A new management hire maybe?
You'll have to wait on the rest of the pictures. We're almost up to sunrise and I've got places to go and people to impress with my cosplay awesomeness.
Monday, October 31, 2022
Silent Night and Silent Night 2
Juvenile chillers
In my search for scary stories I located some oldies but goodies: R. L. Stine's Silent Night and Silent Night 2. I have such fond memories of the hours I spent with my beloved daughters reading his volumes aloud. I have to pitch one at least now and then. Thank goodness the man is prolific!
Reva, the central character in both books, is really hard to like. She's the spoiled and mean only daughter of a department store tycoon. Among other things she
*steals other girls' boyfriends as a challenge and immediately ghosts the boys when she captures them;
*takes delight in jokes that humiliate her peers;
*flaunts her wealth and judges others, even her cousin Pam, on their lack of;
and *takes advantage of being the owner's daughter to come in late and break all the rules when she works over Christmas vacation.
Despite her wealth and connections in the first book Reva is anxious. She has reason to be. It seems like someone is out to get her. First there's the needle in her lipstick. Then there are the mysterious packages she gets at work: a perfume bottle full of blood, a mannequin...
...and the corpse of her latest conquest with a knife protruding from between his shoulder blades.
Pam is in a world of trouble too. Desperate for Christmas cash, she's teamed up with two guys to rob her uncle's store. When the plan is foiled they end up with nothing. But someone is blackmailing her for part of the money he thinks they stole.
One thing for sure. Christmas Eve is going to be anything but a silent night.
Silent Night 2 takes place the next Christmas season. If you think Reva's traumatic experience have transformed her, you're wrong. She's still the same boyfriend snatching, irresponsible mean girl.
Only you might want to feel sorry for her because she's become the prey in a high stakes game. A trio has decided to acquire their Christmas cash by kidnapping her and demanding a ransom.
" The movies never showed the darkness. Never showed the panic that choked you, that made you gasp, that made your temples throb.
The movies never showed the horror of being helpless, of being at the mercy of someone who wanted to harm you.
To hurt you, to kill you maybe."
The trio can't agree on what to do after they get the ransom money. One wants to make sure she can never talk to the cops.
Stine knows his audience. His many books give most youngsters delicious but manageable levels of suspense.
Maybe some of today's kids reading his work will grow up to write scary stories of their own like my daughter, Amber.
On a purrrsonal note, it's Halloween morning. Night's blackness has just started to fade into a before daybreak grey. Purrrfect time for writing and posting this review, wouldn't you say? I have a big day lined up cosplaying as Cat in the Hat. I hope you have some fun in store whether or not you're celebrating. (Jules)
Hoping for some cat treats tonight. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to all who feel the magic and enchantment of the night.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone
Sunday, October 30, 2022
Black Futures
Adult nonfiction
"Our process: we worked together and independently to collect these submissions. On these pages, you'll find screenshots, original essays, manifestos, memes, artwork, poems, song lyrics, recipes, and creations of all types. Themes in this book will provoke you, entice you, enrage you, spark joy, and call you to action."
Back in my teens a popular song told us that the magical mystery tour was coming to take us away. That refrain kept running through my mind as I hopscotched my way through Black Futures. Editors Kimberly Drew and Jenna Wortham wanted to put together an exploration of what being Black and alive at this point in time is about. They enlisted something like a hundred artists in just about any medium or genre you can imagine. Opening the book is like strolling into a theme park about the size of Boston.
In my mind one of the coolest things about the book is that you aren't obligated to plow through it front to back. Do your reading in any way that engages you. Take the sections in any order that makes sense to you. Savor pictures that amaze you. Look up more information if your curiosity is piqued. Get up and make that coconut sweetbread if it seems to good to resist. (It is).
This isn't a book to read and set aside. It's one to come back to for fresh insight and inspiration again and again and again.
On a purrrsonal note, Joey and I hung out at Wilson Center with one of his good friends. Eugene was running errands when he picked me up so he got to meet (and fall in love with) Tobago who was her most sweet, social self. We watched a series of shows about two very young brothers who were trying to get home. There were talking animals and characters who looked straight out of fairy tales but rather sophisticated humor. We had Halloween candy and tea. It was a sweet, mellow way to spend an afternoon. (Jules)
Halloween is tomorrow. I hope that means cat treats for good kitties. (Tobago who is a very good kittie)
A great big shout out goes out to our good friend, Joey.
How about you, readers? Are you all ready for Halloween?
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
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Stamped
YA nonfiction
True confession. As much as I love reading now and then I'm lazy. I'd read and done a rave review on Ibram X. Kendi's How To Be an Antiracist and learned so much from it. But when I got my hands on his Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America my reaction was ohhh myyy gawd! I felt like I'd gone to Governors and been given the eighteen wheeler (eighteen scoops of ice cream with toppings) with instructions to polish it off solo. It felt like too much to tackle.
I told Pastor Malcolm that I was going to wait for the YA version. I knew that it was only a matter of time. I was right. In his Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, And You Jason Reynolds took on the task of breaking down a formidable amount of scholarship into a YA friendly format.
"This book, this not history, history book, this present book, is meant to take you on a race journey from then to now, to show why we feel how we feel, why we live how we live, and why this poison [racism], whether recognizable or unrecognizable, whether it's a scream or a whisper, won't go away."
Reynolds describes his not history from a distinctive viewpoint. Although they can switch, sometimes more than once, over a lifetime, the chief characters in his narrative are segregationists, assimilationists, and antiracists.
"And, actually, these aren't just the words we'll be using to describe the people in this book. They're the words we'll be using to describe you. And me. All of us."
Reynolds' narrative is lively, witty, and conversational. It invites reflection and response. It takes time pictures we've been given (Recall the Pilgrims and Indigenous Peoples sitting down to nosh at the first Thanksgiving?), breaks them down into puzzle pieces, shakes the box, and reassembles very different vistas. Heroes tumble off pedestals. Events fall into alternate sequences that make all the sense in the world.
A library needs two copies of this book: one for the YA section and one for the adult adults. It will captivate and engage a lot of people who might feel intimidated by Kendi's original work.
On a purrrsonal note, I had a lovely afternoon with my kids and their significant others yesterday. It was warm enough for us to sit around and talk in Amber and Brian's backyard but nippy enough to keep jackets on. We were joined by Lucky, the squirrel they feed who seems intent on stocking up food for the winter. It was so wonderful to be with my favorite people in the world. Eugene was off hunting. It was the first day of deer season. He'd miss that like Pastors Mariah and Malcolm would play hooky from church on Christmas. (Jules)
I miss the kids. I hope Adam stops by on Christmas Eve. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to Amber, Brian, Katie, Jacob, and Adam.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone
Friday, October 28, 2022
Unsettled
Juvenile fiction
When you're in your early teens moving from the place that's your home to somewhere frighteningly different can feel like the end of the world. It did for me when I was moving from a working waterfront city to the huge city next to the capital in the same state.
Nurah, protagonist of Reem Faruqi's aptly named Unsettled, transition--from Pakistan to the United States.
"She is lucky.
She gets to stay.
Her roots spread deep
and don't need to be uprooted
like me."
When Baba, her father, gets an American job offer he accepts it. His brother will be there to tend to their increasingly fragile mother. He will have more job security. Nurah and older brother, Owais, will be able to go to better schools. It doesn't matter that neither want to go.
"Differences attack my senses.
The American airport has no smells.
The AC is strong.
The floor is carpeted.
The voices are bold.
The clothes are different.
And why is everyone wearing jeans?"
When Nurah's family arrives in Georgia they are all stuck in a hotel room. But when she is able to start school it poses its own challenges. Winter cold is brutal.
But at least at the rec center she can swim. She even makes the team.
Although Faruqi wrote Unsettled as fiction she based it on her own life. This poignant coming of age narrative will be especially appealing to the many kids who have experienced their own uprooting.
On a purrrsonal note, it's been a good week, mostly sunny. Even on the days they predicted downpours anything more than scattered drizzles held off until night. The highlight of my week was the outside student wellness fair. There were lots of tables with cool activities. I got a precious bear for my little critter collection. I also made a rare Goodwill and Hannaford run. I got 4 bags of miniature chocolates for my coworkers for Halloween. I got 3 cat shirts and adorable, soft Halloween cat pajamas. I got a sweet dress for free at Black Bear Exchange and a gold sequined sleeveless jumpsuit from the diabetes club's clothes giveaway. ( Jules)
The weekend is finally here. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to all the groups that tabled at the student wellness fair.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone
Wednesday, October 26, 2022
Where I Left Her
It's every parent's worst nightmare come to life. It starts innocuously enough. Whitney drops her daughter, Amelia, off for a sleepover at a friend's house. She has misgivings. She's never met Lauren's parents. She'd like to introduce herself. But her relationship with Amelia has felt fragile recently. So, like many other mothers of teens, she's decided to pick her battles.
The next morning--you guessed right--Amelia doesn't come home. When Whitney returns to the house to pick her up she's greeted by a very perplexed older couple. Only she's sure she's gone to the right house. It's the only one in the neighborhood with a distinctive rose garden.
At home Whitney tries to reassure herself. The girls have lost track of time. They're trying to extend their stay together. The police officers she eventually calls in are confident that it's a routine teen runaway case. They reassure her that the kids usually return.
But ominous possibilities have started to emerge. Amelia had just dropped her long time friend group to hang out with the mysterious Lauren. It was about the time she developed an attitude. And she's become very secretive.
But Amelia is not the only one with secrets. In a parallel story line readers learn of Whitney's obsessive high school friendship with a girl who introduced her to smoking, drinking, and drugs, a girl she was powerless to extricate from an abusive relationship. There are things she hasn't shared with anyone.
Perhaps the not completely buried secrets of Whitney's past are coming back to steal from her the being whose wellbeing her life is centered around.
So if you're a parent in need of a twisty, suspenseful Halloween chiller Where I left Her is a most excellent choice.
On a purrrsonal note, I feel like the University of Maine has dropped the ball when it comes to COVID boosters. They aren't going to offer a clinic for the new one which would be an investment in institutional health. Build up the old herd immunity. The health center is only offering it to those for whom they're the primary health care provider. I guess the rest of us are supposed to get it in the real world. Why are they making it so damn hard? I guess that will be my question for the chancellor when he visits campus on Halloween. Yes, even though I'll be in costume I'm not going to pass up this opportunity. Daniel Molloy will get a visit from the cat in the hat. (Jules)
People want to get shots??? (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to all who are vaccinating and/or masking. Hang in there. We need to get this trickster pathogen under control.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone
Tuesday, October 25, 2022
Of the pictures I took this was my favorite. These are really smart, friendly, all around great kids.
It is also the one that haunts me. I still can't see normal sibling pairs without wondering what Harriet and I would have been like if she hadn't suffered severe and irreversible brain damage.
I totally loved the opportunity to volunteer at the road race and am really looking forward to helping out at other nursing school events.
Here are some some of my favorite people who were in the race. Kelley (on the far right) is my contact in the nursing program. Although we'd emailed it was the first time we met in person. She was just as friendly and down to earth as I expected. The people next to her were gracious enough to let me sit with them at lunch and include me in their conversation. I'm sure you know the feeling of being a stranger in a place where everyone except you seems to know everyone else.
A very awesome group posed for pictures before the road race. They made up a most congenial crew. And they boasted some pretty impressive runners. Some really little kids completed the course. They were my favorites. As far as the race, everything that could have gone right did thanks to good planning. The course was set up right. The runners returned to a very delicious and nutritious meal. And the one factor Kelley and Dyan had no control over, that fickle Maine weather, totally cooperated. It was a gorgeous sunny day right before rain came slip sliding in overnight.
Sunday, October 23, 2022
A Library
Picture book
Do you have fond early library memories? I sure do! When I was a child a visit to the library was part of my family's Saturday morning routine, an incentive to be good and not whine for stuff during grocery shopping. I loved searching for just the right books to take home. One summer we had a reading contest. As kids devoured books the paper boats with our names advanced around the children's wing walls. As one of the winners, I got to go to the Big City of my childhood, Boston, and pick a free book from a bookstore.
Prize winning poet and activist, Nikki Giovanni, loved the library of her early years, especially her first librarian, Mrs. Long. This fine professional encouraged her to go through the card catalog "to see what else was there." That was back in the days when there were colored and white libraries. When Giovanni wanted a book not in the colored library Mrs. Long would score it for her from the white library.
Her A Library, warmly illustrated by Erin K. Robinson, shows all the things a library is to one child:
To be free,
To be either a cook or a crook,
To be quick and smart.
In my favorite two page spread she is in a boat with a handsome cat surfing the rainbow while sailing the dreams.
This gorgeous volume would make a great family read aloud and discuss. What does a library mean for you.
Those of us who rock functional literacy and have library access are truly privileged. I couldn't have survived the first lonely phase of the pandemic without inter library loan bringing volumes from all over the State of Maine and my friend Emily bringing them from my local library to my door. And this gift allowed me to keep on blogging.
We can't take this privilege for granted. Right now conservatives and fundamentalists are working overtime to get any books they consider offensive banned. And people who want less government spending want us to believe that libraries are just frills. Nice but not necessary.
We can't let them win!
On a purrrsonal note, I had a great weekend. Saturday I took advantage of the house being quiet to work a lot on a big paper. Today I was fortunate enough to be able to help my new friends in the nursing school with their 5K road race. Lots of people showed up to run, some accompanied by their children and dogs. Some of the kids finished the whole run!!! It was one radiant child's very first race. There was a very nutritious picnic lunch after the running. We had ideal weather. (Jules)
It was a gorgeous day. Won't get too many more. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to all who participated in the race, especially those who set the whole thing up.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone
Friday, October 21, 2022
Until We Reckon
Adult nonfiction
Decades ago a man tried to rape me. I was able to fight him off and scream loudly enough to attract the police. He was indicted. I testified. He was convicted. I'd thought I'd feel relieved, but I left the courtroom feeling conflicted. I didn't want him endangering other people. But I didn't want his life to come to nothing. I wondered why there wasn't an option that would, instead of prison, offer alcohol rehab, counseling, job training, and whatever else could help him.
"Incarceration is also limited as a tool because it treats violence as a problem of dangerous individuals and not as a problem of social context and history...Poverty drives violence. Inequity drives violence. Lack of opportunity drives violence."
If incarceration really could keep us safe, Danielle Sered, author of Until We Reckon, tells us, America would be the safest country around. With 5% of the world's population we have almost 25% of its people behind bars. This carries an enormous cost not only to those imprisoned and their families, but to those they have harmed and to society as a whole.
Sered tells us that we need alternatives to prison and not just for people who commit drug and nonviolent offenses. They need to be in place for people who have assaulted, raped, and murdered. Prison must be a remedy of last resort for the relatively small number who present a clear and present danger to the public.
If you're one of the many people understandably thinking drug abuse, sure, theft, maybe, assault, no freaking way, do not put this review down. Sered isn't proposing a get out of jail free deal. The restorative justice she's pushing for requires a great deal of work.
If we'd had that my assailant would have had to hear about the impact of his act on me. He would have told me why he did what he did. Maybe he would have done community service. And he would have done things that would have made him less likely to reoffend.
Sered is no naive academic theorist. She has street cred. Her New York based Common Justice is the first prison alternative program that focuses on violent felonies committed by adults. She knows better than most of us what is possible.
If you're bothered by America's #1 ranking in proportion of citizens incarcerated, concerned about the disproportionate harm done to Blacks, tired of the human and financial costs, and wanting to see a better alternative, you will find Until We Reckon to be an engaging and thought provoking read.
On a purrrsonal note, it was my first week working three days instead of four. It felt amazing. I had some time for working on my student initiatives. The highlight of my week was Adam visiting. He'd been recruiting prospects for his company at a UMaine engineering fair. He stopped by to see Eugene, Tobago, and me. It was wonderful to be together. He gave me my birthday gift which is the stationary bike I've been coveting. Now I can get exercise on the days I don't go to campus. The low point was my flu shot. My arm is still sore.(Jules)
I saw my Adam!!! Oh, happy day!!! (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to Adam.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone
Tuesday, October 18, 2022
Handbook For A Post-Roe America
Adult Unfortunately nonfiction
I'm in a minority today--people who were adults when Roe v. Wade became the law of the land. Barely old enough to drink, I was still very much aware of the needless suffering and death of people terminating pregnancies alone or at the hands of back alley butchers because abortion was illegal. Now we're back where we started. We're going to see:
*a lot more suffering and dying, especially among people of color;
*people forced to carry pregnancies to term even when the fetus is non viable or catastrophically defective; the fetus was conceived through rape, statutory rape, or incest; or carrying the pregnancy to term would endanger the health or life of the mother;
*people being imprisoned for decades for having miscarriages;
and other related tragedies.
This should be a major concern for those capable of becoming pregnant and those who love them.
In these circumstances Robin Marty's Handbook For A Post-Roe America is a gold mine of information for:
*people needing to terminate unwanted and/or dangerous pregnancies;
*people who love and support them;
*people who want to donate money and resources to help those in need, get out to help, or influence and help shape legislation.
The Handbook provides many actions and strategies. It has worksheets to guide people in decision making. It describes the language abortion opponents use to sway public opinion. It points out the dangers of certain courses of action. And it reminds readers of the importance of reproductive justice which is not synonymous with reproductive rights.
Anyone who is capable of becoming pregnant, loves someone who is, or really cares about the issue and wants to make a difference should keep a copy close at hand.
In addition to three wonderfully successful pregnancies, I had three miscarriages. The first two were self completing. The third wasn't. After forty days of bleeding, cramps, chills, and fatigue I had a raging infection. A D & C was necessary to save my health and fertility. Now people having similar experiences could end up dead or imprisoned for decades.
Is this really the kind of nation we want to live in?
Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone
Monday, October 17, 2022
No Voice Too Small
Juvenile nonfiction
"Meet fourteen young Americans who opened hearts, challenged minds, and changed our world. Each activist Inspired a poet who relates to an aspect of the activist's identity. Along the way, find tips for how you, too, can use your voice to make some noise and make a difference."
When I was a teen I was passionately opposed to the war in Vietnam, racism, and capitalism and very concerned about the environment. So were a lot of my friends. The establishment was not amused. We had been spoiled by our parents. We were irresponsible. We were a menace to the American way of life.
Does that sound familiar? Does the word snowflake ring a bell?
No Voice Too Small: Fourteen Young Americans Making A Difference is a powerful refutation of the too young to get it lie. Each two page spread features a picture of and information about a younger activist, a poem by a well known writer, and a gem of advice. Readers will learn about:
*Ziad Ahmed who, having encountered prejudice growing up Muslim, created an online platform to enable acceptance of differences;
*Jasilyn Charger who is a water protector;
*Mari Copeny, who drew President Obama's attention to Flint, Michigan's contaminated drinking water;
*Marley Dias who collects books so Black girls like herself can see themselves in what they read;
and ten equally amazing change makers.
This book is a wonderful way to empower younger activists in a world where too many adults refuse to take them seriously.
On a purrrsonal note, my big weekend achievement was cutting down all the vegetation that was getting close enough to the trailer to run afoul of Cooperative rules. We're not just talking grass and weeds. More like branches and tree offshoots. When Eugene got tired of me nagging he handed over the clippers. I probably did a better job than he could have because of all the little spaces I could get into. I celebrated my victory by reading outside while comparing Trolli watermelon sour brite crawlers and watermelon sour Patch kids. So far I prefer Trolli, but I'll need quite a few more bags to make sure. ( Jules)
In the war of human vs vegetation human triumphs. Or something like that. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to Eugene who handed over the clippers without making dire predictions of me cutting off my toes. Maybe someday he'll share an axe or chainsaw.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway
Sent from my U.S.Cellular© Smartphone
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