So, the weekend I’ve been looking forward to has arrived! The two older kids are (supposed to be) gone with their mom, leaving me with spare time! Ok. So they’re not gone. Things beyond our control have happened, but I’m going to readathon anyway! Either that, or we’re marathoning Hobbit and LOTR, and the kids will have to suck up the scary parts. lol

There are two readathons being hosted this week.

The one at Death by Tsundoku already started on Monday, but I was unable to participate at that time. Luckily, there’s still plenty of time to participate.

The other is Thankfully Reading Weekend, hosted by Jenn’s Bookshelves

 

Here are Jenn’s kick-off questions:

• How will/did you celebrate Thanksgiving?

Well, I was going to have a quiet dinner with my husband, baby, and parents – but the group may have expanded to include my two step children. The more the merrier! (But hopefully they can go on their trip still, they really want to.)

• What’s in your TBR pile for the weekend?

I want to work on the first two chapters of The New Jim Crow, by Michelle Alexander

I am buddy reading this with a friend on LibraryThing at a chapter a week, and I’m half a chapter behind already!

I also hope to start and finish Maelstrom, by D. J. Schuette. It’s an indie book published by a friend of mine. I really loved the first book in the series, and am looking forward to this one.

Finally, I hope to finish listening to Becoming Ms. Burton, by Susan Burton and Cari Lynn

• How much time do you think you’ll have for reading?

Oh, please tell me I’ll have lots! Please, please, please.

• What book are you starting out with?

Any of those three will do.

• Are you reading print, ebooks, or audio? Maybe a bit each?

All three.

• What books will you be talking about during Thanksgiving dinner? Be sure to keep track of any recommendations you receive and share when you have the time.If you don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, don’t worry, this is a weekend for everyone throughout the world.

I don’t know. I guess I’ll see!

I noticed an interesting commonality in the New Scientist and The Economist a couple weeks ago: they both had articles about genetic modification.

The New Scientist (November 9, 2019) article entitled Spray-on CRISPR described how scientists are creating “better” crops by coating nanoparticles with CRISPR DNA and spraying it on plant leaves. The DNA then enters almost all the cells that it comes in contact with, and codes for genes which are desirable. I’m not a GMO avoider by any means, but I do wonder what kind of impact those nanoparticles will have on creatures that eat the plants? Will we incorporate the DNA into our cells too? The article said this effect is unknown and will have to be further studied.

The Economist (November 9-15 2019) had an article entitled A Design for Life about using a new form of genetic profiling, single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), to check the DNA of potential babies that can then be implanted in vitro in human mothers (IVF). They could make sure the potential baby didn’t have any genetic disorders. Furthermore, they could code for less tangible aspects like intelligence, athleticism, etc. The author suggested that this, compounded over generations, could produce a super-race of humans like in the movie Gattaca or the alphas in Huxley’s Brave New World. Not exactly a world we want to see, right?

But there are potentially good things that can be done with genetic engineering sometime soon, too. For instance, I read an article By Pam Belluck in the New York Times on November 4, 2019 entitled, Why Didn’t She Get Alzheimer’s? The Answer Could Hold a Key to Fighting the Disease. It was discussing a woman whose family carried a gene for early onset Alzheimer’s. But one of the family members never got dementia. It turns out that this woman has another mutation that counteracts the dementia gene. Could CRISPR or other technologies be used to help avoid Alzheimer’s? Furthermore, there was an article in New Scientist back on July 4, 2019 entitled Exclusive: Five couples lined up for CRISPR babies to avoid deafness. I wonder what the Deaf Community feels about this, given how tight-knit they are? Of course, some people may make the choice to let their child live an easier life by not being deaf in the first place, even though they’re losing out on that community. But where does it stop? Could people use CRISPR to, say, code for heterosexual offspring to make sure their lives are as easy as possible? (This said with the understanding that many people in the LGBTQ+ community have very difficult lives.) Is it a parent’s choice to decide what sort of communities they want their children to belong to?

 

In The Dark Fantastic, Thomas writes a study of darker-skinned people in fantastic popular culture. She covers Rue, from Hunger Games, who is described as “dark-skinned” in the book, but got a torrent of horribly racist comments when Rue was cast as black in the movie. To the white mind, and sometimes even to the brown or black mind, innocent characters should not be cast as black. Another rage emerged when Guinevere was cast as black in the TV show Merlin.

Thomas mentions that there is a paucity of dark-skinned people in fantastic literature, and that could be part of the reason why dark-skinned people tend to not be considered the audience of fantastic literature – because they can’t relate to the characters. It is quite possible for dark-skinned people to find heroes in white people, but why not have some dark-skinned people that they can view as heroes?

In most shows / books, dark-skinned people are shoved off to the side as supporting characters to white characters like Luka Martin in Vampire Diaries. They are meant to serve, not to be powerful characters themselves.

I had heard previously that fantastic literature lacked in diverse characters, but had never spent much time thinking about it. Now I feel like reading books more carefully to see how they are portrayed. This was a fantastic piece of nonfiction for anyone interested in diverse voices in literature.

Most people are familiar with the tale of Oliver Twist. He is born in a workhouse to a woman whose identity is unknown. He is then sent from one horrible situation to another, abused, hungry, and expected to work for his living. When he runs away, he falls in with some pickpockets. His life takes a powerful turn after that.

I really enjoyed this book. It’s not my favorite as favorite as far as Dickens go – Great Expectations and Hard Times are reserved for that spot. However, I felt moved by Oliver’s predicament and by the style of life Dickens was trying to portray. It is so sad we can treat our children that way, though luckily things have improved quite a bit since then. But mass incarceration in the US is another way to create orphans…

The following is my analysis adapted from Susan Wise Bauer’s The Well Educated Mind’s description of how to think about a novel. It will have spoilers.

👽What is the most central life-changing event?

I’d say running away to London is the central life-changing event. Oliver meets the Artful Dodger, who inadvertently leads him to a rich benefactor who rescues Oliver.

👽Am I transported? Do I see, feel, and hear this other world?

Oh yes. I love Dickens.

👽Can I sympathize with the people who live there? Do I understand their wants and desires and problems? Or am I left unmoved?

Oliver’s life is so hard, and Dickens is so good at describing his troubles that it would be hard for a reader of classics to not sympathize with him. He only wants to have a reasonable amount of food, and to be safe.

👽Is this a fable or a chronicle?

Chronicle

👽What does the central character want? What is standing in his or her way? What strategy is pursued to overcome this block?

As I said above, he wants food and safety, but the adults in his life don’t think he deserves these things since he is an orphan. Even running away landed him in a worse spot than he was, and it was only being shot and asking for help which finally got him to a safe home.

👽Who is telling you this story? Is this person reliable?

It is an omnipresent, semi-omnipotent narrator. He (or she) seems reliable enough.

👽Where is the story set? Is it natural or human constructed? If natural, does nature reflect the emotions and problems of characters? Or is the universe indifferent?

London and the surrounding areas from which Oliver walked are certainly human constructs. However, I’d say the universe does care about Oliver, as he has some jolly good luck at the end there.

👽Images and metaphors. Are there any repeated images? If so, is this a metaphor, and if so, what does it represent?

I think the Artful Dodger (the pickpocket of London) is a metaphor himself – as he keeps appearing but does not seem to have much purpose in the narration other than to pick a pocket at a book store. Can people be metaphors? I will have to think more deeply on what he represents. Maybe I’ll write a discussion post on the topic, as I’ve decided to include more discussion posts (on Mondays).

👽 Does the end have a resolution or a logical exhaustion?

It does. Oliver is safe with family at the end.

👽How might the writer’s times have affected him?

This book was specifically a chastisement on how orphans are treated in England (and elsewhere) during Dickens’ life.

👽Is there an argument in this book? If so, do you agree?

The argument is: this is a terrible way of treating a human being. With a little honesty, compassion, and perception, people would have seen what a quality child Oliver was to begin with.

Hi all! This was a good week! D’s room is all pink and purple, with her loft bed in place! We now need to get her desk assembled and get all her stuff back in there. That’s a task for Sunday, though, because the house needs a major cleaning on Saturday for Deirdre’s “slumber party.” I put quotes around that, because only one girl has RSVP’d. D’s still REALLY excited, though.

I had a lovely date with Aaron at a Mongolian Grill last Friday. 😁 And I really enjoyed my fortune (above).

On Saturday, we got pictures taken of the kids with their mom, for gifts for hanging on their wall. We also got shots of our family. Here are some screenshots:

We also have a photo we’ll use for our holiday cards, so that’ll be nice. Now I just need to collect addresses! I have a good number of them from the wedding, hopefully.

Today is 80’s day at the kids’ school, so I’m afraid I let her go like this:

Oh, and M has been so affectionate lately it’s maudlin. First he said he loves everyone in the family even if they’re bad because even then they have good in them. Then he had a bad morning, but ended the sendoff with “I still love you Rachel, our invisible string [of love] is still attached.”

This week, I finished reading:

Ps: IL didn’t sleep well last night

Summary: 5 year old Jack has never left Room. To him, it’s all of reality. But then his mom tells him of an outside world that she lived in before the bad man took her away. He has a hard time believing.

 

The following is my analysis adapted from Susan Wise Bauer’s The Well Educated Mind’s description of how to think about a novel. It will have spoilers. 

👽What is the most central life-changing event?

The life-changing event that actually is narrated in the book is when Jack and his mother escape Room and have to start a life outside. Everything seems so strange to Jack, he has to learn to talk to other people, to navigate stairs, to understand the “fame” that he has archived by simple fact of escaping.

👽Am I transported? Do I see, feel, and hear this other world?

At first, I had difficulty with the voice of the narrator doing a 5-year-old voice, but I got used to it. After that, I was completely immersed in the story.

👽Can I sympathize with the people who live there? Do I understand their wants and desires and problems? Or am I left unmoved?

Oh yes, from wanting to escape the room to wanting to go back to the room where he felt things were “normal” this book does a fantastic job of giving a realistic and sympathetic portrayal.

👽Is this a fable or a chronicle?

Chronicle

👽What does the central character want? What is standing in his or her way? What strategy is pursued to overcome this block?

Jack wants to please his mom, but he is not excited to be brave and escape the room, and when he does escape, he’d like to go back to where it’s safe, quiet, and small. But he can’t go back because the kidnapper has been arrested and, obviously, his mom won’t let him. He repeatedly asks his mom to take him back, or at least to have his stuff from his room. That is his one power, really, is to ask adults to give him what he wants.

👽Who is telling you this story? Is this person reliable?

Jack is telling the story. As a 5 year old, I don’t think he’s lying, but I think some things may not be perceived the same as the would in an adult’s point of view.

👽Where is the story set? Is it natural or human constructed? If natural, does nature reflect the emotions and problems of characters? Or is the universe indifferent? 

The story is at first set in a room that they have been kept in since the kidnapping of ma and the birth of Jack. It was built by the kidnapper. This is a story in which the universe is indifferent to what happens to the characters. They must make their own way.

👽What style does the writer employ?

First person from POV of a 5 year old.

👽Images and metaphors. Are there any repeated images? If so, is this a metaphor, and if so, what does it represent?

Wow, so many. Anything and everything in the room has a name and a significance to Jack. That’s why he yearns for it all when he escapes.

👽 Does the end have a resolution or a logical exhaustion?

It does, the story is circular in that it starts in Room and it ends with a final visit to Room to say goodbye.

👽How might the writer’s times have affected her?

You know, I’m not sure. It was written during the Great Recession, but I don’t see how that, or Obama, or any other major event during that time changed the tone or voice of Room.

👽Is there an argument in this book? If so, do you agree?

Not really, it’s a narrative of escape, a story and nothing more.

Week 4: (Nov. 18 to 22) – Nonfiction Favorites (Leann of Shelf Aware): We’ve talked about how you pick nonfiction books in previous years, but this week I’m excited to talk about what makes a book you’ve read one of your favorites. Is the topic pretty much all that matters? Are there particular ways a story can be told or particular writing styles that you love? Do you look for a light, humorous approach or do you prefer a more serious tone? Let us know what qualities make you add a nonfiction book to your list of favorites.

This is a difficult question that I don’t know the answer to. So let’s explore what I like about specific books. One book I really liked last year was American Overdose. It’s about the root causes of the opioid epidemic. This book did seem to jump around a bit in topic (something I don’t appreciate much) but it made up for that by covering each topic with a lot of heartbreaking and eye-opening details. It was the fantastic research, the topic, the newness, and the incorporation of personal stories of real people that made this book so great.

Crazy, by Pete Earley is another nonfiction book that I really loved. It’s about the failure of the mental health system, and the use of prisons as places to lock up mentally ill people. This book, too, had eye-opening and heartbreaking detail. But this one was partly memoir partly investigative journalism. I loved the way Earley incorporated the story of his son into the beginning and end of the narrative. It made the story pop because it was so personal.

Furiously Happy, by Jenny Lawson is another fantastic piece of non-fiction. Since this is memoir and not investigative journalism, there weren’t any eye-opening and heartbreaking details (which I apparently enjoy), but it was really funny. And I could relate to the mental illness aspect of the book, having bipolar disorder.

So: eye-opening & heartbreaking details, good journalism (if it’s journalistic), a personal touch, humor.

 

The 8th chapter of Kugel’s tome describes the two ways (modern and ancient) to interpret the trials of Abraham, who underwent many hardships in his early days before settling down to become the father of a nation.

Ancient Interpretation

In the eyes of ancient interpreters, the trials of Abraham brought up the question: why would a benevolent creator allow so much hardship. For one thing, Abraham was obedient in everything God told him to do, and he was the founder of God’s Jewish nation. Therefore, God apparently brings hardship to those who he loves most. The ancient interpreters decided that God was testing Abraham, to prove that he was fit to be founder. Instead of a test being proof that God doesn’t love him, it’s proof that God does love him – because it gives Abraham the opportunity to prove his worth.

The most important test that Abraham underwent was when he was asked to sacrifice Isaac in a fiery offering to God. This was horrifying to the Jewish interpreters, who were told later in the Bible never to sacrifice their own children. However, they came up with a good reason. At the time that they were writing their interpretations, they were undergoing a lot of hardships themselves. Many had to become martyrs for their religion. But they asked: is it ok to be a martyr, or is that like suicide, which is forbidden? Thus, they interpreted Isaac as knowing that he was going to be sacrificed – he was therefore the first martyr, and gave implied permission for others to follow suit. For instance, they noted that Abraham, who was over 100 years old at this time, couldn’t have tied up an unwilling 10-12 year old, who could obviously run and struggle. Furthermore, they rationalized using this passage:

And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and he put it on his son Isaac, and he took the fire and the knife, and they walked the two of them together. Then Isaac said to his father Abraham, “Father?” and he said, “Here I am, my son.” And he said, “Here is the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” Abraham said, God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” And they walked the two of them together. Genesis 22:6-8

First of all, the Bible never repeats itself or says anything for emphasis, rationalized the ancient interpreters, therefore the repetition of the words “And they walked the two of them together” must have a hidden meaning. They supposed that, since Hebrew had no word for “is” that the passage meant “God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering: my son.” Thus, Abraham did tell Isaac about that he was the offering, and Isaac then walked together with his father in that knowledge.

Modern Interpretation

Modern scholars would not see the story of Abraham as a single unit of stories, but as a group of writings by different people written at different times – the writers J, P, and E (as described in Chapter 1). Therefore, the text doesn’t have a single “Abraham was tested” theme. In fact, some of the hardships that Abraham went through seem to be his own fault. When he lied to the Egyptians by telling them that Sarah was his sister instead of his wife, Pharaoh took Sarah as his concubine. When God punished him for taking Sarah, Pharaoh came back and asked Abraham why he had lied, and sent him on his way. Meanwhile, Abraham had become rich because of his relationship to Pharaoh’s concubine. Modern interpreters would tend to think Pharaoh was the one who was wronged in this situation. In fact, the story may be a way of accounting for Abraham’s great wealth later, rather than a story of a hardship.

As for the story of sacrificing Isaac, modern scholars see it as an etiological explanation for why the Bible and laws later said that nobody should ever sacrifice their child.

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Next year, I will be reading the Wolf Hall Trilogy, by Hilary Mantel. During this time, I want to learn more about the sociopolitical landscape of the time of Henry VIII, both in England as well as world events that might also shape this vital time in history. I will start by listening to this 24 lecture series about Henry VIII.

Lecture 1

The image of Henry VIII is more recognizable, even to Americans, than any other King. He may not have been well-loved, but his history has a certain allure. Henry VIII reigned for 38 years (1509–1547). There is much popular culture surrounding Henry VIII which started with Shakespeare’s play. The popularity of this play throughout the following centuries give the impression of a powerful, influential king. In the 20th century, King Henry VIII was reimagined yet again: Charles Laughton’s Oscar winning performance in The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933), Anne of a Thousand Days (1970) with Richard Burton, and the 1972 BBC television series The Six Wives of Henry VIII.

(The lecture continues as a description of what will occur in the rest of the course.)

Out of my own research, I’d like to note some other things that are going on in the world during and slightly before Henry VIII’s reign. I found this information here.

1501
First black slaves in America brought to Spanish colony of Santo Domingo.
c. 1503
Leonardo da Vinci paints the Mona Lisa. Michelangelo sculpts the David (1504).
1506
St. Peter’s Church started in Rome; designed and decorated by such artists and architects as Bramante, Michelangelo, da Vinci, Raphael, and Bernini before its completion in 1626.
1509
Henry VIII ascends English throne. Michelangelo paints the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
1513
Balboa becomes the first European to encounter the Pacific Ocean. Machiavelli writes The Prince.
1517
Turks conquer Egypt, control Arabia. Martin Luther posts his 95 theses denouncing church abuses on church door in Wittenberg—start of the Reformation in Germany.
1519
Ulrich Zwingli begins Reformation in Switzerland. Hernando Cortes conquers Mexico for Spain. Charles I of Spain is chosen Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan sets out to circumnavigate the globe.
1520
Luther excommunicated by Pope Leo X. Suleiman I (“the Magnificent”) becomes Sultan of Turkey, invades Hungary (1521), Rhodes (1522), attacks Austria (1529), annexes Hungary (1541), Tripoli (1551), makes peace with Persia (1553), destroys Spanish fleet (1560), dies (1566). Magellan reaches the Pacific, is killed by Philippine natives (1521). One of his ships under Juan Sebastián del Cano continues around the world, reaches Spain (1522).
1524
Verrazano, sailing under the French flag, explores the New England coast and New York Bay.
1527
Troops of the Holy Roman Empire attack Rome, imprison Pope Clement VII—the end of the Italian Renaissance. Castiglione writes The Courtier. The Medici family expelled from Florence.
1532
Pizarro marches from Panama to Peru, kills the Inca chieftain, Atahualpa, of Peru (1533). Machiavelli’s The Prince published posthumously.
1535
Reformation begins as Henry VIII makes himself head of English Church after being excommunicated by Pope. Sir Thomas More executed as traitor for refusal to acknowledge king’s religious authority. Jacques Cartier sails up the St. Lawrence River, basis of French claims to Canada.
1536
Henry VIII executes second wife, Anne Boleyn. John Calvin establishes Reformed and Presbyterian form of Protestantism in Switzerland, writes Institutes of the Christian Religion. Danish and Norwegian Reformations. Michelangelo’s Last Judgment.
1541
John Knox leads Reformation in Scotland, establishes Presbyterian church there (1560).
1543
Publication of On the Revolution of Heavenly Bodies by Polish scholar Nicolaus Copernicus—giving his theory that the earth revolves around the sun.
1545
Council of Trent to meet intermittently until 1563 to define Catholic dogma and doctrine, reiterate papal authority.
1547
Ivan IV (“the Terrible”) crowned as czar of Russia, begins conquest of Astrakhan and Kazan (1552), battles nobles (boyars) for power (1564), kills his son (1580), dies, and is succeeded by his weak and feeble-minded son, Fyodor I.

 

Hi All! After scouring the archives of challenges in the past, I discovered a paucity of history challenges. I plan on reading a lot of history next year, and think it would be interesting to see what others are reading too. I will post a linky on the first day of every month so you can include any nonfiction history books you’re reading. The rules are not strict – if you consider the book to be history, then go ahead and post it.

Personally, I will be reading a bunch of books about the world history (mostly English) around the time of Henry VIII. This is because the third book of the Wolf Hall trilogy will be coming out, and I want to understand the sociopolitical background of the book while I’m reading it. Incidentally, you’re welcome to join me for a readalong of that trilogy. 🙂

I’m starting reading the books now, so I’ll just start the challenge on December 1st 2019.