JCLChrisK's Completed Shelf
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The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of DreamsThe Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams, Book
by Nayeri, DanielBook - 2023Book, 2023
JCLChrisK's rating:
Added Nov 29, 2023
The Book of Form and EmptinessThe Book of Form and Emptiness, Book
by Ozeki, RuthBook - 2021Book, 2021
JCLChrisK's rating:
Added Nov 22, 2023
Comment:
Beautiful.
I think the most beautiful stories are the ones that are the most honest about how broken we all feel in our cores. When we're able to be honest with ourselves. When we recognize ourselves in the brokenness of the characters in the stories. This is one such story
And Ozeki tells it marvelously. Her telling is compassionate, witty, philosophical, intimate, inventive, and authentic. The more I read, the more consumed I became and the more I loved it. Now I want to read it again.
Experience the beauty some more.Beautiful.
I think the most beautiful stories are the ones that are the most honest about how broken we all feel in our cores. When we're able to be honest with ourselves. When we recognize ourselves in the brokenness of the characters in the…
Quotations
- We must learn to love our garbage. To find poetry in our trash. It is the only way to love the whole world.
- Fish swim in water, unaware that it is water. Birds fly in air, unaware that it is air. Story is the air that you people breathe, the ocean you swim in, and we books are the rocks along the shoreline that channel your currents and contain your tides.
- Never be afraid of not knowing. Not knowing is the practice of poets and sages.
This CountryThis Country, Graphic NovelSearching for Home in (very) Rural America
by Mahdavian, NaviedGraphic Novel - 2023 | First edition.Graphic Novel, 2023. First edition.
JCLChrisK's rating:
Added Nov 21, 2023
Comment:
An engaging story about a fascinating few years Mahdavian and his wife spent living in rural Idaho.
JCLChrisK's rating:
Added Nov 15, 2023
Comment:
A beautifully illustrated, wonderful poem about, as Bauer says in the Afterword, "the complex and sometimes fraught relationship between science and story." She charts the development of different cosmologies over time, how the stories we have told about the universe and our place in it have impacted our identities. It is lyrical, insightful, philosophical, and wise.
We chant in temples,
in sweat lodges,
in churches,
in shrines,
celebrating our lives,
honoring our dead.
We love our stories.
We live our stories.A beautifully illustrated, wonderful poem about, as Bauer says in the Afterword, "the complex and sometimes fraught relationship between science and story." She charts the development of different cosmologies over time, how the stories we have told…
Nasty, Brutish, and ShortNasty, Brutish, and Short, BookAdventures in Philosophy With Kids
by Hershovitz, ScottBook - 2022Book, 2022
JCLChrisK's rating:
Added Nov 14, 2023
Comment:
One of the most entertaining and accessible philosophy books I've encountered. Launching from the naturally philosophical inquiries of children, Hershovitz gives a broad tour of philosophy topics and considerations. It's a great introduction to general philosophical thought. I was hoping for even more insight from and about children--he generally uses anecdotes of interactions with his children as prompts for adult considerations--though a clear understanding of kids and parenting advice permeate the discourse--it's ultimately a philosophy book with children, not a book about children and philosophy. Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and found Hershovitz a witty, engaging writer.One of the most entertaining and accessible philosophy books I've encountered. Launching from the naturally philosophical inquiries of children, Hershovitz gives a broad tour of philosophy topics and considerations. It's a great introduction to…
Black Bird, Blue RoadBlack Bird, Blue Road, Book
by Pasternack, SofiyaBook - 2022 | First edition.Book, 2022. First edition.
JCLChrisK's rating:
Added Nov 09, 2023
Comment:
A richly imagined adventure set in the medieval Jewish kingdom of Khazaria of eastern Asia. Ziva is determined to prevent her twin brother Pesah from dying of the leprosy that is slowly destroying his body, so much so that she's willing to flee their home and family in the night, team up with a demon, and face down the Angel of Death. The fantasy elements are from Jewish mythology and are right at home in the historically accurate world Pasternack has created. This is a character-driven story about a person wrestling both figuratively and literally with death, as moving as it is engaging.A richly imagined adventure set in the medieval Jewish kingdom of Khazaria of eastern Asia. Ziva is determined to prevent her twin brother Pesah from dying of the leprosy that is slowly destroying his body, so much so that she's willing to flee…
The TalkThe Talk, Graphic Novel
by Bell, DarrinGraphic Novel - 2023 | First edition.Graphic Novel, 2023. First edition.
JCLChrisK's rating:
Added Nov 01, 2023
Comment:
Intimate and powerful.
Bell charts the course of his life from his dad's failure to provide "the talk" to him when he was young--though his mom did so--to the talk he had with his own son when it became time. How an encounter with intimidating dogs when he was young, that feeling of fear, haunted him for years during interactions with police and authorities. He includes important relationships, details from his school, academic, and career life, and, most of all, moments where race and racism played a particularly prominent role in shaping him.
The stories layer, accumulate, and intertwine. At one point Bell recounts the time, weeks before college graduation, when a professor accused him of plagiarism simply because she thought his paper was too good to be believed. He mentally flashes back to moments previously described, being told by elders to swallow his thoughts and accept bad treatment from police, acting on that advise himself and defending it to others. Then the story shifts back to "the present," when he stands up to the professor. The heart of the anecdote is the memory of his childhood bus driver telling him, when he worked as a dispatch at the LAPD, "They had a code they used any time a call involved hookers, junkies, and black folk. Tried to make me use it. Know why? 'Cause they could. Simple as that. 'NHI: No Humans Involved.'" He recognizes that in his professor's eyes. "When she looks at me, on some level, she sees 'No Human Involved.'"
That's one small part of the story Bell tells. It's a moving and effective story, personal and political at the same time, one that evokes empathy. Intimate and powerful.Intimate and powerful.
Bell charts the course of his life from his dad's failure to provide "the talk" to him when he was young--though his mom did so--to the talk he had with his own son when it became time. How an encounter with intimidating dogs…
JCLChrisK's rating:
Added Oct 27, 2023
Comment:
So many good poems. Not a bad one in the bunch, and many I want to hoard as treasure.
Olzmann manages to intertwine the ordinary and mundane with personal anxieties and frustrations, social commentary, and philosophical ponderings, all with a few, simple words. So many associative connections so beautifully expressed.
I want to share them all with you.So many good poems. Not a bad one in the bunch, and many I want to hoard as treasure.
Olzmann manages to intertwine the ordinary and mundane with personal anxieties and frustrations, social commentary, and philosophical ponderings, all with a few,…
JCLChrisK's rating:
Added Oct 27, 2023
Comment:
"Since I was a young girl, I have been taught to listen and observe," begins the short Author's Note at the end of the book. That's what the book demonstrates. It tells a short, slow, simple story. A girl spends a day with her grandfather. For most of that day, they sit, listen, and observe nature. Near the end, the elder shares some wisdom and the girl lovingly listens and absorbs without interruption. The story practices what it preaches.
A bit of the lesson shared:
"When the earth was created, it was a partnership between the earth realm and the sky realm. With the help of Creator, our grandfather sun and grandmother moon agreed to work together with our mother, the earth, to create life. Then other beings of Creation were place on the earth and in the sky. We, humans, Anishinaabe, were the last to be placed here. This is why we refer to ourselves as younger brothers and sisters to the rest of the beings in Creation. . . .
"Treaties are the basis of all relationships. We learned them from everything around us. That was the gift the Creator gave us. We spent many years listening and observing--to see how good treaty relationships were made. We use the word aagooiidiwin to explain the Treaty: it means that we agree to work together. . . .
"Long ago, we made treaties with our brothers and sisters, the animal nations . . . You remember those stories don't you? We made those treaties to live well together. With the deer nation, for example, we agreed not to take too many of them. In turn they would provide us with food and sustenance. We agreed to work together. To collaborate and respect each other. We agreed that we would discuss when we did not agree and find solutions together. That treaty built upon all the other treaties that came before. We promised that we would always do our best to honor the treaty. To do that, we would meet regularly to confirm our agreement to continue to act in relationship, and toward mino-biimaadiiziwin, that collective and reciprocal sense of well-being. We would all benefit from the relationship, as equals. And most of all, we would respect each other, always. Without the respect, there could be no treaty."
That is what the grandfather wants to pass on at the end of his life: an attitude of listening, cooperation, respect, collaboration, and reciprocity toward all things. That is the Treaty."Since I was a young girl, I have been taught to listen and observe," begins the short Author's Note at the end of the book. That's what the book demonstrates. It tells a short, slow, simple story. A girl spends a day with her grandfather. For most…
The White MosqueThe White Mosque, BookA Memoir
by Samatar, SofiaBook - 2022 | First imprint edition.Book, 2022. First imprint edition.
JCLChrisK's rating:
Added Oct 26, 2023
Comment:
It was an odd experience for me to feel such a strong sense of kinship with Sofia Samatar while reading this book, as she's an author I've only recently become aware of, here writing about her father's Somali Muslim heritage, her time in Africa, and her travels in central Asia, especially considering I've never left North America. The kinship comes from our shared identity as Mennonites, which is the main topic of her book, how people across time, distance, and cultures can feel a strong sense of connection based on shared faith, ethics, and stories--and how race and ethnicity factor in for people like her, who lack a fully European lineage.
Samatar's writing is non-linear and meandering, combining facts, events, personal stories, and meditative reflections. The skeleton of the book is the account of her experience on a bus tour of Mennonite history. In the late 1800s, Mennonites were leaving Russia to avoid being drafted into military service. One charismatic extremist convinced a group to follow him through the desert to central Asia, where they would await the end of the world. Enough survived the journey that a population settled in the area, with descendants still today--though the main settlement was destroyed by the Soviet government, who dispersed those families in the 1930s. Today, Mennonites--many of them descendants of those who moved on to America and elsewhere--go back to visit this history in group pilgrimages, touring much of Uzbekistan through Tashkent, Samarkand, Khiva, and more.
Samatar's thoughts and observations during her trip wind through this book as its heart. The tour spurred her to do extensive, in-depth research into those original travelers, their hardships on the road, the difficulty finding a friendly place to settle, establishing their new homes as outsiders, and she includes those stories. Most of all, though, the book is about Samatar and what it means to be a Mennonite, the mingling and melding of religion, history, and culture. It's a personal exploration of her identity, and reading it nudged me into my own reflections.
Samatar's reflections revolve around: does "Mennonite" describe an ethnic heritage with a bloodline that goes back to those Dutch-German-Swiss people or does it describe a faith and belief system open to everyone of all backgrounds? The answer to both is yes, but in different, sometimes conflicting ways. That conflict is at the core of Samatar's identity, with one parent of German Mennonite background and one a converted Somalian Muslim. The Mennonite community professes to wanting her, yet there are always moments, interactions, dimensions to the identity that make her feel somewhat excluded, like she doesn't truly belong.
"I understand that someone like my father, deeply influenced by the Mennonite story, had no place in it once he was no longer a practicing Mennonite, unlike other nonpracticing Mennonites who carry the banner of blood. But experience, just like blood, endures. How I wish this could be recognized, acknowledged, and celebrated, stories granted a status equal to that of DNA, perhaps even greater! It's the days spent together that make us part of each other. There is a genetics of storytelling, for stories too are encoded, inherited, lodged in the flesh."
And that's what her book is really about. It includes fascinating history, describes a trip that sounds wonderful, shares facts about the author's life. But really it's an exploration of identity, of Samatar herself, more so how she represents an experience of an identity that is both inclusive and exclusive at the same time. An identity that has transcended place and people. And, through this book, Samatar calls us make the transcendence greater, resolve the contradiction in favor of inclusivity, and make "Mennonite" something more open to all.
I truly appreciate it. And I think other readers will, too.It was an odd experience for me to feel such a strong sense of kinship with Sofia Samatar while reading this book, as she's an author I've only recently become aware of, here writing about her father's Somali Muslim heritage, her time in Africa, and…
1,2,3, Scream!1,2,3, Scream!, Book
by Ginns, R. U.Book - 2022 | First edition.Book, 2022. First edition.
JCLChrisK's rating:
Added Oct 24, 2023
Comment:
A fun collection of scary short stories, each with an abrupt, shocking ending. A generally light tone, with nothing so creepy or chilling to be the stuff of nightmares. Young readers should find much to enjoy.
JCLChrisK's rating:
Added Oct 18, 2023
Comment:
Outstanding, sympathetic, and captivating.
I became so invested in these three boys, so frustrated on their behalf at everything stacked against them, the low, stereotyped expectations of others for them, the constant bullying from adults and society that I wanted to do bad things on their behalf.
Add to that the shifting perspectives, the mystery of the murder, and hope for their innocence, and it's the kind of reading experience that keeps you involved and charged the entire time.
And the full-cast audiobook production is excellent.
Highly recommended.Outstanding, sympathetic, and captivating.
I became so invested in these three boys, so frustrated on their behalf at everything stacked against them, the low, stereotyped expectations of others for them, the constant bullying from adults and…
The He-Man EffectThe He-Man Effect, Graphic NovelHow American Toymakers Sold You your Childhood
by Brown, BoxGraphic Novel - 2023 | First edition.Graphic Novel, 2023. First edition.
JCLChrisK's rating:
Added Oct 18, 2023
Comment:
In this book, Brown delves into the ways entertainment corporations and toy companies have allied to use stories to capture interest in their products. How TV, movies, and other forms of storytelling have basically functioned as advertising for toys. By tapping into young imaginations, eager and impressionable and not yet fortified against manipulation, and giving them the stories they should play out, which require the merchandise the companies sell. And using the nostalgia of adults to maintain a cycle that perpetuates.
At first I thought this might be a simple, uninformative primer on basic media literacy, but Brown's depth of research and detail is impressive. He gets into the specifics of the people involved, what they did and said, how all of the strategies were intentionally developed. He supports all of his claims.
It's a fascinating read.In this book, Brown delves into the ways entertainment corporations and toy companies have allied to use stories to capture interest in their products. How TV, movies, and other forms of storytelling have basically functioned as advertising for…
JCLChrisK's rating:
Added Oct 18, 2023
Comment:
An excellent, empathetic story that puts readers inside the head of a smart girl convinced she is dumb due to undiagnosed dyslexia. Nuanced and powerful, though I found the feel-good ending a bit too perfect for my tastes.
The Why-why's Gone Bye-byeThe Why-why's Gone Bye-bye, Graphic Novel
by Pastis, StephanGraphic Novel - 2022Graphic Novel, 2022
JCLChrisK's rating:
Added Oct 12, 2023
Comment:
Silly, wacky, and absurd. A plot that is mostly a run-on string of non-sequiturs and wordplay, each more outrageous than the last, that nonetheless amuses, entertains, and manages to tell a story. A most excellent diversion.
Katie the CatsitterKatie the Catsitter, Graphic Novel
by Venable, Colleen A. F.Graphic Novel - 2021 | First edition.Graphic Novel, 2021. First edition.
JCLChrisK's rating:
Added Oct 11, 2023
Comment:
Much fun!
Osmo Unknown and the Eightpenny WoodsOsmo Unknown and the Eightpenny Woods, Book
by Valente, Catherynne M.Book - 2022 | First edition.Book, 2022. First edition.
JCLChrisK's rating:
Added Oct 11, 2023
Comment:
A story of legend and myth come to life in a fairy tale forest, where animals talk and mushrooms can do the most fantastical things. Dense and wordy, clever and witty, and, most of all, full of character and heart. It's a story about identity and division, ingrained fear and hatred. It's a quest to the land of the dead full of encounters with monsters and a myriad of strange creatures. It's a cross-cultural immersion experience. It is delightful.
One of Osmo's assigned companions is astoundingly cantankerous:
"But no one listens to Bonk the Cross on account of how I am rude and they don't like me. *But* I enjoy being rude more than I enjoy company, so they can stuff it. You, young sir, are *clearly* part monkey and part otter, and while, yes, 'motters' are rare, they're hardly anything to throw a party about. Believe me! I am really and truly never ever wrong, ask anybody. If I *am* wrong, it's only that I'm wrong just *now*. Wait a bit, and you'll see I'm right in the end. And if I'm *still* wrong, you just haven't waited long enough, so give it another few years." . . .
"Every day is a game, and as long as someone else is unhappier than me by close of business, Bonk the Cross wins!"
The other is a determined isolationist:
"Do you know," she said between *hics*, "pangolins don't even have any numbers other than one in our language! One is the *best* number. The only *correct* number. A pangolin does not count *one, two, three, four, five, six, a hundred.* A pangolin counts *one, awkward, unpleasant, disturbing, dreadful, suffocating, completely intolerable.* *Guest* is an extremely naughty word. *Company* is worse than that."
For a taste. Valente is an inventive and wonderful storyteller.A story of legend and myth come to life in a fairy tale forest, where animals talk and mushrooms can do the most fantastical things. Dense and wordy, clever and witty, and, most of all, full of character and heart. It's a story about identity and…
JCLChrisK's rating:
Added Oct 03, 2023
Comment:
A surprising and fitting--and, as always, entertaining--end to Jennifer's tale.
The Door of No ReturnThe Door of No Return, Book
by Alexander, KwameBook - 2022 | First edition.Book, 2022. First edition.
JCLChrisK's rating:
Added Sep 30, 2023
Comment:
Beautiful and heartbreaking. Tragic without being brutal. Tangible and real.
TruthTruth, BookHow the Many Sides to Every Story Shape Our Reality
by Macdonald, HectorBook - 2018 | First United States edition.Book, 2018. First United States edition.
JCLChrisK's rating:
Added Sep 30, 2023
Comment:
An illuminating look at just what truth is and how it can be used--and misused.
MacDonald describes his book's theme as:
"There is usually more than one true way to talk about something. We can use competing truths constructively to engage people and inspire action, but we should also watch out for communicators who use competing truths to mislead us."
He doesn't even get into the business of lies, as there are enough dimensions to truth to keep the waters muddy all on its own. Life is complicated and complex, and the best anyone can hope to perceive and communicate is partial truths from different perspectives through different lenses. Truths regularly compete with and even contradict each other.
MacDonald considers many facets of truth, such as context, statistics, morality, social constructs, and more, offering guidance for constructive conveyance of truth and teaching awareness of how truth can be manipulated in each realm. His writing is clear and effective, and delivers important information in an interesting manner. Recommended.An illuminating look at just what truth is and how it can be used--and misused.
MacDonald describes his book's theme as:
"There is usually more than one true way to talk about something. We can use competing truths constructively to engage people…
Super BetterSuper Better, BookA Revolutionary Approach to Getting Stronger, Happier, Braver, and More Resilient*
by McGonigal, JaneBook - 2015Book, 2015
JCLChrisK's rating:
Added Sep 30, 2023
Comment:
In brief, this is a guide for adopting a growth mindset and small habits that accumulate and compound exponentially into big life changes.
McGonigal is an expert in the psychology of video games, and she used that knowledge to help herself recover from a traumatic concussion. Though McGonigal is a game advocate, her advice is not "play games" but to adopt a gameful approach to life. To interact with life the way gamers interact with games. It's a perspective, a framing narrative, and a collection of habits. A mindset.
The small steps she suggests--the power-ups, quests, and epic wins--seem insignificant, but that's part of the point: it's easy. The research indicates that simple little actions, undertaken with regularity and the right approach, accumulate into big changes. The book is full of little bits of science for the habits accompanied by the larger data about how it all works together.
The approach may not be for everyone, but it won me over, and, if you are intrigued, I suggest giving it a look.In brief, this is a guide for adopting a growth mindset and small habits that accumulate and compound exponentially into big life changes.
McGonigal is an expert in the psychology of video games, and she used that knowledge to help herself recover…
JCLChrisK's rating:
Added Sep 28, 2023
Comment:
Five stars for the concept and front and back matter; three stars for the main contents, the collection of stories. Each story is titled "The Ice Cream Machine." Each is a different story--different setting, characters, type of "machine," etc. They're decent stories. Entertaining and fun. What I really love, though is the very idea of the book. The role modeling of inventive creative writing--and the invitation to participate at the end of the book. I took a look at the ebook version, in fact, and it includes copies of stories titled "The Ice Cream Machine" that young readers wrote and mailed to Rubin after reading the paper book. They would, I think, after being prompted by the book's introduction, "Writing Is Magic," which I absolutely love. Here's a bit of it:
"And here's the most magical part: No matter how ridiculous, how outrageous, how downright impossible the things you make up are, once you put them in writing, they become real for whoever reads them. The people, places, and things that you plucked from thin air suddenly exist in someone else's imagination.
"So here we go. You're about to enter a universe of my own invention. Multiple universes, in fact. If things go well, the time you spend in my multiverse might make you smile. If things go very well, you might laugh or gasp or even cry!
"How incredible is that? Little black squiggles on paper, when placed in a certain order--when "spelled" correctly--gain powers. Writing enchants you to see things and feel things that don't really exist.
"What else can you call it but magic?"
A marvelous encouragement for young writers everywhere.Five stars for the concept and front and back matter; three stars for the main contents, the collection of stories. Each story is titled "The Ice Cream Machine." Each is a different story--different setting, characters, type of "machine," etc.…
Marshmallow CloudsMarshmallow Clouds, BookTwo Poets at Play Among Figures of Speech
by Kooser, TedBook - 2022 | First edition.Book, 2022. First edition.
JCLChrisK's rating:
Added Sep 26, 2023
Comment:
Just lovely.
The Einsteins of Vista PointThe Einsteins of Vista Point, Book
by Guterson, BenBook - 2022 | First edition.Book, 2022. First edition.
JCLChrisK's rating:
Added Sep 26, 2023
Comment:
About halfway through this I was struck by just how engaged I was in the story given how little action had taken place. This is a quiet, gentle story--but about some very big, heavy things, and it's told with subtlety and empathy that make it completely absorbing and captivating. Much develops below the surface, and I connected with it at a deep level. Yet while protagonist Zack and his family are dealing with serious life changes and grief, there is also enough adventure and mystery for an engaging plot. Just a really effective and enjoyable book.About halfway through this I was struck by just how engaged I was in the story given how little action had taken place. This is a quiet, gentle story--but about some very big, heavy things, and it's told with subtlety and empathy that make it…
JCLChrisK's rating:
Added Sep 21, 2023
Comment:
"The choice is [between believing] that the narrative of life is a story of winners and losers, or that it is about the struggle to ensure decency and sufficiency for all."
Alpert argues in this book for a change in society's orientation from a "greatness" worldview to a "good-enough" perspective. Greatness is characterized by a constant striving for success, whether financial, social, artistic, athletic, relational, or any other realm, a desire to be at the top of a necessary hierarchy. It's about comparing, judging, rating, and ranking people. Some are always better than others. A good-enough orientation, on the other hand, sees us all as connected and interdependent and only successful together, not as individuals. It does not mean just barely sufficient; it means everyone gets at least a good life and all needs are met--decency and sufficiency; good plus enough.
"Whatever combination of solutions we rely on, they should all be compatible with the idea that everyone deserves decency and sufficiency, and that no one merits more than others."
I love Alpert's ideas, some of the ways he articulates them, and how he applies the worldview across the board at the personal, communal, societal, and natural levels. I'm not convinced his names for the two orientations are effective and feel often he considers his ideas too vaguely and abstractly, having insular conversations with other philosophers and thinkers instead of with readers.
Overall, though, a really good--and important--book."The choice is [between believing] that the narrative of life is a story of winners and losers, or that it is about the struggle to ensure decency and sufficiency for all."
Alpert argues in this book for a change in society's orientation from a…
Comment: