Heat wave's dominating the East Coast, so it's a good time to stay inside and read (after you remember to put out food and water for the wildlife contending with this hot mess). I created a water station in the backyard, although the birds probably have been frolicking in the air conditioner waterfalls. I noticed they were still active and not out on siesta.
I've been reading much more this year.
While I started un-building my nest right about the time the birds started building their spring digs, making regular donations to a new thrift store right down the street that I love, I have also bought more books this year than I have since I was in my twenties, I believe. I am still committed to making weekly donations to the thrift store, which directly benefits the local community. Of course, I find treasures there every week, but my ratio of donation to purchases is at least ten to one. A bas hoarding! I can feel my house getting lighter. Maybe it will rise?
I'm usually reading about five or six books at once, going back and forth.
Some of the books I have been enjoying very recently are Capote's first novel, Other Voices, Other Rooms and Joseph Heller's cult classic Something Happened. I try not to read reviews of books which I am still reading, but I had a great time reading the Goodreads reviews on that latter title. People seem to have caught on to what a dark treasure the novel is.
I'm really fascinated by John Bodnar's Steelton: Immigration and Industrialization, 1870-1940. Bodnar's unromantic take on the lives of working class Americans is bracing; his gaze is unflinching and his analysis is trenchant and credible. He charts the larger patterns of socialization and ostracization which make a culture. This book makes me want to read all of his other historical writing, particularly the book he did on Pittsburgh's ethnic minorities. I believe he contributed to a larger book series on the working class whose titles I want to suss out.
I'm always reading many anthologies and collections of haiku. I will review some of those shortly on Goodreads. I've only received one disappointing haiku title lately and my complaint was that the translations from the Japanese were bad. The poetry was lost. This is a shame, because I'm fairly certain the original poems were scintillant with life in Japanese.
I'm reading some serendipitous thrift store book finds in delicious bites. These include a Gaiman title, Roxane Gay's Bad Feminist and a college-level textbook on entomology which is really blowing my mind. Certain things you learn about insects just won't leave your consciousness for very long. Insects are the Other World. You will never think about design in the same way again.
I'm smitten with Joy Harjo's How We Became Human: New and Selected Poems and by her other books.
Do you know about the Gastro Obscura site? I believe this is the culinary section of a larger site dedicated to finding outre and interesting stories from around the globe. In any case, I wanted to draw your attention to two really great reads on that site, which I just enjoyed today. There's this article, "The Canadian Towns that Icelanders Visit for a Taste of their Past," by Karen Burshtein, that I found absolutely fascinating. While I am committed to cruelty-free dining, I thought the feature was delicious. Be sure to take her up on her links, as there's much readworthy history there, including that essay authored by an (at that time) 11th grader! I had no idea there was a miniature Iceland in Canada's Manitoba province.
The other article which you really shouldn't miss is "How Pink Slime Saved Sushi" by Sabrina Imler. I don't want to give you any spoilers as to what this article is about, but let's just say there's a certain someone who is the Patron Saint of Nori and you'd never guess who it is. Don't worry, if you need tragedy, there's some of that. I'm sort of hoping Morrissey will write a song about the female scientist at the heart of the article. I don't think I've seen "nori" in the Morrissey Concordance yet, and that's a glaring omission.
These two articles just appeared in the past few days on the site. I can see it's very likely I am going to become a habitue of the Atlas Obscura site. I think the article I want to read next is "Almost Every Bob Ross Painting in Existence Lives in a Virginia Office Park." Oh God, Yes. Some clicks cannot just be unbaited. One must swoon into the acquiescence of pleasure.
I've been reading much more this year.
While I started un-building my nest right about the time the birds started building their spring digs, making regular donations to a new thrift store right down the street that I love, I have also bought more books this year than I have since I was in my twenties, I believe. I am still committed to making weekly donations to the thrift store, which directly benefits the local community. Of course, I find treasures there every week, but my ratio of donation to purchases is at least ten to one. A bas hoarding! I can feel my house getting lighter. Maybe it will rise?
I'm usually reading about five or six books at once, going back and forth.
Some of the books I have been enjoying very recently are Capote's first novel, Other Voices, Other Rooms and Joseph Heller's cult classic Something Happened. I try not to read reviews of books which I am still reading, but I had a great time reading the Goodreads reviews on that latter title. People seem to have caught on to what a dark treasure the novel is.
I'm really fascinated by John Bodnar's Steelton: Immigration and Industrialization, 1870-1940. Bodnar's unromantic take on the lives of working class Americans is bracing; his gaze is unflinching and his analysis is trenchant and credible. He charts the larger patterns of socialization and ostracization which make a culture. This book makes me want to read all of his other historical writing, particularly the book he did on Pittsburgh's ethnic minorities. I believe he contributed to a larger book series on the working class whose titles I want to suss out.
I'm always reading many anthologies and collections of haiku. I will review some of those shortly on Goodreads. I've only received one disappointing haiku title lately and my complaint was that the translations from the Japanese were bad. The poetry was lost. This is a shame, because I'm fairly certain the original poems were scintillant with life in Japanese.
I'm reading some serendipitous thrift store book finds in delicious bites. These include a Gaiman title, Roxane Gay's Bad Feminist and a college-level textbook on entomology which is really blowing my mind. Certain things you learn about insects just won't leave your consciousness for very long. Insects are the Other World. You will never think about design in the same way again.
I'm smitten with Joy Harjo's How We Became Human: New and Selected Poems and by her other books.
Do you know about the Gastro Obscura site? I believe this is the culinary section of a larger site dedicated to finding outre and interesting stories from around the globe. In any case, I wanted to draw your attention to two really great reads on that site, which I just enjoyed today. There's this article, "The Canadian Towns that Icelanders Visit for a Taste of their Past," by Karen Burshtein, that I found absolutely fascinating. While I am committed to cruelty-free dining, I thought the feature was delicious. Be sure to take her up on her links, as there's much readworthy history there, including that essay authored by an (at that time) 11th grader! I had no idea there was a miniature Iceland in Canada's Manitoba province.
The other article which you really shouldn't miss is "How Pink Slime Saved Sushi" by Sabrina Imler. I don't want to give you any spoilers as to what this article is about, but let's just say there's a certain someone who is the Patron Saint of Nori and you'd never guess who it is. Don't worry, if you need tragedy, there's some of that. I'm sort of hoping Morrissey will write a song about the female scientist at the heart of the article. I don't think I've seen "nori" in the Morrissey Concordance yet, and that's a glaring omission.
These two articles just appeared in the past few days on the site. I can see it's very likely I am going to become a habitue of the Atlas Obscura site. I think the article I want to read next is "Almost Every Bob Ross Painting in Existence Lives in a Virginia Office Park." Oh God, Yes. Some clicks cannot just be unbaited. One must swoon into the acquiescence of pleasure.
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