pickUsually, I'm not a fan of feel good books as they tend to be very cheesy. But this one I very much liked. I enjoyed how Libby Page writes about time passing. It's a book filled with nostalgia which also talks about what a community is made of. Well written, she's definitely written about what she knew, and it helped her staying away from clichés.
My current read ;)
Still have a lot of pages to read for my book club tomorrow morning... But with a warm chai, I should be able to make it.
And you, what is your current read?
pickWell this was a delight. It felt like getting to sit around with Casey Plett at the kitchen table after dinner talking, except with the luxury of citations. Plett shares a lot of her own life, and the many communities she has been a part of. Smart, vulnerable, and thoughtful. It doesn't present any judgement on community being an ultimate force for "good or bad" --it explicitly doesn't want to-- but I left feeling hopeful about community anyway.
"Community can be fractured and slippery and seemingly ever at risk of dissolution at the same time that it can consistently regroup and resolder itself, mutate in ever-new fashions, form a balm to meet needs in ways it is difficult to predict or imagine."
JUNIE is one of those books that practically reads itself. I feel like I‘ve hardly spent any time with it, yet I‘m already a hundred pages in. Knight‘s prose is deep and evocative without being performative, and her dialogue gives each character a strong voice. I can‘t wait to read on.
pickI adored this picture book. It has beautiful messages about community, sharing, and gratitude. It‘s the picture book selection for Charlotte Mecklenburg Library‘s 2024 Community Reads program.
pick3.5/5
Audiobook
This was not a typical book choice for me, but I really enjoyed the Atlantic Canada-ness of it all. This coming of age story takes place in the 1960s, in New Brunswick. The story is told by a young girl in a small town that is about to be underwater - a calculated consequence of building the Mactaquac Dam. I enjoyed the audio, as the narrator's distinctly Maritime voice provided an extra bit of authenticity.
pickA low pick, but thought-provoking. This shorty is one of the newest in Biblioasis‘ Field Notes series. Plett does a good job of exploring possible definitions of community, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of communities. She explores online camaraderie, “third places,” Mennonite communities, queer spaces/groups, and much more. It raises a lot of questions without answering them, embracing ambiguity. ⬇️
“What if we had social media platforms that might eventually meld into the fabric of a life in a less inflammatory, more convivial way, in a way that one day might leave us going ‘Water, what the hell is water?‘”
In reference to a David Foster Wallace anecdote about fish. Some young fish pass an old fish who says, “Morning boys, how‘s the water?” One young fish replies, “What the hell is water?”
pickWhile there are sections that get lost in the weeds, overall this is a fascinating look at what really happens during crises; not the chaos and looting we expect and often see in movies and even news, but people supporting people. I think the Katrina section could/should have been its own book, really, but I learned a lot. Goes well with Hope in the Dark.
