IMWAYR April 23, 2023

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. Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers host the kidlit rendition. These are fabulous places to start your search for what to read next.


I have been away. I have been busy. I did not read much. I have been writing. All this is true and why I have not been posting. I am doing my best to not get overly stressed. It isn't easy.
 
Last weekend our guild quilt show was a smashing success. As co-chair of the committee, I can't take much credit. It's because of the individual committee members that it went off so brilliantly. Since it was my first quilt show, I did a lot of worrying. I am really good at that.
You can read about the show here. 

My reading life has been in fits and starts. I have picked up and abandoned a lot of titles. I sent a huge pile of library books back to the library unread. After reading Orwell's Roses by  Rebecca Solnit, I thought I would reread 1984. I got about half way into it before realizing it was way too dark and only going to get darker. 

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.

MOST RECENT BLOG POST

PICTURE BOOKS

5 stars

Lift by Minh Lê & Dan Santat (Illustrator) May 5, 2020

When Iris' little brother takes over her job of pressing elevator buttons, she is seriously miffed. In retaliation she presses the button so many times that it breaks. When the repairman tosses the broken piece into the garbage, she rescues it and tapes it onto her bedroom wall. She's surprised and delighted to discover that pushing the button opens a portal into other worlds.

Just Wow! I have ordered copies of this for my two grandkids for their 6th birthday.
It's gorgeously illustrated (as is anything created by Jenkins.) Sure I'm impressed by the quality of the information, but it's how it's presented that really wows me. Each page has a paragraph explaining the tools the species is using. The simply captioned illustrations show the animal using it. I also really like the silhouetted sections that show the size of the creature compared to a human. The back matter contains additional information about the animals in the book, but really, it's not needed.


I almost abandoned this one because it seemed like it was going to end up as one of those mean girl kind of books. I continued because this is Barbara Dee, and she has never let me down before. She didn't this time either.
Haven is full of eco-anxiety. It gets in the way of her completing her school work, but after a conversation with her social studies teacher, gets an extension. In science class they discover that their local river is in trouble. Species are missing and the acid ph level is too high. With the help of others, Haven organizes a river awareness and cleanup party. When she realizes that it isn't enough, she tries to emulate her hero, a Greta Thunberg kind of character. In the end, with the help of her teachers, parents, and others, she discovers a way to make a serious difference.
I ended up really liking this story. I like that Haven's relationship with the girl she had problems with is resolved and becomes a positive one. I like that there are all kinds of students and adults working along side Haven to improve the world. I like that Haven becomes a role model herself, but I think the most important message here, is that real change can only be accomplished if we work together.

Some readers suggested that reading the previous books would help figure out all that was going on. This might be true. I did have trouble keeping track of who was who and what was happening to them. That the author inserts little snippets of life for ordinary people doesn't help. I liked Simon Vance's voice as narrator, but suspect that had I read this with my eyes, my confusion might have been less of an issue.
You might think after that little spiel, that I didn't enjoy this book. You would be wrong. In spite of being confused more often that I like to be, I got completely caught up in this fantasy. The writing is gorgeous. The world building - a combination of historical reality and fantasy is powerful and authentic. The characters are appealing and real - even the nasty ones!


I thought I had written about this when I finished it, but discovered that I didn't. I think I wanted to mull it over, but what I really wanted, was to read it with a book club. I was/am desperate to talk about it with others who have read it. 
This book made me crazy with rage. Having lived through, and grown into my teens in the 1950's and 1960's, I lived through this reality. I saw my mother struggle through it. Unfortunately, it feels all still relevant today. I would like to transform into a dragon. 

4 stars

A Match Made for Murder (Lane Winslow #7) by Iona Whishaw & Marilla Wex (Narrator) April 28, 2020 🍁

I was delighted to return to this world and these characters. Lane and her husband, Darling, are in Arizona on their honeymoon. A murder in their hotel ends up pulling them into the investigation.
Meanwhile, back in Nelson, Sergeant Ames has a murder, and a missing teen girl to deal with. It turns out that the different cases in two different countries are connected.
I liked that this one addresses the issues of domestic and sexual violence for women and girls.

What an amazing story teller!
I listened to this read by the author. It was an intimate experience - as though she was still here chatting about her life. If my library had her next book in audio format, I would have downloaded it immediately to continue.

CURRENTLY

The Book of Goose by Yiyun Li

The Woman All Spies Fear: Code Breaker Elizebeth Smith Friedman and Her Hidden Life by Amy Butler Greenfield

UP NEXT 

The Summer of Bitter and Sweet by  Jenny Ferguson 🍁

READING GOALS 

#MustReadFiction 6/24

#MustReadNonFiction 7/20 one in progress

Canadian Authors 17/75 

Indigenous Authors 9/20 

Canada Reads Finalists 3/5

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 69/200


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FREE VERSE FRIDAY #4 APRIL CHANGE

I've decided to join Beverly A Baird, Linda Schueler and others in a "year long poetry practice – on the first Friday of each Month," when they, and anyone else who joins, will be writing a poem based on the theme of the month and a photo taken relating to that theme.

You can find out more about this here.

The first time, I didn't quite get the photo part right, so I sent a half decent draft of my poem to my partner, Randy Rotheisler, and a friend, Ron Peace, both gifted photographers, asking for images to accompany it. It was fun and they are keen to continue, so I'm continuing this process. 

A couple of weeks ago we were in Vancouver and the world was full of flowers. I especially noted the daffodils that were everywhere. Then we returned home to nothing. Well, there were bits of green shoots poking out of the ground, but no colour anywhere. That's when this poem began to write itself. 

Last month Linda Schueler shared a persona poem. As I thought about daffodils, I began to wonder what it's life was like and the idea for a poem from the daffodil's perspective took shape. It turned out I really didn't know much about the life of a daffodil. Who would have thought that writing a poem would have involved so much research!

When I sent a very rough draft of this out to these gifted photographers, it was untitled. Randy was sure I was talking about the local balsamroot flowers. Given that I never mention bulb, and people interpret art as they see fit, he insisted I use his image. When I sent Ron a later draft, I made sure he had the title.  

Daffodil Diary

is it time yet?

i am tedium incarnate

hiding from summer heat
and then, later on
cowering from winter cold

no matter how
snug and secure
i am

waiting
beneath the earth
waiting for
the return of the sun
waiting for
just right warm
waiting

feels like forever

and now,
at last,
it’s time
time to get up, grow up, show up,

it’s time
to get my
greedy roots reaching deep into dirt
it’s time to
greet mycorrhizal fungi
and trade some carbon for
compound rich water

it’s time
to push my strong leaves
up
up
up
through the soil
into
radiant light

into the glory of
chloroplasts synthesizing the divine

it’s time
time for
phloem and xylem to
send this sacred joy
throughout my body
til i am
green and giddy
drunk on this
consecrated elixir

it’s time
time to send scape skyward
time to release
pedicel, spathe, ovary, tepal, corona, anther, stigma, style
to fill myself with sweet amrita

it’s time

to bloom

to bloom, resplendent in golden yellow

It’s time
at last
to commune,
however briefly,
with bees

Ron Peace

Randy Rotheisler







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#IMWAYR April 3, 2023

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. Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers host the kidlit rendition. These are fabulous places to start your search for what to read next.

Last week was the exciting Canada Reads Debates. Alas I didn't get all the books read, but I enjoyed watching the conversations about books. It helped that of the ones I did read, Ducks, the one I thought best fit the bill for changing Canadian perspective, won. You can find out more about this annual celebration of Canadian literature here.  

My husband and I went out for dinner Saturday to celebrate our anniversary. My sister reminded me it was 46 years, not 45. We enjoyed the good enough french food, but since both of us are pretty good cooks, (especially him) it was really only the crème brûlée that wowed us.
 
I meant to write a post last week, but we had been away in the big city of Vancouver, BC, for a vacation of sorts and I got my days all mixed up and thought Monday was Sunday. 

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.

PICTURE BOOKS


Walter Had a Best Friend by Deborah Underwood & Sergio Ruzzier (Illustrator) October 18, 2022

Walter and Xavier were best friends, and then they weren't. Walter grieves the loss of this relationship until he realizes that he has to go on with his life. He sets out on a new path and finds a new best friend.
I really like that this book doesn't minimize the hard and painful feelings Walter experiences, and at the same time, leaves the reader full of hope at the end.
I am a hard core fan of Sergio Ruzzier's illustrations and hope these two do more work together.


Hot Dog by Doug Salati May 24, 2022

I'm not really a dog kind of person, though I like other people's dogs well enough. Still, this didn't stop me from appreciating this book. Through poetic language and gorgeous artwork, readers experience a busy city and a peaceful beach from the perspective of a pup. In turn it shows the rest of us how to appreciate nature and the small blessings in our own lives. 

CHILDREN'S NONFICTION


Good Eating: The Short Life of Krill by Matt Lilley & Dan Tavis (Illustrator) January 11, 2022

I knew that krill were a keystone species in the Canadian Arctic, but it wasn't til I read this book that I realized how significant they are globally. While I appreciated the information and illustrations in this book, there is nothing in it about how they mate. In the back matter it tells how egg laying females swarm together, but nothing about how they end up producing eggs. As a retired teacher librarian, who worked with young researcher, all the details are important.

MG FICTION


City of the Dead by James Ponti & Lisa Flanagan (Narrator) February 7, 2023

I sometimes forget how satisfying a good middle grade novel can be. I needed this book in my life as a break from the intensity of the rest of my reading life. 
In this, the 4th in the City Spies series, the team of teen spies ends up in Egypt in search of a computer hacker. Their stepfather's son unexpectedly shows up. He seems to be very helpful, but whether or not he can be trusted is another matter entirely. 

ADULT NONFICTION


Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America by Barbara Ehrenreich May 8, 2001

Barbara Ehrenreich left her well paying job as a journalist to see if she could survive working at a minimum wage job in three different cities around the United States. While she was cushioned from the full assault of poverty because she was white, proficient in English, started out with some seed money, and didn't give up her car, she was still unable to make ends meet.
She reveals the dark underbelly, almost dystopian reality that is the life for working class people, (mostly women) who work and live below the poverty level. This was written at the end of the 1990's. I fear that life for people  today is probably even worse. 
As a Canadian I couldn't help but reflect that people here working at these kinds of wages, don't have to worry about paying medical bills. Their lives are still impossible, but they have one less thing to fret about.
This is a book to enlighten those of us who live comfortable lives, that if someone like us, with all the advantages, can't survive on minimum wages, how can we expect anyone else to?



The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness and Healing in A Toxic Culture by Gabor Maté & Daniel Maté (coauthor and narrator) September 13, 2022 🍁

"Over four decades of clinical experience, Maté has come to recognize the prevailing understanding of “normal” as false, neglecting the roles that trauma and stress, and the pressures of modern-day living, exert on our bodies and our minds at the expense of good health."
This reads like the author's magnum opus, a synthesis of his previous writings on addiction and physical and mental health. I appreciated that he integrates his own experiences into the rest of the narrative.
Reading this book was unsettling. It opened up wounds I though were healed over. At the same time, it helped me think about aspects of my life today through a new lens. 
It should be required reading for all health and education professionals.

CURRENTLY

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill

All the Seas of the World by Guy Gavriel Kay 🍁 

UP NEXT 

The Summer of Bitter and Sweet by  Jenny Ferguson 🍁

READING GOALS 

#MustReadFiction 6/24

#MustReadNonFiction 4/20 in progress

Canadian Authors 15/75 1 in progress

Indigenous Authors 9/20 

Canada Reads Finalists 3/5

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 62/200


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#IMWAYR March 13, 2023

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. Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers host the kidlit rendition. These are fabulous places to start your search for what to read next.


I'm still dealing with this ear/sinus infection and ruptured eardrum. It has made it difficult to focus and concentrate. Thank goodness for lists or I would get nothing accomplished. Other than that, life is good. 

I went to a workshop last Monday and managed to get my sister's birthday present finished. Creating these mats is a brilliant way to use up fabric and batting scraps. Her birthday isn't for a couple of weeks, but I'm pretty sure she is too busy to read my blog, so I can share it with you here. 


I've started and abandoned a number of books in the past couple of weeks. They just left me feeling too anxious. One of these is Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver. I returned the audiobook to the library and will eventually read this one with my eyes. As you can tell from the list below, I am mostly interested in nonfiction these days, although it too can ratchet up the anxiety and ire. 

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.

RECENT POSTS

FREE VERSE FRIDAY #3 MARCH GREEN

PICTURE BOOKS


Knight Owl by Christopher Denise March 15, 2022

This is an important book. It's loaded with all kinds of important messages - about how to persevere to reach a goal, about how to deal with fear, about how to turn an enemy into a friend.
That it is gorgeously illustrated and full of humour just adds to it's appeal.

CHILDREN'S NONFICTION


Kapaemahu by Hinaleimoana Wong-Kalu, Joe Wilson, Dean Hamer, Daniel Sousa (Illustrator) June 7, 2022

In ancient times four Mahu, two spirited (both male and female) beings, visited Honolulu. Each of them had a special power of healing. Before they left, the people brought huge stones from the mountain to Waikiki beach. These Mahu infused the stones with their power before they vanished. Over time the stones were almost forgotten, but have been returned to a place of honour. Unfortunately, the modern retelling of the story leaves out the Mahu nature of the beings. 
This book is an adaptation of animated film by the same name. The book is fine, mostly because the artwork is spectacular, but I preferred the award winning film.
 
 


ADULT NONFICTION


Orwell's Roses by Rebecca Solnit (Author & Narrator) October 11, 2022

This is like a literary venn diagram with multiple narratives circling round and touching base at Orwell's roses. Then they meander off into new realms. The book delves into different aspects of Orwell's life, the times he lived in, and even into the story behind supermarket roses today.
It is fabulous!


The Power of Story: On Truth, the Trickster, and New Fictions for a New Era by Harold R Johnson 🍁 October 11, 2022

This is a book to savour - to read a bit at a time and let the teaching fill you up before you go back for more.
I thought I had a pretty good take on the power of story. Then I read this book and realized I had only scratched the surface.
Johnson shows us the power in both micro and macro aspects of story. It drives our most intimate relationships. "We are the stories we tell ourselves." Story also drives the kind of society and world we live in. "Both capitalist and socialist stories depend upon the exploitation of the earth's resources. A capitalist will cut down the last tree if there's money to be made. A socialist will cut down the last tree so long as the worker doing the cutting belongs to a trade union."
This book is full of guidelines for how to live a rich and satisfying life so that "Every one of our days should be good enough to die in.... We have to practise writing those days until we can fill our lifestory with pages so good that endings don't frighten us anymore."
And my favourite takeaway is this, “Giving a shit is a powerful story.”
I do have a few quibbles with bits of this, but if you are looking for a book to change the way you see the world, I'm pretty sure this is it.

CURRENTLY

Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America by Barbara Ehrenreich

The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness and Healing in A Toxic Culture by Gabor Maté, 🍁

UP NEXT 

Hotline by Dimitri Nasrallah 🍁

The Summer of Bitter and Sweet by  Jenny Ferguson 🍁

READING GOALS 

#MustReadFiction 5/24

#MustReadNonFiction 2/20 2 in progress

Canadian Authors 14/75 1 in progress

Indigenous Authors 9/20 

Canada Reads Finalists 3/5

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 56/200


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FREE VERSE FRIDAY #3 MARCH GREEN

I've decided to join Beverly A Baird, Linda Schueler and others in a "year long poetry practice – on the first Friday of each Month," when they, and anyone else who joins, will be writing a poem based on the theme of the month and a photo taken relating to that theme.

You can find out more about this here.

Last time, I didn't quite get the photo part right, so I sent a half decent draft of my poem to my partner, Randy Rotheisler, and a friend, Ron Peace, both gifted photographers, asking for images to accompany it. It was fun and they are ready to continue, so I've decided to continue this process. 

While drinking my coffee, I stare out the picture window across the valley at the hills. Here in this semi dessert, they are brown almost all year round. The exceptions are when winter snow covers them, and for a brief spate of time, in spring, when fields of bunch grass, balsamroot, and a host of other wildflowers erupt out of the soil. 

As I gaze out at this grey brown landscape, I've been musing on this theme of green. This time of year, it's still illusive, more like a dream, or a memory of a dream. I had a poem almost all figured out, and then woke up twice last week to fresh dumps of snow. Enough with the white stuff already!

Anyway, here is today's poem with two images to bookend it. 

by Randy Rotheisler


not yet green

in the between of winter and spring

these,
stoic brown hills,

            oh landscape
        
                        of my heart

wait,
wait oh so,
wait oh so patient

for the just waking up spring goddess

still that old man winter
he just
he just has to have
one last temper tantrum

now, the brooding brown hills
hide, disguised in white

old man,
you’ve overstayed your welcome

step aside

she’s stirring

soon now,
 
        it won’t be long

she will rise

shoots and stalks sprouting
from the soles of her feet
as she strides 
across her dominion,

decorating these drab slopes
                                    in an exaltation
                                                          of resurrection green

by Ron Peace



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#IMWAYR February 27th, 2023

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. Jen at Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee and Ricki at Unleashing Readers host the kidlit rendition. These are fabulous places to start your search for what to read next.


I had a good time with the grandkids last weekend. They sure seem to be growing up fast!


Unfortunately my respiratory tract infection turned into an ear infection and I ended up with a ruptured eardrum. Perhaps because I now can't hear out of one ear, their noise didn't bother me a bit! 
Once they returned home I managed to complete two blog posts talking about the graphic novels I read as a Cybils' Judge. 

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.


I would give this picture book more stars based on the artwork alone. When I read it with my two granddaughters, we were dumfounded by the glorious beauty of Chioma Ebinama's illustrations. 
The story is a simple one of a boy who loves a field where nature flourishes. Until winter comes, he revels in being the only one there. In winter however, the field is full of other children sliding down the perfect slope. His father helps him come to understand that it's not his field, and that having other people appreciate the splendour of the place is a good way to ensure it lasts.


Julie Flett's illustrations beautifully accompany Buffy Sainte-Marie's song lyrics. The love in this book seems cosmic. It feels like a love song to place, culture and the whole world, and in return, from these things to us. 
The music and lyrics are included in the book, but you can listen to it in the following video.



Two unlikely characters become friends in this sweet reader. I love Ruzzier's illustrations.

Fish and Wave by Sergio Ruzzier  May 17, 2022 4 stars

This is another book about unlikely friendship, but it's also about accepting and taking pleasure in how we are different. 

I picked these two Ruzzier titles, along with some other books from the library because my grandkids were coming for the weekend. I've increased my rating because the almost three year old had me reading it them a number of times. My five year old grandson, who was playing a game with others, kept coming over to see what was happening. 

This little reader is an adaptation of the Uni the Unicorn series created by Amy Krouse Rosenthal & Brigette Barrager (Illustrator). In this book, Uni tries to figure out what to get for their perfect friend, Silkie. My oldest granddaughter was excited to see this book about unicorns, but wasn't as excited about the story, even if she could almost read it herself. 



My almost three year old granddaughter once told me, "I'm not interested in princesses and pretty things. I like monsters and dinosaurs." We just tell her it's ok to like all these things. 
Of course I had to pick up a couple of these dinosaur books from the library for her. They are ideal nonfiction titles for little people. We read them a number of times! 


GRAPHIC


I enjoyed this modern retelling of Anne of Green Gables. In this iteration, Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert live in an apartment in a city. They were hoping to foster a younger child, but end up with Anne. I liked that the personality of the original Anne remains mostly intact in this book. I like that there is more diversity in the different characters (even if it is only skin colour deep.) I was delighted to see the same kinds of conflicts in the original books played out in a modern setting. I'm still struggling with the ending. In my youth I read every book in the series, so for me, it strays a little too far from the original romantic arc for Anne and Gilbert. I've asked my queer niece who is a librarian what she thinks about it, but she hasn't read it yet. I suspect it's just nostalgia that's getting in my way of fully appreciating this version. 

This book is a prequel to the Shadow and Bone series.
"Before he led Ravka’s Second Army, before he created the Fold, and long before he became the Darkling, he was just a lonely boy burdened by an extraordinary power." I really enjoyed learning more about the villain from the later books, and even came to have sympathy for him. Dani Pendergast's artwork is just spectacular!

 ADULT YA NOVELS


This book is way far out of my comfort zone. If it wasn't a Canada Reads finalist, I'm sure I would never have made it beyond when the protagonist, Noemí, begins to have nightmares. Now I'm really glad I finished it. At first I wasn't sure how the book pertains to this years theme of shifting perspective. However, once I was removed from the aftermath of immediate trauma, (I don't read horror at all) I began to see that while this book is of the horror genre, it's so much more. It highlights the actual horror inherent in systems of patriarchy and misogyny, classism, racism, and capitalism. Sometimes you have to see these things from a distance to recognize how close they are to you, or at least to see them in a new light.

ADULT MEMOIR

4 stars

Half Bads in White Regalia by Cody Caetano 🍁 May 31, 2022

I was gobsmacked by the writing in the this one. I wish I had it as an audiobook since it reads like poetry. Yet at the same time as I was in thrall of the word-smithing, I was horrified for Cody Caetano and his siblings. It's a memoir about growing up in a family with two essentially incompetent parents. At one point in the book Cody Caetano and his two older siblings were abandoned in their family's deteriorating home. They were without electricity, heat, and food, in a mould infested water soaked house. I am in awe of how much love overflows, in spite of how violent and crazy it all was. It's a testimony to the influence of the author's older sister that the siblings turned out so well. 

CURRENTLY

The Power of Story: On Truth, the Trickster, and New Fictions for a New Era by Harold R Johnson 🍁
If you are looking for a book to change the way you see the world, I'm pretty sure this is it. 

Dead City by James Ponti

Blood Scion by Deborah Falaye 🍁
I've had to put this book on hold while I finish reading the Canada Reads finalists. Also, it is way to intense for me to finish when I'm not feeling well. 

UP NEXT 

Hotline by Dimitri Nasrallah 🍁

Orwell's Roses by Rebecca Solnit

Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America by Barbara Ehrenreich

READING GOALS 

#MustReadFiction 5/24

#MustReadNonFiction 0/20 1 in progress

Canadian Authors 14/75 2 in progress

Indigenous Authors 5/20 1 in progress

Canada Reads Finalists 3/5

Goodreads Reading Challenge: 52/200


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