and the Wintersmith becomes smitten with her. Because of this, she unwittingly disrupts the passage of the seasons and begins to take on some the characteristics of Summer with greenery sprouting from her feet.
Under the direction of Nanny Ogg the Nac Mac Feegles enlist Roland, Tiffany's childhood friend, to be a hero. Once they've taught him how to use a sword, they descend into the underworld to waken and return the real Lady Summer to the world.
There's another subplot where Miss Treason dies and an incompetent witch, Annagramma, is appointed to take over for her. Tiffany and the other young witches figure out a way to help her.
This time round I was more fascinated by Tiffany's relationship with the Wintersmith, who in his effort to woo her, tries his best to become human. At the same time as he terrifies her, she is also flattered that a god is interested in her. In the end, just in time, she figures out how to stop him. It's all part of how Pratchett messes around with Story and in the process, shows us how we too are capable of disrupting them. 


I listened to this, but think it might have been better to have read it with my eyes. Perhaps it's just that I listened to it in bits and pieces and lost track of the individual stories of these remarkable teens who worked at Bletchley Park.
On a positive note, listening to this against the backdrop of current events I was reminded of the brilliance, bravery, and strength of youth and ordinary people in times of war, conflict, and disaster. It inspired me with hope for the future.


This was a book club book. It's a complicated story about being a Yemeni immigrant in Israel. There are two distinct story lines. One tells the story of a young man and woman, Saida, living in a refuge camp in the 1950's. Although the two fall in love, she is already married. The other story line, set in the 1990's focuses on Zohara, one of the woman's daughters. When her mother dies, she returns  for the funeral. While cleaning up the family home, she learns about her mother's life ends up discovering secrets about her past. In the process, she embraces what it means to be Yemeni. 
There are a lot of characters in this book and at times I got confused. I appreciated learning about what it means to be a minority Jew inside Israeli culture. 


Once a year I spend time with women friends in a cabin on the ocean in what is the traditional territory of the Stz’uminus people. On the edges of the Gary Oak forest are the remains of camas plots originally developed by them. In a small bay just north of the cabin are the remains of oyster and clam beds established by these same people. Learning about this place began to change the way I understood what it meant to live in a hunter gatherer society. 
Jennifer Grenz's book helped me grasp this more fully. It is a book meant to change the way we look at and understand the 'natural' world. She shows us that trying to heal ecosystems in North America, and maybe even the world, without knowing how the Indigenous populations lived on the land, will inevitably fail. Part of this is about realizing that these peoples had an active responsibility for shaping and caring for where they lived, but more than this, it's about how they lived and continue to live, in relationship with their land. 

CURRENTLY 

The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich

UP NEXT (MAYBE)

The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer November 19, 2024

2025 READING GOALS

#MustRead2025 9/25

NonFiction 8/30 

Poetry 1/12 

Canadian Authors 15/50

Indigenous Authors 4/25

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 29/200

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#IMWAYR November 25, 2024

Welcome! It's #IMWAYR time again, when bloggers share what they have been reading and find out what others have been up to. Kathryn hosts the adult version of this meme at Book Date. Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers host the kidlit rendition. I'm also connecting up with the Sunday Salon. These are fabulous places to start your search for what to read next!

Happy Thanksgiving to all my American friends and family!

Thanks for all your kind words. I am mostly recovered from Covid - just dealing with the leftover exhaustion and asthma that the disease has triggered.

This coming Wednesday we are planning on heading off to Vancouver, BC to visit our sons, their partners, and the grandkids. I'm looking forward to getting together in person with my bookclub people and to meeting with other good friends. I will most likely visit one of my favourite fabric stores and get my hair cut by the person who has been cutting it for the last 40 years. We will return home the following Tuesday. I doubt I will have time to get in a blog post next weekend!

I'm looking for suggestions for books for 4 1/2 year olds. I've got their older siblings covered, but need to figure out what to get for my two youngest grandkids. Both of these two are crazy about dinosaurs, bugs and princesses. I'd like to get them some kind of nonfiction. I'd be really happy if it is a Canadian author, but a good book is the key. Does anyone have any recommendations? 

Titles with a 🍁 indicate this is a Canadian or Indigenous Canadian Author and or Illustrator.
Clicking on the title will take you to the Goodreads page of the book.

Speaking many languages is a super power!
This is a gorgeous book that celebrates multilingual speakers and honours the author's mother. Uma Menon drafted it when she was only 16! Her mother, who didn't learn to speak English until she was 12, ended up speaking English, Malayalam, and sometimes both of these languages intermixed. Menon learned both languages from her birth and is now fluent in both. 
"Every person has their own accent, but no matter how they speak, every person's voice is unique and important."

5 stars

When We Gather (Ostadahlisiha): A Cherokee Tribal Feast by Andrea L. Rogers & Madelyn Goodnight (Illustrator) May 7, 2024

This book begins with cosy images of people preparing for spring hunting and gathering. Then the narrator and her family head off to their secret spot to harvest wild onions. When the harvest is complete, they all work together to clean and cook these wild onions to take to a community celebration of the coming of spring. 
I liked the ecological focus on not over harvesting so as to leave some for other creatures and to ensure there are onions again the following year. I appreciate that this is an ongoing practice. In the author's note she states that "Churches and community centers host wild onion dinners as fund  raisers and reasons to gather." 
I was excited to find recipes for some of the different foods mentioned in the celebration and would love to try Cherokee eggs and wild onions. I might have to satisfy myself using scallions, but next spring I know of a hike where I can find some wild ones. 

GRAPHIC NOVELS


This graphic novel series is targeted for readers from grade two to grade four. It tells the adventures of Ollie, Jenna, Sleeves and Kay, a diverse group of children who live on an island off the coast of Vancouver. When Ollie's grandfather becomes ill and is sent by ambulance to the mainland, the children go in search of a mythical crystal that is supposed to have healing powers. The series is loaded with humour, magic, a collection of delightful characters and intergenerational friendships. Some parts of this one are so suspenseful that I was creeped out a bit. The west coast northern rain forest setting is absolutely gorgeously illustrated.
I'm wondering if my seven year old grandson has read this series yet. If not, the first couple will be going into his Christmas stocking this year.

I adore this book. It’s beautiful, zany, and chock full of all kinds of information about color. The narrator/author comes across as a little bit hyperactive, but also screamingly hilarious and brilliant as he breaks through the fourth wall.
Right from the start, you know things are going to be interesting when you see this.

Then instead of having a table of contents it has a wheel of contents representing the colour wheel. The first chapter is a basic introduction to color. Each following chapter highlights a specific color. These include the primary and secondary colors, white, black, and pink. Within each chapter, we learn how different colours are made, important artists who used these different pigments, and a lot of science behind behind them. The final chapter has directions for how you can create your own pigments as well as other activities for messing around with color.
The book is loaded loaded with text features. Yellow text boxes highlight additional information connected to the main content of the page. Speech bubbles and cartoonish illustrations add a graphic novel/comic book quality. There are charts and maps. There are images of important paintings and even pages where the background is itself a painting. At the end of each chapter, Weinberg asks a big question connected to art. He begins with what is art? and ends with Does art last forever?
The back matter contains a color toolbox that has directions for how to make different kinds of colors, what plants to plant in a garden to create your own pigments, a map of the world showing where all the different colors in the books come from, a Periodic table of elements, a recommended reading list, a bibliography, a glossary, an index and acknowledgments.The end papers have brief biographies of all the artists mentioned in the book. 
The target audience for this book is children and teens. If I was still working in my elementary library, I’d buy at least two copies. I'm certain that adults (especially artists) will enjoy it too. I sure did! If you’re wondering what to buy for that creative friend of yours for Christmas, this would make a great gift! Heck it would make a great gift for just about anyone of any age.


This is the sequel to The House in the Cerulean Sea. If you've read it, and are like me, you have been wondering how Arthur Parnassus, Linus Baker, and their magical children are faring. That first book gave us Linus' perspective. This one gives us Arthur's. We learn about his early life and abuse in an orphanage run by DICOMY ( The Department In Charge of Magical Youth.) 
It begins with Arthur and Linus heading off to a hearing about the upper management of DICOMY. The investigation was co-opted by an anti-magical people faction. Even though they were warned prior to entering, it was intense, and despite Arthur's attempt to control the narrative, the negative faction achieved their goal. When the two of them return home to Marsyas Island, things seem to return to normal, but everyone, maybe even the children, know it's just a matter of time before danger arrives at their door. Soon a new inspector from the department shows up. She arrives with an agenda to find fault with them and remove the children from Arthur and Linus' care. When Arthur overhears her in a zoom call with her boss, he discovers that they have even more nefarious plans. 
This is fiction, but it's an allegory for how all kinds of people are "othered" by power hungry politicians the world round. It's really about accepting and celebrating our differences. Occasionally it felt a bit didactic, but it is still a delightful cosy fantasy.

I usually have a fiction and nonfiction book on the go at the same time. It was serendipitous that I was reading this at the same time as I was reading the following memoir, which is essentially about the reality of living in a world where you are hated, feared, and shunned for being who you are. 


Ent
ADULT/YA NON FICTION


I was a fan of Danny Ramadan even before I read his memoir. Now I adore him. He is the author of adult and children's fiction. I have read almost all of his Salma books, but none of his adult work. Reading his memoir has been like getting to know a friend even better. Sometimes I had to put the book down because I was terrified of what was going to happen to him next. 
Reading this helped me understand the importance of found family and finding belonging in safe spaces. I'm thankful Danny Ramadan made it to Canada and has become a citizen. We are very lucky to have him.

CURRENTLY 

A Poetry Handbook by Mary Oliver January 1, 1994

The Hotel Balzaar by Kate DiCamillo, Júlia Sardà (Illustrator) & Allan Corduner (Narrator) October 1, 2024

UP NEXT (MAYBE)

The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny 

Homelands by Timothy Garton Ash

READING GOALS 

#MustRead2024 18/25 

NonFiction 35/24

Canadian Authors 68/50

Indigenous Authors 29/25 

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 198/200    

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#IMWAYR April 22, 2024

Welcome! It's #IMWAYR time again, when bloggers share what they have been reading and find out what others have been up to. Kathryn hosts the adult version of this meme at Book Date. Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers host the kidlit rendition. These are fabulous places to start your search for what to read next.


I almost didn't post this week because I have been busy trying to get the house and yard under control before we head off to Vancouver to visit with family and celebrate one of our granddaughters turning four. We won't be around next weekend because we will still be there celebrating. I wouldn't ordinarily worry so much about the house, but some of my extended family will be staying here to celebrate one of my aunts' birthday. 

Titles with a 🍁 indicate this is a Canadian or Indigenous Canadian Author and or Illustrator.

Clicking on the title will take you to the Goodreads page of the book.

MG FICTION


Lulu lives with her sister and mother in a small community outside of Manilla, Philippines. During an earthquake she discovers that she has superpowers. Soon after that she learns that her supportive neighbourhood and best friend are not who they appear to be. Lulu discovers that she is the salamangkero, a special being born to protect the different realms. When her adopted mother is kidnapped by a wakwak, Lulu, her adopted sister, Kitty, and her best friend, Bart, a shape shifter, set off to rescue her. The trio meet up with numerous personages from Philippine mythology.
I liked the merge of ancient mythology and modern pop culture in this book. Fans of Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series will enjoy this. 
The physical book includes a glossary of Tagalog mythology. The problem with listening to this book is that I didn't realize this until I finished the novel. Villanueva does a good job of introducing them and their importance in the novel, but I really could have used it earlier on to provide background knowledge keep track of them all. 


Thanks to Max for the heads up about this sweet romantic graphic novel. It's the story of two young women who become friends and then more than that. Momo Gardner is an introvert. She's a good friend, but really doesn't value her own worth. She's the kind of friend who wants to think the best of others, but is sometimes taken advantage of by them. PG is more of a flirt and an extrovert. In spite of this, she's really a private person. When she falls for someone, she falls hard.
This graphic novel addresses important issues. At the same time as it deals with the romance between these two characters, it addresses friendship, love, self worth, and being honest with oneself and those closest to us.
I enjoyed this, but I think I might have appreciated it a lot more if I hadn't picked it up after having read Mexikid.

ADULT/YA FICTION


The Future was the winner of the Canada Reads debate this year. The theme was "looking for one book to carry us forward. When we are at a crossroads, when uncertainty is upon us, when we have faced challenges and are ready for the future, how do we know where to go next?"

"In an alternate history of Detroit, the Motor City was never surrendered to the US. Its residents deal with pollution, poverty, and the legacy of racism—and strange and magical things are happening: children rule over their own kingdom in the trees and burned houses regenerate themselves. When Gloria arrives looking for answers and her missing granddaughters, at first she finds only a hungry mouse in the derelict home where her daughter was murdered. But the neighbours take pity on her and she turns to their resilience and impressive gardens for sustenance."

After her daughter's death, Gloria moves to Detroit to live in her daughter's house. As she learns more about her daughter and granddaughters' lives, she has to come to terms with who her daughter became. Even when her attempts to connect with her grandchildren go nowhere, she never gives up hope that she will be reunited with the two girls. 
I am not generally a fan of dystopian realities, yet I fell head over heels in love with this one. Even though it's got that end of the world scenario, it's mostly about hope. It's a world that seems to be populated with old people and feral children. Getting to know them was pure joy. The Future is a story about resilience, found family, community and using that community to make everyone's lives better. I didn't want it to end. 




5 stars

On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong (Author and Narrator) June 4, 2019

I started this book a while ago, but for all kinds of reasons, put it aside. When I picked it up again, I was in a better mental space for it. Emotionally this is a hard read. The beauty of the language only serves to emphasize the horrors experienced by Ocean, his mother, and his grandmother. I don't regret listening to this semi-autobiographical novel: Ocean Vuong's narration was profound. Yet I suspect I missed much not seeing the organization of his words. 
I contemplated writing more about this book, but honestly, nothing I could write could compare to this review on Goodreads by chai. Even if you have read the book, go and read this. 

CURRENTLY

Doppelganger by Naoimi Klein 🍁 

Tales of the City by Armistead Maupin January 1, 1978

Naked: Not Your Average Sex Encyclopedia by Myriam Daguzan Bernier & Cécile Gariépy (Illustrator)  🍁

Wolfsong by TJ Klune

UP NEXT (MAYBE)

Rez Ball by Byron Graves

Woke up Like This by Amy Lea  🍁

READING GOALS 

#MustRead2024 8/25 one on the go

NonFiction 11/24 one on the go

Canadian Authors 17/50 two on the go

Indigenous Authors 7/25

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 75/200 
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