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ravenlee

ravenlee

Joined March 2018

Homeschool mom trying desperately to read grown-up stuff (at least occasionally)
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ravenlee
Math Without Numbers | Milo Beckman
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Starting this while kiddo has her violin lesson. This is Mr. Weasley, who tolerates my presence in his home once a week.

dabbe 🖤🐾🖤 3h
Ruthiella 😻😻😻 2h
20 likes2 comments
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ravenlee
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Gardening metaphor? Carpentry? Yes, these both work. I can get behind this imagery for treating cancer. They‘re both much better than the kitchen metaphor.

BUT, these are about treatment. Earlier she discussed RESEARCH, and I stand by the “front lines” idea for that. Treatment and research are different aspects and deserve different approaches.

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ravenlee
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So Lesser lost her younger sister to cancer, but she still has some…views…on cancer that don‘t make sense to me. Apparently it was the sister‘s fault?

BarkingMadRead I have uterine cancer and I can‘t tell you how many times I‘ve seen posts saying that you get it from being overweight 🙄 I can‘t ever imagine blaming anyone for getting cancer! 2d
ravenlee @BarkingMadRead that‘s insane! I‘m sorry you‘re having to deal with all of that. People can be the worst. I‘m just horrified by this author even hinting that her sister brought it on herself by not standing up for herself enough. 😤 2d
Ruthiella I don‘t understand that concept either. Children get cancer. Animals get cancer. What attitude could they have that caused it!?!?! 🙁 2d
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kspenmoll Insanely ridiculous! 2d
nanuska_153 And that she says it about her sister is even worse. People have the craziest less empathetic comments about strangers situations, and you wonder how would they feel when they see it happening to someone in their inner circle. Apparently this person wouldn't find empathy even in that case 2d
Clare-Dragonfly Uh. WTF. 2d
31 likes6 comments
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ravenlee
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The kitchen of cancer research? I guess I‘m just not seeing how this is better than “front lines.”

Maybe it‘s my perspective. I‘m a military brat. My paternal grandparents, father, at least three uncles, cousin, brother, and sister-in-law all served. I served. My husband still serves. To me, military service is a legacy, and while it has areas of concern, it‘s not shameful. Maybe that‘s why I‘m not getting Lesser‘s point here.

Ruthiella I think it‘s less the military metaphor and than the black/white juxtaposition of winning vs losing. Some people feel like when they hear “she lost her battle with cancer”, it implies if she‘d only tried a little harder or strategized better, she might have “won” and survived. 2d
DHill IMO this passage reads like it‘s written by someone who‘s never had cancer. It is a battle, and as someone who‘s had cancer, I‘m reassured by the thought that doctors are on the “front lines” of research. 2d
shortsarahrose I don‘t think she‘s necessarily saying “kitchen” is better than front lines. Without other context and just speaking personally, kitchen speaks to care (for me that‘s my grandma making pie or my dad cooking for our family), where front lines speaks to war and destruction. What would cancer research look like if it was centered on an ethic of care (for patients and their families) rather than just destruction of disease? (1/2) 2d
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shortsarahrose Thinking of my uncle who passed from stage 4 colon cancer and the kindness his doctor showed him when he decided to stop treatment, in particular. (2/2) (edited) 2d
ravenlee @Ruthiella she‘s arguing against the usage of military/violent language in general, and this is the example she chooses. It just doesn‘t work for me in this sense. Also, later on she does discuss her sister dying or cancer in just those terms, like she could have done better. 🤷🏻‍♀️ 2d
ravenlee @dhill agreed. I haven‘t gone through it myself, but my mom has been through multiple bouts/kinds and it feels very much like battle. There‘s a very combative element to a lot of it, and the researchers are absolutely in a fight to save lives. 2d
ravenlee @shortsarahrose there‘s definitely an element of care needed, and a focus on quality of life for patients rather than just bare survival, but I want researchers looking for cures, not just palliative care. I really just feel that, in Lesser‘s argument against using military/violent metaphors in general, this was not a convincing example. 2d
shortsarahrose Yeah, I don‘t think it was the best example (again, not having any additional context). If she had use the idea of a “moonshot” as an alternative metaphor (as has been used elsewhere to describe the attempt to cure cancer), it would‘ve made her point better. A moonshot being a coordinated effort at reaching a lofty, seemingly impossible goal. Or maybe summiting Everest? 2d
23 likes8 comments
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ravenlee
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Today‘s #bookmail courtesy of Haymarket Books: two of the last Solnit books I didn‘t already have (and part of her “Haymarket rainbow”), plus this book on AI that looks very interesting but wasn‘t released as an ebook (ironic, I think).

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ravenlee
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Starting this one while #DannyBoy whaps me with his tail.

Leftcoastzen 😄😻 6d
40 likes1 stack add1 comment
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ravenlee
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For the next two days (I think, it may just be today and tomorrow), Barnes & Noble members can use PREORDER25 to get 25% off preorders. It‘s not valid on signed copies, though. But Rebecca Solnit, Joyce Vance, Ali Hazelwood (one just announced today as well as the companion to Bride), Frederik Backman, and so many others have new books coming out. I may have indulged a little…a lot…

ravenlee Oh! And premium members also get the 10% member discount on print books. But the 25% is good on ebook and audiobook preorders, too. 6d
TheBookHippie Oooooo 6d
Bookwormjillk Nice- I‘ve been eyeing the new Stephen King 6d
35 likes3 comments
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ravenlee
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Who, but the French, would look at snails oozing across a rain-dampened path and think, “I‘ll bet if I sautéed those in garlic butter, they‘d be delicious”?

Ruthiella I‘ve had them. The garlicky butter is delicious. The snails not so much….🐌🤢 1w
RamsFan1963 I tried escargot once, against my better judgement, and it was okay. I didn't object to the taste so much as the texture. 1w
bookishbitch The butter is what saves the dish for sure. 1w
24 likes3 comments
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ravenlee
Untitled | Unknown
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#DannyBoy missed me while I was working today. And now he must wash my face because he‘s a much better and cleaner cat than I am.

Ruthiella 😻😻😻 1w
TheSpineView Awww... 1w
LeahBergen 😆😆 Good boy! 1w
Leftcoastzen 😄😻👏 1w
dabbe 🖤🐾🖤 1w
34 likes5 comments
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ravenlee
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“Just to be entirely clear on this point: The Sound of Music fans were so rowdy, they were bothering Austrian drunks chugging one-liter mugs of beer.”

I don‘t know why, but this is cracking me up, and I could use a good laugh.

Bette 🤣 Thanks, I could use a laugh too! 2w
julieclair Love Rick Steves and Cameron Hewitt! Stacked! 2w
ravenlee @julieclair so far it‘s a really good read! 2w
31 likes2 stack adds3 comments
review
ravenlee
Panpan

Meh, I wanted this to be better. Mack has a few decent observations from growing up in Hitler‘s Germany, but it‘s all very slapdash. It feels too casual and anecdotal and I wanted so badly for there to be some depth of understanding. I think he had good intentions, seeing where we were heading, but it didn‘t come together well enough. And after reading Ruth Ben-Ghiat‘s Strongmen, this just doesn‘t get it done.

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ravenlee
Flirting Lessons | Jasmine Guillory
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My recent #bookmail has a visual theme, even if one is very, very different from the others! Thanks to The Ripped Bodice for the signed Jasmine Guillory books, and to Haymarket Books for a club that exposes me to books I would probably never otherwise encounter.

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ravenlee
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Pickpick

Despite #DannyBoy‘s best efforts, and the weight of the real-world insanity, I finally finished this amazing book. Highly recommend for anyone wanting to understand what is happening and how we got here, although be cautioned that Russell Vought and Co seem to be using this as a how-to guide.

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ravenlee
Untitled | Unknown
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#DannyBoy has opinions about me reading, even when he chooses not to be on my lap. Apparently I‘m not getting this book back anytime soon.
#catsofLitsy

TheBookHippie 😂😬 1mo
Ruthiella An excellent pillow! 😹😻 1mo
ImperfectCJ He takes curling up with a good book literally. 1mo
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dabbe 🤣🖤🐾🖤🤣 1mo
ravenlee @TheBookHippie @Ruthiella @ImperfectCJ @dabbe y‘all, he slept on it for an hour! Shifting, but never letting it go. I finally gave up and stood up, and then he stretched, gave me a LOOK, and went on his merry way. I still haven‘t opened that book today. 🤷🏻‍♀️ 1mo
TheBookHippie @ravenlee 😂😂😂😂😂😂 goals. 1mo
42 likes7 comments
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ravenlee
Pickpick

Another low pick, this continues Gigi and Pike‘s story. One plot thread gets resolved annoyingly quickly, and I kept expecting more from it, but it gets abandoned for the more dangerous one. This felt even less plausible than the first, and I feel like I‘d need to read some of the first-gen Gallo stories to understand the full dynamic here. Still, it‘s a pleasant-enough read when I‘m preoccupied with the state of the world.

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ravenlee
Pickpick

Low pick. MMC is a biker with a past, FMC is a good girl from a close-knit family. They‘re both tattoo artists, but when Pike walks into his first day at Inked he‘s surprised to find his spring-break fling is the boss‘s daughter AND his new colleague. Danger appears from Pike‘s past, and he and Gigi turn to his MC for protection.

Turns out Bliss has a massive set of connected series and I‘ve fallen right into the middle. Ends on a cliffhanger.

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ravenlee
Finding Mr. Write | Kelley Armstrong
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Pickpick

KA‘s first rom-com, and it‘s great! Daphne‘s a rugged outdoorswoman trying to get her novel published, and Chris becomes the face of her pseudonym. What could go wrong? I loved it.

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ravenlee
Untitled | Unknown
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I‘ve only gotten into audiobooks in the last two years or so, but the past few months they‘ve been big for me. I‘m surprised by this perfect balance, though.

Ruthiella Wow! 🤯 1mo
Sarahreadstoomuch I am terrible about indicating the correct format on there…. I should be better about it! 1mo
JamieArc That balance is impressive! (edited) 1mo
47 likes3 comments
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ravenlee
Bad Feminist | Roxane Gay
Pickpick

As with any collection, some of these essays are better than others. A few of them didn‘t age particularly well, but most are spot on. I did the audio version, narrated by Banhi Turpin, and it was mostly well done but with a handful of words she mispronounced so wildly that I lost the whole sentence trying to parse it. I‘m glad I finally read it, and I‘ll probably read more of Gay‘s work at some point, but I‘m not racing to do so.

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ravenlee
Broken Sparrow | Chelle Bliss
Pickpick

Another “dark romance,” this one features a motorcycle club theme. Morris stumbles across a woman on the run, and takes both her and her child under his wing. They‘re stalked by her abusive husband, but with a band of unlikely friends Alice starts to have hope for the future. Another one I‘m glad is on Hoopla, but it was pretty good.

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ravenlee
Pickpick

I needed a change of pace and a distraction from reality. I think this is “dark romance” and my first foray into mob stories. This is Chicago Bratva, or Russian mafia, and the start of a 9-book series. Adbuction/seduction, but the MCs have already had one encounter that resulted in a pregnancy, which she concealed. Glad it was on Hoopla, but an enjoyable enough read.

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ravenlee
Deep End | Ali Hazelwood
Pickpick

From one of my least favorites to one of my fave favorites. Lukas may be my top hero, and I liked that the conflict seemed more natural than some. Also the stuff between Scarlett and Pen worked out in a believable way. Scarlett‘s running away was a tad extreme, but sure. I was surprised I liked this as much, given the MCs were college-age, but this worked for me in a way that Check & Mate didn‘t.

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ravenlee
Pickpick

This book was very good, if a bit beyond my depth, and also felt like an intro rather than a deep dive. It‘s largely about how the few can co-opt the direction of organizations, deliberately or not, and why that doesn‘t often serve the greater good. Dovetails nicely with Angela Y. Davis‘ book I read around the same time. Recommended.

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ravenlee
Check & Mate | Ali Hazelwood
Mehso-so

The first AH book I haven‘t loved, but I did like it. It feels more New Adult than Young Adult, I think, which wasn‘t my favorite. Mallory felt VERY young, which I guess makes sense, as she‘s a young woman forced very early into an adult role, and throughout the book she deals with the consequences of that. It was fine, but one of the few I don‘t see myself rereading. It was fun to read this while kiddo and hubby played endless rounds of chess.

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ravenlee
Pickpick

I struggled some with this collection, partly (I think) because it‘s an ebook and a little harder to keep track of sections. There were some fantastic parts, and others that were less so. Davis, as always, does a great job finding connections between struggles: class/race/sex; domestic/international; and so on. Definitely a worthwhile read, but maybe in pieces.

TheBookHippie I read this in parts for a monthly Bookclub plus discussion. It worked really well. 2mo
29 likes1 comment
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ravenlee
Pickpick

While good, there are definitely some caveats. As said before, Arendt had her share of both brilliance and prejudice, and as she‘s a mixed bag so is her biography. I‘m intrigued enough to read some of her work (my first attempt was a spectacular failure, but I‘ll try again), but I‘ll keep my expectations moderate in many ways.

TheBookHippie Simone De Beauvoir and she are my problematic people I learned so much from and think their words on things are so accurate and necessary history. Sigh. 2mo
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ravenlee
Pickpick

A lot of this seems overly simplistic, even reductionist. However, there are some truly great insights into what makes someone join a mass movement. It helps make sense of why people fall/fell for MAGA BS and similar. Highly recommend.

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ravenlee
Pickpick

I read this back when there seemed to be hope, and now it seems wasted. The big takeaway that ISN‘T wasted: the GOP has been united for decades, working toward their fascistic goals, while Dems have been trying to compromise and play the bipartisan game. That time is long gone, and we need a new generation of liberal leaders who can leave the old playbook behind. Fight the battle we‘re in, not the one you studied in history.

TheBookHippie All of this. I‘ve been literally screaming since 1983. 2mo
Suet624 Yes. 2mo
28 likes2 comments
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ravenlee
Silent Spring | Rachel Carson
Pickpick

For being dated, this book is still absolutely on point. All the arguments are as valid as ever. Definitely worth reading if you haven‘t. It was hard going, reading about so many dead animals and sick people, but we need to keep books like this in regular rotation.

TheBookHippie I‘ve read this three times. I do enjoy her other works as well. 2mo
28 likes1 comment
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ravenlee
Apologies | Plato, Xenophon
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Warning: review dump coming! I‘ve been mired in the chaos recently, and struggling to find the space to keep sane. I did take a quick trip with a friend to see the Gin Blossoms in concert (I‘ve wanted to see them for 30 years!), so that helped. Here‘s #DannyBoy for tax.

TheBookHippie Sweetness. 2mo
Ruthiella 😻😻😻 2mo
Suet624 💕💕💕 it‘s a tough time. 2mo
dabbe 🖤🐾🖤 2mo
Darklunarose ❤️❤️😻 2mo
34 likes5 comments
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ravenlee
Pickpick

This was a slightly spicy romance with surprising depth. Kat has severe anxiety and frequent panic attacks, Silas has PTSD from combat in the Marines/post-service trauma from a comrade‘s suicide. Twelve years after their disastrous first encounter leaves them bitter enemies, Kat and Silas end up in a fake romance to piss off her ex-fiancé (whom they both detest). I loved the hidden complexity of both characters and the way they came together.

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ravenlee
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Mehso-so

Thanks to kiddo‘s extra (waste of time) ballet rehearsal, I finished this. I agree with other reviews that there‘s a lot of name-dropping that doesn‘t tell me much. At least, not much good. I‘m not impressed that AA used to hang with Laura Ingraham, for instance. This wasn‘t what I expected or wanted, but there are some useful observations scattered around, and it‘s fairly short. Maybe Autocracy, Inc. is better?

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ravenlee
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From a figure of the Spanish far-right nationalist movement, modeled on Trump 1.0. Our world in a nutshell. 🙁

TheBookHippie 😭 2mo
30 likes1 comment
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ravenlee
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GingerAntics I feel like that‘s a bit reductionist. That is certainly SOME philosophy. To say it is largely like that is an over generalisation at the least. 3mo
ravenlee @GingerAntics it is reductionist, but I feel like it‘s reductionist in a way to simplify for accessibility. As opposed to depicting philosophy as a bunch of loners engaged in never-ending navel-gazing while the world spins out of control beyond the ivory tower. It makes it feel, to me, like philosophy is something everybody can and does do. 3mo
GingerAntics @ravenlee that‘s fair 3mo
32 likes3 comments
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ravenlee
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Panpan

Meh. I thought this was going to be sociology, current events, something I could learn from. Instead, it‘s memoir sprinkled with informational tidbits. Aside from the disappointment (it‘s not just me, I first heard about this on the radio ages ago and it was billed as this insightful study of care work in the pandemic era), it‘s not successful as memoir IMO. Garbes constantly stops short of actual insight. And a lot of it feels 👇🏻

ravenlee self-congratulatory, like she wants to be applauded for her revolutionary ways. While admitting that most of it isn‘t revolutionary at all. I‘m sorry I spent money on it and used valuable shelf space on it. 3mo
Suet624 Well that‘s a shame. 🙁 3mo
35 likes2 comments
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ravenlee
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Today‘s #bookmail is from Haymarket Books‘ book club. The one I wanted this month wasn‘t on the club choices, so I left it at the default.

36 likes1 stack add
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ravenlee
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ravenlee
Deep End | Ali Hazelwood
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My Barnes&Noble #bookmail just arrived and it‘s gorgeous! BRB, gotta go shuffle my TBR…

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ravenlee
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“‘-nication was possible with him, not because he lied but because he was surrounded by the most reliable of all safeguards against the words and the presence of others, and hence against reality as such. (EJ 49)‘

His words were empty because his mind was without resonance. Eichmann was thoughtless to the point that he no longer inhabited the real world—which was partly why he could wreak such terror upon it.”

Sounds familiar.

TheBookHippie 🎯 3mo
Suet624 It does sound familiar. 3mo
31 likes2 comments
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ravenlee
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“What is being claimed is the right to have rights.”

Boy, isn‘t that just the nail on the head today.

#HannahArendt #adventuresinphilosophy #WeAreFreetoChangetheWorld

TheBookHippie 😩🎯 3mo
kspenmoll Yes! 😱 3mo
35 likes2 comments
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ravenlee
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Having recently finished Silent Spring, and now dipping my toes into the deep waters of Arendt, it looks like it‘s the time to give Baldwin a try. Finally.

AshleyHoss820 Baldwin is one of my deep literary loves. He‘s going to hurt you in such a wonderful way. Enjoy! ☺️🧡 3mo
kspenmoll I want to read more Baldwin too in light of this book. 2mo
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ravenlee
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TheBookHippie Yup. 3mo
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ravenlee
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Empathy. Being able to understand, to care about other people. What happened to it?

#HannahArendt #adventuresinphilosophy #WeAreFreetoChangetheWorld

TheBookHippie Compassion what day did it die. … 3mo
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ravenlee

“…we have to recognize that democracy is not a permanent good.”

Wow, so much of this is hitting hard today. Absolutely, and unfortunately, prescient.

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ravenlee
Untitled | Unknown
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And then there was today‘s #bookmail - a hard copy of the Hoffer for my personal library project, and the Arendt inspired by (in addition to, well, everything) reading We Are Free to Change the World.

Seriously, I have a problem. And it‘s not enough bookcases.

TheBookHippie All of Arendt is good. This one though, it‘s now. 3mo
ravenlee @TheBookHippie I got turned off by trying On Violence first, because it was short and I could get it cheaply. It was almost incomprehensible to me, and then I didn‘t know where to go from there. The buddy read is giving me the courage to dive into the big one. 3mo
TheBookHippie @ravenlee I had the luxury of taking a course on her writings. I wish it was offered now when it‘s so needed. 3mo
ravenlee @TheBookHippie I wish I‘d taken a philosophy course in college, but at the time it seemed unappealing. In all fairness, so was the philosophy-major-ex-boyfriend 😆 3mo
TheBookHippie @ravenlee 🤣🤣🤣😝😩 3mo
35 likes5 comments
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ravenlee
Oops!-- I Did it Again | Britney Spears
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Kiddo and I went to Fort Worth (again) for new pointe shoes (again). We went to a new-to-us Barnes & Noble as a treat.

In my defense, I can‘t be expected to exercise restraint when they set up mythology and myth-inspired tables right next to each other in the main aisle. I did resist all the other pretty shiny things.
#bookhaul

Ruthiella They knew you were coming! 😉 3mo
TheBookHippie Ooo The Witch and The Tsar!!! 3mo
ravenlee @Ruthiella and BOGO…it‘s just so targeted… 3mo
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ravenlee
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ravenlee
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One of my goals this year is to educate myself as much as I‘m able to stomach about what‘s going on. So far this year, I‘ve read a few books (currently listening to Stacey Abrams Our Time Is Now and reading Angela Davis‘ Freedom Is a Constant Struggle) and these are all on my agenda. Right stack is most directly involved, left is supplemental. Also following some great thinkers on fbook and Substack that I‘ll share below. Let‘s be bricks/mortar!

ravenlee I follow Heather Cox Richardson, Jay Kuo, Robert Hubbell, Joyce Vance, Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Lucian Truscott, and Rebecca Solnit. It can get overwhelming with all the daily updates, but I‘m doing my best to keep afloat. 3mo
ravenlee Recent helpful reads: Eric Hoffer‘s The True Believer (definitely read this! It‘s eye-opening; about mass movements and who joins them), Caroline Frederickson‘s The Democracy Fix (about the right-wing long game to dominate the federal judiciary and gerrymander their way to power); and Rachel Carson‘s classic Silent Spring (which reminds me why we must remain in this fight) 3mo
TiredLibrarian I read The True Believer in college and still have a copy; it might be an apt time for a re-read. 3mo
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Deblovestoread Thank you for this post. 💙 3mo
HeyT I'd also recommend Sarah Kendzior's work. She has been pretty spot on with her predictions about how things were/are headed. She also has a pretty good substack. 3mo
ravenlee @HeyT thanks for the recommendation; I went to stack some of her books and found I already had at least one stacked. I‘ll look for her substack, too. 3mo
Christine What a great goal and excellent stacks and shared resources. I really appreciate the reminder re: the Hoffer book – just had to run to my shelves to confirm that I‘d bought it last year (and then promptly forgot to read). 3mo
35 likes7 comments
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ravenlee
Hope In The Dark | Rebecca Solnit
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Not from the tagged, but on Solnit‘s facebook page today:
“You don‘t need to be the whole wall against fascism yourself; you can just be a brick and if you can‘t be a brick, you can be a dab of mortar…”

@kspenmoll and all of us who need it right now.

GingerAntics I like the idea of being a dab of mortar. I‘d be awesome at that! 3mo
Hooked_on_books It‘s reassuring to be reminded that there are a whole lot of people who are not on board with this agenda, and that many of them are poised to actively fight against it. 3mo
dabbe We need to keep fighting and make our voices heard--even the dabs of mortar. I'm with ya on that one, @GingerAntics! 🩶🖤🩶 3mo
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ravenlee
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Today, this hits harder.

kspenmoll Thank you! 🩵 3mo
TheBookHippie ♥️✊🏼 3mo
Suet624 Thank you. 3mo
47 likes3 comments