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Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Riveted_Reader_Melissa

Joined April 2016

A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies… The man who never reads lives only one. ~George R.R. Martin.
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The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story by Nikole Hannah-Jones, The New York Times Company
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Pickpick

I read the Sixth Extinction and got so much out of it, I wasn‘t sure there would be more really “new” in this one. I was so very wrong. Kolbert does her usual brilliant job of looking at projects humans are working on, visiting them, talking to the people involved, all while letting us see how these parts add up into a bigger whole. The focus this time, humans trying to fix things that went bad after we fixed them the last time (but made them⤵️

Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ worse)…. and a bit of a warning about how this current bunch of human interventions to do what we decide is best for nature, might not be “best” either. 5d
Riveted_Reader_Melissa I read this at the same time I read Wilding, by Isabella Tree, which emphasis is more hands off, and with unexpected positive consequences…great if unintentional pairing. 5d
43 likes2 comments
review
Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Pickpick

This author takes each subject, serious and well known as it may be, and expounds it into a multi-layered essay that makes you look at each subject in a way you might not have before, make new connections you might not have before…. All through the lens of the history of colonialism, racism, indigenous, female, etc.

The best essay collection I‘ve read in a very long time. Definitely a #MustRead

#SheSaid

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
Great Circle | Maggie Shipstead
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Hello #ShesSaid! The schedule is up for our June fiction read! Sorry for the delay!

Riveted_Reader_Melissa Ok… it will let me tag individually, but not a group. I‘ll try the group tag again later. 1w
squirrelbrain For any UK Littens, this is 99p on Kindle today. 1w
See All 17 Comments
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @squirrelbrain That‘s great timing! 1w
vlwelser I was going to try to do it but it won't let me copy/paste from my phone. #SheSaid 1w
Deblovestoread I‘d like to jump in for June if I may? 6d
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Deblovestoread You definitely can! We‘d love to have you. 6d
Riveted_Reader_Melissa After days of trying…. The tag went through without issue today 🤷‍♀️😂 5d
AllDebooks Thanks x 5d
TheKidUpstairs I read this one last year and absolutely loved it. I'm not going to re-read, but I look forward to discussing it! 5d
MallenNC I am getting to start! I missed the end of last month‘s discussions bc I was on vacation so I‘m ready to stay on track this time. 5d
vlwelser Are you feeling any better? 4d
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @vlwelser Yes! Finally! I had some inner ear virus/inflammation that was effecting my balance. Labyrinthitis….so it was what was making me very dizzy giving me a headache and nauseous. So like extreme seasickness, but without the fun trip. 😂. They gave me basically prescription strength motion sickness medicine, which then made me sleep a lot. So that‘s the recap…. But yes, much much better now. 2d
vlwelser 🤗😘 2d
vlwelser This book is long. 😂 1d
46 likes17 comments
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Sorry for the very late posting #SheSaid!

I unexpectedly spent my day at the emergency vet and just got home. But everyone is on the mend now…

….. so how about this great book!

staci.reads "Sontag, in snapshots" had some real truth bombs! "Women's bodies can be posed and prodded and digitally manipulated until they look nothing like the real woman...That's all fine. But if a woman puts on makeup, takes a picture of herself, for herself, adds the filter or 2 and posts it on Instagram, men comment that this is why you can't trust women ⬇️ 2w
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staci.reads ...that all men should take women swimming on the 1st date to see how they really look under all the makeup and photoshop." Double standards are so common, there is no awareness! This section had me examining my own unconscious bias about selfies ? 2w
staci.reads I also really appreciated her commentary on the hypocrisy in publishing that she refers to as autobiography assumption. The idea that a woman writing realistic fiction is really "thinly veiled autobiography, and therefore less skillful - as though there is no talent that goes into crafting fiction so convincing that readers are sure the writer had to experience everything in its pages herself." 2w
staci.reads Two truths and a lie - Wow! The part about reality TV and the trump administration is epic. I've never really drawn that straight line between people's obsession with reality television and the popularity of Trump and other shock jockeys. I mean indirectly, yes, but directly, not so much. I think my blame was laying more in the area of misinformation and peoples willingness to fall for it because of social media. 2w
KathyWheeler @staci.reads This has always bothered me. Women authors can‘t win. I was glad she called this out. 2w
vlwelser These essays were all really great. I liked all of them. The one about reality tv was especially interesting. Applying Sontag's essay to the modern world was an interesting exercise. 2w
vlwelser Is there a schedule for Great Circle? Are we starting next week? 1w
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @staci.reads I really loved these last few essays too. The one about photographs, I agree… excellent. Have you seen the documentary “Pretty Baby” about Brook Shields….it talks about how she was poked & prodded to get this child to be the sexy woman they wanted (by men). Definitely worth a watch. 5d
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Singout I want to say you recommended this book for us, if I‘m remembering correctly. Thank you 5d
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @KathyWheeler Yes, that was another great essay! 5d
31 likes12 comments
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Hello #SheSaid

Thank you to whoever nominated this one, each essay is so good… and I should be reading them slower and absorbing each of them, and yet I find myself rushing through to the next.

How‘s everyone else making out with this one?

Riveted_Reader_Melissa I really liked the intentional forgetting, or as I think of it…letting go because dwelling or remembering only hurts yourself and why torture yourself, and the one about her mother and how much your views change as you get older. (edited) 3w
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vlwelser 💯 I also love her voice. She's a great writer. She makes me think about things and feel stuff even if I haven't had direct experience with her exact situation. 3w
staci.reads I'm finally caught up on the reading. I too am really enjoying her voice and the way the essays are connected. She takes her personal stories, whether about poverty, biracialness, mental health, etc, and connects them to the larger societal picture with statistics and history. It's the mix of sociology and memoir that is making this one so good. 3w
staci.reads "On forbidden rooms..." was really a gut punch. I was especially moved by her discussion of performative pain and the expectations of society for us to hurt in very specific ways in order to be "believed." 3w
staci.reads And her connections to the biblical Doubting Thomas took my breath away: "and the only way to even attempt to convince them otherwise is to let them stick their fingers in your bloody wounds. Give them details you'd rather not relive. Let them see. Let them feel. Let them taste. Your comfort, consent and mental health didn't matter before. Why should they matter now? You want them to believe you, don't you? Don't you?" I mean, wow. 3w
KathyWheeler @staci.reads That section was almost painful to read; probably because it‘s so true. 3w
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @staci.reads Yes… even when it comes to disability I‘ve noticed that… disability must be blindness with a white cane or in a wheelchair. If you don‘t look like either of those types, you can‘t really be disabled and must be faking for attention, a parking spot, whatever. Weirdest thing…. But similar, if you don‘t fit the mode of the viewers expectation, you must be lying. 3w
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @staci.reads yes…such a great analogy on her part. 3w
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @KathyWheeler It made me think back to our earlier book. Know My Name…oh, you were blacked out when it happened, then how to you know it happened, how do you know you didn‘t want it….uhhh she was unconscious behind a dumpster when others passed by and pulled her attacker off her still and unconscious body 🤷‍♀️… but hey, you don‘t remember, so it‘s all good. Humans really are twisted when you think about some of the logic used in these thoughts (edited) 3w
KathyWheeler @Riveted_Reader_Melissa I‘ve been reading Know My Name off and on for awhile now. I keep putting it down because I get so angry. 3w
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @KathyWheeler It‘s another good one, and I‘m glad I read it with a group so we could vent together. Otherwise yes, you have to keep putting it down again and again. 3w
26 likes1 stack add13 comments
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
Cleopatra: A Life | Stacy Schiff
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I really enjoyed this mini-series on Netflix which matched up very well with this book which I read with a group here on Litsy awhile ago. And just like the book..is getting very mixed reviews…and is apparently a scandal because they made Cleopatra (gasp) Black. 🙄

I really enjoyed both personally and would recommend.

TheBookHippie Oh good I am planning to watch this weekend !! 3w
TheBookgeekFrau Oh cool. My husband loves Cleopatra; psyched to watch this with him! Thanks for posting about it 😊 3w
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @TheBookHippie if I remember correctly, you were in that buddy read with me 😁 3w
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa @TheBookgeekFrau you‘re welcome, I hope you both enjoy it 3w
batsy I haven't read it but I had fun watching it! It was a very stylised drama with modern elements thrown in which was cool to see, and nothing to take too seriously. But I see that that a lot of people have no sense of humour or imagination. A cursory search of the show on twitter only shows me the most appalling racist tweets. 3w
45 likes6 comments
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Hello #SheSaid

Happy Mother‘s Day to all the mom‘s & surrogate mom‘s out there!

I‘m out with my mom today, so please start discussing whenever you get time today!

vlwelser I love this author's voice. I never thought I'd appreciate an essay about head lice that's really about poverty and racism but she pulls it off somehow. They're all good but that stuck out especially. 4w
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MallenNC @vlwelser That essay stood out to me too. She‘s a good writer for sure. I also appreciate getting introduced to another Canadian author. As an American I have not read much by author from our neighbors (until #SheSaid that is) 4w
vlwelser @MallenNC I love that so many of these Canadian authors I had never heard of ended up on the list. I grew up on the other side of the river from Ontario so I'm strangely familiar with a lot of the places some of them mention. 4w
Singout I‘m not reading along this time, because I‘ve read it before, but (I think) she does get into times in her life when she moves to the States in the interests of avoiding Canadian forms of oppression. If I remember correctly, she also gets into how arbitrarily Canada and the United States are divided with no recognition of traditional Indigenous nations and cultures. 3w
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @vlwelser I liked that one too and her voice is so good. I also really liked the Dark Matter compared to racism and how it‘s invisible but pulls at everything! Such a great analogy! 3w
Riveted_Reader_Melissa I also thought her food desert essay was one of the best I‘ve read pulling in many parts of that issue, then tied it into the health issues, and blame issues, and generational health issues. She seems to manage to cover so much ground, so well in each essay. (edited) 3w
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @MallenNC same here. Lots of Canadian authors that I never would have read otherwise. 3w
vlwelser Yes. The dark matter compared against racism was also brilliant. I might be reading these too early in the week. My brain struggles to think of anything brilliant to say by Sunday. 3w
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @vlwelser Yes! I read them early too because they are so good…. But yet, maybe that‘s a bad idea for both of us. 3w
29 likes11 comments
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Bailedbailed

Sadly… I‘ve tried this twice now, and I should be into it… but I‘m just not…. No idea why. Maybe I‘ll try again sometime in the future.

TiredLibrarian I loved this one, but I couldn't get into her second book at all. 1mo
KathyWheeler I loved this book but haven‘t read anything else by her. 1mo
Graywacke I thrashed it in a review years ago. ☺️😁 As a fellow introvert, i feel a little guilty about that, but i have some issues with the book. 1mo
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Graywacke I might have to go look that up… maybe it can put into words what I‘m having trouble vocalizing. But from her beginning example of Rosa Parks and her quietness winning the day…which admittedly was the story we all learned in grade school, but now know isn‘t exactly correct, there was much more to that story….to the Tony Robbins conference, which felt more about the manipulative selling practices… I‘m just not feeling there‘s a lot on⤵️ 1mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ actual introvert strengths and the benefits of introverted-ness yet. 🤷‍♀️ (edited) 1mo
batsy I didn't like it much, either. It had the weird gloss of a self-help book without much depth. 1mo
Graywacke @Riveted_Reader_Melissa here is a link to my 2015 review. ☺️ Litsy links don‘t like hashtags. So you will need to copy and paste, but my review is best here https://www.librarything.com/topic/197329#5334700 ( or go here and scroll to post 62: https://www.librarything.com/topic/197329 ) 1mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Graywacke that was a good review. Knowing it didn‘t get better, makes me feel even better about my bailing. 1mo
55 likes8 comments
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
Wilding | Isabella Tree
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Pickpick

I fully enjoyed this story of returning an old English estate farm back to its natural roots and as the project continued the unexpected surprises that emerged as one resurgence led to other species returns and rebounds. And interesting how much this is still a fight with both the community & government to let “good land go to waste” even now as we pay farms not to produce and watch species fall into extinction.

Riveted_Reader_Melissa Thank you for another great book find & read #NaturaLitsy 1mo
AllDebooks So pleased you enjoyed it x 1mo
52 likes2 comments
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
Wilding | Isabella Tree
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#LoveBird works for this book I‘m so many ways!

#Pantone2023 @Clwojick

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Hello #SheSaid! I hope you are having a nice weekend and Spring or Fall is treating you well.

Discussion starts below for our new book!

vlwelser This one seems like a pretty quick read. I like her voice. She seems a bit lost at times. But I like that she's honest about it. 1mo
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KathyWheeler @vlwelser I agree that she seems lost but I like how she handles feeling lost. This book is going to be a very quick read. I listened to last week‘s chapter and most of this week‘s today. 1mo
vlwelser @KathyWheeler I like this a lot. We may be reading it alone. 1mo
KathyWheeler @vlwelser it seems like we might, but I‘m glad I‘m reading it. 1mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @vlwelser & @KathyWheeler I‘m late! But you aren‘t alone. This first section was so good! So much thoughtful & thought provoking things in here. How had I never heard of this author or collection before. One part that is going to definitely stick with me…is even now we are using the articles of Discovery as an excuse to treat people badly and even now the Pope won‘t revoke them. The church turned towards the profit of men, is truly the⤵️ 1mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ most sick & twisted of sins. The Catholic Church has had to rethink and apologize for so much in recent years, how was this most obvious ill, not apologized for and revoked. (edited) 1mo
KathyWheeler @Riveted_Reader_Melissa As a person who was raised Catholic, this really bothers me a lot. 1mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @KathyWheeler It bothers me and I wasn‘t raised Catholic, just Christian….and how much this love thy neighbor, turn the other cheek, golden rule religion I grew up with was instrumental in providing rationals and “reasons” to ok both slavery and genocide over the centuries is just so disgusting. 1mo
vlwelser Where did you find all these indigenous Canadian memoirs? The other one we read recently was awesome also. And that other Canadian with the stalker. 1mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @vlwelser My guess… nominated by some of our group members who live in Canada. And I thank them for that. Another one I read with a different group that was also Indigenous from Canada, and I‘d recommend if you are interested…which also goes into continuing issues with the Canadian government and residential schools is 1mo
KathyWheeler @Riveted_Reader_Melissa That book looks interesting and both the audiobook and the ebook are available on Hoopla. I will be reading it. I‘ve loved all the Canadian reads because my parents are Canadian and I like learning more about where they are from. 1mo
vlwelser That looks incredibly interesting. I might actually read it. 1mo
MallenNC I was last getting this one because I didn‘t realize my library had a print copy. I am going to try to catch up from last week. 4w
31 likes16 comments
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
Great Circle | Maggie Shipstead
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And coming up in June…Great Circle, our first fiction of the year.

Plus an updated schedule going forward 😉

I have to admit I‘m really looking forward to the last one just added to that list, we started this group with a great Carol Anderson, and after this week… her newest book seems more timely than ever.

#SheSaid
#SheSaidSchedule

JamieArc I really liked Great Circle. I got so immersed in it that when I finished, I started to google the main character. I totally forgot it was fiction. 2mo
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MallenNC I got behind on this month‘s book but I‘m excited about this schedule. I forgot we had a fiction pick this summer! 2mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @MallenNC Sometimes a Fiction read is so nice to kick off the summer. 2mo
SamAnne I‘ve read this one. Will follow along with the discussion. 2mo
43 likes6 comments
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Hello #SheSaid

Schedule for our May read is up, please put in your library holds and interlibrary loans. The audiobook is available on Hoopla if your library partners with them, no ebook there though sadly.

32 likes2 comments
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Had to share this ending in the afterwards, in case you got an earlier version of the book without it.

#SheSaid

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/harry-potter-tv-show-book-series/story?id=985...

More from each book in a series instead of a movie, so that‘s a plus

Riveted_Reader_Melissa The first comment when I looked was…but will Dumbledore ask Harry about the Goblet of Fire calmly 😂 2mo
NovelGirl82 Lol! The question we all need the answer to! 2mo
34 likes3 comments
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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DrexEdit wow. no words. that's pretty darn drastic! 😵 2mo
RamsFan1963 When I read that, I thought about the movie Snowpiercer. They tried something similar to that and triggered a massive global ice age that destroyed civilization. 2mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @RamsFan1963 Right… the possibility of creating a bigger issue is huge. 2mo
34 likes3 comments
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Hello #SheSaid

How‘d you like the last sections of the book? It was a pick for me, and I‘m glad she didn‘t sugar coat it at the end.

Riveted_Reader_Melissa Anyone else left thinking about how bad breathing in thousands of microscopic diamond pieces would be… I‘d think that would shred the lungs and esophagus. Plus they‘d land on everything that every animal eats, etc… more shredding. And if we block the sun, won‘t we be killing off a ton of plants that need that sun, and then they will stop breathing in the Carbon Dioxide and giving us oxygen, etc, etc, etc 2mo
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa I was left thinking of a million more unintended consequences, and that she‘s right…at some point some pressured government is going to ok some half-baked plan and we‘ll all have to deal with the results. 2mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa Just think of all the issues those micro beads (made from plastic) in body washes caused… eventually… long after they were on the market….. but incredibly sharp, like cut glass fragments😬 better buy my goggles 🥽 now. 2mo
SamAnne I read this a couple years ago and have been following the posts. Yes, the techno fixes are scary as hell. 2mo
staci.reads @Riveted_Reader_Melissa Her reminder that "Scientists can only make recommendations; implementation is a political decision," was not comforting at all. We've seen way too many examples of politicians thinking they know better than scientists. 2mo
staci.reads I loved the part about Camp Century in Greenland and how the core samples they were pulling up were "an archive of the sky." 2mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @staci.reads Right! That one stuck with me too. Scary stuff…if anything Covid has shown us that leadership that listens to science and doesn‘t think if knows better can make a huge difference. Now I‘m thinking about injecting bleach, and Space Force. 😳 2mo
35 likes9 comments
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Pickpick

Even though for me it covers ground I‘ve seen in other books, it‘s a great book & highlights many of the issues & problems we still haven‘t managed to “fix”. In fact, I think the pandemic actually heightened some of the disparities even more. As white supremacy seems to be wedding itself to misogyny online (not that they weren‘t always) as anyone who reads online comments has surely noticed, I don‘t think this issue is going away anytime soon. ⤵️

Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ maybe more of… it isn‘t bothering to hide in the shadows anymore. 2mo
40 likes1 comment
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
The Secret Lives of Color | Kassia St Clair
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My #Pantone2023 challenge so far….

@Clwojick

Sharpeipup Love your tracking system. 2mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Sharpeipup I use a free app called Studio (well now it might be Go Daddy Studio 😂, they were recently bought). But it lets me put the original post with the colors as the background and I just layer the cover screenshots on top. (edited) 2mo
Clwojick Awesome! 2mo
44 likes3 comments
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Updating my challenges today:
* Music is History: Purple Rain - Purple Cover & Prince mention
* Resilience is Futile: Zombie - So much repressed to carry on living in the shadow of abuse
* Good as Hell: Cats on Catnip😸
* The Authority Gap: Imagine - Seriously, just imagine that equality world
* All That She Carried: Master of Puppets - so much control of other humans in this history
* Hell and other Destinations: I Will Survive - such a life
⤵️

Riveted_Reader_Melissa * Free Space: Mind of the Raven - because they can have whatever they want to take
* LadyParts: I‘m Just a Girl
* Wilding: Livin on a Prayer - and many species are
* Under a White Sky: Big Yellow Taxi - 🎶pave paradise and put up a parking lot🎵
2mo
36 likes1 comment
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Some #Oyster Mushroom… sounds like something the ravens would enjoy eating 😂

#Pantome2023 with @Clwojick

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Some #Oyster Mushroom… sounds like something the ravens would enjoy eating 😂

#Pantome2023 woth @Clwojick

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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A little bit of Iced Mango Under a White Sky…

#Pantone2023 with @Clwojick

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Hello #SheSaid! I hope you are having a great weekend!

Discussion starts below 😉

See All 16 Comments
TheKidUpstairs Anyone else slightly terrified by the idea that for a couple hundred bucks you can breed antibiotic resistant e-coli in your kitchen?!?! 2mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @TheKidUpstairs I was terrified way back at electrifying a river…so yea… way past terrified 😂 2mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @TheKidUpstairs Humans really are terrifying 🫤 when you think about all the crazy stuff we do. 2mo
staci.reads @TheKidUpstairs yep, more than slightly terrified 😨 2mo
staci.reads This book. I can't decide whether she's making the point for human intervention on nature or against it. Maybe that's the point...there is no clear- cut answer. Maybe her whole thesis is summarize in the quote that ends the section, "Sometimes doing nothing is better than doing something. Sometimes it is the other way around. " 2mo
staci.reads I will say, knowing there are people out there devoting their lives to preserving a few hundred tiny fish gives me a whole lot of hope for our future. 2mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @TheKidUpstairs it did make me wonder what the most expensive kit can do…. And why he would pick making a dangerous thing more danger then say… the turn flies yellow experiment. For me, it just brought home how much humans like to play god, now in take home kits that teach you to manipulate DNA at home to anyone who wants to learn (hey, they don‘t check you for good intentions first, no background checks, so even those with bad intentions…..⤵️ (edited) 2mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️have fun). I couldn‘t help but think this summed up our problems…everyone that thinks they have a good idea, just monetizes it and does it… without really thinking it through. Basically a micro version of this book. (edited) 2mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @TheKidUpstairs plus… my mom watches a lot of court tv cases, poisoning one‘s spouse comes up a lot, in ways that are often hard to trace…. And I couldn‘t help but think how long it will take until this type of thing is used and traced back to some kit bought on the internet. 🙄 2mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @staci.reads I loved the fish, I‘ve read her other book, so also loved the coral part because her trip to One Tree was in that book. I feel like her thesis is kind of like, we shouldn‘t have made this mess to begin with, but now that we interfered and made this mess, we are stuck trying to fix our mess. 🤷‍♀️. And hopefully not make it worse 😬 2mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @staci.reads side note, googled the fish, they are adorable, tiny, and blue. Other side note… Devil‘s Hole and the fact they‘ve never found the bottom or those that disappeared swimming there, was also a bit terrifying to me. I‘m surprised no one has put in a tiny submersible drone to check it out deeper like they did with the Titanic… if nothing else with this book, it‘s probably just give them time. Oh and the Manson connection…creepy. 2mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa I‘m also feeling like I need to reread her first book again. 🤷‍♀️ 2mo
TheKidUpstairs @staci.reads i really like the balanced tone she is taking with the subject. Not for or against, just here we are/ here's what we've done/ here's what people are doing. I find it's driving me to think more deeply about the possible pros and cons, the hope and the caution in equal measure. 2mo
38 likes16 comments
review
Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Pickpick

Finally back to Padmé and Sabé! Vader‘s conflicted feelings around Sabé, as she gets closer and closer to discovering his secrets are the best parts of this series.

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Pickpick

Vader is off to prove he WILL bring Order to the galaxy, his way! And Crimson Dawn and it‘s infiltrators into the Empire will be exposed and dealt with.

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Pickpick

Vader has been pushed back into line, and he‘s back on track to do his masters bidding (or is he?).

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Pickpick

Since I can‘t find Volume 1 in the database, I‘ll just review Vol I & II together. These start right after Darth Vader‘s big reveal to Luke at the end of The Empire Strikes Back & leads Vader to start asking some questions, like what happened to Padme & who hid Luke from him… which leads him through a series of events to discover what he doesn‘t want to remember or face. ⤵️

Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ He encounters Padmé‘s handmaidens and friends who would also like the answers to these question. And the more Vader pushes for answers, the more displeased his master becomes. 2mo
34 likes1 comment
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
Her Shifter Kingdom | Helen Scott
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Mehso-so

Not the best paranormal romance I‘ve ever read, but not bad for a free read from kindle unlimited. I did feel after the long process to get to book 5 and everything they went through that the ending wrapped up pretty quickly in the last few chapters… and hey, if the darn Norse gods hadn‘t been so cryptic and elusive earlier in the series, it wouldn‘t have been 5 books! So a steamy read, with lots of shifters, fights, & some Norse gods thrown in.

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Pickpick

It took me a long time to read this one, no fault of Albright‘s though. This book is split into often individual stories per chapter and was easy to read as a chapter here and there in between other things. Some stories seem dated now, 2016 election seems like eons ago, other seem more prescient, especially those about NATO, China, Russia. But as a whole the chapters where she discusses her personal life, personal victories, her drive and ⤵️

Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ things she needed to be talked into, and things she needed to talk others into, people she admired, and even the little side comments her grandchild made were the most touching for me. It‘s great to see the human side of our political figures and especially strong women with real lives too. 2mo
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Hello #SheSaid

Wow, quite the opening section! I read the Sixth Extinction and got so much out of it, I wasn‘t sure there would be more really “new” in this one. I was so very wrong. 😂😭🫠

See you in the comments!

Riveted_Reader_Melissa And for some reason it won‘t let me tag everyone. I‘ll try again in a bit 2mo
ncsufoxes I was just able to borrow this as an audio book through my library. I need to catch up. I‘ve bought the books from the last few months but haven‘t had the time to read them. Finally trying to get back on track. 2mo
MallenNC I have heard of The Sixth Extinction but haven‘t read it yet so this is my first time with this author. I like her writing style a lot. It‘s smart and even funny; I learned a lot already about how we humans have bent nature to our will. 2mo
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa Finally the tags worked! Phew 😮‍💨 2mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @ncsufoxes I feel like I‘ve been behind my usual this whole year…. Not sure what‘s in the air. 2mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @MallenNC the Sixth Extinction is very good too…disheartening, yes… but very smart and even funny…she does a great job making very complex environmental issues accessible and interesting. (edited) 2mo
TheKidUpstairs I'm loving it so far. Fascinating stuff, she does a great job of making the science accessible, and balancing caution and hope for the future possibilities. 2mo
Bookwormjillk I went into this book with no idea what it was about, and I am really enjoying it so far. 2mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Bookwormjillk @MallenNC @TheKidUpstairs I‘m so glad you are enjoying her writing style..and that Litsy finally let the tags work so late in the day 😂 2mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa The Sixth Extinction is great for anyone that hasn‘t read it… it‘s more about climate change, and she follows a similar pattern of talking to people working on different projects and how they see the issue, usually in very sharp focus in their jobs & studies… the set up is very similar with each part/chapter talking to a usually very smart group focused on one specific area, but the whole of the book adds up to more than the sum of each chapter. (edited) 2mo
SamAnne I've read this one and look forward to following along! 2mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa I‘m really liking this one so far, I was afraid it would tread over the same material as the other…how many great groups of individuals involved in fascinating projects can one person follow and visit with & gain great insights?…thankfully lots apparently. And I‘m particularly liking the twist in this one..humans trying to fix issues made by humans when they were trying to fix other issues 😂 as much as we play god, we never quite manage to ⤵️ 2mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ understand or think up every unexpected consequence of our interventions. As much as we try, evolution and basic physics took eons to develop this earth system and it isn‘t nearly as easy to change it around to make things easier for humans as we think it is. We are at the point of electrifying rivers now, what could possibly go wrong 🤷‍♀️ 2mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa Interesting synchronicity in my reading this month…our pick is about humans big plans to fix things…the pick I‘m reading with #Naturalitsy is about allowing an area to go wild again, back to its own design if anyone is interested in joining there too. (edited) 2mo
Singout This is really compelling: the frequent story of introducing something just to have it go haywire. I‘m really enjoying how clearly the science is explained. The contrast between the approach to carp in North America and Asia is also really interesting. Remembering my dad taking me and some urban kids to a weir near his small town, and saying that carp were newly valued there as “fighting fish” but not traditionally as fish to be eaten. 2mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Singout I agree, she writes very well and is able to weave the science and the stories with the people in the field into a compelling whole. 2mo
staci.reads @Riveted_Reader_Melissa I am definitely adding The Sixth Extinction to my tbr list after reading the first section of this. I'm really liking it so far! 2mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @staci.reads You‘ll like it…. It is about a sad subject, like this one, but her style is the same. I loved the way she approached it when I read that one, talking to people working in the field and going with them to their projects. It was a great journey all over the world and also so informative. 2mo
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Pickpick

I found myself enjoying his experiments with these birds, as well as some of the close relationships he & others developed over time while working with them. We know each of our pets have such different personalities, it was fascinating to see that come out with wild animals as well when you worked with them over time. I also liked the history part of how they operate in the wild, & how that played into human history & into our myths & legends.

Riveted_Reader_Melissa Thank you #NaturaLitsy for putting this one on my reading radar. @AllDebooks 2mo
TheBookHippie I really liked this book. 2mo
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
Cats on Catnip | Andrew Marttila
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Pickpick

A little photography book found & read in my vet‘s waiting room 😂🤪 cats making crazy faces as they roll in and enjoy a little (or huge) nip of nip.

CarolynM 😻 2mo
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Pickpick

This was not what I expected, but I still enjoyed the journey. I definitely wanted more on the family that had this sack and what became of their descendants, from the one who put the words onto the sack, going forward, and as far back as is traceable with limited records…what I got was more of a history of the sack itself and the things it contained, why they were important, why they had meaning at that time, ⤵️

Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ the history of textiles and pecans for example. So good history, just not the history I expected or was looking for. And tangentially, I found myself very disappointed that the sack ended up being a possession of a plantation yet again in the end, and it‘s story enriching the plantation owners as people come to see it. I found myself wishing it had ended its journey owned by the descendants of the enslaved, and enriching their descendants 2mo
vlwelser Did you just finish? Wasn't this like 10 books ago? 2mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @vlwelser no 😂 I‘m just really behind in writing reviews and trying to play catch up… I think I have 6 more to write yet. Oops 😬 (edited) 2mo
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vlwelser I sometimes just rate them and move on without posting if they aren't part of some challenge or group read or whatever. Obviously does not apply here. 2mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @vlwelser I try to always write reviews… this one I wanted to wait a bit and sit with it before I wrote it….and then my nephew moved out of my house this month and I got so wrapped up in that..then my mom wanted to move her bedroom back upstairs (we had moved it down before her back surgery last year)… so I read or listened to audiobooks, but didn‘t review anything…once I had time to sit still I was either zoning watching tv or falling asleep. 😂 (edited) 2mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @vlwelser Now I have to play catch-up 😂 2mo
vlwelser I sometimes zone out on the train. I have been playing far too much sudoku lately. It's mindless. I mean I play the extreme level but still mindless. 2mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @vlwelser I understand… it keeps our brains active and stimulated in other ways, but still doesn‘t take the concentration a book sometimes does. I found myself playing the bejeweled/candy crush matching type games again this past month too, sometimes I think mindless is good for your brain too… non-thinking mediation for it 😂 but yet exercising a different part. I love Suduko too, although I haven‘t played it in a while. I should dig out ⤵️ 2mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ my book for that again. 2mo
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Up next for us #SheSaid!

Put in your library holds and interlibrary loans!

vlwelser I already read this. But keep me on your list please. 2mo
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TheKidUpstairs Just grabbed my library hold today! 2mo
psalva I‘ve been really struggling to keep up with readalongs in general so may I kindly ask you remove me from the list for now? 2mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @psalva Yes, you may! I hope it takes any pressure off of you and you read something fun. If you ever want added back, just let me know! 2mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @TheKidUpstairs I‘ve had this audiobook for awhile, so it will be one off my huge TBR list! 2mo
charl08 Can I be added to the list? Sounds good. 2mo
AnneCecilie I already have this out from the library 2mo
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Hello!!! Spring is in the air here! Finally 😮‍💨

How are you all doing this week? What did you think of the book and it‘s wrap-up?

I have some thoughts, and I‘ll add them to the comments. See you there!

#SheSaid

Riveted_Reader_Melissa Despite the fact that I know there are no easy answers to this issue…. I was kinda still hoping for something new in the conclusion 🤣. Something special… and I know there is no magic pill here. Guess I‘m still hopefully gullible. 🫠. Anyway, even though parts were repetitive for me/us (because of our previous reads)…I still think she put it all together well and did much better than some others with intersectionality and including other pov‘s⤵️ 2mo
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ of unbalance. And did very well with stating what she didn‘t and couldn‘t fully know because of her own ingrained privileges…I really appreciated that personally…she mentioned Disability, which so often gets skipped over in these discussions 🤷‍♀️ 2mo
KathyWheeler I liked that she mentioned where she was coming from in terms of privilege and that she talked to trans people to get their perspectives as well. I felt the wrap up didn‘t really provide anything concrete though, and I was hoping for that. Overall, I liked it even though I‘ve already read similar books. She added enough that was different to keep me reading. (edited) 2mo
vlwelser I thought it was well written and well organized but I wasn't exactly blown away by new revelations. It did make me stop and think for a sec before making a joke about Biden's appearance. And then I did it anyway. Because I'm a bit of an ass. 2mo
staci.reads @Riveted_Reader_Melissa I agree, she handled the chapter on intersectionality well. I believe if it were an early work that I had read on the subject of sexism and the effects of patriarchy, it would have been a powerful read. I was still greatly angered by her chapter on violence toward women in power or with a voice even though that also is not new information for me...it doesn't get less infuriating. 2mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @staci.reads I agree, with all of that! 2mo
SamAnne Agree with all these comments. It is a book I would recommend to younger people beginning their working lives. But I did feel like I lived a lot of this. Despite my jaded outlook, I still couldn‘t help but want some new insights. 2mo
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Hello #SheSaid!!! How‘s everyone doing this weekend?

I‘m finally caught up on my end with this book, so yay for me 😂.

How‘s everyone else doing this week?

CBee @Riveted_Reader_Melissa you can remove me for now, I haven‘t been keeping up 🤷‍♀️ 3mo
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa @CBee Will do, I was behind myself a bit this month. Have fun with whatever you are reading…and if you ever want added back, just let me know. 3mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa I can see why everyone was having a bit of déjà vu with this one, I think that means we‘ve read a lot about this issues and that a bunch of the revelations we‘ve read elsewhere. Go us! But if we had read this one first we would have loved it too, it‘s not a fault of the book we read others first. She does reference Kate Manne‘s Down Girl a bunch, which makes me want to reread it… (edited) 3mo
SamAnne I need to catch up. Hopefully Monday. The first section of the book feels like nothing new…(yeah, tell me about it). And there are some interesting stats. Interested in getting to any potential advice/solutions she offers up. 3mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa …. and pick up her follow up Entitled that has been starring at me from my shelves for awhile now. (edited) 3mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @SamAnne Yes! I want more of the “what we can do about it” part. 3mo
MallenNC I also got caught up today. I am appreciating the anecdotes from women in these fields. My feelings are those of the actor from Little Women — are we still having this fight in 2023? It‘s frustrating how slow progress has been and how much we seem to backslide. 3mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @MallenNC Yes! It seems we will always be having these same fights…1 step forward, 2 back… I wish I knew what she had to say about the recent back turn in other “rights”. 3mo
CBee @Riveted_Reader_Melissa I sure will! 😊 3mo
vlwelser I liked her chapter about women in politics. How they are treated differently but also how successful they prove to be. Probably mostly because they are held to a different standard but also because they just have a different perspective. 3mo
KathyWheeler @vlwelser I liked that chapter as well. I also found the bit where she talked to some trans women about the difference in how they were treated before and after their transitions to be interesting. 3mo
staci.reads I found the sections on the affinity bias and the queen bee syndrome interesting. This statistic floored me..."Once a company had appointed a woman to a top tier job, the chances of a second woman getting to the same level dropped by fifty percent." 3mo
staci.reads I really appreciated chapter 10 including information on religion and churches and that internal leadership bias. I haven't seen that included in the discussion of power often. 3mo
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Hello #SheSaid. How are you doing this week? The month‘s flying by here.

How are you doing with this book so far? Thoughts?

See you in the comments

vlwelser I may have read this too early in the week. I do love this book. Being able to pinpoint something from the reading this week is a struggle however. 3mo
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Bookwormjillk Like the first few chapters a lot of this seemed familiar to me. I‘m hoping we start to hear some solutions soon. 3mo
MallenNC I keep thinking about chapter 5. That confidence isn‘t the same as competence, and all these internationally known, powerful women who say they feel imposter syndrome. It‘s hard to accept that women are still fighting that in 2023, because of how men and women are socialized. No wonder Janet Yellen over prepares. 3mo
KathyWheeler I loved the mayor‘s scarf indicating who talked the most on a council that had a relatively equal number of men and women. 3mo
staci.reads I think the book is improving as it progresses although there is still a lot of retread. I liked Chapter 4, It's Not a Zero-Sum Game and the evidence to show everyone benefits from gender equality. 3mo
staci.reads @MallenNC I also really liked the discussion of competence versus confidence. I have seen stats before about the difference between men and women and their self perception. But it still surprises me how much of a discrepancy there is. 3mo
staci.reads Also, I love the term conversational manspreading! 😂 3mo
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Hello #SheSaid!

I‘m behind in my reading, so start discussing without me! I‘ll see you in the comments as soon as I finish up.

Bookwormjillk A lot of the intro repeats things I‘ve read before, but I thought the insights into women vs men and the handling of covid were really interesting 3mo
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vlwelser I think this is well written but I feel like we're getting a lot of the same stories. I still like it but I want something new. Comparing the gender of world leaders to their Covid outcomes was kind of eye opening. 3mo
Julsmarshall My hold just came through, hope to start this this week! 3mo
KathyWheeler I agree about hearing the same things. I‘m liking the book because it is well-written— I read all of this section in one day — but it is repetitive. I‘d also heard the COVID comparison before. Maybe from Amanda Palmer, who ended up living in New Zealand for awhile because that‘s where she was when everything shut down. She may have made some observations that wondered about that. 3mo
staci.reads I would agree that so far, there has been a lot of rehashing of points other authors have made. I also feel the balance between anecdotal and data/research leans too far toward anecdotal. Like the others, I did find the parts about the handling of covid interesting. I also found the parts about interrupting interesting. 3mo
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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The schedule for #SheSaid. Sorry for the very late posting.

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Up next for March #SheSaid.

Put in your library holds and interlibrary loans.

See All 12 Comments
Bookwormjillk Yay! My library has this one! 3mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa The audiobook is on Hoopla 3mo
TheKidUpstairs I just grabbed the audio from hoopla. Not usually an audio reader, but I'm going to try! Listened to the intro and I like her voice, so hopefully that helps 🤣 3mo
KathyWheeler My library has this as an ebook and an audiobook. I think I might get both and switch it up. 3mo
vlwelser Is there a schedule or are we skipping Sunday? 3mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @vlwelser It‘s up now, I just posted it. Thank you for the nudge and I‘m sorry it‘s so late. 3mo
vlwelser It's fine. You know I like to plan. 3mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @vlwelser You do, so do I… just had some unexpected interruptions this week and got behind. Thank you for reminding me. 3mo
vlwelser I have a spreadsheet going with my reading listed out. It's obnoxious. 3mo
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Hello #SheSaid!

Wrapping this one up this weekend. It may not have been what I was expecting, but I did still learn a lot. So still a pick for me. How about you? Final thoughts? Likes and Gripes?

vlwelser It was a bit dry and somewhat drawn out. My favorite part was definitely the chapter on clothing and identity and how it was used to manipulate people. 3mo
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AnneCecilie I‘m amazed by the meaning of all the items in the sack and the sack itself. How items that to me seemed randomly chosen, probably was chosen with a lot of care and with several uses in mind. 3mo
staci.reads I appreciated the author coming back around at the end to talk more about Ruth and her role as historian for the family through her act of embroidering the sack. It was interesting to hear Ruth and her daughter placed in context of their own time in order to get a feel for the relative "recentness" of Ashley's story and slavery in general. It's easy to forget how few generations have passed since legalized slavery existed. 3mo
staci.reads I said in my review that I appreciate the need to build the history and tell the stories of enslaved Americans and the challenges of doing so when slavery denied the usual paths to documenting history. Parts of this book, though, felt stretched, and didn't feel like they added to the story of Rose, Ashley, and Ruth. I believe it would have been more effective in a condensed form. 3mo
MallenNC I read this last year so I didn‘t comment much on those discussions because I couldn‘t remember what was in a particular section. I thought this was a great work of scholarship and that unfortunately the author had to draw threads together without a lot of historic records. As a narrative it was not the style I enjoy, but still an important work. 3mo
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Clwojick Perfect match! 4mo
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For #SheSaid. Middleton Place is mentioned in this article for anyone interested.

https://amp.theguardian.com/news/2019/aug/15/slavery-400-plantations-south-histo...

vlwelser The more I read about these awful things that happened the less inclined I am to visit those places. Especially after I read this for my IRL book club. 4mo
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Karisa @vlwelser I hear you. I‘m taking a group of 8th graders to DC and always feel that way at Mt. Vernon. The slaves‘ quarters and unmarked graves (now indicated by student groups) are there. It needs to be acknowledged not glossed over 4mo
vlwelser @Karisa I went there once as a child and it makes me wonder if I'd see it totally differently now. I do still want to see Monticello despite the fact that my opinion of Jefferson (never good) has declined. 4mo
Karisa @vlwelser Yeah, there‘s a large slave quarters area just steps from the front door of the Washington “mansion”. It makes it very apparent what an integrated part of their life enslaved people were. It‘s obvious W. knew it was wrong too—he freed the people he‘d enslaved at his death (but not the people enslaved by Martha I think). 4mo
Tamra I‘ve heard the whole of the story is not told. 😒 Shame. Shame. 4mo
Singout I‘m pretty sure we saw that at Monticello when I was 14. I‘m also quite sure it was named honestly, at least, although that was a very long time ago and probably it has changed. 4mo
bnp There are starting to be placed that tell the stories of slaves on a plantation. Here are some recent articles. 4mo
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Hello #SheSaid! How are you this weekend? How‘s the book going for you?

So far, still not exactly what I expected… but still a lot of great that time and place history research and information…even if it‘s less about the sack itself than I thought it would be.

How are you doing with this book, this week or overall?

vlwelser Chapter 4 was amazing. It puts a lot of things in perspective. 4mo
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Singout I‘ve only gotten as far as the end of chapter 4: I have a keen interest in fabric and sewing, so I found all the history of power structures behind where fabric comes from and how it is used interesting. The stories at the end of that chapter, about the various abuses of enslaved women, were particularly hard listening. 4mo
Karisa I haven‘t had a chance to read the book but have seen the sack in the Smithsonian. I hadn‘t heard of it before that, but it stopped me in my tracks. It‘s simplicity and purity are so powerful. 4mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Singout I found myself thinking of something Margaret Atwood said once when asked about all the things in the Handmaid‘s Tale and how she dreamed them up, and she said she didn‘t… they‘d all happened in history at some point or another. The older I get and more I learn, the more I really understand that. Some were only good as wives, “aunts”/ mammy, breeders, fancy‘s/jezebels. Just make the wives white and the rest black and ⤵️ (edited) 4mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ And it‘s very close… only difference really is instead of a procreation problem, they were breeding more slaves to sell & trade. 4mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa I also thought of Concentration Camps…Clothes of certain fabrics, material, or colors..this book mentioned like prisoners.. I thought of a different group prisonered for their free work force 4mo
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Hello #SheSaid

How infuriated are you feeling this weekend…I was still mad that her sack ended up back at the plantation helping to earn money through tourists to still support the plantation owners family… but now it‘s at the Smithsonian (on loan from the plantation‘s estate…making them money I‘m sure & bearing their name) and it isn‘t even that plantation! It‘s enriching another plantation owner…just like the people were sold & traded! 🤬

Riveted_Reader_Melissa I know that‘s just the tip of the iceberg, and in the scope of this book… minor… but for me so emblematic of the small minority (white plantation owners) still making money off the labor & creativity of others. Can you imagine if Nazi‘s could open museums for tourists to view the artifacts left from the holocaust. If they could track down which plantation owned them, couldn‘t they track down the makers descendants instead? (edited) 4mo
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Riveted_Reader_Melissa And again, such a minor thing when you look at the scope of money they made over centuries by enslaving “free labor”… and yet we hear about how long ago it was, yadda, yadda… but it‘s still happening 😫 4mo
MallenNC That‘s a good point about the plantation still getting “credit” for the sack. That it‘s in the Smithsonian now is a small consolation since it‘s helping to tell a story that often isn‘t. 4mo
vlwelser I didn't look at it that way. Thank you for calling my attention to this part. That really is infuriating. I may have read this too quickly, more intent on the task of getting through these chapters rather than focusing on the content. 4mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @vlwelser @MallenNC It‘s such a small part of the narrative… but as the news is talking about black families getting back, say land they was theirs and stolen, returning it to their generational wealth….the sack going back to the slave‘s owner, and profiting them now bothered me in the first section. And now in this part she didn‘t even “belong” to them, but to someone else….but yet they have ownership of this historical family keepsake and are/ (edited) 4mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa …were profiting from its existence. The money of tourist to see, be brought to tears by it…benefiting the unkeep of the plantation. It‘s on loan to the Smithsonian, but still their property. And here, it‘s not even the plantation she was sold from, but yet it‘s existence is financially benefitting them. I‘m glad it‘s being preserved and seen and it‘s story being told, but I can‘t help thinking this is a uniquely American thing. ⤵️ 4mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ it‘s weird because when there was a bit of a backlash against people renting plantations for weddings, etc I didn‘t think about it too much, it‘s a pretty building that we still romanticize for some reason.. but oh well, it‘s their building. But this, is not their sack, or their history, how does America not have an African American heritage project that artifacts are returned to their AA descendants and proceeds funneled to benefit them. 4mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ They went through the whole process of how hard it was to trace who originally owned the family, separated them, and sold them…because records are so bad. But no one thought to trace their current descendants when they have the full name of the stitcher, and know she was free when she stitched it…so definitely some records exist there. Census , Tax records, etc ? (edited) 4mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa There was a story I saw the other day of a man who is using facial recognition software on all the unnamed pictures left after the Holocaust at those memorials to reunite them with their family and descendants…but we still don‘t have a national database of all those sale records and property stacks sitting in attics and estates to slowly deteriorate 🤯or any effort to connect them and trace them. (edited) 4mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa Ok..sorry for venting. As much as we say it was so long ago, so far away, reparations (why, they say)…we really aren‘t making any effort at all as a society. This just highlighted to me how much we still want it to just disappear under the rug… or in a dusty attic, unless it benefits us (the white establishment that is). 4mo
vlwelser I think we're still embarrassed about this thing that happened that was clearly wrong. The way it is treated in other countries, like the UK, is vastly different from how we act about it. 4mo
vlwelser Also, that plantation paid the person that found it so I guess they probably feel like it's theirs. 🤷 4mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @vlwelser yep, the person that found it tracked down a plantation with the sane family last name and sold it to them…turns out, wasn‘t their family‘s last name anyway. But still, why not track down the descendants by that name 🤷‍♀️ 4mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @vlwelser wouldn‘t it be nice to hear that after searching their records and finding no Rose/Ashley in their records…instead of just changing that 1 line in the description…maybe instead attempted to find the living heirs of Ruth. 🤷‍♀️. Then jointly did something with it. 4mo
staci.reads @Riveted_Reader_Melissa that's one of the things I'm hoping is still to come in the book...information about Ruth and her descendants. 4mo
staci.reads I liked the quote "historical visibility is everywhere related to social power." It so succinctly summarizes such a big concept. 4mo
staci.reads I also appreciated her bringing in stories of other enslaved women such as Harriet Jacobs and Cecelia. Their stories, while not directly related add such a powerful layer to the book 4mo
Singout I found the elements of these chapters about the symbolism of what went in the sack really interesting. Yes, of course, there‘s lots of speculation there, but I also think that there is an inherent value in the creativity of the speculation when it‘s tied into culture and spirituality. 4mo
Singout I am also hoping to learn more about Ruth! Something I do as a volunteer is transcribing, or classifying, historical and scientific documents: I‘ve worked on several projects that are about transcribing histories of enslaved people in the US or Barbados, as well as people sent to Nazi concentration camps. It‘s one small way of reconnecting people with their ancestors, as well as preserving history and voices for broader use. 4mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Singout That sounds very interesting, how did you get connected with a volunteer project that did work with that. 4mo
Singout @Riveted_Reader_Melissa a long time ago, I stumbled across a post on Twitter, directing me to the British library, which was matching maps from pre-1900 books to current geography. Then I started finding history projects posted in a group called Zooniverse that links to all kinds of citizen, science and history projects, and by the Smithsonian. Maybe the American library of Congress as well. No Canadian ones though. 4mo
Singout … basically they‘re set up by experts, in such a way that ordinary people can either transcribe handwritten or typed documents or find info and enter it in a multiple-choice or fill in the blanks kind of way. Each document is done several times to allow for errors, and there are chat and question functions. 4mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Singout That is fascinating. I‘ll need to keep my eyes open for volunteer opportunities like that. 4mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Singout I‘m going to check out that website too 4mo
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blurb
Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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#SheSaid Carol Anderson has a new book out, for months now and I didn‘t realize it, she wrote one of our first reads about voting rights. Anyone interested in adding this to our reading list? She writes such good and well researched books.

Riveted_Reader_Melissa For some reason Litsy won‘t let me tag the group right now, but I‘ll try again later . 4mo
See All 8 Comments
Riveted_Reader_Melissa Yay! It worked today 😂 4mo
vlwelser 😂 I must have hit like on this the other day. Feeling like a robot atm. Yes. Let's do it. 4mo
KathyWheeler This looks good. I say, add it. 4mo
Karisa It looks very interesting! 4mo
ncsufoxes It looks interesting! 4mo
47 likes8 comments
review
Riveted_Reader_Melissa
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Pickpick

A tough read, but a definite pick. This book deals with stalking, the coping mechanisms used to get by, convince ourselves it‘s not really a big deal, the lack of useful services or help to deal with the issue, and the trauma and lingering issues long after the persistent looking over one‘s shoulder is finally over. Just like the #MeToo movement this is a topic that needs a bigger spotlight, because only by seeing how widespread it really is,⤵️

Riveted_Reader_Melissa ↪️ can we see the pattern of coping mechanisms for what they are, survival techniques, and maybe start to really deal with this issue as a society. #SheSaid (edited) 4mo
KathyWheeler I‘m glad I read this for #SheSaid, but it was definitely difficult to read about her experiences. 4mo
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @KathyWheeler I agree, thank goodness for book club to talk with about the tougher issues…and vent frustration to about the system…and most importantly encouragement to keep reading. I honestly probably wouldn‘t read some of these books alone, and this one wasn‘t even on my radar before someone nominated it. 4mo
vlwelser 🤗😘 4mo
49 likes1 stack add4 comments
blurb
Riveted_Reader_Melissa
Queen's Hope | E. K. Johnston
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Clwojick Perfect! Way to go! 4mo
36 likes1 comment
review
Riveted_Reader_Melissa
Queen's Hope | E. K. Johnston
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Pickpick

Good, not my favorite, but still good. I love Sabé, I could use a spin-off series all based on her adventures and journey. And Padmé‘s trip on a Wookie ship was quite enjoyable. But for Padmé herself, I think it gets harder to read as we get closer to the eventual end of her storyline…like a horror movie where you want to yell at them to get out now, but they won‘t listen….you should feel happy for her, but instead you feel sad dread.

45 likes1 comment