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April 27, 2021April 27, 2021 by kmore
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Just a little collage for a letter-writing friend! #booksandletters #sendmail #readingbliss #collageart #readmore #readmorebooks #booklove #penandpaper #putastamponit "Why Fish Don't Exist" is the fascinating story of David Starr Jordan, a taxonomist obsessed with discovering and cataloging as many fish species as he could. Yet, when his life's work suffered a series of disasters, most notably the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake, he found the determination to roll up his sleeves and start again.  Despite his significant contributions to the world of science, Jordan's life was complex, and for journalist Lulu Miller, it provided a lens from which to view her own challenges.  This short non-fiction title is all of my favorite genres mixed together... a little history, a little memoir, and a touch of psychology. Oh, and it truly does explain "why fish don't exist!" I appreciated Miller's research and storytelling and will eagerly read anything she publishes. Here's another one of my Golden LInes: "Maybe it was okay to have some outsized faith in yourself.  Maybe plunging along in complete denial of your doomed chances was not the mark of a fool but--- it felt sinful to think it-- a victor?"  #readmorebooks #readingbliss #nonfictionreads #booklove #booksofinsta #booreview #davidstarrjordan #lulumiller #whyfishdontexist #quickread #sciencestories @lutimestwoo There's nothing I appreciate more than good memoir, and "The Empathy Diaries" is right up there with my favorites.  Sherry Turkle tells the story of her remarkable life by unpacking seemingly small events, one-by-one.  In doing so, we see the inevitable path that led her to becoming a well-respected psychologist.  With the ease of a storyteller, she makes the academic world of psychology accessible and I was instantly transported back to my under-grad days sitting in college lecture halls learning about the early-pioneers of the field. Turkle realizes that every event, every relationship, every success, and every disappointment steered her, perhaps in an unconventional way, toward studying technology and its impact on social behavior.  As a high school teacher, the issues she discusses resonate strongly. I fell in love with the young girl she describes and her ability to keep seeking, learning and growing.  Like her, I am drawn to a number of passions, and I admire the way she wove them together to create her life's work. Wishing I could sit down with her at the soda counter in Brooklyn for a chat. I found so many Golden Lines in these pages. Pages, in fact! Without a doubt, @sturkle and I are kindred spirits.  Here are a couple of favorites:  When "Big Friendship" came out last year, I knew it was just the kind of NF sociology/psychology/ memoir blend that I love, love love!  Now I'm hooked on their popular podcast, "Call Your Girlfriend." Big Friendships, according to the authors' definition are transcendent, reciprocal, generous, active and mature.  Because I am lucky enough to enjoy Big Friendship in my own life, turning the pages of this book provided opportunities to reflect and be grateful for the richness they bring to my life. These two cracked open their private worlds to share the magic as well as the struggles they have faced in their very public friendship. I will be carrying so many things from this book into my own friendships.  (Side note:  Like @aminatou, I was diagnosed with endometrial cancer at a relatively young age.  I truly appreciate her openness about that experience.  It's affirming and provides hope for those of us tiptoeing around the "C" word.) Reading "Beartown" takes me back to my blue-collar, small-town roots-- where sports reign supreme, and everyone is just trying to keep the town going.  I loved the range of characters that so closely resembled people I grew up knowing, and I felt like I could see and smell the forest that was almost another character in the novel. This is my favorite Backman book so far.  He forces us to witness an all too common experience for girls... at parties... when they've had too much to drink.  We can see it coming-- the blaming, the shaming, and the alliances, but what we don't see coming is the power of a few people making the right choices.  This one is brimming with Golden Lines and an abundance of wisdom regarding the dark side of loyalty and competition. Golden Line: “You want to defend those you love, even if the ones you love aren't very good all the time. And sometimes they're even downright awful.”  "Rabbit Cake" by Annie Hartnett What seems like forever-ago, my friend and I were captivated by the @gwynethpaltrow movie, "Sliding Doors."  The idea that one's entire life can be altered by the difference of making it through a pair of sliding doors-- or not-- was very thought provoking.  In fact, over the years, we seem to refer back to the idea, and the movie, on a fairly frequent basis.  So....... I think that is why I connected so well with "The Midnight Library" by @mattzhaig.  It's a quick read, but one that had me lying in bed mulling over the little things in my life that could have set me on a different trajectory. What would I be doing now if I had gone to the other college I applied to? What if I hadn't gone to that teaching workshop and met the person who ultimately became my best friend? I was pretty sure I knew how things were going to play-out for Nora in this novel, but that's okay. I appreciated the simple revelations, and hey, I'm a librarian, so what's not to appreciate about a book set in a library? If you want something that doesn't make you horribly sad about the world and just need a charming escape, this might be a good fit.  Golden Line:  “Maybe that’s what all lives were, though.  Maybe even the most seemingly perfectly intense or worthwhile lives ultimately felt the same.  Acres of disappointment and monotony and hurts and rivalries but with flashes of wonder and beauty.  Maybe that was the only meaning that mattered.” #morebooks #readmorebooks #bookbliss #bookreview #reading #lovebooks #goldenlines #goldenline #bookquote #midnightlibrary #matthaig #slidingdoors @oprahsbookclub is reading the Gilead trilogy by Marilynne Robinson, so I revisited my Golden Lines from "Home," which I read several years ago. These quiet character studies explore the complexities of human relationships, and while they are completely impossible to describe, they are completely worthwhile to read. #goldenlines #goldenline #homebook #marilynnerobinson #marilynnerobinsonquotes #oprahsbooksclub #readmorebooks #grace #readingbliss #bookish Families are complicated, and Dig by @as_king_ explores that theme with depth and originality. Like it or not, the attitudes and decisions of our ancestors have a way of influencing our present -- not always for the better.  In this Michael L. Printz award winner, five estranged cousins reconnect through an interesting, and shocking, serious of events.  Together, they start to dig their way out of the toxic past where racial stereotypes kept their parents and grandparents from truly connecting with one another.  This was a one-of-a-kind story with many, many layers.  I know the next generation can do better, and this book is proof of that.  Golden Line: “Potatoes are one thing.  People are another.  You can't abandon people and think they’re going to be fine.  People need things.  Probably love most of all.”  #readmorebooks #readmore #michaellprintzaward #readthisbook #yabookrecommendation #awardwinner #racismsucks #bookreview #booklover #booknerd #bookish #booksofinstagram #a.s.king

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