Hello, reader…
Our May gathering was cozy yet bubbling with conversation. Several intriguing titles were shared – hopefully these will pique your interest.
A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger
This is a young adult novel by a geoscientist, writer, and fan of the weird, haunting and beautiful.
It’s about the connection between a young Lipan girl, Nina, and a boy, Oli, who lives in a parallel world, in “the land of spirits and monsters”. Though they’ve never met, there are forces working to ensure they never will.
FireWoman thought it was a fantastic read. Nina’s world is facing the same problems of vanishing ecosystems as we are today. What happens in Nina’s world affects Oli’s world.
Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger
FireWoman also read Badger’s debut novel. It’s about another Lipan Apache girl, Elatsoe, whose cousin is murdered. In a world of magic and monsters, Elatsoe relies on her inherent gifts to uncover the mystery behind this crime.
FireWoman learned about this author through an interview on National Public Radio. If you also enjoy young adult novels, storytelling and magic, you’ll enjoy this author, too.
My Invented Country: A Nostalgic Journey Through Chile by Isabel Allende
A memoir by a well-known author who responds to the question: from where does she draw her nostalgia?
FireWoman commented that Allende writes like she is in the same room with you, just visiting among friends.
The Cockroach by Ian McEwan
Except where the character of Gregor Sansa wakes up to find that he has changed into a giant cockroach, McEwan’s protagonist is a roach that wakes up in the body of a man. But not just any man! Our protagonist wakes up in the body of the Prime Minister of Great Britain. He isn’t alone either — and is on a mission.
Ultimately this is a satire on Brexit and some of the characteristics of politics in the UK — and to a lesser extent — the US.
Sierra thought it was a fun read overall.
No. 91/92: A Diary of a Year on the Bus by Lauren Elkin
Sierra also read this short set of journal entries that Elkin made while taking the bus in Paris to and from the school. Elkin was a teacher there from 2014 to 2015. Her entries were written as a set of short notes that she made on her iPhone.
Sierra felt this one was maybe hit or miss — she can see that it would have been tricky to write much on a phone on a bus which at times seems like it would have been crowded.
The most interesting bit was the last entry .. which no doubt was developed further and not just while sitting on a bus.
Elkin mentions George Perec’s ‘An Attempt at Exhausting a Place in Paris’ (1974). It’s a memoir that reflects on a time when Perec sat for three days in the same place and wrote down everything that he saw. Sierra thought perhaps Perec’s book inspired Elkin’s experiment.
The Words in My Hands by Asphyxia
Asphyxia is a Deaf Australian writer (her perspective on Deafness is that it’s its own culture, hence the capilization).
This fictional memoir is written in diary form. The pages are decorated in a kind of art journal style. It’s fiction, set in the near future, where the environment is wrecked and food is scarce. The protagonist is a Deaf teen who – long story short – ends up learning to garden and cook while most of the world is reliant on bioengineered “food”. There’s a love story…and a lot about community building.
Zoe thought it was a good read.
How Romantics and Victorians Organize Information by Jillian M. Hess
Zoe just started on this non-fiction book about commonplace books and scrapbooks and how they were kept in the 19th century. Though she’s only a chapter in, she recommends it.
Our next gathering will be on Sunday, June 11th at 1pm SLT. Hope to see you then!
The Reading Room 