What are you reading - 2021?

[Yppej]

A novel, the first one I've read in many moons, "The Last Bookshop in London."

I started this one but haven't made my mind up about it yet.

[KayLR]

I started this one but haven't made my mind up about it yet.

Yes, it's a bit light and chick-lit-y for me so far, but it was the choice of a book club I've been invited to. so.....

On another note, I am also reading a fascinating non-fiction account called, "The Pocket: a hidden history of women's lives 1660-1900." I never really noticed before, in pictures of women in the 1600-1700's that they wore pockets which contained many of the necessities of the day. They were worn tied about their waists much like an apron and contained not only money, but pocket knives, thimbles, needles, etc., that they might need in their daily lives as they moved about their day. The narrative reveals so much about the lives of women of the past --rich and poor---through exploration of their pockets.

Two researchers documented fascinating bits about these pockets and how important they were to women. I suppose they're like today's purses, but they were hidden from view for the most part, since women were often victims of crime out in public. Pictures of old pockets range from very simple to ostentatious. One was sewn by a woman in prison who embroidered hers with her own hair, "forget me not." That really got me.

Also really interesting was a chapter devoted to the importance of the housekeeper of the upper crust and the inventory she kept of all the clothing and linens of the household. Their clothing had to last; they didn't just order replacement clothing over Amazon. So, to protect against inscrutable washerwomen and non-trustworthy staff, a detailed inventory was kept. Every piece of clothing, down to the underclothes, handkerchiefs, pockets, and nappies was embroidered with initials and dates, often codes, so that they could be identified. Columnar accounts showed laundry going out, and being checked back in. Laundry baskets were objects of theft, as was clothing left out on lines or bushes to dry because clothing was expensive for the lower class.

I'm rambling now....just find this book so fascinating!

[rosarugosa]

I've read a few since I posted last:
The Housekeeper by Natalie Barelli - reminded me of Her but not as good. I would not particularly recommend it.
The Book of Aron by Jim Shepard - a decent novel about the Warsaw ghetto during WWII from a young Jewish boy's point of view. The story prominently featured the orphanage run by Janusz Korczak. I've only read passing references to him and the orphanage previously, so I found that interesting (in a layers of horror within hell sort of way). Tybee, I noticed that the author teaches at Williams College.
My Mrs. Brown by William Norwich - I thought this was a delightful little story of a special woman and a special dress. I think many folks here would enjoy it, and it might even been recommended by someone here; I don't recall where I heard about it.

[Rogar]

The Three-Cornered War by Megan Nelson. Non-fiction. It's the account of the Civil War out west, where small numbers of troops could determine the rule of whole states. Jefferson Davis had plans to turn vast area of NM into cotton fields tended by slave labor and to raid the rich gold mines of Colorado to pad their coffer. The third corner being Native Americans trying to remain a sovereign nation(s). The story is a bit of a jumble, but it's redeeming quality are stories from diaries and verbal histories of common players.

[Yppej]

In the Country of Others a novel featuring European expats and North Africans in Morocco.

[Yppej]

Inseparable, a never before published novel by Simone de Beauvoir

[pinkytoe]

I continue to wade through Braiding Sweetgrass. Certain parts move me to tears.

[Yppej]

Broken People a novel about a man who seeks healing through ayahuasca

[catherine]

In the realm of spirituality meets ecology, "Blessed are the Consumers: Climate Change and the Practice of Restraint." If you don't enjoy reading about Catholicism, it would not interest you, but theologian/feminist Sallie McFague talks about the spirituality of "one-ness" and simplicity, drawing on three saints and an occasional Buddhist.

I'm loving it.

[Yppej]

I finished The Last Bookshop in London. It was okay, but not good enough for me to look at it on Amazon so the site would recommend similar books for me.

Now I am reading I Live a Life Like Yours about a Norwegian man with spinal muscular dystrophy.

The passage that has spoken to me loudest so far is on page 43:

"I went to the physiotherapist to have my arms and legs stretched, because it was good for me to be stretched until it hurt to ensure that the contractures in my muscles wouldn't grow worse. This was the 1980s. The principles from then do not apply now.

"I was an indignant child. I am indignant still. This was the source of my indignation back then: someone else knew best. Near-stranger adults, the presence of whom I cannot shake off of me. This is still the source of my indignation: intentions I am unable to call good, unable to accept as anything other than a desire for power, desire to control."

As I read that I thought someone has articulated how I feel about masks - the shifting "science" and the feeling of vulnerability in the face of a medical establishment determined to control other people's bodies "for your own good".