Hello, reader…
It was lovely to welcome a few new faces this week! It seems that WSJ’s current 4-part special podcast series on the Metaverse and Second Life has inspired folks to log in again after extended absences – yay! Hope to see more new and old friends in the near future.
Meanwhile, here’s a few interesting reads to add to your TBR pile…
Recollection Creek and Hound Dog Man by Fred Gipson
Our friend Firewoman started us off with these youth fiction novels set in the Texas Hill Country.
Cotton, the young protagonist in Hound Dog Man, has always wanted a hunting hound of his own but his Ma won’t let him have one. He and his friends go out hunting raccoons with a seasoned hunter. Adventure ensues while they are out hunting in the wild – some of it scary. Cotton does get a dog in the end.
Fred Gipson is also the author of the very popular young adult classic, Old Yeller, which is celebrated annually in his hometown of Mason, Texas. The local library has his writing desk and space for some of his things.
Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
Highly recommended to FireWoman by her mother, this historical fiction novel is set in South Africa, after World War II. It describes the domination of the native Black population by the White population and what comes from oppression. Of the books that she’s read recently, this is the one that has stayed with her. She found it to be a lyrical work set within the hardships of all the people, and the goodness and kindness of the people.
Prisoner of Tehran: A Memoir by Marina Nemat
Published in 2007, this true story is about a 16 year old girl who was arrested for no particular reason, badly beaten, then taking to a firing squad. A guard took pity on her and managed to get her sentence changed to life imprisonment. Desiring to take her as his wife, he threatened her family if she refused. In the end, the guard’s family was instrumental in gettiner her out of the country, to Canada.
Though it is a depressing read in places, Mieke highly recommends it. She felt it was worth reading to get some feel for what it’s really like there for women.
Diary of a Void by Emi Yogi
Set in modern day Tokyo, this 2022 novel is about a woman named Shibata. She is the only woman in her department at a paper core making company. In addition to her normal duties, she tends to get stuck with doing all the menial office “chores” – e.g. serve tea, distribute the mail, clean up the break room, etc.
One day, she decides that she’s fed up. So she tells everyone she’s pregnant…even though she’s not. What follows is a journey of how one woman carves out a method of self-care in a typically indifferent environment.
Recommended by Zoe for readers who enjoyed Sayaka Murata’s, Convenience Store Woman.
How to be Eaten by Maria Adelmann
Published in 2022, this is a modern retelling of a handful of classic fairytales.
Five women are invited to a kind of narrative group therapy. They turn out to be Bluebeard’s former girlfriend, Red Riding Hood, Gretel, a Princess, and the Miller’s daughter. All the women are adults reflecting on their stories as if recovering from major trauma and, eventually, lean on each other to heal.
Zoe found it darkly humorous and entertaining.
A short list of these books may be found here.
Our next gathering (and last gathering for 2022) will be on Sunday, November 13th at 1pm SLT. All are welcome – bring a friend!
The Reading Room 