Hello, reader…
*Note to first time readers: the following is a summary of a discussion by friends who gather monthly in a virtual space called Second Life. Reading notes are lightly edited reflections shared in real time via text chat.
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
A favorite amongst the group, FireWoman is nearly through it. It offers a wonderful approach to knowledge; several places had her highlighting her eBook. She thinks she may buy the hardcopy version. She believes it will make her interactions be more aware in nature. For example, the author’s discernment of how rain has a different sound and that the same water falling can be heavier than other water from the same clouds. Or her descriptions of lichen as visual tours of a dried up plant. Poetry and realization of how we are killing our planet.
FireWoman highly recommends this book.
Awake in the Floating City by Susanna Kwan
A city – San Francisco – is flooded. The ground floors of buildings are unable to be used, so roofs are the landing point, with bridges connecting to other roofs. The main character is an artist who becomes a caregiver for elderly patients in her apartment building. The surprise at the end is the way she uses her art to honor a dying patient. Veyot said that it’s almost like a second life story, because she makes a multi media presentation and shows it on the outside walls.
The Names by Florence Knapp
Veyot also read this one about a demanding husband. He wants his son named Gordon, after him, but his wife and nine year old daughter chat about names on the way to register him. The daughter says she would like to have him named Bear, and the mother says she would choose Julian. Readers do not know which of the three names the mother wrote in the registry. You find out which name she chose on the very last page of the book. But you have three stories going on, about how a different named child turns out. It kept Veyot interested and got wonderful reviews.
The Measure by Nikki Erlick
One day out of the blue, everyone on the planet over the age of 22 gets a box on their doorstep. Inside the box is a string, and this string is the measure of how long your life will be. It has an inscription on the box, something to the effect of ‘the measure of your life is within’. Some people chose to open the box, some people don’t. The story follows 8 different characters whose stories eventually interconnect, long-string and short-string people. KitKat said that it’s a very interesting read, how it affects relationships between people all the way to society at large.
Calculating God by Robert J. Sawyer
In response to KitKat’s book, Sierra shared this book with a similar theme. It’s about a scientist that has a terminal illness (cancer, as she recalls). Aliens happen to visit the Earth looking (more or less) for god… which has interesting implications. Most of the book is about the scientist – a paleontologist – character’s interactions with one of the aliens and kinda what he learns.. and how his character develops as a result.
Sierra said that it is a good read. One of the common things about many science fiction novels is that you don’t have a lot of character development.. but in this book there really is some evolution for the main character as he learns more from the aliens and is also confronted with his terminal illness.
Miss Benson’s Beetle: A Novel by Rachel Joyce
Zoe is two-thirds of the way through this book. Set in 1950, it’s about two women who travel to New Caledonia in search of a golden beetle. They are strangers until they meet up for this trip – one hires the other. One’s an extrovert and one is an introvert. It’s a really fun read. Both women have a bit of a mysterious past. I think the author’s thesis is that we don’t need to know everything about a person to consider them a best/close friend.
Our next gathering is on August 10 at 1pm SLT.
SLurl to The Reading Room: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gundeulbawe/41/164/45
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