My Brain On Books XXXVI

 

   

 

 

I am reading for The Office of Letters and Lights the folks who bring us NaNoWriMo today as I love what they are doing for literacy with their Young Writer's Programs and because I've participated in NaNo every year since 2004.  I have been blessed to have it in my life and would like to give something back if only kudos and link love.  I'm putting this plug at the top in hopes some who stop by will check out their site and see all the great things they do to foster love of reading and writing and story in kids. 

This post will be organized like a blog inside a blog with recent updates stacked atop previous ones. I may be posting some updates on Twitter @Joystory and the Joystory fb fanpage. But this is where I do anything more than a line or two.  Including mini-challenges that don't require a separate post..   

Be sure and see my tribute poem to Dewey and the Thon she birthed at the bottom of this post

Meet My Reading Buddies:
Grace and Jolly
They are my sleep buddies and live on my bed but today they join me on my beanbag reading nest

2:22 AM - Sunday - Second Finish!  Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue

I let the Kindle robot read to me for several hours at 2.5x speed while I crocheted.  I had to finish this novel this weekend as it is a Libby library book and due on Tuesday.  Now i'm free to move on to the one I listed as 'most looking forward to' on the opening survey.  But I think I'm ready to read with my eyes again even tho due to vision issues it slows me down to 3/4 normal speaking speed. 2.5x normal speaking speed is still less than half the speed I could read at my prime in my twenties.

Anyway I'm going off on a tangent.  Must be tired.  I don't mean to make it sound like I had to force myself to read this as when it was still on hold with the library it was one I 'most looked forward to' and it lived up to my expectations.  It was an incredibly moving story about immigrants and their dreams of becoming Americans and Americans and their dreams of become more.  It explores the income gap, family dynamics, racial biases, greed, love, integrity, friendship, loyalty and much more.  That list sounds dry but in Mbue's hands there is an intricately woven story that shows how each of our individual lives impact the lives and the dreams of everyone who crosses our path in this life.  Our choices have ripple effects on the choices of everyone whom we interact with.  We all have a common humanity no matter our race, religion, nationality or class.  And empathy is more valuable than any possession.

Bare bones of the plot: Jende has just brought his wife and son over from Cameroon, Africa while his application for asylum is still pending.  He gets a job as chauffer for a top executive at Leman Brothers.  He drives not only the exec but his wife and two sons to their various activities and in this way the author imparts clues to the coming collapse of the economy as Obama is elected president.  Then his wife gets a job with the family as nanny/housekeeper while the family resides at their summer estate.  As the two families lives become intertwined they impact each other in startling ways, changing some of their outlooks while causing others to become even more entrenched.  Biases and wounds rooted in the past intrude on their ability to make rational choices sometimes leading to wounding behavior to self or others; even those they care about the most.

It is a worthy debut novel.  Astonishing in its story power.

2:22 PM - First Finish! The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams by Daniel Nayeri

A Joyful romp along the Silk Road in the tenth century AD.  Featuring a young orphan boy rescued by a merchant whose marketing hustle has garnered him as many enemies as friends.  This would be fun to read to a child 6 and up and anyone 12 and up would enjoy reading it themselves.  It is an adventure with a message about the meaning of life and the importance of love above all else.  It demonstrates that life is a journey that cannot be made alone and it's success is measured by the help and caring exchanged between fellow travelers and wealth is not in the things you collect but in the love imparted between individuals as their lives intersect.  And that what you give without expectation of return is more valuable than all the riches of the all the world's kingdoms.

9:44 AM - Intro Meme This thon snuck up on me.  I expected it to be next weekend so I'm jumping in late.  Actually I've been reading since 10AM shortly after I discovered the email announcing the hour 4 sprints.  I needed to be more awake to do this post task.

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?

Kelso Washington USA.  Across the Cowlitz river from Longview where I grew up and had been living with my elderly mother between January 2013 and late July 2021.  I moved into my 400 square foot efficiency unit in late July 2021.  This  post was a photo essay of my new space.

So this is my eighth thon in my own home, counting the Reverse Thons in August 2021 & 2023.

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?

Non-Fiction: The Source of Self-Regard by Toni Morrison

Fiction: The Cemetery of Untold Stories by Julia Alvarez

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?

Jalapeno Poppers

4) Tell us a little something about yourself!

• Widowed September 2020  It still smarts at unexpected moments.  But at least it is usually only several times a month now instead of constantly.  
• Living alone for the first time ever.  nearing the 3rd anniversary of move in day.
• Legally blind with RP aka tunnel vision.  Have only a sliver of vision left in center of right eye.  The rest is shadows and shimmers.
• Have struggled with mood disorder of Anxiety and Depression since grade school
• Diagnosed with high functioning autism in 2015.  In my 50s!
• Have a caregiver who comes in five days a week to help with chores and errands I can't do alone. But she dislocated her wrist last week and is off duty for two weeks so I'm now learning just how much I am grateful for her help.
• I proved during this move that I have more volume in fiber art supplies than in clothes by at least thee times.
• I probably have double the volume of clothes in tree-books but since I still haven't got them all moved over I can't be sure.

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?

This is my 36th thon so there aren't many variations I haven't tried. 

Right off the bat I'm starting several hours late as I forgot to check on the official thon day at the first of the month as I usually do and was guestimating next weekend.

But if the weather permits I would like to venture outside and sit on the bench about 40 feet from my front door and/or the Gazebo which is across the courtyard.  My caregiver helped me practice for months to make those two walks with just my cane and I finally 'graduated' in late August.  So now I'm not such a shut-in that I can't take three steps after letting go of the door handle or porch post without panicking.

Doing anything but especially reading or writing for a full 24 hours used to be my superpower but not so much anymore.  Now that I'm in my mid sixties the price I pay for that self abuse is significant as all my systems are less forgiving. 

Also hope to do a better job than in the past of staying hydrated and getting up to move regularly.

Ode to Dewey

by Joy Renee

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We Miss You Dewey

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