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Let's face it; I'm terrible with the photography and editing. I'll be taking a break from Flickr. During this break I will be learning more and more on how to edit. I might come back. I might quit. This will be my last picture for a while.
I always try and fit in a chapter or two of my current book during the course of each day ~ a quiet hour and a cup of coffee is hard to beat!
I've used a "real". look for this shot but my reading (of books) is done on my Kindle Paperwhite ..... apologies to real book readers ;-)
Our Daily Challenge ~ Good To Read ....
Thanks to everyone who views this photo, adds a note, leaves a comment and of course BIG thanks to anyone who chooses to favourite my photo .... thanks to you all.
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Noona, Suppi, and Webster were basically janitors before today. Now they're making a solo run against one of Pyerce's Imperial Light Cruisers! What a day.
Did you know that cats have favorite authors and genres? Jarvis Cocker prefers non fiction and so his favorite authors are Claudia Rankine, Sasha Geffen, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Ta-Nehisi Coates. Broadcast prefers experimental Asian fiction and so her favorite authors are Haruki Murakami, Ryu Murakami, Bae Suah, Can Xue, Banana Yoshimoto, Kazuo Umezz, Shin Kyung-Sook, Karen Tei Yamashita,Keiichirō Hirano, Yasutaka Tsutsui, Krys Lee and Banana Yoshimoto. PJ Harvey prefers poetry so her favorite authors are Rumi, Hanif Abdurraqib, Naomi Shihab Nye, Ocean Vuong, Nikki Giovanni and Eve L. Ewing. When I asked her what she thought of Nick Cave’s lyrics, you should have seen her reaction! What all my cats can agree on is that Karen Tei Yamashita’s Through the Arc of the Rainforest is a masterpiece and so, I always have to read that one out loud to them during cat story hour. Though I didn’t read Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor this year either, it’s still a solid second choice for our story hour together.
I have to always preface these lists by making the disclaimer that while no human being can read all of the books in existence put out in one year, I read even less this year having only finished a little under 150 books (I read 365 last year). Not all of these books were released this year and some of these books may be released in the future depending on which alternative timeline of reality you exist in. The pandemic really put a dent into my reading because I typically read while on the elliptical at the gym for a couple of hours every day but, with the gyms closed, I had to turn to memorizing K pop dance moves off of Youtube for my exercise for several months (I am not good at this), which caused me to almost get murdered by my downstairs neighbor until I straight up invested in an elliptical a couple of months ago and saved myself from the sudden doom that would have rivaled any gruesome ending of a Chan-wook Park film.
These books represent a few different genres-nonfiction, fiction, graphic novels, poetry-and are in a general order but I decided not to number them as I kept changing the order depending on my mood and that didn’t seem very efficient (I am not a journalist) Feel free to share your favorite books that you read this year. You may be stuck in a black hole reading books that we don’t even have in our reality. I want to hear about those too!
And, without further ado, my feline fanatic friends and literature lovers, gather around for this is my Favorite Books of 2020:
The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin
Sometimes it’s actually hard to take science fiction seriously….why? Maybe because it’s so fun and engaging….either way, it’s actually quite hard to write something that is very inventive and also relevant in our modern times. In a way, it speaks to the high ability of the author to also be able to make it grounded in reality enough to be just believable but imaginative enough to get truly lost in a unique story. Such is the case for The City We Became, which has all of the NYC buroughs represented by different humans with vivid personalities fitting their areas who have to work together to stop an evil takeover and, of course, have a really tough time with that pesky and racist ignorant Ms. Staten Island. N.K. Jemisin creates a world of actual monsters and proud boy like art dealer/real estate mogul monsters (the kind we don’t actually have to work hard to imagine because they exist in real life). This looks like what will be the first in hopefully a long series of riveting books!
Tropic of Orange: Karen Tei Yamashita
I read Through the Arc of the Rainforest last year and this year Tropic of Orange was my exceptional read by this Japanese American author who is so imaginative in the way she writes both memorable characters and interwoven plots. I can’t predict any endings for any of their lives and that is quite something indeed. If you don’t like magical realism or complex storylines, you may miss out on the brilliance that is Yamashita and the bulk of her work. But, if you find yourself wanting to explore what creative literature is capable of, please look no further!
Pet by Akwaeke Emezi-
Just released this year and highly recommended by me! This book was philosophically engaging from start to finish. Set in the fictional town of Lucille, the residents have conquered all of the “monsters” (who are basically Trump voters and the like) until an angel (who looks like a monster) emerges from a painting to find a “family monster” who is abusing a child. The protagonist is a trans adolescent whose mom reads the great Nnedi Okorafor to her and speaks through sign language. I loved the layers of moral complexity here. Pet gets into what truly makes a monster and how insidious monsters (again, basically republicans) can hide in plain sight and if a monster is redeemable too. I liked Freshwater (Emezi’s 1st novel) but this was 100x better imo
Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi
This novel is both imaginative and also heart breaking…its main plot involves a country overtaken by American forces who also can’t trust their own government and a corpse that reanimates from other corpses to seek revenge. Though it delves into a little bit of black comedy and takes on a creature who may seem more familiar to those who enjoy the horror genre, it’s the horror of reality with the violence of the American invasion of Iraq that the novel is actually about. What Saadawi does is to create a vivid metaphor that evolves throughout the book and forces us to think deeply about morality. We must remember that Saadawi may also be coming to terms with his own grief, mortality, and the modern reality of living in Iraq. He has had friends lost through suicide bombs that he narrowly missed being killed in himself, for instance.
Catherine Lacey: Pew
I am always a little hesitant to promote the work of someone who is white when there are many women of color who are under-recognized and struggling to earn both critical acclaim and also just a living. So, I will just say that I found Catherine Lacey’s very recent novel Pew incredibly moving and relevant for our times. She writes about race and gender identity in a way that feels fully realized. This book is about identity that words cannot define and the frustrations that result in a white community (who considers themselves super religious) because they cannot take ownership over human identity. There’s a real sense of the frustration of language and lack of it and of not being in control and the way these humans handle that feeling. It is a postmodern masterpiece and I would highly recommend it. On a side note, it doesn’t really matter or seem worth mentioning the personal romantic life of a female author but, in this case, I must mention that she is currently the partner of one of my favorite authors who also resides in Chicago, Jesse Ball, and has a funny statement about him at the end in the thank-you section that is worth taking a look at.
Elif Shafak’s 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World
This novel is fiercely feminist following so many female friends from all walks of life in Turkey and the way the body lives on after death. This book starts with death but is really filled with life! As our heroine protagonist, murdered yet still filled with extreme senses, dies a little more on each page, we find out a little more about her and what in her life brought her to this point. And therein lies the largest devastation of this novel because we fall in love with dear Leila but it’s too late to save her. Her life was doomed from the beginning because she happened to be born female and poor and did not have any rights to make her own happiness despite having all the ambitions to do so.
Imani Perry: Breathe, A Letter to My Sons:
This book was a little reminiscent of Ta-Nehisi Coates’s “Between the World and Me” but I actually was even more moved by this mothers take on raising her two boys in America with it’s racist past and present. Really wise and incredible. This was such a gift to be added to the canon of American literature and as a resource to help nurture the modern African American family and was both honest and insightful.
Yaa Gyasi: Transendent Kingdom
Yaa Gyasi’s second novel is quite a bit different than her first, Homegoing. This one is about a family from Ghana but one that lives in Alabama and struggles to make their way in the American South. It is a portrait of a family in turmoil as the family unit as a whole is severed in a couple of major ways…and, I am hesitant to say more on that end as I don’t want to spoil the novel. Gyasi writes us a very strong female protagonist in Gifty who is a neuroscientist studying mice and both reward seeking and inhibition in her quest to understand and make sense of addiction. It is one of those soul searching types of books that is well worth reading and without artifice or cliché, which is sometimes quite a challenge to find in literature.
The Liar by Ayelet Gundar-Goshen
In some ways, this was not as profound as an earlier fiction work by this Israeli author, Waking Lions, but is still however very meaningful and relevant about lies that take on a life and storyline of their own between Israel and Poland and between both a young and a much older female protagonist. To me, this book was incredibly relevant especially in these times about how a little bit of dishonesty ends up leading to incredibly different results in the lives of humans. It’s a short read but very worthwhile in the way it makes you think of the role of truth in one’s life.
Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools by Dr. Monique W. Morris
This was a really difficult read by the Founder and President of the National Black Women’s Justice Institute (NBWJI). Yet, it was also an important read for me not just as an educator but as someone who also wants to do right by all students I support. Morris gets into some of the facts behind racial profiling in schools and does well to expose how it is often overlooked what impact early racism in schools has on young women (although, it is often acknowledged and still very damaging for young Black men). The treatment of young women in a place of learning is very important and could be instrumental in nurturing and encouraging these girls to succeed and to set ambitious yet achievable goals but they have to not only be taught skills but believe in their own worth. We also need to recognize signs of trauma and ensure that we are addressing the whole child. We cannot ignore these facts and we cannot assume that every educator before us was kind and acted within the best interest of every student. So, when we consider what a child’s perception of education may be, for a student of color especially a young human who may be Black, there may be a lot of work to do in changing a negative sense of school. What we see in our schools is not “safe spaces” but punishment that sets the stage for a cruel future. Do we really want this as a society? We must accept that we have failed and that we must change.
We must actively change schools across America! It is a gift to be able to teach and nurture and abuses of power are the most heinous kind. On a personal note, I spent much of my time this summer protesting against police brutality and cops in schools. Our mayor and Board of Ed. in Chicago has kept a few incidents of racially motivated violence against students in schools from the public and, instead of hiring nurses and ending our contract with the cops, tax payers are still footing the bill. They’ll make us take a mandatory online training about stopping the school to prison pipeline but, in terms of policy and where our tax dollars are going, Chicago is far from walking the same walk they are preaching.
Brit Bennett-The Vanishing Half
This reminded me of a modern day Passing by Nella Larsen and a great follow up novel to The Mothers. Bennett shows a portrait of two sisters, one who decides to pass and leads a much different life than the other who ends up having a child with a man who has a much darker skin tone than herself and returns to their small town in Louisiana where there is an obsession about shades of skin. This novel is as much an examination about race as it is about the human desperation driven by racism and what humans are capable of denying about themselves and others they love to continue to live safely within a certain space and level of comfort. There is also a second layer that is about transitioning genders that adds to the storyline and characters overall.
The Atlas of Reds and Blues by Devi S. Laskar
The story of racism that a Bengali immigrant family experiences in the American south (in a suburb of Atlanta) is important but what elevates this work is the unique writing style. I literally felt like I was slipping to and fro through time and seeing these glimpses of a vivid life in all its joys and sorrows. Laskar is incredibly poetic in her exploration of police violence and trauma and was also herself a victim of racial profiling. She’s another author who I hope continues to gain readers and write more books. For a debut, this is exceptional and really reads like it come from an author who has written her whole life.
Disability / Visibility edited and FW by Alice Wong
This is nonfiction at its finest because it has the power to open your mind to the struggles of a group of humans you may not have had a clue about before you opened the first page. Wong did an excellent job of finding an incredibly diverse group of perspectives not just in terms of race, class and religion but also in terms of ability level and opinions on ableism and world perspectives. Keah Brown and Haben Girma are probably the most well known authors in this collection but each of these essays is enlightening in a different way-some focus more on technological aspects, others on fashion, others on abortion, and still others on deficits in terms of public transport. All of these perspectives are valid and insightful and should give able bodied humans a clue as to what obstacles need to be examined and removed in our society to make a better world exist.
Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man by Emmanuel Acho.
In an alternative reality where white American born humans also need to pass a citizenship test, this would be required reading. Acho comes from Nigerian parents and grew up in Texas. I didn’t realize he wasn’t just a political science philosopher type of author (He’s also an NFL player) when I started reading as I don’t really follow the actual sports game but he does a fantastic job with these questions, which are actual questions submitted by white people in America. Some of these questions show a huge lack of understanding of history and privilege. Other questions are more related to wanting to help and be anti-racist but not knowing where to start. Acho calmly rewinds and takes us through some background and gives suggestions on how to live differently and be better as well as some valuable resources. And, in order to keep in mind white privilege, I will say that it is definitely not the responsibility of Black or African American humans to educate us but when they do make an effort (and hopefully like Acho are compensated for it), it’s definitely our duty to listen. As ignorant as some of these questions seem, we must all be humble and willing to ask questions and all the more willing to listen to the answers. It’s also worth noting that this nonfiction was written after the murder of George Floyd so it is incredibly current and Acho also writes very calmly and in a way that most people probably won’t find having a huge adverse reaction to when confronting white privilege and entitlement.
A Man by Keiichirō Hirano
What an engaging read! I don’t think I’ve ever read a novel that so effectively skirted the line of experimental fiction in its exploration of identity and story lines before. First, there is the identity based on an exchanged one and a lie for a human being who lives a quiet life as someone else. But, then there is the exploration of identify of what it means to be S. Korean and living in Japan and the xenophobia experienced by humans in this predicament. In some ways, A Man reads like a thriller and mystery novel but in many other ways, it is a deeply philosophical work that cannot be contained by genre but makes you wonder about and question the human stories were are assigned, we tell ourselves, and that we make up altogether. I can’t wait for At the End of the Matinee to be released April 15th, 2021!
Hidden Colors by Nillu Nasser
The book explores the struggles of Syrian refugees in Berlin putting on a magical circus but after a couple of years. the anti-immigrant sentiment rises and politicians and journalists have to choose which side to take. This book feels fantastical in the sense of the circus production but realistic in its depiction of the hardship of existence as a mere pawn in politics and left vulnerable to political whims and opinions of the public. There’s a great deal here about the ethics of journalism as well and the responsibilities in terms of telling of the human story. Though this book is technically a work of fiction, it is highly relevant to our current world.
A Fortune For Your Disaster by Hanif Andurraqib
I didn’t do as much poetry reading this year as I did last year but this one definitely stood out. I read it for book club. Full disclosure-I love everything by Hanif and would recommend Go Ahead in the Rain, his nonfiction regarding A Tribe Called Quest if you are fan of the band. I follow Hanif on Twitter and am a fan of him both in terms of his politically conscious side and his human side where he bakes and talks about his love of music and Columbus, Ohio. He’s also great to see speak. He’s an incredibly lovable human. Anyway, this poetry is so rich with imagery and soul and, though it definitely explores topics of racism, I would also say that it explores the full range of what it means to be human and does so artfully. So many of the lines should be read more than once and contemplated. Read a poem and put it down for a while and think about the full complexity of what Hanif was exploring and picture the photograph he created with his masterful words that appears in your head.
Just Us by Claudia Rankine:
Rankine is an extraordinary poet who is also insightful when it comes to race in America and her observations based on both casual encounters and a whole lot of systemic racism. At the end of the day, Rankine is aware of the damning impact of white supremacy and she wants humans to heal and for the world to become a better and safer place for all human to exist in. And, that isn’t going to happen without some conversations taking place that are sometimes challenging to initiate and to explore. We find ourselves sometimes in situations that might at first seem perplexing but have a history based in reality. If you haven’t read Citizen, the collection of poetry by Rankine, you might be blown away but this work of nonfiction. If, like me, you have read Citizen, you might at this point be more impressed by the fact that with all of the facts and insights Rankine has, she still is willing to have conversations about race and that speaks to the kind of beautiful human being she is.
The Drifting Classroom Volume 1-3 by Kazuo Umezz
This is a riveting 700+ page graphic novel about a school that disappears from the present and travels to a desolate future with a lot of human psychological issues of those trapped in this new reality. I will say one key thing in this epic journey through the minds and choices of these young children is that both the surreal storyline and the art work are captivating and I was soon hooked and couldn’t wait for the third volume to be released a couple of months ago. I devoured it like a piece of decadent chocolate cake while soaking in my bathtub for night after night. I became very invested in these creatures who first had to fight for their lives when there was a struggle for power and then when their dreams came alive and then when there was a plague and then when there was still extreme scarcity of food and water….and somehow our hero and protagonist is able to community at some points with his mom living in the time and reality they came from even though they are far from it. Just a fantastic imaginative series for Japanese graphic novel fans especially.
Myla Goldberg’s Feast Your Eyes-
Tis is a very well done and complex portrait of a photographer living in NYC in the 60s-70s who didn’t actually exist but you’ll be convinced did exist by the way this book is laid out describing her photographs with fictional journal entries and fictional accounts of friends and family. This is a lot about artistic rights and the line between art and child protection. Interesting philosophically and based on several other female photographers who actually did exist like Vivian Maier and Diane Arbus. It really reads like a very engaging nonfiction work instead of fiction, which is an interesting experience for the reader.
Sharks in the Time of Saviors: by Kawai Strong Washburn
I had two books by native authors, this one and Rebecca Roanhorse’s Black Sun become available around the same time from my Chicago Public Library holds list and they couldn’t be more different. But while I did love the imagination of Black Sun overall, I didn’t feel as connected to the characters and just saw it as a starting point for hopefully a long series whereas Sharks in the Time of Saviors feels like a truly stand alone work. This book is, in many ways, a portrait of a native Hawaiian family struggling to get by and having a son with healing powers. There is a bit of a leap in terms of what you can believe here but it is written with enough reality that the surreality is very effective. Our hero Noa is trying to find himself and come to terms with a crucial error he makes. In the meantime, his brother and sister are also floundering between not being the most brilliant basketball star (former) and with same sex preferences (latter) and no one has any money to fly home to Hawaii from college because, of course, it’s just far too expensive even for the natives to get home. What is the most interesting to me is how the relationships between family members is explored and the idea that you shouldn’t ever encourage someone to define their identity with just one main thing or being good at one thing because it destines them to an unhappy sort of life and failure. I found the writing here very engaging and it dealt with some of the real issues Natives face in our country, especially in areas where cost of living has become insurmountable.
A Burning: by Megha Majumbar
This was a very difficult book to read, primarily because Majumbar writes us a story where you easily feel connected to and devastated by the chain of events that bring our heroine, Jivan, a poor Muslim girl in the Indian slums to a prison cell wrongfully accused of being a terrorist. In some ways, it made me think of a modern day Kafka-esque tale where it just seems all odds are stacked against our protagonist and it just keeps getting worse. Majumbar explores the corruption in modern day India but also interestingly enough explores the life and rise of a transgender fried of the protagonist at the very same time. This book is filled with politicians and political opportunists and liars who don’t seem to mind making Jivan a fall girl for their own political agenda and it made me wonder how possible all of this might actually be, especially as Majumdar was born and raised in Kolkata herself though is now living in NYC. This is Majumdar’s first novel and shows a promising career.
All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
One of the reasons why this nonfiction is so powerful is because these voices are so often not heard or misheard. Johnson takes us through his life and what it was like to grow up with two identities, sometimes at odds with himself and what it meant to be both an African American and one who questioned his gender and preferred humans of the same sex to his biologically given gender. Johnson takes us through his very harrowing struggle to fit in and the relief of finding members in his family who at least partially understood what he was going through. He takes through what it’s like to be sexually abused and have assumptions made about him. It is harrowing and honest and makes you grateful that he has created something that shows us the whole range of humanity and helps some of us find comfort in who we are and others of us understand how to be better and more compassionate humans.
Glitter up the Dark: How Pop Music Broke the Binary by Sasha Geffen
Sasha Geffen is a human who has devoted countless hours to exploring how we came to this exact moment in music history and all of the steps that led us here in an all inclusive non fiction epic journey examining how, in just about every genre of music I can think of, gender identity and transforming gender norms was a part of both image and sound of musicians. I am a huge fan of music and many of these musicians and bands I was already familiar with and own albums by. However, Geffen caused me to view many songs, concerts, and even album covers a different way and I also learned about many artists I was not familiar with. This is a must read for those who love music and for those who seek to accept and appreciate all genders (male, female, and non-binary) and their artistic contributions within this very flawed yet sometimes quite beautiful world.
A Partial History of Lost Causes by Jennifer duBois
This book fascinated me….Irina knows she is going to die and it is going to possibly be horrible and painful when she does the genetic testing and finds out she inherited Huntington’s Disease. She knows what the future holds because she saw her father progressively lose abilities and she starts to lose control in ways that signal to her what her future could hold. And so, she decides she’s going to go on adventure to Russia in order to find a chess master who is an active political opponent of Putin because, after all, what exactly does she have to lose? This book is about the idea of taking your life into your own hands and controlling your destiny instead of letting genetics define you. It is also about trying to make the most out of a life that many others would consider doomed. It also has a really great joke about Adam and Eve actually being soviets and it takes a lot to make me laugh in the middle of a pandemic.
Vivian by Christina Hesselholdt
This work explores all ll different points of view including Vivian Maier’s own on life and photography with interesting narrator interjections and musings based on what is known of this photographer. I have to admit that I have a personal bias of loving many of Maier’s photographic works so this was a very engaging read for me based on my familiarity with and admiration of the photographer that was the focus of this technically “biographical fiction” work. I think it might be a key point to get acquainted with some of Maier’s photographs and read this book if you are enamored. But, you might also enjoy this book if you in general love photography and think often about what might a photographer be like as a human and what makes for a good photographer as well.
Empire of Wild: Cherie Dimaline
This is the first novel I have read by a Métis (Native French Canadian) author and I really loved it. It was definitely wild and centered around the traditional Native myth of the Rogarou as it kills and steals souls. This was as much about human deception and religion and racism as it was about this creature and it was impossible for me to not visualize the horror while, at the same time, see Rogarou as a metaphor for white opportunists who will do whatever it takes to steal Native land. I had my heart in my throat for a lot of this journey and I think the power of the writing really showed its effectiveness.
Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves edited by Glory Edim.
Fantastic autobiographical accounts of prominent African American female authors of today and how they were inspired by literature that uniquely spoke to them. This book does well to emphasize the importance of representation and I would advocate that those who define curricula across the country on every level should start considering whether we are really celebrating our current list of authors because they were talented and had something relevant to say then and now or whether it goes within our nation’s history of white supremacy to promote primarily white male authors as the definitive standard even though they had every advantage over their women of color possible colleagues. What is hopeful is that now more than ever talented women of color are being published and truly heard but, in my opinion, there is still a lot of history around celebrating only or primarily only white male authors that should be challenged in this country. In any case, this collection features a great deal of talented contemporary female authors such as Jesmyn Ward, Jacqueline Woodson, Zinzi Clemmons, N. K. Jemisin, Tayari Jones and more and speaks to the power of literature and it’s transformative qualities!
The Nocturnal Brain: Nightmares, Neuroscience, and the Secret World of Sleep by Guy Leschziner.
I thought this was nonfiction about dreams but it was mainly about different sleep disorders…still very interesting and informative though! Did you know you can have something called Restless Chest Syndrome? Yikes! I tend to love neuroscience and yet besides this book and The Telomere Effect by Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn, I didn’t read nearly as many science oriented books in 2020. I read far more nonfiction books about race, gender, and immigrant memoirs. Still, I love to learn about all facets of the human brain and I believe in life long learning. The case studies in this book were especially fascinating and made me feel like my reoccurring insomnia is really not so bad at all compared to what it could be!
Wow, No Thank You: Samantha Irby
This nonfiction collection of essays made me laugh so hard (especially the chapter on cat vs. dog ownership) that I instantly fell in love with Irby as both an author and as a human being and, though she no longer lives in Chicago, it was cool to see what living in Chicago twenty or so years ago was like through her eyes. Irby is happily married and has encountered both homophobia and racism in her life and these essays showed both an intellectual and a quick witted approach to dealing with it. Irby is so candid and does not hold anything back when it comes to her own biology, either, which is almost shocking (and also appreciated) at times in its brutal honesty and well worth reading. Irby is also my age so I could relate to some of these chapters quite a bit because of that. Hello 911, filled with imagined 911 calls as well as Love and Marriage where she answers ridiculous questions are also not to be missed chapters if you want to laugh hysterically.
The Monk of Mokha (Story of Mokhtar Alkhanshali) told by Dave Eggers
I actually led a two hour remote book club on this book last month and, though I love discussing books, what is odd is that I liked the book better before the discussion. This is an incredible story of a Yemeni American man who risks literally his life more than once to bring back viable coffee beans and establish a coffee trade between his homeland of Yemen and the United States. Dave Eggers insists emphatically that this is 100% nonfiction and it is unfathomable the lengths that Mokhtar goes to. There’s an undying sense of the human spirit that can be both courageous and also lucky in this book. There’s also a component of the struggle itself against both the violent conflict situation in Yemen and the racism encountered in America. In any case, if you are interested, here’s an article about the book.
www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/dave-eggers-te...
I Don’t Expect Anyone to Believe Me: Juan Pablo Villalobos
Good, because they probably won’t! This is an adventure in surrealist experimental fiction walking the line between humor and existential dread. In the end, you honestly don’t know exactly what really happened and if the protagonist is even still alive. There are doubling of characters, journal entries, a talking dog, and lots of unsavory types I wouldn’t trust with my favorite pencil (or even my least favorite pencil). Our extremely flawed hero is a Mexican intellectual who wants to study humor in literature in Catalonia, Spain but is side tracked before he can even get there by a group of mafia like henchmen in an impossible scheme his cousin roped him into involving seducing a woman identifying as a lesbian amongst other crazy shenanigans. This is a wild ride! If you’re an intellectual who dislikes thrillers, try this one out to see if maybe it was just the writing style in those other books wasn’t enough for you in the first place.
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
I expected a lot from Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens because of the human (a coworker and friend) who recommended it to me and I did think it was worth reading. I like the sense of looking into isolationism and classism as well as the justice system in the American South plus there’s a courtroom cat! (Sunday Justice) but probably best of all was the fierce individualism of the female protagonist, Kya, the “Marsh Girl” who learns to make her own way in life. Kya’s unusual personality and talents drew me into the story line as a whole but it was the ending that made it truly worthwhile and landed it on my best of 2020 list.
Junji Ito’s Yon & Mu:
This is a super adorable autobiographical #catlife graphic nonfiction about his wife’s 2 cats that he learns to 💕 and who turn him into a cat person. I loved the drawings in this book and the little stories about getting his cat neutered, going on a business trip and missing his cats, cats around his chair where the heater was, cats on his lap, cats in his bed….you know the drill. A lot of these are relatable and silly but sweet and the book also includes photos! I’ve read Ito’s harrowing fiction, graphic horror novels and this was quite a departure but it gave me a glimpse into his lovable human side. Though this was maybe not the best book I read critically, it was still definitely one of my favorites as someone who is a fan of Ito’s graphic novels and cats!
Cats of the Louvre: Taiyo Matsumoto
Full disclosure here that I didn’t really think anyone would take me seriously if I started with these last two books/graphic novels because, honestly, I love cats and so I cannot be objective about extreme cat topics and/or cat protagonists. This one is perfection-a wildly imaginative storyline centered around the cats that live in Le Louvre. What more do you need to know? Ok, there’s a human trapped in a painting and also all the cats take on human traits at night when no on is looking. Is this not a good enough reason to read this book right now?!?! Oh wait, you’re a dog lover??? Well, forget you anyway! 😹
Honorable mentions:
Ok, so again this list only represents about 30% of the books I read this year. I can’t write about 100+ more books but here are the books I would still recommend:
Little Gods by Meng Jin
I’m Afraid of Men by Vivek Shraya
Eatheater by Dolores Reyes
Dear Girls by Ali Wong (so funny!)
Telephone by Percival Everett
The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Daré
Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse
Famous Suicides of the Japanese Empire by David Mura
The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates
The Telomere Effect by Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn
1919 by Eve L. Ewing
**All photos are copyrighted**
my A T T E M P T {April 8 // 101}
• home, nyc
I have a new book to read! I always struggle with the desire to make every minute of my life doing something that will enrich it than leave it I D L E. But I struggle sometimes with the desire to read versus listening to music and let my mind be lost in my own thoughts than in the world of a writer's story on the commute into work. Hopefully I'll find a balance soon.
PS. This was tougher than I thought it would be to do.
wednesday 16th september;
this photo didn't go according to plan, so meh.. stfu. i look like a proper' moron!
anyway, today. i overlaid by half an hour but still managed to get to college 20 minutes before i was meant to be in class haha. i saw aidan and he walked me to class. ryan and i then (when he got there) walked to the new mac room and did some script writing for our class film and then learnt some stuff about advertising. at lunch, joe came to meet me even though he was not at college today plus, he was going to london at 2:30pm. anna tagged along with us and we walked to costa coffee, where i bought (and joe leant me 55p) a panini. we shared that and took it out cause we only had an hours dinner break. joe was wearing new stuff today too (: grrr.
got back to college and after being told we had to be back for 1pm, 15 mins later we found out through liz (our other teacher) that we have an extra 15 mins lunch on wednesdays! bummer. we did some group work on other media types and then went to key skills in the main part of college where ryan and i couldn't really do anything cause i was laughing too much, as we sat at the back slagging people off. at 4:30pm, class ended.
i walked to highfield house where anna was waiting for me. we walked back to hers and she made me cheese on toast and we went on youtube on her laptop. my dad picked me up straight from work (which was at about 5:30pm). i went home and pissed myself laughing at something someone said to me on msn, haha!
at around 10pm ish i turned off my computer and went upstairs, laid in bed and read up on some photography tips, in which i wrote some down to remember them in the back of my college notebook. i missed joe tonight, as he was at london :'(
So for many of you (who know) Brickfair Alabama is coming up in a week, actually less maybe, but I want to ask for those who are going, and that my WIPs are done but, I am not posting anymore pictures till the end or during BFAL. You've been tagged you've already said your're going.
NO POSTS TILL BF BTW
Read the Quran in private and out in public
and when standing and when sitting
when reflecting upon its meaning and without refleciting
when in the state of wudu and when not in the state of wudu
for every letter earns you ten hasanaat [good deeds].
gratitudes: paperwork done at school, a good pen, fifteen minutes at home alone, a little bit of sun in the afternoon, their desire to play on the playground and come up with 'routines' (olympic influence!), pizza for dinner, talking while we drive, time to read, and the escape into a brilliant and haunting read.
(wintergirls::laurie halse anderson)
I see a face with an unhappy expression reading a book, with hands at bottom right holding the book. To me this reflects our present time rather well: the more we learn about humanity's tendencies and behaviors, the more reason we have to despair.
(DSCF6381c)
Review #25!
Why hello their friends! Yes it’s me Drew alive and in good health. Now before I start this review I have some apologies to dish out. First of all I am extremely sorry for my absences from this amazing community! I’m not gonna give you any of that it was school bs ill be straight up with you… I lost it… I lost my passion for lego. I was just so sucked out of ideas and joy and every day would come home saying to myself maybe just one min and ide legit look at them and think wtf am I going to do. So the more and more I looked at this massive pile of legos I said to myself “why should this all go to waste!?!? This is my life sitting in front of me and I have to do something about it! So I went on flickr and saw I had like a billion messages from you guys saying “are you alive?!?!?” “Hello!?!?!” and I was upset by it… so I finally saw an opportunity citizen brick had messaged me from a long time ago regarding and idea we hade discussed about over BF 2012. The Russian torsos so they sent me some and I was supposed to make a review Friday and I even forgot to do that so that’s why I’m here today! Before I forget I’m also EXTREMALY sorry to ToyWiz my generous friends for my insane absence! I hope if I get back into things I can resume my weekly reviews. So anyway onto the review!
These torsos are extremely amazing. Regarding to the convo me and Joe had at brickfair I was in the op siege Stalingrad collab and thought it would be awesome if they could make Russian torsos since there in such high demand and the Lego equivalence of the torsos are price to get your hands on so sure enough they made them. The detailing they put into this is amazing! And for you guys who don know I LOVE Russia with a burning passion! So these torsos quince my Russian love. The belt and ammo pouches are very realistic and the collar just makes everything come together. The pouches continue on the back and there’s a giant sack on his back which I love. The more and more I look at this I can’t help but think of Nikoli from the Nazi Zombies story line! This piece is just amazing and I can’t wait to use it in the future!
Theres my review and if theres anything you guys want to add or any ideas you might have for me in the future please comment below ;)
C@C!
-Drew
I must say I do enjoy a good biography or autobiography ~ life stories and memoirs!
Flickr Lounge - Saturday Theme (Week 51) ~ Books ....
Thanks to everyone who views this photo, adds a note, leaves a comment and of course BIG thanks to anyone who chooses to favourite my photo .... Thanks to you all.
I would like to inform you that I'm moving permanently to Europe at the end of the month.
This means that all of the heads for the upcoming faceup slots shall be shipped to Europe, and will be shipped back from Europe.
I understand that it will probably be much better for all of you guys living in Europe, but not so much for my American peeps.
I will not be limiting the amount of heads you can send at one time. I do understand that you need to make it worthwhile regarding the shipping cost, so this is totally fine by me. As long as you get a slot, you can send over as many heads as you wish. <3
I will not be switching the prices to euros just yet. So you will keep paying in dollars until I'm settled down in Europe. I will then switch to euros over the next few months.
Thank you for reading, and I'm looking forward to bringing your dollies to life in my new place. <3
Last year I decided that I was going to start reading more and I read 255 books. This year, I wanted to up my game a little bit and do more like a reading marathon and ended up the year reading 365 books, a book for every day. Even though I am a pretty athletic person, I can't run because it hurts my knees. I am not as graceful and elegant as I would need to be for professional dance and sports has never interested me. But reading is the one thing I can do and I like to do at the gym, on planes, in bed, and in the bathtub primarily. So, I made an effort to read for a minimum of 2 1/2 hours per day and sometimes ended up reading for more like 4 hours a day on weekends and when I had other days off from work. I didn't read to show off but to escape the reality of our current country's political situation and to learn more about the lives and perspectives of others unlike me. Reading a mixture of novels, nonfiction essays and immigrant stories, collections of poetry and short stories, I read less than 10% of these books by white people and of those 10%, most were by women. I can say that I really enjoyed the vast majority of the books I've read and don't have any significant regrets for this reading marathon.
I should also note that, although some of these books did come out in 2019, many did not. The following are my favorite books of this year that I read this year (regardless of their original publication date). I know I am also probably forgetting some and I feel remiss in that too, but I spent hours writing the following (even longer than that reading these) and I hope some of you get some good recommendations of books you might also like to read or can connect with me on a book you have read. Feel free to share your favorites as well! I am highly interested in having conversations about books and finding out about literature I may have had less exposure to living in America.
1. Tell Me Who You Are by Winona Guo and Priya Vulchi
This book is an astounding work that covers so many different states and personal backgrounds to reflect on race in America. If you like Humans of New York, this is a little like that in the sense that it explores what makes us human but it's a great more complex and thorough than that-maybe a Humans of America. The fact that Guo and Vulchi were able to travel all across the US to gain an understanding of so many people and how their race has affected their lives is a daring and meaningful venture in and of itself but it's also clear that they make a concerted effort to explore the things these people like and enjoy so that there's a fuller sense to some things they have in common with others. In addition, the photographs of these people really add to a sense of them. if you do not fall in love with these humans along with this work as a whole, that is a loss for you. We must change in our country. We must develop more empathy and patience. We must be able to listen to others who we think we share nothing in common with and find the things we do share whilst respecting individual differences. This is the only way we will be able to heal and move forward.
This book is a masterpiece and should be celebrated in every household across America.
2. Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli
This book is so relevant to what is happening at the border with the unfair treatment of families from Mexico right now in all of our names but it also manages a personal touch with an extended road trip and the link between the mother/protagonist and her own family and how she handles her own children being separated from her. This is a harrowing read, especially because there is truth in the weight of our names as Americans being tied to the deep sins of mistreating other humans. This is also, however a very poetic read, haunting in its lyrical quality and in the way that Luiselli is able to adeptly convey the range of emotions she feels, desperate and distraught but also so very insightful. You will read these pages wit your heart in your throat, worry that if you are not careful, you may actually end of swallowing it.
www.theguardian.com/books/2019/mar/03/lost-children-archi...
3. Frontier by Can Xue
2019 was the year I discovered Can Xue, the experimental fiction author from China who, at first, everyone thought was male as her pen name isn't especially gender specific. Can Xue is not understood fully by probably most people and I myself had to read several sentences over again a few times, especially this work, the most esoteric of what I've read (three novels and one short story collection this year). The imagery is especially potent here and you don't really know exactly what is happening in the way the human form can transform. You really don't know quite what could be actually happening....and what could be a dream or a hallucination. This would be a book I would read at the end of the world cuddled under a blanket and remembering the most imaginative humans could be then hoping there were some creatives still left out in the tundra of the world.
www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/the-mysterious-fronti...
4. Though the Arc of the Rainforest by Karen Tei Yamashita
Another new author I discovered was Karen Tei Yamashita and, though I also enjoyed reading a collection of her plays entitled Anime Wong, I even more so enjoyed reading this novel. Yamashita is Japanese American but you get more of that specific perspective from her plays. Set between Japan and Brazil, this novel features a very vivid cast of interesting characters not to mention the protagonist that is the rotating ball in front of the Japanese train conductor's head. This is one of the most unique books I have ever read in my life and it's no surprise that the forward is from one of the most highly intelligent authors in the world, Percival Everett. This novel is a real treat and is a riveting surreal adventure.
www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/karen-tei-yamashita-2/...
5. Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick
I've spent many years not knowing very much at all about the lives of those who live in North Korea, much as the citizens of North Korea have spent their lives knowing not too much about others outside of their country. This non fiction work follows the lives of North Koreans who escape into China and South Korea and manage to be granted refugee status and follows them up until the early 2000s. It's another book that disarms you in its brutality. Demick records the stories of their lives, how they bought into propaganda, and how they started to gather inklings of the truth while they were in their home country. The depth of the poverty and brainwashing is immense from the time that these people are schoolchildren. Even if they were starving, if someone came by and saw that their picture of Kim Jong-il then Kim Jong-un weren't immaculate, they could be taken and forced into a labor camp. If they didn't weep loud enough at the death of Kim Jong-il, they were also suspect and no one could trust their neighbors, who could also very likely be government informants. The only media that they had access to was North Korean and Russian propaganda films and even their literature was greatly restricted. In addition, even having a bowl of rice a day was seen as a great luxury. Many starved to death and were happy to have less mouths to feed in their family. The clothing women could wear was also severely limited. This was (and possibly still in many ways is) a super suppressed society (from the point of view of an American especially.) I'd be curious if anything has changed and what but really what honestly struck me is how the government deliberately misled their citizens into thinking that they were producing things they weren't and that the rest of the world was under the same amount of hardship. This is a government who would rather see their people starve than to stoop to accepting aid from abroad. It's eye opening and terrifying for me to think of the people who have suffered and died under these regimes.
www.theguardian.com/books/2010/apr/03/nothing-envy-korea-...
6. The Pretty One by Keah Brown
There has been a real paucity in literature of valuable and unique human perspectives and this work of nonfiction is an incredibly valuable addition to the canon of literature as a whole and adds to our collective human empathy and understanding of the range of experiences one can have while being alive. Keah Brown is a woman like none other-honest about the world and her own growth as a human, friend, and twin sister, insightful about the racism and ableism in our current present world and humorous in her observations of pop culture. Keah Brown has a different ability level and many might say she has a disability. I say she has an ability that most other people do not possess and may not ever possess. That doesn’t mean that our physical environment does not need to become more accommodating (it does) and that people don’t need to develop more empathy (they do). But, it does mean that we would all be wise to learn from her perspective.
www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/disabledandcut...
7. Your House Will Pay by Steph Cha
One of the most astounding books of fiction I read this year was a book that feels incredibly brave and is loosely based on actual incidents that happened in the Rodney King riots of LA. Steph Cha is Korean American but it became widely clear from this novel that she is very invested in promoting healing between the Korean and African American communities. The novel goes back and forth between 1991 and 2019 and explores racism with a deep and personal delving that made me literally at times gasp out loud. There’s a question of human accountability, retribution, and these are treated with care and contentiousness. This is the kind of wholly relevant novel we can all learn something from even despite it being technically fiction. There are still lots of truths to be found here.
www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/steph-cha/your-house-w...
8. When They Call You a Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir by Asha Bandele and Patrisse Khan-Cullors
If you live in America and are even remotely aware of the racist systems and acts of violence that are committed against those in the African and African American communities, you should be appalled. I can tell you just reading even what is considered to be “liberal” news outlets I am appalled by how quickly and often they show any mug shot of a person of color but (I always call this correctly), when it’s a white terrorist who has committed a hate crime, we don’t see his face for several days or longer. The fact of the matter is, most of the time these acts are not even classified as terrorism and yet they are just as damaging and politically motivated. This book explores the heartache and mobilization of the Black Lives Matter movement as well as the police brutality and death and the systems in place that keep white people especially profiting. One day, I hope to live in a world where all are treated equally but we have a long ways to go and, as a human of privilege in this current world, I believe the only way we’re going to get there is if all people, including white people, advocate for an end to these racist systems and a place of acceptance, love, and respect for everyone in this world. I’m never going to claim I know the fear and the danger and the distrust that one must feel being Black in America but I do feel extreme sadness when I see cops having no accountability for murder, for profit prisons capitalizing on modern day slavery, and a whole range of racism happening in terms of regentrification, lack of funding for public schools in neighborhoods where there are more people of color, food deserts, and other appalling neglectful practices by our own government. It is shameful. There should be reparations. And, even more so, I do believe that the police in this country are currently doing more harm than good and that we should abolish at least 90% of our prisons. (I’d say abolish all but I want there to still be a place for Trump and all his friends.) This is a must read for all humans who want to come to a better understanding of what it takes to make a movement and the real human damage to what has occurred in several cities across America where the blood on our hands cannot ever be washed off.
patrissecullors.com/call-terrorist-black-lives-matter-mem...
9. Women Talking by Miriam Toews
I’ve read several novels by Miriam Toews and, though I have enjoyed all of them, this is one of her stand alone masterpieces. Miriam Toews comes from a Mennonite perspective and often her stories focus on Mennonite life with some personal anecdotes seemingly inserted here and there. This novel feels much different and offers an important aspect of feminism in terms of exploration of the human female mind after the real life events taking place in Bolivia in 2005-2009 when these women were raped consistently by men in their Mennonite community and were basically told by these men that these abuses were not happening and that these women were psychologically unsound. Most books of this nature explore the deep wounds of being a victim. This book offers a different sort of perspective. While still putting a human face to the damage done by men, it focuses more on the action of these women in discussions and meetings to decide how they will solve this problem going forward. Will they kick out the men? Will they leave completely? If they leave, will they take the children including the male children? At what age does a male stay behind? These are complex and very real questions and all choices are intellectually explored with great discussion. It made me feel the strength and empowerment of women vs. another book that would have focused more on these humans as victims instead. Well worth the read!
www.npr.org/2019/04/06/709530968/these-women-talking-buil...
10. Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellmann
This is a daunting read. When I say daunting, I should clarify that while I have read a few 1000+ page novels before, they are usually separated into separate sentences. Ellmann clearly was going for a marathon level of stream of consciousness when she wrote this one. Most of the novel (I’d say 900+ pages of it) are The fact of___ the fact of______ the fact of____ the fact of___ and Ellmann reveals what haunts her the most-Trump and corporations valuing profit over people, gun toting MAGA white terrorists on the loose, poorly built bridges, cops shooting unarmed African Americans, and sort of what I can only say I would consider the collective disease process of being American in this present day. But, there is also the overarching story line of being a mother, a daughter whose mother has passed away of Cancer, remarrying after divorce, and oddly enough being a pie baker. She goes through several harrowing real life incidents in the book where she and her family are put in danger but that doesn’t give us a break from her very loud internal monologue that will suddenly just start listing off facts of films, every city she can think of, and random products. The reader’s only reprieve from this great feat of literature is when we see the perspective of a lioness running from hunters and trying to protect her progeny. I do think this book is worth reading, especially if you can get in the groove and feel the pulse of the first person female protagonist but you do need to obviously put in a huge time and emotional commitment. In order to help things flow more smoothly for you if you decide to take up this challenge as a reader, I suggest reading about 100 pages for 11 days straight or 50 pages a day for 21 days straight. If you do this, you manage to get into a certain groove by page 300 or so. Slowly but surely, all the tangential word salad starts making a weird sort of sense and you begin to really feel for the sense of this woman’s personal story and what she’s going through. Maybe it says something about me that I found her relatable even though I haven’t lost my mom to Cancer, haven’t gone through a divorce, do not have kids, and don’t have a clue how to bake a pie. But, I understand being caught in a state of almost helplessness about what my country has become and what I witness in terms of how people act towards each other. Anyway, a lot of people have abandoned this but it might be the perfect book to add to the next time capsule. Hopefully, things will get better in the new year.
www.newyorker.com/books/page-turner/can-one-sentence-capt...
11. In the Country We Love: My Family Divided by Diane Guerrero
I still haven’t watched the show Orange is the New Black, which stars Diane Guerrero, but I fell in love with her as Jane the Virgin’s good friend/sidekick Lina early on. (You can’t NOT watch Jane the Virgin if you live in Chicago. So many of my co-workers went to high school with Gina Rodriguez and always talk about how nice she was to everyone which is literally the opposite of what most people say about you in high school). That being said, I usually don’t read books just because they are by celebrities but I enjoyed this one as well as America Ferrera’s American Like Me: Reflections of Life Between Cultures and Tiffany Haddish’s The Last Black Unicorn. All three nonfiction autobiographies are worth reading and pondering over but Guerrero’s personal struggle against adversity when she literally came home as a teenager and found herself completely alone after her parents had been deported to Colombia struck a real sense in me of how, first it’s gotten even worse with ICE raids, and second, these children are such victims and we’re not even considering all the collateral human damage of what we do as a country when this happens. I found this autobiography brave, brutally honest, and even at times a little funny but mostly I found this to me about the power of perseverance and not giving up no matter what, not just in the struggle for survival, which was very real for Guerrero, but also in the struggle to do what you love and follow your dreams and actually make it. Guerrero is talented, that is for sure, but she is also a sort of superhero as well in what she has overcome and she has given us all a real gift of letting us glimpse the power of her human spirit.
www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/diane-guerrero/in-the-...
12. A Particular Type of Black Man by Tope Folarin
This is a complex portrait of a Nigerian family who immigrates to Utah of all places and it seems like some of this story must be based on Folarin’s own life experience in that he did have a family who immigrated here from Nigeria and spent some time growing up in Utah and other areas that are also mentioned in this book. What makes this book more unique than many immigrant fiction or pseudofiction is the exploration of the human mind and exploration of mental health and illness within the protagonist as well as this family unit. What also makes it worth reading is the sense of a celebration in Nigerian culture vs. complete desertion. There were insights and information in this book that really astounded me, even having lived in this country all my life (though, to be fair I have never been to Utah). Well worth the read!
www.npr.org/2019/08/24/751917486/tope-folarin-was-a-parti...
13. The Memory Police by Yoko Agawa
This is the second full length novel I’ve read by Yoko Agawa (I’ve also read and liked The Housekeeper and the Professor as well as her short story collection entitled Revenge). I enjoyed all three of these works but I liked The Memory Police by far the best…the concept that you slowly lose the memory of everything around you and hold dear and the including literally parts of yourself-limbs, for instance, and that anyone who still has the ability to remember is not safe but is taken and separated from society at the very least is a really intriguing concept but where the book really succeeds is in its exploration of memories in the sense that they make us human and are truly a part of us. It’s also a book within a book as we experience this cruel postmodern society from the protagonist while, at the same time, experience her own protagonist of the horror typewriter story she’s been authoring. I really enjoyed the strong sense of mood and contemplation on the nature of existence.
www.npr.org/2019/08/12/749538789/quiet-surreal-drama-and-...
14. Revolution Sunday by Wendy Guerra
This is a mixed sort of book between prose and poetry with some aspects of experimental fiction as well. One cannot help but fall in love a little bit with Guerra as she travels to Mexico, falls in love with an actor, tries to escape persecution from the Cuban government who are constantly monitoring every move she makes, and above all keeps writing as she attempts to discover the truth of the death of her parents as well as gain a sense of her place in the world as a woman, a poet, a human. Some of these lines of poetry are completely haunting and there’s some real themes in this novel about deconstruction and reconstruction.
www.npr.org/2018/12/05/673387723/complicated-challenging-...
www.nytimes.com/2019/01/11/books/review/wendy-guerra-revo...
15. The Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lefteri
Lefteri is British but has worked with immigrants in Athens, which is where this story takes place at least in part. This is a really harrowing fictional account of a Syrian husband and wife who have lost their child and are each coping with it in their own ways (the mother soon after goes blind and the father suffers from delusions and hallucinations). This is also a story about the struggle for survival after witnessing the tragedy-the destruction of your home and everything you love, and the process of immigration to a safer space and country and the real life troubles to be found in these places as well. Oddly enough, I also learned a great deal about bees from this book but I still feel it is more focused on the desperation that people in Syria must feel and trying to get over incidents that have devastated them and should have never happened in the first place. On a personal level, I don’t believe in borders and I’d rather have more Syrians in my own country than horrible rich white men. No thanks!
www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/beekeeper-aleppo-novel
16. Those Who Wander: America's Lost Street Kids by Vivian Ho
America is a country of great wealth but, unfortunately, until our tax structure changes, it is a wealth owned by the very few whose greed is overpowering (I mean, everyone needs a 100th house while the homeless are dying on the streets, right). In California, especially the Bay Area, where this nonfiction work concentrates on, this is even more vividly so. The book explores the reasons behind actual murders that took place but also the desperate conditions that drive people to become homeless, the psychologies behind being homeless, and the resources that are available and kind people who have tried to help. This book is a really difficult read because of the subject matter but it is important that none of us look away and turn our backs on those who struggle. No one should have to live in poverty just so the most affluent people can become more powerful. But, of course, these uber rich are miserable too, you know. They too won’t be free until every other human is free.
www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/vivian-ho/those-who-wa...
18. So You Want to Talk about Race by Ijeoma Oluo
Oluo is incredible candid and honest not just about racism within our structures such as our for profit prison industrial system but within our daily interactions. She answers some questions white people might be too scared to answer and illuminates other things white people might be oblivious about in terms of their/our own sense of privilege. And she does all of this, I’m guess, with the hope that speaking truth to power will lead us all to be better people regardless of our race and also because communities have suffered because in 2019 (now 2020), white privilege is still very much a thing and is going strong.
www.thenationalbookreview.com/features/2018/2/1/pzq0lfjcp...
19. Logic in an Illogical World by Eugenia Cheng
I wouldn’t call myself a Mathematician by any standards. I can do basic algebra without a calculator and I see the artistic nature of geometry and can read and extrapolate from a variety of graphs but, most of the time, I still prefer art, literature, and music to Mathematics. Still, the one time I became really and truly excited about Math happened when I leared about Mathematical/Logical proofs and Cheng explores the art of proofs within the context of several political arguments relevant to this period of time in our shared human history. She touches on the less controversial to the extreme controversial and offers insights into personality and how she herself has changed when she has thought of an argument or a collection of facts in a different context. This book will help you see multiple points of view and have richer discussions about everything from mandatory voting practices to abortion.
www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jul/19/the-art-of-logic-by...
20. Making Comics by Lynda Barry
Many of the books I have written about have touched me and I have learned a great deal from them but this is one of those books that gave me very concrete ideas about activities to do with children at Chicago Public Schools. Not all of these activities are written to be done with children but many can be adapted and I have found that giving kids a 4-5 minute free draw at the end of my Occupational Therapy sessions not only motivates them to complete other challenges but also addresses a visual motor need they might have. I have really enjoyed tremendously seeing kids draw their favorite monster and also as themselves as an animal in particular. I think drawing can definitely be like dreams….you never truly know exactly what you are thinking and feeling until you let your mind and your hands go across the paper. This book also inspired me in a different way, which is to look at my own drawings not as technically good or bad but as a product of my own mind and spirit and, in that sense, it’s less damaging to me and less frustrating when I can’t draw something exactly how it looks in real life, for example. I loved all the exercises and visual examples in this book! It really can change your life if you let it!
www.npr.org/2019/11/27/782921983/cartoonist-lynda-barry-d...
21. Blue Boy by Rakesh Satyal
I have to admit, I fell in love with the protagonist of this story, Kiran Sharma, who identifies with the deity of Krishna and is trying to find how own way in the world as both a boy who is discovering his own sexuality and the fact that he is gay, as well as a young man coming to terms with his identity as an Indian American boy living in middle America (Cincinnati, Ohio). Kiran is dramatic and perfect and Satyal really succeeds in painting a vivid portrait of growing up with obstacles but still being yourself despite these challenges. There were scenes in this book that made me laugh until I cried but also made me cry until I laughed. Wonderfully written with a true celebration of the human spirit and of the joy in being able to be yourself and learn to love everything that makes you: you!
www.lambdaliterary.org/reviews/fiction/06/08/blue-boy-by-...
22. On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous By Ocean Vuong
First and foremost, Ocean Vuong is a poet and even in prose this comes out more than the vast majority of novel writers. This is his first actual work of fiction and feels a little traumatic and haunting it it’s deep feeling sense of the experience of life and family. Vuong’s deep feeling protagonist is trying to come to terms with the actions of and his relationship to his mother as well as some of his own life choices. You get the sense that each day brings its own struggles and is definitely not easy and that reality is a cruel sort of mistress that keeps revisiting him. But, the poetry above all will make you remember and want to return to this book.
www.npr.org/2019/06/05/729691730/on-earth-is-gorgeous-all...
23. A Woman is No Man By Etaf Rum
This book is about many things-family, tradition, but also feminism and a new generation of women who think and reach beyond their metaphysical borders. It follows three generations of a family who immigrated to Brooklyn from Palestine and the abuses they suffered at the hands of their men as well as the secrets they covered up. Most devastating is the way that the grandmother and mother expect (though much more so the grandmother) the conforming of the younger women to submit to all the male wishes and hide any evidence of their true selves that might appear ungrateful and difficult. This is a family that would rather kill than be seen as dishonorable and, though it is technically fiction, it is shocking in the depth of abuse these women take and how they themselves as humans are taken for granted. This book was full of surprises for me on virtually every page.
www.npr.org/2019/03/02/699051434/for-better-or-worse-new-...
24. Broken Places and Outer Spaces Nnedi Okorafor
I’m a big fan of the science fiction of Nnedi Okorafor, most notably Lagoon is my favorite, but this book is one I read this year and is a highly personal autobiographical account of her learning to break free from paralysis after a Scoliosis surgery that did not go as well as expected and finding her own unique voice and inspiration in the work of other artists to explore her own realm of Science Fiction in a way that is wholly worthwhile. I had no idea that the author I’ve read so many fiction books from had this extreme experience but I was indeed inspired by her own perseverance and coming to terms with the surgery and not letting limitations define her but pushing beyond these with a strength and dedication that doubtless has made her one of the very best authors in her field.
nnedi.com/books/broken_places_outer_spaces.html
25. John Edgar Wideman: Fanon
This is one of the more complex books of fiction I’ve read this year…it is truly a story within a story within a story based on some of Wideman’s real life with his brother as well as the actual life of the revolutionary Frantz Fanon..it’s about not wanting the cruelty of history to be repeated and about drawing connections between timelines and the way racism continues to impact people across continents today. It is at times highly poetic and at other times so visceral you might have to put it down but in any case very worthwhile reading and incredibly adept and masterful in its exploration of all of these connections and reconciliation between past and present with a hope for a better and different future. There are many passages here that are profound and all are thought provoking.
www.nytimes.com/2008/04/27/books/review/Siegel-t.html
26. The Hungry Ghosts by Shyam Selvadurai
I have learned a great deal about the political crisis in Sri Lanka in the 1980s from Selvadurai. If you want to try to understand what was happening between the Tamil and Sinhalese people, this is a topic that Selvadurai visits often as well as coming of age as a man who is gay and being an immigrant in Canada. There’s also a real delving into the classism inherent within the Sri Lankan society between these people and also, between the protagonist’s own grandmother and her tenants and the abuse and neglect that happens to the poor. Meanwhile, the grandmother manages to distance herself from her actions and convince herself that these people brought these things on themselves with bad karma…by her own standards, she should expect a much worse life in her next one. There are many similar topics in terms of Sri Lankan politics and coming to terms with one’s own sexuality in Funny Boy but this seemed more of an in depth work so I would recommend reading The Hungry Ghosts if you have limited reading time but you may find you’d like to read his others anyhow.
nationalpost.com/entertainment/books/book-reviews/book-re...
27. Taina by Ernesto Quinonez
I read two of Quinonez’s novels back to back and while I liked the emotional drama and complexity of Bodega Dreams, I really liked the sense of Puerto Rican tradition and strong female main character here. This involves everything from the idea of magical realism to deep religious beliefs. Could Taina be a postmodern virgin Mary? Could this be immaculate conception? The other protagonist, a young male, is willing to believe anything she says and fight for her virtue. While this story takes place primarily in Spanish Harlem, it also shows the inherent racism and classism in NYC as a whole while adeptly pulling one into the personalities and tribulations of the characters. Well worth reading!
apnews.com/f8209640f0554191a893cbe61a4583b9
28. On Black Sisters Street Chika Unigwe
This book explores the lives of African women immigrating to Belgium in hopes of a better life and being lied to with the idea that they could be housekeepers and nannies but then are sold into a sex trade where they are basically enslaved until they raise an inordinate amount of money to “pay back” their immigration fee. It is about living unsafely as an illegal and being forced into prostitution just to survive, which happens far more frequently than many people might realize. Women on our own are valuable in terms of our ideas and our empathy but the world will still look at women as a whole and women from African especially as only worthwhile as a body to rape. This is a very difficult read, mainly because of the aspects of truth that this happens but also because you get attached to the characters and don’t want them to suffer, which is the work of a great novelist in and of itself.
www.nytimes.com/2011/05/01/books/review/book-review-on-bl...
29. Home a Refugee Story by Abu Bakr al Rabeeah
This is a really insightful read for anyone who is looking to hear about the author’s escape from Syria to refugees in Canada. We learn a lot about the power of the human spirit and it is also in many ways a testament to why all countries should welcome refugees. It is also valuable in terms of giving ideas on how we can do better in terms of supporting the transition between countries when there is a new language, culture shock, and when families need to keep something similar in place such as even a space to pray in schools. We need to all make sure we are being kind and sensitive and welcoming as well as aware of the probably trauma that refugees have suffered, especially coming from war torn countries. This also shows us how valuable it is to listen and to help refugees tell their stories, as the work of Rabeeah’s Language Arts teacher Winnie Yeung is the reason why we have this remarkable autobiography.
quillandquire.com/review/homes-a-refugee-story/
30. The Other Americans by Laila Lalami
There were many times reading this book I felt fascinated, wondered about the choices of the characters and what they would do next, and drawn to the mystery surrounding the death that unites all of them from the beginning of the Moroccan American father who owns a restaurant and is suspiciously killed by a hit and run. This is a work of fiction but the way it explores racism and xenophobia is all too real and Lalami really helps the reader sense the loss of humanity when incidents like this take place as well as the complexity of it between the investigation and trial and the level of dishonesty too. It’s also interesting because it involves an unlikely inter-racial love affair and there’s a sense that when these two people can fall in love, maybe we can all reconcile our differences with each other…maybe….hopefully we are capable.
www.latimes.com/books/la-ca-jc-lailalalami-otheramericans...
31. The Making of a Dream: How a Group of Young Undocumented Immigrants Helped Change What It Means to Be American By, Laura Wides Munoz
This is a really comprehensive work of nonfiction chronicling the 1,500 walk of a group of Dreamers and a decade of work beginning with Obama and coming up to the published date of January 2019. It makes no qualms about exposing the frustrations and stalemate of the Obama presidency in getting protections but also the horrors of our current political situation for these young and determined humans that are also vulnerable despite their bravery and fierceness. We get to know the inner workings of their lives and family situations, their education and history of what drives them the most in terms of their advocacy. Munoz also exposes how some movements such as gay rights and marriage are pitted against others like the movement to protect Dreamers and how a single year cut off can arbitrary ruin human lives and mean deportations. This is an important read for anyone who still thinks these amazing humans don’t belong or deserve to be here (They do!) and who still thinks it’s easy to become a legal immigrant if you’re just willing to go through the established process….this line of thinking is an ignorant myth. These humans deserve so much more than this. Let’s hope 2020 brings us a new president who is willing to provide more protections and also welcome more immigrants to America.
www.nytimes.com/2018/04/04/books/review/laura-wides-munoz...
32. Go Ahead in the Rain by Hanif Abdurraquib
Hanif always brings himself into his writing about music and this is why, even if you are not the biggest Tribe Called Quest Fan, you will still find many reasons to fall in love with this book. That being said, my partner has always loved Tribe and I finally fell in love myself when I saw them perform and was able to photograph them (see: www.flickr.com/photos/kirstiecat/35348763944/in/photolist... ) Hanif made me love both him and the band even more in the way that he explores their history, why their music is groundbreaking, and their contemporaries as well. Hanif also explores his own love of music and how music was seen in his family. There’s also a story early on that shows the racism of his music teacher at school that made me feel so devastated that these things happen from teachers who are supposed to be loving and nonjudgmental. There is so much to love and learn from in this book and, even if you don’t fall in love with Tribe, you might still fall deeper in love with humanity and our relationship to nourishing sound.
www.theguardian.com/books/2019/apr/10/go-ahead-in-the-rai...
33. Call Me American Abdi Nor Iftin
Oh my God the lengths that this man goes to in order to survive civil war in Somalia, escape to Kenya then to the US is insane. My heart was in my throat for the vast majority of this book…a really survival against all odds life story. It also gives a glimpse at how much tragedy some of our immigrants are carrying with them when they come here and the love and supports we should all give them. Abdi Nor Iftin is extremely intelligent and also funny but I can’t imagine going through even 10% of what he went through when he was trying to escape warring tribes and seeing so much death around him and still being able to lift my head off the pillow each morning.
www.nytimes.com/2018/07/15/books/call-me-american-abdi-no...
34. Passing by Nella Larsen
I read both Passing and Quicksand by Nella Larsen this year and liked them both quite a bit. Both have a lot to offer in terms of insights into classism and racism but Passing feels a little more vivid to me maybe because it is set between Chicago and NYC whereas much of Quicksand takes place in Denmark. Both novels are well worth reading though and Passing has both a personal component between these two women with a shared history and that of secrets and racism as one woman is passing for white in trade of an elevated place in society at the time. In addition to giving us glimpses of both cities in 1929, it shows a little bit about what it was like both living as a white woman and living as a black woman and the level of anxiety felt by those who tried to keep their race a secret.
electricliterature.com/in-nella-larsens-passing-whiteness...
35. Americanized: Rebel Without a Green Card Sara Saedi
In many ways, this is about a family torn because of their differing immigration statuses and how arbitrary all that seems when we’re talking about real humans and not just letters and numbers on a page. This is a family that will go to all lengths in order to get citizenship for themselves and others and will fight to be Americans even though America does not treat them as kindly or with justice. This is also a great deal about the joys of family, of Iranian culture, and also of coming of age and pop culture in America. Saedi, who now writes for iZombie (I still haven’t seen this show myself but now I might give it a try), is at times poignant and at other times really hilarious. You really get a sense of her personality in this autobiography and it really makes you again realize how much immigrants have to offer America and how they deserve far better than what they are given most of the time. It’s a tragedy that we treat humans the way we do simply because they aren’t born here. That needs to stop.
www.npr.org/2018/03/28/597600898/americanized-recounts-wh...
36. Lindy West: The Witches are Coming
Lindy West is hilarious in her examination of racism, sexism, whole bodyism and all that really needs to change about reality. I learned things I somehow missed, like how “Grumpy Cat’s” owners came up with a ridiculous far fetched story so cover up for the fact they were using an insult/slur used for those with different ability levels. I also found the chapters about Adam Sandler and Joan Rivers pretty insightful as well. There were many times I felt like, “Yeah, I agree with that” but she has a really great cutting way about how she presents information and also her opinions that make it a good read.
www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/books/lindy-west-casts...
37. The Reactive By, Ntshanga, Masande
I’ve never read a book quite like this. If you want to know what it was like to be HIV+ in the late 1990s-early 2000s and living in South Africa, this book is the one for you. But also, this book is about family, about overcoming loss, about deep friendships and has a great deal of existentialism and in general bizarre interactions, drug trial and substance abuse, and an analysis of racism in Cape Town as well. I felt very strongly that I both learned something and gained an attachment to these fictional characters and what they were going through.
slate.com/culture/2016/07/masande-ntshangas-the-reactive-...
38. Brother by David Chariandy
Set in Scarborough, a suburb of Toronto, this follows second generation Trinidadian immigrants and the racism they encounter living there in the early 1990s. This is a really well written look at family, especially these two brothers and the bond between them and how the family deals with all of life’s small and large tragedies. It’s also a book that will likely devastate you, though I don’t want to spoil anything by saying more.
www.cbc.ca/books/brother-by-david-chariandy-1.4246382
39. A People’s History of Heaven by Mathangi Subramanian
This could be another book about class warfare and profit over people but the layers in it are exceptional and what Subramanian does really well is to delve into the different personalities and power in the women in this place ironically called Heaven and illustrate the need for women to stick together.
www.nytimes.com/2019/04/26/books/review/mathangi-subraman...
40. Dinner By, César Aira
I read a couple of novels/novellas by César Aira and a collection of short stories called The Musical Brain and Other Stories, which was also phenomenal. Dinner was even more unexpected and hilarious because it combines the need to be remembered and the power of names with a zombie uprising in the little town of Pringles in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I love the politically astute sense to this and the twists in the plot. Really a very unique book not just about zombies but about the power of human memory.
www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/cesar-aira/dinner-aira/
A couple of really highly recommended books of poetry:
The City in Which I Love You Li-Young Lee
Rangoli by Pavana Reddy
A couple of quick cat related books
I don’t think the following books are necessarily life changing but I did want to mention to them in case you are a cat lover like I am! I think animals bring out the best in humans when we find ourselves at our most compassionate and so I’ve always enjoyed reading books that feature cats. Here are the couple I read this year and enjoyed:
If Cats Disappeared from the World by Genki Kawamura
We could give up movies and time but could we give up cats? What if we were terminally ill and this could buy us one more day on Earth….what would we give up?
The Traveling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa
For the vast majority of this book, we really don’t know why the protagonist is looking for someone to take care of his cat but we get to meet a lot of different types of people from his past and learn about them, which is both interesting and philosophical.
I read somewhere once that the most boring thing to photograph was sunsets and sunrises because everybody took pictures of them. The article I read said that sunsets were a dime a dozen - beautiful but over photographed and therefore "ordinary" and tiring to look at. I have several friends here on Flickr who take OUTSTANDING pictures of both sunsets and sunrises. I never ever get tired of looking at them... I guess this goes back to what I was talking about before - photographing what you love and what brings you joy within yourself. So my sunset picture may not be the best of the best and perhaps it is just another sunset picture that gets lost in a sea of gold online, but you know I rather like knowing there are still thousands of others appreciating the most simple and beautiful part of nature each day : the rising and the setting of the sun. Daily, routine, reliable - the sun slips down in the most resplendent manner and rises again every day for us to admire. It brings stability to our lives, a break in all of our busyness. So onward with my ramblings, ha! This was taken at Chatfield State Park yesterday. It was a rather spontaneous decision. My hubby got home and as we were eating dinner I looked at the time - it was around 6:30, and I said, "Let's hurry and make it out to Chatfield before the sun goes down!" We brought a blanket down to this special little spot we go to by the lake. It's off of the trail and so farI've never seen anyone else down there which makes it feel like its our "secret spot". There were at least 9 sailboats out there before it got darker, drifting lazily in the cool breeze. I did a combination of video and photos while watching my children play and splash in the water. It was almost too perfect. I'm hoping to post a video soon if I can get it right. Trying to figure out Premiere Pro and am absolutely LOST! Can you believe I've had it for 3 months and still don't know what I'm doing... Anyway as always thank you for listening to my ramblings.
Much love,
xx
Rachel
Veteran Suicide, is the topic for today. This is going to be another long one folks. As you read; I don’t want you to think of me. I’d like you to think of your husband, your wife, your partner, your son, daughter, grandson, grand daughter. The 1%, having the courage, to serve and defend our nation. I will be covering events that happened yesterday, and the impact it has on the mental health of our veterans.
Again, this is not about me. Its how veterans are treated at VA facilities, and some of the civilian medical facilities, we are sent to.
I had an appointment, with an ophthalmologist, early the other morning. I have intermediate vision loss in my right eye, and now problems in my left eye. Very similar, to the description from a woman, who’s child was a victim of Electronic Weapons (also know as the Havana Syndrome). She, a US Citizen, a child of a person interviewed, on 60 Minutes; 2-20-22. I’ve had problems with my right eye, for over two years now. Bouncing from VA Hospitals, VA Clinics; trying to find someone that gives a shit.
I get ready, lock up the motorhome and head for Grand Junction, Colorado, VA. I’m only 30 minutes away, and not rushed. VA, is an abbreviation for the Veteran’s Administration. A place where Veterans, are supposed to receive medical care. I pull off the National Forest Road, onto the main highway. Just, as I come over the hill, not a mile from our camp; there’s a State Trooper. Waiting, to try and catch me speeding. This happens, over and over again, when I have an appointment. I look at my speedometer, and slow it down a bit. I also see a guy just up the road. This minion, sets along the road, waiting to see which direction I take. Its another act to let me know I’m being watched. An attempt of intimation, along with a physiological attack on my mental health. Koda and I, head on down the road to Grand Junction.
As we pull into the parking lot, a man quickly cuts us off, and takes the last spot, close to the entrance door. It’s early, and hardly anyone is in the office. Once I check in; the perps start rolling in. Koda and I are setting in the lobby. These perps start with their over the top; hand in pocket skit. Then, some start the hair flipping shit. I’m talking 5 women, coming and going, flipping their hair as far int the air as they can. Even the staff chime in. Yes, folks, Koda and I are in a medical facility. As the women flip their hair, the men stair directly into Koda’s eyes. One even comes over, looking as threatening as possible. Wearing a big billed cap, big dark glasses, and a large black mask. He sets down right beside us, bends down, looks directly into Koda’s eyes. Koda, laying at my feet. The man asked if he could pet Koda, as he looks sternly into his eyes. I said no, he a Service Dog. I then asked if he wouldn’t stare into his eyes. I told him; dogs can take it as threatening. Koda, didn’t, because he’s used to it. Many VA staff, do it all the time. Even a Patient Advocate, that is supposed to help Veterans. This person is supposed to help veterans; having problems with the VA.
I stood up for myself and my dog, so now the minions are really pissed. They send in more Village Idiots, Sociopaths and Narcissist. Displaying their Perp Colors, fake coughs, arms flailing, American Flag Face Masks, large dark glasses, and stupidly big headphones. I’m talking big, big headphones. Not earbuds.
After seeing the doctor, a nurse has Koda and I, set in the hallway. She then, brigs over the guy with the stupid big headphones. She tells him to set right beside Koda, on my left. Even though, there are seats to my right. Koda, is getting uncomfortable, but continues to lay by my side, unmoved. He starts to whine a bit, as he looks up to me. He’s getting very uncomfortable, I see it in his face. The guy is playing something through his headphones that’s irritating Koda, intensely. I can’t hear it, and I’m not hard on hearing. The ‘Stupid Big Headphone Skit’, is used on us quite often. Especially, when we go to a laundry mat. They use something that makes Koda, extremely anxious and irritated. Many, actually smile, while doing so. This was at a civilian ophthalmologist office. I will say, the doctor was more thorough in the hour and a half, we were there; than the VA has, in over 2 years. This doctor ordered lab work, and an ultra sound. A skit; is what I call these, conspired, and practiced acts, of Gang Stalking/Domestic Terrorism.
I’m still waiting on an MRI read, from over two moths ago, that I got at the Phoinex VA. The Neuro-Ophithmoligest, at Barrow Neurological Institute. Spent less time with me, than I did filling out a little paperwork. He was dismissive and short. After, over two years of dealing with my right eye; I had to demand an MRI. I’m still waiting for a video call, so he can give me the MRI results. I have no confidence in a diagnosis or prognosis, from this guy. Their office Gaslighting me, leaving repeat message; that I have an in office appointment Monday, in Phoenix. This appointment is a video conference call, I set up before heading back to Colorado. I confirmed it two weeks ago. This week, and today, as I write this; they call with prerecorded messages and text. Wanting me to confirm, an in office visit for Monday. I’ve called them many times, left messages, and got ghosted.
So, now we are headed to the Grand Junction, VA, to get my lab work done. The front parking lot is full, so we head to the parking garage. We have the minions, trolling around to see where we park. We find a spot in the garage and park. I gather my things, and Koda the Magnificent. I open the car door, someone just behind us, honks their car horn 6 times. This wasn’t an alarm, this was one of the minions, letting everyone know; we are getting out of the car. It’s also a psychological stimuli, that lets you know, you are being watched. We get it, all the time, and have recorded it.
We walk to the back entrance. There are two VA Police Officers, and a man; standing in front of the door, blocking our way. We get through these guys, I use the hand sanitizer. The guy with the tan blazer, says something about my “furry friend.
A few years back I had surgery, one of many. I was living and working in Yosemite National Park. I was using the Fresno, California, VA. My daughter flew out, to help me with recovery, and spend Fathers Day with me. What a daughter…. While I was in the hospital, she would come to visit daily. When I was able to walk, she would walk with me down the halls of this beautiful hospital. These hallways filled with pictures of dedication, loyalty and sacrifice. Past wars, and their participants. She’s holding my arm, I look at her, looking at the pictures. Wondering if she can absorb, the depth of the sacrifice behind them. We get to the end of the hall and turn around. I see a young man in the hallway. Kooks to be early 20s. My daughter looked a little blushed. She looked directly at me and said; “Dad, that guy has been following me, every time I visit”. No Shit, my daughter was being stalked at the VA Hospital. All, the while; VA Police, watch on their many cameras. VA Police, will try to bait, intimidate and watch Targets, like a hawk. Yes, folks, this shit really happens at our VA facilities. You have to ask yourself; Is this how our CIA and FBI, train their Minions? They recruit KIDS, while they are in High School!
I knew better than to stop, and respond to these guys. I headed for the lab, with my ophthalmologist lab request. I went to the window, to check in. There was also supposed to a lab request, from the Phoenix VA. I was told last week, it was in the system; when speaking to one of the traveling vet coordinators. It wasn’t. I was told I had to go to the ER, and get a doctors authorization, for the new request. I didn’t have a problem with that, because; its to make sure and verify, its a legit request. What I have a problem with; is the Grand Junction VA Staff, and other minions, intently in wait, to attack my mental health, bait me, harass me, and set me up.
We go back down, to the ER. As we walk towards the check in window, a guy standing a distance from it, steps up to the window. He’s stalling, Gaslighting about the Mental Health Ward, He’s giving more minions time to show up. They weren’t expecting me to come right in today. This also gave the staff time enough time, to come up with excuses, for why my other lab request, was not in the system. When I was told by phone, it was.
I finally check in, and we have a seat. There are a few people in the area, but not too crowded. As soon as we do, a guy close to us; leans over and looks directly into Koda’s eyes. Koda looks away. The man continues this, with extremely stern looks. I asked him please not to, said it’s a threatening act to a dog. He knows this, but is baiting for a confrontation. The simple fuck, is finally called away, but is replaced by two others. One not wearing a mask. The VA requires a face mask at this facility, and I believe all. Koda, has been uncomfortable since we walked in. He knows where we are, and what to expect. We got the same treatment last Friday. He still lays patiently, at my side. A woman comes in, sets a large purse on a seat across from us. Then, sits on our side across from it. I start receiving a light Electronic Weapons attack. I don’t know if its coming from her purse. As she sets there smiling, her mask pulled down, so I can see.
A nurse calls us up to the front. As Koda and I squeeze through the minions sent to bait and harass us. We walk pass the purse, the woman so intently sat in a chair. Koda stops and sniffs it. Seriously, he does. He gets attacked with Electronic Weapons, and audio stimuli, too. Koda and I work are way through the now, packed waiting area. The nurse has my records in his hand. As we walk towards him; several nurses rush to cut us off. When we do reach him; he tells me, I’m the wrong patient, have a seat. Koda and I look for a clear path back to our seat; another nurse comes up and start Gaslighting about the Mental Health Ward. I stood up for a while, because of setting all morning at two different facilities. There was a man in an electric wheelchair. He asked about Koda, so we stopped and talked with him for a while.
He asked about service dogs. I told him; as far as I know, the VA does not provide Service dogs. There are many civilian groups that help veterans obtain a service dog. Many times, at no, or low cost to the veteran. That’s the norm, for our Veterans. They have to reach out to civilian organizations, to get their required medical needs. That’s because the VA, and our government wont. Why is that Mr President? You continually bring up your sons military service, while veterans are reaching out to civilian agencies, because the VA WON’T fulfill their needs. How long have you been in politic? Why don’t you add another 800 Billion to the Defense Spending; while veterans kill themselves.
I told the man I am, an Advance Certified Animal Care Specialist, and trained Koda myself. He asked to pet Koda, and I let him. Koda, licked his hand softly and gave him his sweetest look. I showed him a few hand signals, I’ve taught him. We were both lost in the gentle actions of Koda. For a moment; we forgot about the crowded clinic. That didn’t last long; because the minions, can’t have it. Rick is enjoying himself; we have to do something about it. Nurse, after nurse strolling by. Clicking pens, fake coughs, flailing arms, and Mental Health Ward Gaslighting. Then, one brings out the American Flag. Yep, they have to throw that in our face. When all else fails, they use the American Flag. It’s folded, and just a Gaslighting Prop. They pulled that one two years ago, after I complained to the Patient Advocate. Koda, and I handle ourselves like pros, because we are. This is a small VA Hospital, with very limited doctor staff. Nurses, think they control the show, Many times they do. Free Speech, is not so Free; in the United States of America. It can cost you dearly.
An hour later, I finally got the Ophthalmologist request in. We headed back up to the lab. We had the minions rushing ahead of us, to the elevator. Koda and I entered, one man had a clear plastic bag. This bag had the exact items, I left on our kitchen counter this morning. This, another act of Gaslighting. It also, lets a Target Know, they are being watched, or someone has entered their home. It’s another Gaslighting Tactic; used to attack the mental health of a Target, to bait and discredit them.
Then, there are two others. Dressed in their Bright Perp Colors. The man, working his way, as close to Koda as possible. We stood to the back, but when the elevator opened, they wanted us to exit first. We didn’t, and I told the two by the door to go ahead. As they did, I could see the man in the tan blazer. He was the same man, with the two VA Police, when we first came in. He was standing just to the right of the elevator door. As Koda and I step to the door, I said wait. That’s his command to stop and wait. Knowing that at almost every corner, entrance or exit; a minion, is waiting. Koda, stops and waits. As we do, the man in the tan blazer, walks pass us. As he does, he reaches into the elevator, open handed, fingers separated, right at Koda face. The two that stepped out ahead of us, standing there, in their perp colors, to witness; if I act out. I didn’t, and neither did Koda. I told the man “He’s a service dog, you don’t do that to someones service dog”. He smiles and says “I was just saying hi”. I didn’t start a confrontation, and we left for the lab. We are in a medical facility, the staff is not educated enough, to not reach out, at a Service Dog? Give me a fucking break….
We go into this small room so I can get my blood drawn. The smell of sanitizer and alcohol, was overwhelming. It irritated Koda, immensely. He still, just lay at my left side. I ran labs at two veterinary facilities, and at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo; in Colorado. I know what labs and exam rooms smell like. This is a tactic used on Targets. They use the sense of smell to harass and Gaslight Targets. They will use sanitizer, alcohol, auto exhaust, second hand smoke, the smell of gasoline and diesel. You can see them in action, at the Grand Junction Walmart, parking lot. It’s on their cameras.
We finished our labs, and head to the parking garage. Ahead of us, rushes someone from the Hospital. He walks upwind, and lights a cigarette. We get in the car and leave, as the minions come out flipping their hair.
We drive across the street to have lunch. It was literally just across the street. It was a long morning, and our day not even half over. We gather our things, go in. As we enter; there are two young guys setting by the window. Probably in their early twenties, they start fake coughing. There’s a woman ahead of us, she stalling, giving other minions time to show up. Koda and I patiently wait. The guy at the counter disappeared. We are used to this. More minions, come marching in. Yep, its a Stupid Fest; sponsored by the Local Village Idiots Association. I finally get my order in, take my cup, get mobbed at the soft drink fountain. The Coke dispenser didn’t work, I mentioned it to the employee that rushed up there ahead of us. She moved the top of the Coke tap, and said try it. I did, as sprays all over Koda and I.
We have a seat, Koda laying at my left fett, minion after minion, walking by; looking directly down at Koda. Not even giving me a glance; just intently, looking into Koda’s eyes. Koda the Magnificent didn’t even flinch. He was looking at dad, waiting for the delicious morsels, he so well deserved. While we ate, someone blocked the view to our car, with an SUV. It was soon surrounded, by vans, trucks, and SUVs. None of them had an electric car, Mr Transportation Secretary. I don’t know where these Bottom Feeders are getting their gas money from? They don’t seem to be working.
We finished our lunch, headed to the door, as a minion rushes to the bathroom, thinking I may have to pee. They will leave piss all over the floor for Koda to step in. Really, they will. Just ask the Walmart employees in Grand Junction, Colorado, or Buckeye, Arizona. We get in the car, someone has moved my rear view mirror, changed my air conditioning settings (it’s going to be 100 today). Both my back windows were down about an inch. Nothing taken, just shit tampered with. This is the norm, for a Targeted Individual, in the United Sates of America.
Koda and I headed to the River Park. They have several fenced, dog play areas. We got there before noon, not to hot for Koda yet. I took him there often, after I first adopted him. For socialization and other training. There are pictures from two years ago, in our photostream.
When we arrived, there was no one in the three open play areas. I’m thinking great, Koda can be a dog! But, I know what’s coming. He’s looking around, a bit confused, its been two years. He finally realized where he was. He starts skipping across the grass, running, happy as can be. It was short lived; the minions start showing up. First, we had a guy brig in a big pit-bull. Thinking I would be intimidated. I’ve worked with military working dogs for years, pit-bulls are sweethearts; compared. Koda wasn’t intimidated either. His tail wagging, panting, happy to make a new friend. NOT, what they expected. Koda, rushes up to the bruit, as do I, covering his back. I started talking, with the young guy who brought him in. Just basic things, he had questions about his dog, I happily gave him suggestions. His wife (Miss Honey-Pot), setting in the car, joins us. Short-shorts, bending and stretching exposing way to much flesh. I didn’t mind, but didn’t drool over it. It’s Basic Gang Stalking 101.
Then comes in the Red Husky. It was followed by a manly-man. Shaved head, muscles bulging everywhere, tight shirt and pants. Koda rushes to greet the Husky, his happy self. The Husky, a young male, seemed a bit taken. Koda and the Pittie rushing at him. The guy who brought it in, came over to the picnic table. The Perp Couple, still there. The Husky had a Service dog vest, so I asked the guy about him. He told me about a local organization, that trains them and gives them to vets.
Then he tried to repeat some of the same conversation, I had with the guy in the electric wheel chair, this morning. He tried hard, but flubbed it. This is called Street Theater. The guy told me he was a vet with PTSD. I’m not going to question that. I could tell the man was troubled. It showed in his eye contact, facial expressions. I could tell anxiety was setting in. I didn’t fault this man. I didn’t judge him. I’m sure so many have. He told me he was a veteran, I could see he was troubled; that was enough. Some people are recruited into Gang Stalking, even veterans. Often, being offered something that can’t achieve for themselves. Unknowing, of the full picture. Mr President; why don’t you help veterans in need of service dogs? This poor guy tried his best, then went and sat in his truck, with his dog. My heart weighing heavy, knowing this struggling man, has been so wrongly misguided.
As Koda is having a blast; a FedEx Semi pulls into the parking lots. He takes up a ton of parking places. Parking, facing the side of my car. So, he can set in his truck, watch me, and my car. Then a big construction truck pulls in. It has a cherry picker. It parked behind us. This is a small, city parking lot.
I get mobbed, followed, blocked and cut off by FedEx, UPS, and USPS drivers, all the time. No shit folks, many people are afraid to discuss it, but IT IS TRUE. Our Government Agencies; have their minions all over the United States. Spying on, baiting and harassing, Targets. They even have your neighbors spying on you. Some call it the Neighborhood Watch, others call it Gang Stalking. It’s Domestic Terrorism! Just look up he definition if you need to. Educate yourselves, please.
Karen came in, as he was leaving the play area. Her job was to throw balls towards the fence. Close to the outer sidewalk. As she did; local sociopaths, waiting for an opportune moment. They would ride by on a bikes, skates; in their colors. Some, carrying floats for the swimming area (too far away). There’s a parking lot, not full at all. Trying everything to try and get Koda to chase and bark after them. All the while, getting their daily needs, of sociopathic fulfillment. It didn’t work that well. Koda was getting to hot and tired to chase anything. They continued trying, in their bright orange and red colors. Their combined intelligence, far lower, than this amazing dog that has blessed my life. But, they will try and take that away from me. Weekly, daily; sometimes. Koda was getting hot, so it was time for us to leave.
We needed to get a few groceries. I wanted to try a local City Market in Fruita, Colorado. It’s only about 12 miles from our camp. The minions in wait; knowing there are a few things I need. Yep, they really do. I’m sure they did an inventory while I was gone. They tamper with my motorhome, all the time. They like to tamper with my frig in the summer, move things around, sometimes destroy small items. They did this in Yosemite National Park too.
As we pull in; they had the Honey-Pot walking pass me. There were minions waiting to mob and block us at the carts; just like Walmart. Once inside, they started setting up. Using their carts, their bodies; to block me from getting ranch dressing, veggies, salad-mix, bread, butter and water. One woman attempting 4 times, thinking I needed more than I did. I was tempted to ask her to hold my phone, as I start a prerecord, loud, extended fart, on it. But, decided against it. A prank I share with my granddaughters. Yes, I’ve been watching too much YouTube.
We get the same community mobbing show, as we do at Walmart. But, with less intensity; piece of cake. I wanted one, as I walked through the bakery. Koda helps pull my heavy cart, with the water and all. We headed to the checkout. Billy-Bob, was waiting to cut in front of us. The young couple ahead of him, were keeping the cashier occupied by their personal life. Long after they paid. They gave another, time to slip in behind us. Sometimes these people will switch things out; from my cart, or the conveyor. As another keeps me occupied, by harassing Koda. This guy didn’t, he just got smothering close. As we leave, we get blocked at the doors, a bid diesel truck; setting up to accelerate just in front of us, as we step out the doors. As we leave; here comes the Hony-Pot again.
You may ask; who is “they”. “They”, are some of the people you work with. “They”, are some of people working in our VA Hospitals, Clinics. “They”, are some of your neighbors. “They”, may be a relative, someone you may consider as a friend. “They”, are some of the police officers, in your community, your state. “They”, are many, in our government agencies.
Mr President, Mr CIA, FBI, and Homeland Security Directors, as you cower in the Halls of our Nation. Like, the Law Enforcement Officers, in the Halls, of the a Uvalde Texas, Grade School. As teachers and children are slaughtered. How many veterans have have ended their lives today? How many have committed suicide while on your watch? How many can be attributed to the horrific treatment, at VA Facilities; from VA Staff. By the retaliation, mobbing, gaslighting, harassment, dismissal; from VA Staff? How long are you going to pretend that Electronic Weapons; are not being used and tested, on us citizens, on US Soil? How long are you going to pretend Gang Stalking is not real? That this is not Domestic Terrorism! You criticize other Nations on their Human Rights Treatment! You can’t even keep your own houses in order! Look at our History!
There are veterans afraid to speak out. I’ve spoken to some of them. I don’t question their courage, one bit. No one should. So, send you minions my way. The Airplanes, Jets and Helicopters. The Village Idiots, Sociopaths, and Narcissist; that do your bidding. Attack my character, discredit me, destroy my life. My mental health is fine, I can take it; I have for 14 years. There are many that can’t!
And, LEAVE MY DAUGHTER AND DOG ALONE.
Like, many would like you to belive; No, I don't belive everyone is out to get me. Just the Bottom Feeders, trying to destroy our democrocy.
I have spoke to many in the medical field. Gaslighting in our medical facilities (not just veteran), is extremely common. Workplace Mobbing, is at all time highs. Employers, are scratching their heads, wondering why; many don’t want to return to work. It’s the Toxic Work Environment, in the United States. Workplace Mobbing, is rewarded in the United States Workplace. Those that are willing to lie, cheat, steal and ride on the backs of others; are the ones being promoted.
The title, The Morning After; is from the following morning of my last post (Contentment). In that post; I wrote the Gunfire ended. I spoke to soon. When I stepped out the next day, putting our solar panels out; the Gunfire started again. When I took Koda out to pee, at 7 am; there was a motorcycle waiting behind the hill. The one in the picture, the right foreground. He comes flying through the dry creek bed, to the left of our motorhome. You see it in the picture. I took it standing 5 foot, to the left of our motorhome. I play fetch with Koda there. In the mornings and some evenings. That's why they do it. The minion on the motorcycle, does a couple loops around the back of the motorhome, too. That day, we had the Loma, Colorado, Village Idiots firing high powered rifles. When we went out to move solar panels, and our morning walk. I solar for 95% of my electrical needs, and move them to get max output. They use the sun, to judge the time of day, and when I will come out. When I took Koda out to pee, for the evening; here comes another motorcycle, doing the same thing. But yes, Mr FBI Director and Local Law Enforcement; its all just a coincidence. As you would like the United States of America, and the world to think.
I need to move in my solar panels folks. Billy-Bob is waiting by the roadside. He wants to see if I bring Koda out, without a leash. Everything I’ve told you is real, and TRUE. Its not based on my feelings; as a VA staff member, tried to tell me today. It’s based on some of the best, military reconnaissance training, in the world. It’s based on 14 years, of documents, videos, pictures and conversations with other Targeted Individual, in the United States. Gang Stalking is real in the United States of America. Don’t let anyone tell you its not, or just a Conspiracy Theory (their normal Scape-Goat). Violence, is not the answer. Neither, is Mobbing someones house, or workplace. Educate yourself, speak out, us online venues, vote. If you look hard enough, you will find the truth. Please do, before it disappears; like so much, in American History. As I tried to upload this, I couldn’t log onto Flickr. Someone had changed my password. I had to reset it. Someone, also locked me out of my VA, online account. This is what happens when you tell the TRUTH, about the United States of America.
All photos and content, in my photostream are free to download, copy, print and share. All I ask; is you keep all copyright and logos on them. And, try and share something with someone in need. Even, if its time.
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