Picture Book Review: Penny and the Plain Piece of Paper

Penny and the Plain Piece of Paper 

Miri Leshem-Pelly

Overall Rating: 4/5 <- genuine average
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Writing: 4/5

Summary: Penny, a colorful scribble of a little girl, is bored on her plain, white piece of paper, so she strikes out to visit other kinds of paper. She visits a newspaper, a map, graph paper, wrapping paper and a coloring book before returning to her original home, dissatisfied with the restrictive rules each other paper has. She decides instead to be herself on her plain paper and invite everyone she met on her journey to make a world of their own rules with her.

Impression: The illustrations are adorable, simple and fresh. Penny is unique in her world and each different paper world has its own stylistic look. You know Compass is from the Map because his lines and shapes are the same. Knowing the bears are from the Coloring Book goes beyond their black outlines and lack of color: they have the same rounded style as the rest of their world. Everyone fits where they start and show themselves to be clearly different from Penny.

Conclusion/Recommendations: Penny's story is cute, fun and flexible. An excellent story for early readers and story-times.

Blog Post: Picking Up Sticks

 

In the process of the last few years, I've been finding and losing myself. I've written my own fiction, reviewed a lot of other work, did some beta-reading for friends. I lost my way, learned some things about myself and generally feel like I've done a lot of growing up in a very short period of time, long after I should have.

One aspect of this is that I realized I'm not well-suited to keeping a regular blog or YouTube channel, obviously. I'm trying to get back into the habit of reading and reviewing, even if it's just for here and GoodReads. Reading and writing about that reading seems to help me with my own writing, too. 

Another major aspect of this introspection is a jarring realization of how much I still need to learn. My perspective as a public service worker has shifted with the pandemic and moving to a more personally-oriented public library. My perspective as a white person in a white-made society made for white people has shifted as I read more about history and the experiences of other people. I want to learn more and I want to share what I learn.

I'm also painfully aware that I'm exactly the kind of earnest, well-meaning, (nearly) middle-aged white woman who so irritates some of my friends of color. It's difficult to find ways to say what I mean without reinforcing the stereotype and further frustrating or earning their dismissal. 

One thing I've taken away from finally starting to listen is that it's been my privilege to not think about this. My privilege paved the way for me to not need to think about race growing up. It's my duty as a responsible adult with an interest in being supportive and equitable to think about it now, to read about it and learn about it now. Sometimes, it's been hard to read some of what I've read and then I stop and think, "Yeah, it's hard. It sucks. And some of my friends didn't get to wait until they were in their 30s to learn about it. They've lived it first-hand and didn't get the choice." I fell like I owe it to them--and all the other people of color who have suffered and continue to live and die here--to educate myself and respect the differences between what I experience and what they have experienced. 

And when it comes right down to it? What I think doesn't matter. What I do doesn't matter. What I say doesn't matter and shouldn't matter except to highlight what they think and do and say. This isn't my fight. It's theirs and I just want to help.

Nonfiction Review: Soul of an Octopus

Soul of an Octopus
by Sy Montgomery

Overall Rating: 4/5
Plot: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Writing: 5/5

Summary: Sy Montgomery explores the science around octopuses while sharing her emotional and sometimes philosophical experiences volunteering with New England aquariums and her own personal diving trips. 

Impression: Most of the time I was reading this book, my husband got used to me wandering out into the living room to say, "Hey, listen to this! Did you know..." and then reading something randomly amazing about octopuses. Montgomery's prose is engaging and colorful, mixing both hard science and personal observation in a manner that keeps your attention on how incredible these animals really are.

Conclusion/Recommendations: I thoroughly enjoyed the book, though it was heavier on the philosophy and lighter on the science for my personal tastes. It's definitely a great book to whet your appetite for deeper exploration into cephalopod research.

Black History Month Review: Stamped From the Beginning

Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America

Ibram X. Kendi

Overall Rating: 5/5 <- genuine average
Narrative: 5/5
Characterization: 5/5
Clarity: 5/5

Summary: A comprehensive look at American history through an anti-racist lens. The book moves through five major stages of human history and each stage is told with a specific "guide" in mind, someone who defined racism or anti-racism during that period of time.

Impression: Reading the history of racism and how deeply ingrained it is in American culture was very sobering for me. The writing here is excellent, clear and concise and empathic in its treatment of all sides of the issue. To say I enjoyed it would be only moderately accurate: it's not a subject to be enjoyed. It's a subject to be understood and learned from. I definitely know more and understand more about American history than I did when I started.

Conclusion/Recommendations: The Young Adult Readers edition of this book, Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You was recently challenged in a high school curriculum and been the center of debate about teaching critical race theory in public schools. After reading this book, I believe that critical race theory is vital to this nation going forward. We need to question and understand what we have been taught and what we believe about ourselves. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in a primary on anti-racism and American history.

Graphic Novel Review: Solutions and Other Problems

Solutions and Other Problems
Allie Brosh

Overall Rating: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Writing: 5/5

Summary: The follow-up to Brosh's Hyperbole and a Half.

Impression: Allie Brosh has had a rough couple of years. Hyperbole and a Half was a raucous, bizarre exploration of anxiety and the weirdness that is life filtered through Brosh's unique viewpoint and graphic style. Solutions and Other Problems was formulated as a book rather than a series of graphic essays and the difference is notable. Not only is Brosh's tone more mature but her life has exploded in a lot of ways. She takes an unflinching (or vocally flinching and flailing) look at what happened, why it happened and why sometimes you can't explain why. Much darker and more existentially morbid than the first book, Solutions and Other Problems remains hysterically funny and uncomfortably relatable.

Conclusion/Recommendations: If you enjoyed Hyperbole and a Half for it's humor, you might enjoy this one. If you enjoyed it for its dark, morbid, off-the-wall perspectives, you will definitely love this. She has an incredible tone of existential horror which really appeals to Gen-Z dark humor.

Adult Review: Love and Other Consolation Prizes

Love and Other Consolation Prizes
By Jamie Ford

Advance copy provided by Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Love and Other Consolation Prizes is the story of Ernest Young, a boy who was brought from China to be auction to "a good home" in the 1909 World's Fair in Seattle. The book opens in the 60s as Ernest over looks the second Seattle World's Fair and reminisces about his life and where he's come since then. He thinks about his wife, who now barely remembers him, and his children, the life he's built and how parts of it were taken from him over the years.

And it is beautiful.

Every word encompasses a world of sight, sound, taste, and scent. Ford's descriptions are to die for and I hung on every word. The characters feel with such incredible clarity that they could have stepped out from the pages and it wouldn't have surprised me.

From what I've read, this book is very much in line with Ford's other offerings, which include the Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, which I have not read. The impression I have of this author is that his work flows from a sensitive place, an inner world which watches leaves fall and the way a slight breeze moves forgotten things across the ground.

Due to time limitations, I was only able to do an overview of this book, but I read the first two chapters, several chapters throughout, and the final two chapters. I had plans to cancel my hold on the book when I had an opportunity to explore it, but the lyrical story, sharp characters, and beautiful writing convinced me to wait and read the entire thing. This is an excellent book and if you enjoy bittersweet nostalgia and love that doesn't always fit the world's narrative, I think you would love this one, too.

Non-fiction Review: The Happiness Hypothesis

The Happiness Hypothesis: Finding Modern Truth in Ancient Wisdom
by Jonathan Haidt

Overall Rating: 4/5
Subject Presentation: 4/5
Characters: n/a
Writing: 4/5

The Happiness Hypothesis delves deep into the simple origins of psychology and philosophy to discover the relevant truths in old wisdom. A fascinating study melding science and philosophy, this book gives simple, clear explanations for the concepts presented and is firmly grounded in modern psychological science. An excellent read for mildly jaded cynics (like me) seeking a simple approach to finding some peace in a fast-paced world.

On a more personal note, I read this book for my Psychology of Happiness class a few summers ago and it really changed how I looked at things like "do unto others as you would have them do unto you" and some of the older origins of mindfulness and meditation. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and refused to give my copy up to the bookstore at the end of the summer session.