Sunday Salon --- Happy Mother's Day!

Aurora Borealis. Photo taken in the middle of the street outside our house in Washington State on 5/10/24.

Weather: Gorgeous, and the aurora borealis!!! Woza. My first time seeing Northern Lights!

Happy Mother's Day! My mother is 95 years old. I win! Mom, I love you so much!

My Mother's Day gift: Don prepares all the planters and helps me put all the plants we purchased during the week into them. No grumbling from the planter, either. A true act of love.

The prettiest season in our yard.

New word -- GRAUPEL: Just two weeks ago we had this weather event, another first. "Although it sounds more like a German dish than a weather event, graupel is a type of winter precipitation that's a mix of snow and hail. Graupel is also known as snow pellets, soft hail, small hail, tapioca snow, rimed snow, and ice balls." Now you have a new word, too!

The camera on my phone helped us see all the swirly lights that our eyes couldn't catch.

Books and Blogging:

• Completed This Week:
• Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro. A dystopian tale told set in the near future. A book club selection. Audiobook and print. 4 stars.
• I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger. A favorite author. This is also set in a dystopian future. Audiobook with Don. 5 stars.
• How to Be Perfect: Poems by Ron Padgett. I really enjoyed this collection, many of hte poems are humorous. Print. 4 stars.
• Currently reading:
• Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. I really thought I'd love this classic but I'm really having the opposite experience. 50% complete. Audiobook where the narrator is very irritating.
• The Great Divide by Cristina Henriquez. A novel set in Panama during the time period when the canal was being built. 10% complete. Print.
• Blogging:
• Review: Klara and the Sun
• TTT: Flowered Book Covers
• Six Degrees of Separation -- "The Anniversary to..."
• Sunday Salon -- A Little of This and That

I just learned that the solar event that is causing the northern lights was at G5 last night and will be a G4 tonight (Saturday.) For more info checkout Earth.com

Have a wonderful week!

-Anne

Review: KLARA AND THE SUN (+Friday56 sign-in)

Title: Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

Book Beginning quote: 

When we were new, Rosa and I were mid-store, on the magazine table side, and could see through more than half of the window. So we could watch the outside -- the office workers hurrying by, the texis, the runners, the tourists, Beggar Man and his dog, the lower part of the RPO Building.

Friday56 quote:

     'It's maybe not really a barn because it's open on two sides. More like a shelter, I guess. Mr. McBain keeps stuff in there. I went there once with Rick.'

     'I wonder why the Sun would go for his rest to a place like that.'

     'Yeah,' Josie said. 'You'd think the Sun would need a palace, minimum.'

Summary: 

In Klara and the Sun, Kazuo Ishiguro looks at our rapidly changing modern world through the eyes of an unforgettable narrator to explore a fundamental question: what does it mean to love? (Publisher)

Review and a look at some of the book club discussion questions:

     I liked Klara and the Sun but I am having trouble getting a fix on all my thoughts about the book, set in a dystopian future where the "haves" alter their children somehow so that they will be superior to others who could not/do not want to be altered. The process is not without potential risks and, in fact, Josie, the young teen who gets Klara as her artificial friend (AF), just about doesn't survive the process.

     In order to better understand the book I thought I'd tackle a few of the book club discussion questions. There will likely be spoilers, so if you plan on reading this book you may want to stop reading here.

Klara and the Sun (Discussion questions)

by Kazuo Ishiguro

1. The setting of KLARA AND THE SUN is sometime in the future, when artificial intelligence (AI) has become more integrated into human society. Which elements of the novel felt familiar to you at the time of reading, which felt hard to imagine, and which were easy to imagine as a possibility for your lifetime?

• We already eat genetically altered food.  I just read about fish created in a laboratory just today.
• To some degree we do expect computers to be our children's friends. It is a creepy thought though.

2. Klara is prized for her observational qualities as an Artificial Friend. How do the tone and style of her first-person narration help to convey the degree of her attention to detail?

• I like that this book was written in first-person. The reader understands that Klara is not human from the way she addresses humans and how she learns. She is unemotional but it made me feel emotional for her.

4. The details of Josie’s illness are kept vague. Based on what we learn from the conversations among Helen, Chrissie, Paul and Rick about the choices parents make for their children in this world, how might that have affected Josie’s condition?

• Whatever was done to Josie altered her DNA in such a profound way she barely survived it and her older sister didn't. Yet, the parents went ahead with altering Josie. Sal's death cast a big shadow over the story, though the details happened outside of the confines of the book. Of course I was curious what it was that they did to her but I didn't get the idea that Josie was made more intelligent from it.

6. Before Klara goes home with Josie, Klara and the other AFs have a rapport with one another, especially with Rosa. What do these conversations, thoughts and feelings suggest about the sophistication of the AI technology in the novel, or about the unknown depths of the AFs’ consciousness?

• As Klara watched the outside world she gained knowledge and understanding. Rosa didn't seem to be as curious as Klara or seem to care as much about what was happening outside the store.

7. What does Klara’s connection to the Sun suggest about the nature of her inner world? Is her understanding of its power based mostly on what seems to be the plain facts of her existence --- that she is powered by solar energy --- or something deeper?

• As intelligent as Klara was, she was remarkably stupid about the Sun and the orbit of the earth. She actually thought the sun went to bed in the barn and got up in the morning. She treated the Sun like the all-giving life force, which makes sense because she needed the sun to recharge her batteries.

9. Discuss Klara and the Mother’s trip to Morgan’s Falls together. How does the natural setting help the Mother to reveal some of her vulnerabilities and fears? Why do you think the Mother makes the choices she does for her daughter?

• This was the really creepy part of the story -- how the mother loved Josie (and Sal before her) so much she was willing to sacrifice their lives for their advancements. But here we start to understand that Klara is being groomed to step in as a surrogate if needed.

11. Consider some of the ways that the characters in the book socialize: the “quick coffee” with the Mother and Josie, the kids’ “interaction meetings,” Josie and Rick’s drawing meetings, and the sessions Josie has with Mr. Capaldi. How did you interpret the tone and atmosphere of these moments of connection between humans?

• The mother was old enough to remember having friends and outside relationships. Now children had to have social opportunities arranged for them by their parents. It is sad to think this is what is happening with our world, too. Kids take remote learning and never learn how to navigate through relationships.

12. What was your opinion on the plan to turn Klara into an avatar of Josie? Who would have benefited most from Josie being able to “live” on in another form? Would you have made the same choice for your child or a loved one in the same situation?

• Well, clearly Josie wouldn't have benefited. She would be dead if Klara was her avatar. The mother thought she loved Josie so much she couldn't give her up, but could she really have accepted Klara as her daughter? I doubt it. I would never do such a thing. 

13. Klara and Paul share a moment of concern and consideration regarding her ability to learn Josie’s heart, which he describes as: “Rooms within rooms within rooms.... No matter how long you wandered through those rooms, wouldn’t there always be others you’d not yet entered?” (216). What do you make of Klara’s response about the finitude of such metaphorical rooms? Would you say, in your own experience, you’ve been able to explore and learn all the rooms of your own heart, or another person’s?

• Clearly there is no end to the depth of each of our hearts/self/ego. It was folly to think otherwise. What bothers me was why did Paul, the father, go along with this plan?

14. Would you describe the relationship between Klara and Josie as love? Where did you notice what seemed like genuine love to you in the novel?

• Love? At times it seemed that way at least going from Klara to Josie. But the parting, when Josie was leaving for college was so impersonal. I cried.

16. What did you make of Klara’s personification of the Sun, particularly in her final plea to save Josie? She observes in the layers of glass “that in fact there existed a different version of the Sun’s face on each of the glass surfaces.... Although his face on the outermost glass was forbidding and aloof, and the one immediately behind it was, if anything, even more unfriendly, the two beyond that were softer and kinder” (273). Have you ever experienced nature and other nonhuman entities in a similar way? What value does this have in our ability to experience compassion for each other?

• The is the crux of the story, I think. Klara was very naive but also so determined to help her girl. 

17. What did you think of the place where Klara is sent after Josie is finished with her? What does this bring up about the moral and ethical considerations of integrating more AI into society? Did her fate bring to mind that of any people you know?

• I couldn't figure this part out. Was she sent? Or did she just somehow end up there? At one point she noticed an old blender from the housekeepers kitchen. What she at the dump waiting for the end of her battery life? Another part I cried over without really understanding what was happening.

18. Who, in the end, seems more human to you --- the people in the novel, or the AFs?

• Why Klara, the AF, of course.

Sign up for The Friday56 on the Inlinkz below. 

As many of you know Freda over at Freda's Voice hosted #Friday56 for many years. On September 7th she told us she was going through some personal stuff and could no longer host. I've attempted to reach her but have had no reply. So I will host The Friday56 until she comes back. Help me communicate with past participants so they can figure out where and how to find me, please post this post's URL on your blog. Don't forget to drop a comment on my post also! Thanks.

Also visit Book Beginnings on Friday hosted by Rose City Reader and First Line Friday hosted by Reading is My Super Power to share the beginning quote from your book.

RULES:

*Grab a book, any book

*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your e-reader

(If you want to improvise, go ahead!)

*Find a snippet, but no spoilers!

*Post it to your blog and add your url to the Linky below. If you do not add the specific url for your post, we may miss it!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

-Anne

TTT: Flowered Book Covers

Top Ten Tuesday: Flowered Book Covers

Apparently I don't read many books with flowers on the cover so I had to search back in my files as far as 2019 to find the ten book covers I've highlighted here. Either that or flowers are not popular on covers right now. Interestingly, eight of the ten books here have strong female protagonists. (Indicated by ** in list below.) I wonder if there is a correlation between flowers and strong women?

Interested in any of these books? Hyperlinked titles will take you to my reviews:

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett **

The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin **

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill **

Maame by Jessica George **

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett ** (Pink blobs on wallpaper are roses.)

The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams **

The Ghost of Rose Hill by R.M. Romero **

Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask by Anton Treuer

Love and Other Consolation Prizes by Jamie Ford

The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy **

I liked all of these books and I also like all of the covers.

-Anne

Six Degrees of Separation --- "The Anniversary to ..."

Six Degrees of Separation

We start with

↓ 

The Anniversary by Stephanie Bishop.
It was on the Stella Prize Longlist this year. I haven't read it.

↓ 

The Souvenir Museum: Stories by Elizabeth McCracken.
This story collection was on the National Book Award Longlist Book in 2021.

↓ 

 

Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri.
This story collection won the Pulitzer Prize in 2000. Many of the stories are set in India.

↓ 

The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese.
Is also set in India and it won the 2023 BrowseBook Award and the Viking Award for setting and place. I've never heard of either of these award before.

↓ 

The Leavers by Lisa Ko.
The Leavers won the Bellwether Award in 2016. This is another award most people haven't heard of. It recognizes excellence in literature which addresses social justice issues. 

↓ 

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas.
This YA novel won the Morris Award and a Printz Honor, among its many, many awards in 2017 for this sharp criticism of racial justice in the US.

↓ 

The Testaments by Margaret Atwood.
This book pokes a sharp stick at the terrible treatment of women and girls in a dystopian future. It was the Booker Prize co-winner in 2019. 

↓ 

Question mark.
Today, May 6th, The Pulitzer Prize will be announcing their pick for best literature of 2023. What book will win? The Pulitzer Prize committee does not tip its hand and give any hints, finalists or short or long lists to help us guess. What book will win? We don't have long to wait to find out.

There are so many different book awards, each recognizing different authors, types of books, or nationalities. For example the Stella Prize goes to the best literature written by an Australian female author, while the National Book Award goes to an American author. A qualification for the Booker Prize used to be that the author must live in the British Commonwealth but they have extended it to be books written in English and published in the UK. The Women's Prize, which I couldn't find a way to work into my list, goes only to female authors publishing in English. The Printz Award is the highest honor given to YA books as part of the Youth Media Awards given out by the American Library Association. It is announced each years alongside many other awards which you likely have heard of like the Caldecott Award and the Newbery Medal. I really enjoy reading award books because I think someone else, who knows what they are doing, has already done the work of determining the quality of the writing. And that is a big deal to me.

Join in the fun by creating your own 6-Degrees list of books. One never quite knows where they will end up. Link: Books are My Favourite and Best 6-Degrees Meme.

-Anne

Sunday Salon -- A little or this and that

When all the flowering tree petals fall at once!

Weather: Rain!

Guns: I didn't post last week because Don and I attended a program at our church about how to have conversations about the topic of guns. It was sponsored by the YMCA called Bridge of Hope. If you are interested, you might check out the YMCA in your area to see if they are offer opportunities to join in the conversation of complex and hard to discuss topics like those around the topic of guns. It was worth the time and I felt empowered to speak up but also to listen.

Concert: I am posting late in the day today because we attended a choir concert. My daughter sings in a community choir, NW Repertory Singers, and their spring concert was today. We love it that she continues to use the gift God gave her with her beautiful voice.

Flowers: Two weeks ago I posted photos of tulips taken in the Skagit Valley north of where we live in Washington State. This collage is of the flowers in my yard taken all in one day a week ago. It has been raining a lot this week, so the flowers are either hanging on or, as with the photo of the pink blossoms under the cherry tree, wiped out. This next week it is supposed to get hot so then all the spring flowers will probably wilt, not liking high temperatures.

Books and blogging, the last two weeks:

• Currently reading:
• How to Be Perfect: Poems by Ron Padgett. I am enjoying this collection of poems and the poet's sense of humor. 70% complete.
• I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger. A favorite author. This book is set in an dystopian future. Audiobook. 60% complete.
• Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro. A book club selection. Also set in a dystopian future. 75% complete.
• Finished Books:
• Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism by Rachel Maddow. Don and I listened to this book and we distressed to learn that the US was so influenced by German propaganda before WWII that we almost fell into fascism. Now we are falling for propaganda from Russia and the same result. I am working on the review but there is so much to say. 5 stars.
• West With Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge. Another audiobook. This was a book club selection and we all enjoyed the book based on an event in the 1930s where two giraffes were transported by truck across the country from New York to San Diego, California. 4 stars.
• Poetry books that finished up for National Poetry Month:
• suddenly we by Evie Shockley. 4 stars.
• All Souls: Poems by Saskia Hamilton. 4 stars.
• Kissing of Kissing: Poems by Hannah Emerson. 5 stars.
• Serenity: Poems by S.F. Yousaf. 3 stars.
• To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings by John O'Donohue. 3 stars.
• The Wren, the Wren by Anne Enright. On the finalist list for the 2024 Women's Prize and my first book by this famous Irish author. 4 stars.
• Subpar Parks: America's Most Extraordinary National Parks and Their Impressed Visitors by Amber Share. I really enjoyed this book. 5 stars. 
• Blogging (In addition to the hyperlinked reviews above):
• Predicting the 2024 Pulitzer Prize Winner for Literature -- a compilation.
• TTT: Petty Reasons I DNF Books
• Wrapping Up National Poetry Month with Five Reviews
• TTT: Unread Books on My Own Shelves

Better post this now or no one will read it. Have a good week!

-Anne

Predicting the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction --- a compilation

As you know, I am attempting to read as many Pulitzer Prize winners, past and present, as I can. Therefore every year at this time I start holding my breath wondering which book will win the coveted fiction award. Unlike most other book award-giving organizations (National Book Award, Women's Prize, Book Award, Stella Award, etc.) the Pulitzer Prize Award does not give us any hints which books might win by publishing a long list and then a list of finalists. Nope. On May 6th, this coming Monday, the award will be announced along with two finalists. This gives everyone room to speculate but no one really knows and so there is a lot of guessing going on right now.

Just a little bit of information on the Pulitzer Prize for fiction before I jump in with my compiled list of possible contenders. To qualify, the author must be an American, published the previous year, and preferably dealing with American life. Several times in the past, the award went to an author who was previously a finalist, but that is not a for sure indicator.

So which book will win? I checked the internet and found these people who made predictions and have compiled their answers.

1. Greg at Supposedly Fun

• Favorite to win: Tom Lake by Ann Patchett.
• Second choice: The Heaven and Earth Grocery Story by James McBride
• Third choice: North Woods by Daniel Mason
• Possible winners:
• Absolution by Alice McDermott
• Blackouts by Justin Torres

2. Eric Karl Anderson

• Favorite to win: Biography of X by Catherine Lacey
• Possible winners:
• North Woods 
• Blackout  

3. Ben Reads Good

• Favorites to win:
• The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store 
• North Woods
• Tom Lake (I think this is his favorite, but I'm not sure)
• Possible winners:
• The Faraway World: Stories by Patricia Engel
• Mobility by Lydia Kiesling
• Chain Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
• Anti-choice (Ben hopes this book won't be picked):
• This Other Eden by Paul Harding

4. Literature Lust

• Picked: North Woods 

5. Electric Lit

• First choice: The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store
• Second choice: Blackouts
• Third choice: Chain Gang All-Stars
• Fourth choice: North Woods

Betting lines (Yes, betting lines) -- OLBG and BetUs

• The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store / 3 to 1 / 25%
• Tom Lake / 4 to 1 / 20%
• North Woods / 5 to 1 / 16.7%
• Absolution / 7 to 1 / 12.5%
• Vulnerables by Sigrid Nunez / 7 to 1 / 12.5%
• Many others....

Of all these books, I've only read Tom Lake and Heaven and Earth Grocery Store. I loved both books and would be very happy if either of them won. Here is a bit of what I gleaned from reading/listening to these other folks:

     Tom Lake. Ann Patchett has been a finalist before for the Pulitzer with her book Dutch House so that should move her up in the line for that reason. She also has done a lot to promote reading and authors with her involvement in her Nashville bookstore. Does she deserve to be rewarded? 

     Blackouts won the National Book Award in 2023 so that usually means, according to past practices,  the committee is less likely to offer the book their award, too. Though it deals with the erasure of queer history, a timely and needed book.

     The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store: McBride won the NBA for his book Lord God Bird, but that was several years ago, so it shouldn't hold him back any from winning the Pulitzer this year. 

     I haven't read North Woods but it sounds pretty fantastic and the author has also been a finalist for the Pulitzer in the past with his story collection, A Registry of My Passage Upon This Earth (2021). Does this place him ahead of the pack equal with Patchett? 

     Mobility is apparently a book about climate change so it may get the nod for its relevance. 

     Biography of X is supposed to be very creative. This book made it onto the Atlantic's list of 135 best American stories, published this month. It is the only one of the books I've mentioned here or from this year to make the list.

    The Chain Gang All-Stars is pretty niche, but the committee often goes for out-there choices. Think Less or The Netanyahus for examples. I bet I'd like this one since it is touted as an adult Hunger Games. 

     The Faraway World is short stories, so it might not win just because of the form, or it might win since it's been ages since a book of short stories has won. The last time was in 2000 for The Interpreter of Maladies. See the problem? 

     Ben at 'Ben Reads Good' made one hopeful anti-choice: This Other Eden. The author Paul Harding won several years ago for The Tinkers, which I really, really didn't like. This Other Eden is told in an unusual (read confusing) way about a made-up island off the coast of Maine which expelled all it's black and mixed race inhabitants because, um, they could? It is a distressing story and one which likely be a very unpopular choice if picked.

     I can't remember what anyone said/wrote about Absolution or Vulnerables, so I won't act like I know something I don't.

     How can one predict? Last year was actually an outlier with the two frontrunners being co-winners: Demon Copperhead and Trust. Perhaps this year the committee will swing the other way and give the award to a book no one is talking about.

     Now we wait for the announcement: Monday, May 6, 2024.

-Anne 

Review: SUBPAR PARKS

Title: Subpar Parks: America's Most Extraordinary National Parks and Their Least Impressed Visitors by Amber Share

Book Beginning:

Denali National Park. Alaska. Established 1980.
Oh, right sure, Denali is absolutely barren. If by "barren," you mean it's a six-million-acre Alaskan wilderness full of spruce forests, two thousand species of plants, grizzly bears, wolves, moose, caribu ... not to mention the highest peak in North America.
Subpar comment about Denali National Park: "Barren wasteland of tundra."

Friday56:

Olympic National Park. Washington. Established 1938.
If a park that spans so many different ecosystems that it's practically four parks in one AND is also full of incredible views doesn't wow you, I'm not sure what will.
Subpar comments about Olympic National Park: Not pictured: "No Wow Factor," and "Don't understand what all the fuss is about."

Summary:

Based on the wildly popular Instagram account, Subpar Parks celebrates the incredible beauty and variety of America's national parks juxtaposed with the clueless and hilarious one-star reviews posted by visitors.

Subpar Parks, both on the popular Instagram page and in this humorous, informative, and collectible book, combines two things that seem like they might not work together yet somehow harmonize perfectly: beautiful illustrations and informative, amusing text celebrating each national park paired with the one-star reviews disappointed tourists have left online. 

Review: As you know I just got home from visiting the five US National Parks in Utah. Each park was fantastic, beautiful, overwhelmingly special, and awe-inspiring. It is hard to believe that anyone could rate the parks with less than five-stars but apparently you can't impress some people and these people went out of way to leave one-star reviews. Author and artist, Amber Share, created subpar postcard art for each park and wrote a quick, often snarky reaction to that subpar comment. (Included in the bolded text on the information page about the park.)

I adored this humorous book, carrying it around the house so I could read outloud the comments to whichever family member got in my way. Often books about National Parks are lengthy, there are 63 parks after all, but this book is refreshingly short, 200 pages long. the format includes one page description about the park and one full-page illustration for each. Amber Share made sure to include information about the relationship between the land and indigenous people, which I appreciated. Instead of being less impressed by each of the National Parks, National Monuments, National Seashores, and Historic Parks because of the subpar reviews, I was more impressed. Before reading this book I'd given up on my goal to visit all the parks. Now I am back to dreaming of seeing all of the parks I can get to before I am too old to hike the trails and enjoy the travel.

I thought the funniest subpar review is the one about Biscayne Bay, which is mostly about coral reefs and shipwrecks: "Phone signal is impossible." Well, duh! This National Park is mostly under the bay! 

Sign up for The Friday56 on the Inlinkz below. 

As many of you know Freda over at Freda's Voice hosted #Friday56 for many years. On September 7th she told us she was going through some personal stuff and could no longer host. I've attempted to reach her but have had no reply. So I will host The Friday56 until she comes back. Help me communicate with past participants so they can figure out where and how to find me, please post this post's URL on your blog. Don't forget to drop a comment on my post also! Thanks.

Also visit Book Beginnings on Friday hosted by Rose City Reader and First Line Friday hosted by Reading is My Super Power to share the beginning quote from your book.

RULES:

*Grab a book, any book

*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your e-reader

(If you want to improvise, go ahead!)

*Find a snippet, but no spoilers!

*Post it to your blog and add your url to the Linky below. If you do not add the specific url for your post, we may miss it!

 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

-Anne

TTT: Petty Reasons I DNF Some Books

Top Ten Tuesday: Petty Reasons I Did Not Finish (DNF) Some Books 

1. Cybils Judging -- This is actually not a petty reason for not finishing a book and the vast majority of the books I didn't finish fall into this category. As a Cybils judge we are sometimes expected to read over 200 books in 6-8 weeks. I don't read that many books in a year usually so it is impossible to judge all the books by reading every word. Usually I will read at least 50-100 pages, enough to get a good idea of writing and the subject/plot before setting it aside and moving on. Example: Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright: An Animal Poem for Each Day of the Year edited by Fiona Waters. I actually love this huge, tome of a poetry book and hope to finish it someday but I had to leave off with the March or April poems because I had so many other books to read.
2. Self-Published -- I actually hate reading self-published books so I have to be tricked into reading them by the authors themselves or my mother's needling, if it is one of her friend's books. Example: Civil Rights Lawyers in the South: The Untold Story by Lawrence Aschenbrenner. 
3. Short Story Collections Where Two or More Stories Don't Capture My Imagination -- I actually like reading short stories. I know a lot of people don't. But if a collection has several stories in the beginning which don't capture my imagination, I will usually set it aside. Example: Uncommon Type: Stories by Tom Hanks.
4. Nonfiction Books Where I've Read the YA or Adult Version Already -- Sometimes I find myself being asked to read the YA version of an adult nonfiction book I've already read or the exact opposite, and I find I usually can't muster the effort to read the opposite version, no matter how well written. This just happened to me with Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Kimmerer. I read the YA version (the whole thing) for Cybils then couldn't make myself read the adult version for book club.
5. Library Due Date Looming -- I like to use public libraries for my reading material but sometimes I just can't finish books before the due dates. If I am close to finishing a print book, I may decide to pay the fine in order to complete i before turning it int. But if it is an e-book or audiobook, those guys just return themselves without a goodbye. Then I have to remember to get the book back and sometimes I don't bother. Example: White Teeth by Zadie Smith.
6. The Font is Too Small -- This is probably the most petty of all petty reasons. But sometimes I find the font in books, especially in some graphic novels, too small or the lettering too odd and I just don't feel like struggling to read the words. Example: Malcolm X: A Graphic Biography by Andrew Helfer.
7. Gratuitous Swearing or Anger -- I don't mind some swearing or violence in books. I'm not a prude. But if a book is full of a gratuitous level of either I will likely set the book aside, or actually fling the book away from me. Example: A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess.
8. Gratuitous or Overly Descriptive Sex -- I made up my mind long ago that since I feel uncomfortable reading graphic descriptions of the sex act in books I can set the books aside and not finish them if I want. Example: Night Sky With Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong
9. Outdated Nonfiction Topics -- I find that a lot of my nonfiction reading selections relate to what is happening now, like in politics. If I delay reading them I may find them no longer relevant and will abandon them mid-book or before. Example: Russian Roulette: The Inside Story of Putin's War on America and the Election of Donald Trump by Michael Isakoff. This is not actually outdated since the upcoming trial with Jack Smith will be partly on this topic, but at the time I finally picked it up I was done thinking about it.
10. Poorly written/Boring/Not for Me -- One would think that this category would be the main reason I don't finish books but not so. Once started I usually finish books, but I may moan and groan along the way. However, sometimes I just can't make myself finish due to poor writing or the topic. This was especially true during the COVID-19 lockdowns. I tossed books aside left and right that year.  Example: Scout's Honor by Lily Anderson... a YA book about monster catchers. Topic not for me.

How about you? Why do you not finish books you've started?

-Anne

Wrapping up National Poetry Month with Five Short Reviews

For the first time in my memory, I actually prepared myself a head of time for National Poetry Month. Back in mid-March I sat down with my several lists of award-winning poetry books and other volumes I've had my eye on for several years. I requested what the library had available from their catalog listings. Six books arrived before we left for our National Parks tour of Utah. I toted the poetry books along with me is a bag crammed with books. Fortunately all of the poetry books were the small, paperback versions.

All month long I have spent a bit of time each day digging into poetry collections and immersing myself in their verses. Here are my reviews.

suddenly we by Evie Shockley. The front flap describes this collection as a "collective dreaming of a more capacious 'we.' But how do we navigate between the urgency of our own becoming and the imperative insight that whoever we are, we are in relation to each other?" And the sections are titled with thoughts about "we" too. For example, section 1 is "we :: becoming & going" and 2 is "we :: uppity & down." Even the titles play with our understanding and uses of language. But before these "we" sections begin, Shockley treats her readers to "alma's arkestral vision (or, farther out)" where she plays with shape poems and words in general.  Here is one example from this section:  

thestarsarewh

atshinesinthe

spacesmadeb

etweenuswhe

nwegetcloser

I wasn't always able to follow the organization or who each poem was about but generally it felt like this book was full of dedications to strong and possibly wronged Black women. For example, eleven poems with female names were together under the heading "the beauties: third dimension." As a prose reader I often war with myself when I read poetry, wanting to know "the rest of the story" when I read something that seems like it is part of a story. I often hear myself asking, "Is this poems about abuse? Is this part of the poet's story or is she just writing about universal phenomenons?"

My favorite poem in the collection was one I could really relate to since it was about the COVID pandemic lockdowns. It is called "pantoum 2020." Before I could fully appreciate this poem I had to look up what pantoum meant. It is a poem of any length with four-line stanzas, the second and fourth line of the first stanza serve as the first and third lines of the second stanza. It is the ultimate 'we' poem since we all lived through these experiences together and yet alone. Here are the first two stanzas so you get the idea of the form:

who could have predicted this?

                    year of unyielding busyness giving way

         to days of utter stillness & bewilderment,

                              streets so quiet they invite coyotes' return.

                   year of unyielding busyness giving way 

to dread & longing for another's touch. 

                             streets so quiet they invite coyotes' return,

          vehicles parked beneath clearing skies...

 I do recommend suddenly we and rated it 4.25 stars.

 

suddenly we by Evie Shockley. Wesleyan University Press, Middletown, CT. 2023. 106 pages. 2023 National Book Award Finalist for Poetry.   

When You Ask Me Where I'm Going by Jasmin Kaur.   

The poems in the first of the three sections were so raw and touching. I was really touched by them...feeling for sure the poet had lived some terrible traumas to write such raw and aching verses. An example from a poem in this section:

i'm trying to settle into my body

feel comfortable inside its walls

stay long enough to decorate each room

sit at peace within me

i'm trying to come home to myself

                                      I really am

Then the second section, turned short story, with no heads up, left me scratching my head. In comparison, the two parts were night and day. I had no idea what was happening or even what the author was trying to do. I almost set the book aside. 

The third section returned to the poetry. But this poetry wasn't as good or as thoughtful as that in the first section.

I finally figured out the format:
-Section one: Sikh girl is traumatized by many life events. At the top of the list is being female in a patriarchal society.
-Section two: Girl leaves the Punjab region of India/Pakistan, travels to Canada to have a baby. She is not married. Time jump; second part of the this section is dedicated to the baby who is now a teenage daughter.
-Section three: The poetry is now in the voice of the daughter and she struggles with teen issues and worries about her mother's immigration status.

The book had me for the first section but the 2nd and 3rd sections weren't as well written or just left me confused and wanting some direction. I think the poems in the first section are so good, so angsty, or hard-hitting this book would be perfect for a collection of poetry for teens at a public or a high school library. (The target audience is clearly YA.) An astute librarian could warn readers about the abrupt shift in the second section. My rating: 3 stars.

When You Ask Me Where I'm Going by Jasmin Kaur.  Harper/Collins. 2019. 244 pages. 2019 Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Poetry.

The Kissing of Kissing: Poems by Hannah Emerson

I pretty much had my mind blown by The Kissing of Kissing. I didn't read the back of the book, the author bio, or the information about multiverse language until I read the first three poems and I thought something is going on here. 

What a treat to be welcomed into the brain and the thought-patterns of a non-speaking autistic poet. I set aside what I have in terms of preconceived notions about language and just enjoyed the process.

If I had bothered to read the summary I would have been more prepared for the delightful experience ahead of me: "In this remarkable debut, which marks the beginning of Multiverse—a literary series written and curated by the neurodivergent—Hannah Emerson’s poems keep, dream, bring, please, grownd, sing, kiss, and listen. They move with and within the beautiful nothing (“of buzzing light”) from which, as she elaborates, everything jumps" (Publisher).

from "Kissing Tendril Mind":

Please get that you get

that freedom is yearning

to grow yes yes yes. Please

get that kissing mind needs us

to kiss knowledge yes yes. Please

get that knowledge is the light

of the heart yes yes...

Highly recommend. 5 stars.

The Kissing of Kissing by Hannah Emerson. Milkweed Editions. 2022. 96 pages. 

Serenity: Poems by F.S. Yousaf. "Soft spoken yet powerful, Serenity perfectly captures the constant battle of fear and courage that lives within us."

I sensed a lot of insecurity in the first poems. A sort of  'I love you, do you love me' type. I fatigued rather quickly of the roller-coaster, emotional ride these short poems took me on. In fact, I was ready to abandon the book. But I pushed on. The poems in the last section, "Tranquility", were the best. The poet has come to the realization that he alone is in charge of his feelings and will not cede this power to another person in the future. The last poem of the collection was my favorite:

CHANGE IS NEEDED

...Grow independently, figure yourself out --

examine every crack and layer beneath,

confront every shadow you hold, ask yourself

why it calls you home.

Do not go back the same person

you once were.

My rating: 3 stars.

Serenity: Poems by F.S. Yousaf. Andrew McMeel Publishing. 2022. 144 pages. 2022  Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Poetry.  

 

ALL SOULS: Poems by Saskia Hamilton. "Judgment is suspended as the poems and lyric fragments make an inventory of truths that carry us through night’s reckoning with mortal hope into daylight" (Publisher).

Almost all the poetry collections I read this month were divided into sections or chapters. Usually the poems in one section would grab me more than the others. I imagine the poet thought through this and decided to lump together themed poems, or intentionally wrote poems on a theme. The first section, Faring, tells the story of a mother who is preparing to leave her young son due to cancer. The poems are told without sentimentality, though I am crying even to remember them. 

Raising a child not a reader. Readers are scattered in families like wildflower seed. One or two in a generation (24).

Saskia Hamilton incorporates little snatches or snippets of other poets' works into her own, examining them for their truthfulness.  The publisher refers to these as 'lyric fragments.' My husband, looking over my shoulder as I read, asked, "How is that poetry?" I don't know, but I liked it.

Late in the season, eating a pear

that is the memory of a pear, ...

mealy now, late season, fragrant

of September and sun (37).

The last section, Museum Going, contained the least-like poems in the collection and more like little notes-to-self about the experience of going to museum and having experiences with art. Once again, I struggled a bit and wished the publishers had included photos to enrich my experience. But then I realized I can go to the internet myself. I don't need permission to do that.

Of all the books I read this month. I would be least likely to recommend All Souls to other poetry readers only because the form is so different, so unpoetry-like. But I enjoyed my experience with it and rate the book with 4 stars.

All Souls: Poems by Saskia Hamilton. Graywolf Press. Minnesota, MN. 87 pages. 2023 National Book Critics Circle Nominee for Poetry.

Dark Testament: Blackout Poems by Crystal Simone Smith. (I reviewed this book separately here) My rating: 5 stars.

And, that's a wrap folks. Thanks for sticking with me through this long-ish post about poetry.

-Anne