Meet the Newmans (adult fiction)

     Jennifer Niven's Meet the Newmans combines a lively and engaging plot with some real insight into the times in which the second wave of Feminism was getting started and ther patriarchy was doing its best to ignore its demands and keeping on with business as usual. 

     The Newmans are a family who plays a very sanitized version of themselves on a weekly TV show. Del plays the all knowing father who solves the minor troubles the boys get into. Dinah cooks, cleans, and entertains. Guy is the reliable older son while Shep is the musician and major heartthrob. 

     The family gets some really bad news when they meet with the CBS President. One of their two sponsors has ditched them. Their show is tanking in ratings. The Father Knows Best formula, so popular in the simpler '50s is becoming passe. They may be in their last TV season. To have a season 13 they must make some major changes...

     ...which are problematic, especially the mandate that Guy marry his television girlfriend in real life as on screen when Guy is gay and has a significant other and it's Shep who is in love with her although his ex girlfriend is pregnant with his child.

     Then Del, who had written and directed the show and made all decisions on and off screen is in a car accident. The doctor puts him into a medically induced coma. The family must cope with the real possibility of losing him while keeping his condition a secret from the public and the press. 

     If you like a gripping drama with characters coping with complex problems and insights into another time maybe it's time for you to meet the Newmans. 

On a purrrsonal note, if it was possible to be floating on air I would be. So many people have been complimenting me on my drag show performance! Of course I'm grateful for all the love and super grateful that I can perform on stage. As a stroke survivor with residual brain damage I don't take any abilities for granted or the fact that I'm still alive and conscious and able to enjoy life for granted. Community garden started up Tuesday. The stuff falling from the sky this week was not snow. I wore overalls and gold and silver sneakers for the first time yesterday and got so many compliments! Life is wonderful and precious. Please don't take it for granted! 

A great big shout out goes out to the family members including precious Tobago cat and friends who add so much to my life.

Jules Hathaway 

     

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Precious Tobago

Yesterday morning I saw that Eugene had carefully tucked a blanket around Lady T before he went to work. They watch the very early morning news together. 

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Flowers

Here's a quite welcome sign of spring: my daffodils coming up like they have for about a decade. They were planted by a very kind woman about a decade ago. Every year there's been a snow storm when they're growing. Let's hope this year is different. 

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Flowers

This is the view from my kitchen sink. It makes the whole room feel like spring. I feel deeply privileged to have so many beautiful roses 🌹 in my home. They also remind me of my mother who used to grow beautiful roses. As a child I was constantly waging summer time war with Japanese beetles 🪲. Mom would give me a can of kerosene and promise me a penny for every beetle corpse. When candy bars and ice cream man treats cost a nickel and kids paid a quarter for the movies pennies still had purchasing power.

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Say Her Name (YA poetry)

     Now that's a genre you hardly ever see in this blog. Out of the nearly 3,000 books I've reviewed less than 20 fit in this category. Even though I write poetry I really don't like reading it. So you know that Zeta Elliott's Say Her Name: Poems To Empower gotta be something special. How do I love this book? This review in my attempt to count the ways.

     "This book is my way of bearing witness. I have not lost a loved one to police violence, but I have been changed by seeing my sisters and brothers shamed, shot, and slammed to the ground."

     Consistent with this mandate expressed in her introduction Elliott, writing directly to Black girls, is direct, passionate, nurturing, and affirming. She affirms their beauty, majesty, and strength. She urges dramatic action but also self care. She does not flinch from difficult subjects. Her haiku poems are especially hard hitting. 

"indictments are rare

like snow in the Sahara 

or cops behind bars"

and

"innocence belongs 

to other people's children 

ours are born condemned"

Her directness and eloquence and ability to direct her verses to her beloveds are the first reason. 

     The second reason is the wealth of information in her notes which are not the bland stuff we're usually given. For instance "The danger of 'driving while Black and woman' is a reference to Sandra Bland, who died in police custody after being pulled over in Texas for failing to signal a lane change."

     The third reason is the pairing of the poetry with Loveis Wise's vibrant illustrations: the founders of Black Lives Matter, standing strong and resolute beside their tribute poem, the graceful, powerful feline leaping through "Panther", the roses gracing "We Shall Overcome"...

     All I know is that this slender volume speaks truth to power directly and eloquently and is an important addition to public, school, and family libraries and a fine book club choice. 

On a purrrsonal note, the past few days have been pretty exciting. Sunday was the ride with Eugene and the new 🐈 😻 🐈‍⬛️ 😺 🐱 😸 shirt. Monday was my beautiful new tattoo. I  also had two accomplishments. I presented my two fundraising ideas for fall semester at Black Bear Mutual Aid Fund--a fall foliage mountain climb and a banned book readathon--and they were well received. That night I posted the review of my 3,000th book!!! That is quite a milestone. Yesterday was the first Community Garden work day of 2026. The weather was purrrfect, sunny 🌞 ☀️ and warm. We found a bed of delicious overwintered spinach and I took a bag of it home. 

A great big shout out goes out to my awesome tattoo artist, my Black Bear Mutual Aid Fund crew, this year's gardeners, and, of course, the love of my life, Eugene. 

Jules Hathaway 

     

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Cat tat

Here's what I bet you really want to see: my 5th cat tattoo. My friend Catherine picked a real beauty. Don't you just love the touches of pink? It commemorates the first time I had boba after reading about it for years in YA fiction. It was even better than I imagined it would be. I had mango.

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Cat shirt

This is the super cute cat shirt Eugene bought for me when we went for a ride Sunday. 

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