Mi Barrio

I enjoy the occasional graphic novel. There are a lot of great biographical ones and I enjoy the way the story unfolds, the sparsity of the genre, how there are no words wasted, that everything said is important and often has a lot of meaning crammed into each tiny sentence. I read Mi Barrio which was written by Corey Michael Blake and illustrated by Shane Clester and is the story of Robert Renteria, who narrated his story to Blake. It's kind of a rags to riches tale with a heart. I found out about the book from a poster at the library and put it on hold, later learning that this book is used widely in the Chicago Public schools to inspire their inner-city youth. I thought it could perhaps be something my husband Alan used in his classroom as well. Then I read it and saw that some of the content (drugs, gangs, etc.) isn't entirely appropriate for a fourth grade classroom, but would work at the middle or high school level. It's a very short read (only 55 pages) but definite worthwhile.

 (Robert Renteria)

Happens Every Day

I spent the better part of the weekend miserably sick and not up for doing much of anything. I eventually decided I had it in me to read, but nothing that would require me to think. I picked up Happens Every Day by Isabel Gillies, which was perfect for the state I was in. It didn't even feel like I was reading. It's a memoir and like a comment on the book jacket says, feels like it's a friend talking to you. It's a sad story, about the demise of her marriage and the other woman that came between she and her husband. Ironically, I got the book from my neighbor down the street after his wife left him. He was getting rid of the things she'd left behind and I, of course, went straight for her unwanted books. This memoir is the first I've read from the pile I scavenged. I usually say I'm not a big fan of the genre, but then there are few memoirs I pick up and don't finish (and enjoy). It's gripping to hear someone's story, someone who is willing to reveal so much personal thoughts and feelings, to tell of the excruciatingly embarrassing things she's done. Gillies' book was no exception. She's not afraid to share the tiny humiliations that make up her mortifying story. I looked and saw she has a second memoir that came out recently that continues her tale where she left off. I'll definitely be reading it someday... but hopefully not when I feel like I'm on my death bed.

Nightmare at Bari

I finished reading a book I was reading as research for a story. It's called Nightmare in Bari: The World War II Liberty Ship Poison Disaster and Coverup by Gerald Reminick. The title kind of says it all... it's about this chemical warfare disaster that happened in Bari, Italy in 1943. It was known as “Little Pearl Harbor.” There is no official death toll but was over two thousand and many more were injured, and yet few have heard about it. I stumbled across some information about it on the Internet and then had to do an interlibrary loan to get the book. Not exactly light, pleasurable reading, nor something I can recommend, unless you're into World War II history or chemical warfare disasters.

Operation Bite Back

Another friend recommendation... my friend Val lent me Operation Bite Back: Rod Coronado's War to Save American Wilderness by Dean Kuipers. This book is an account of one man's efforts to stop fur farming and the destruction of our natural ecosystem, going to extreme measures to do so. The author uses the phrase “radical environmentalism” often to describe Coronado's acts of theft, vandalism, and arson, a term I was unfamiliar with but find a bit fascinating. It's an interesting story about how he came to begin his acts of protest, the escalation of them, and his eventual arrest. After the story the author offers commentary, or rather raises questions, about this form of activism. He brings up questions of freedom of speech and the definition of violence. I was also lent a book of critical essays on this same subject that I've begun but will likely not finish for quite a while. These questions do interest me, though I admit I had never thought much about them. That introduction to ideas that are unfamiliar is part of the thrill I find in reading anything. It changes the way you see the world and this book helped me look at the issue of radical environmentalism from several different angles. Again it'll be weeks or months before I finish that other book, but eventually I will. Stay tuned.

(the author)

 (Rod Coronado)

Llama Llama...

Noah was sick for the better part of a week so I recently spent a lot of time reading to him in the recliner. I've been experiencing a bit of a lag with picture books lately. I usually grab a handful of new ones each time I go to the library and they've largely disappointed. Nothing has been horrible, nothing has been great, they've all been kind of BLAH. And so I've been turning to old favorites, like the Llama Llama books by Anna Dewdney. There are 5 of them, the newest being Llama Llama Home With Mama where he is home sick. We got that one at the library a couple weeks ago and I returned it early because though it was cute, I thought it'd be cuter to read while I had an actual sick kid. Ha- see how that worked? We have Llama Llama Misses Mama and Llama Llama Mad at Mama checked out and have been reading those. Llama Llama Misses Mama helped us tremendously with the transition to school last year when Noah cried every morning when I'd drop him off. He and I read it every day and memorized it and recited it on the drive to school. All these books are written in rhyme and have a light message and I find them fun to read. (Note: I find anything that rhymes or is in any way rhythmic fun to read aloud.) They are written primarily for preschoolers/ toddlers and my younger ones are beginning to “age out” of them. I guess that's why I'm reading them so much lately. I know my time with Llama Llama is coming to an end and I'm trying to squeeze as many reads out of them as I can before it's over.

Hundred Dollar Holiday

My friend Jessie told me about the Hundred Dollar Holiday by Bill McKibben because she was reading it in preparation for presenting the material next week. It's a tiny little book about making Christmas more joyful by making it less commercial. The questions of presents for my children had already started so I read the book for ideas and inspiration for Christmas this year. Most of the book is the history of how Christmas got so commercial and why it can be more fun otherwise. The point of trying to limit all Christmas spending to a hundred dollars (or more or less depending on the size of one's family) is not to save money or stop waste but to make it more joyful. He makes an interesting point about how though the shopping season is extremely long, the time we celebrate Christmas is short. Once the presents are opened, it's over. He explains that when the focus is not on the presents, it is more merry and the celebration continues. This book is a nice, short read for both those interested in exploring the idea of a less commercial Christmas and those who are already living voluntarily simple.

The Dead Emcee Scrolls

I read The Dead Emcee Scrolls: The Lost Teachings of Hip-Hop by Saul Williams because in the story I'm writing, a character loves the author's work and I was trying to understand the character better. My brother is a big fan of Saul Williams as well and lent me his two books of poetry years ago. This book is different, with poetry as well as prose, all revolving around hip-hop. Williams confesses to having found this old scroll hidden in the New York City subway system in a graffiti-like writing he was unable to read. After meditating, he took a pen and wrote in his notebook while studying the letters. Words flowed out, ones he was sure were on this scroll and those words made up the poems that sprung his career and acclaim as a poet. This book is his attempt to make sense of it all, to rhapsodize about the power (and problems) of hip-hop, and to share his journal writings from after finding the scroll that changed his life. It's interesting, though I wasn't crazy about the book's organization and some of the language. (I cringe reading what I still call “the 'n' word.”) I recommend this book to fans of hip-hop and Saul Williams, but not sure it's the best intro to his work for those unfamiliar with him.

Socks for Supper

I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that Jack Kent's Socks for Supper played a role in shaping who I am today. I have no idea how many zillions of times I've read that book, but the evidence of all those readings is clear from the binding. I have other books from my childhood I repeatedly read and the constant love is evident, but looking at Socks for Supper the boundaries between love and abuse blur, though I've always treated the book with reverence. It has simply been read more times than it was designed to do and literally is hanging together by several threads. The story is simple: poor turnip farmers dream of milk and cheese and ask the dairy farmers down the road to trade milk and cheese for the socks the woman knits from her husband's sweater. I don't want to spoil the ending for anyone who hasn't read it, but it's seriously sweet and the book message is one of compassion and selflessness. I should probably get around to duct taping it soon because my kids love it as much as I did.