The Nantucket Inn (adult fiction)

     Pamela Kelley's The Nantucket Inn is the third and last of the books I won in the summer reading challenge. Like the others it's one I never would have picked on my own but really enjoyed. Those sneaky librarians--always trying to expand our reading genres. Don't tell them this--but it worked. I'm still much more interested in YA fiction. But I won't be as quick to skip over adult offerings. 

     Lisa, Kelley's protagonist, is experiencing a life crisis of the worst kind. 

     "They'd been married for just over thirty-three years when Brian learned he had stage four colon cancer. Six months later, he was gone. That was almost a year and a half ago and when she'd finally been able to push aside her grief long enough to look at the bills, she'd been shocked at the state of their account."

     It turns out that Brian's gambling addiction was much worse than anyone knew. Before his death he stopped paying insurance premiums and drained the retirement savings account. There's very little in the savings account. Lisa lacks the job experience and skills to land anything that would pay enough to stay in Nantucket. She's reluctantly deciding to move off island...

     ...until a friend suggests that she turn her beautiful seaside home into a B & B. Her carpenter son, Chase, is willing to do the necessary renovations...

     ...only Lisa doesn't know the first thing about creating and running a B & B--not even if her neighborhood is zoned to allow one...

     ...Meanwhile her three daughters are experiencing crises of their own. Kate, a Boston based writer and the only one to leave the island, returns home after getting fired and catching her fiance in their bed with another woman the same day. Kristen, Kate's twin, kicks out her lover when she realizes he is not going to divorce his wife. And Abby, the youngest, leaves her workaholic husband, only to discover that she's pregnant with the baby they had tried so hard to conceive. 

     Although The Nantucket Inn is a good read as a stand alone, this slightly older book is the first in a series. The newer books will be real treats for fans of the Hodges family who want to know what happens next.

On a purrrsonal note, we've had yet another snow ❄️ storm. Eugene was called out to plow about midnight. He's still out there. It could have been worse. If it had hit earlier it could have really messed up the UMaine Winter Carnival, one of the BIG events of the semester. I'm sure I'm not the only one who breathed a sigh of relief at the optimal weather. My favorite part was riding around in a wagon drawn by two fine horses. There were also bumper cars, bonfires, and so much more. The free shirts were the 🐈's pajamas. I was paparazzi for that and a healthy snacks 😋 indoor event. Catherine gave me a ride home. We finally dropped off the huge card for the bus drivers. The guy we handed it to loved and said the drivers will too. Just goes to show how special Operation Valentine is. 

A great big shout out goes out to winter carnival participants, Eugene and the other blizzard battlers, and the Bangor area's awesome bus 🚌 drivers. 

Jules Hathaway 

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Archie

This handsome feline fellow is Katie and Jacob's rescue ❤️ 🐈. He's every bit as sweet natured and loveable as he is handsome. Also very smart. He has very thick soft fur. And he's the star of a modern day love ❤️ story. When he was in a shelter down south he got shipped to Maine to ease the overcrowding. There he got adopted by my younger daughter and her boyfriend. He's been living his best life ever since. There are a lot of loveable companion animals like precious Archie and my sweet Tobago in shelters all across this nation. Could one of them be your purrrfect new best friend?

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A Danger To The Minds Of Young Girls (adult nonfiction)

     "Our youth are in danger...Vile books and papers are branding-irons heated in the fires of hell, and used by Satan to sear the highest life of the soul. " Anthony Comstock. 

    It is very fitting that Adam Morgan's A Danger To The Minds Of Young Girls: Margaret C. Anderson, Book Bans, And The Fight To Modernize Literature was published in 2025. Although about a century separate the events Morgan wrote about and today it seems sadly that in some ways not all that much has changed. 

     "Margaret Caroline Anderson wasn't proud of her origin story. 'I came from nowhere, out of nothing, into nothing,' she liked to think, as if she had sprouted--full-grown and motherless--from the forehead of Zeus like Athena. In reality, Margaret was born on November 24, 1886, in a city she would resent for the rest of her life." 

     Anderson was a rebel from the start. She was constantly locking horns with her proper bourgeois middle class housewife mother who was trying to raise her three daughters to follow in her footsteps. She found an escape in reading. As soon as she could she escaped to Chicago where she pursued a colorful and unconventional lifestyle...

     ...and started a magazine, the Little Review, which would bring her into escalating conflict with the patriarchy and its tools...

     ...in the form of the New York Society for Suppression of Vice, founded by Anthony Comstock who passed on the torch [literally--the bros were into book burning] to Anderson's nemesis, John Saxton Sumner...

     ...who would put her on trial in 1921--portraying her as a danger to the minds of young girls--for her serial publication of James Joyce's Ulysses. 

     Morgan brings the time, the players, and the events and issues vividly to life. A Danger To The Minds Of Young Girls is an excellent read for feminist scholars and for those like myself who see chilling echoes of this not too distant past in today's wave of censorship purportedly to protect the minds and psyches of young white children. 

On a purrrsonal note, today in an online newsletter I was reading about people being arrested and being put in solitary confinement for being in possession of writings considered dangerous by those in power. Despite our nation's enshrinement of free speech, its history is riddled with periods of censorship, and not just in wartime. While the 1920s are popularly seen as the era of flappers, bootleg gin, speakeasies, and gangsters, the bigger picture was one of widespread fundamentalism, white supremecy (the KKK went mainstream), and massive censorship. It was followed by the McCarthy Era when people were encouraged to spy on each other and possessing the wrong reading matter ruined careers and lives. In this century following 9/11 we had the government trying to get librarians to turn over patron reading lists. Given the current political climate I'm pretty sure that our rights to write and read what we want and need are in increasing jeopardy. We can't just take them for granted. 

A great big shout out goes out to our courageous librarians who refused to turn over those reading lists. In large and small ways they defend our rights to read controversial books even as they are targeted by  book censors, banners, and burners. We owe them our loyalty, support, and heart felt gratitude. 

Jules Hathaway 

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Snow ❄️ Girl

Well I can put her out on the next porch to brighten things up until the next storm. 

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Joy journal

Well here's another couple of pages. I hope you enjoy seeing what made me happy. 

It's supposed to be another relatively warm day. So I'm heading to campus in a couple of hours. 

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And Don't Look Back (YA chiller)

     "Eyes gleam in dark, and Harlow throws herself backward before she puts the face and the voice together, before she understands it's her mom shaking her awake...

     There isn't time for her to think. There never is. It doesn't matter: they've done this so many times now that Harlow is an expert at packing without thinking too much."

     As far back as Harlow (17) can remember it's always been her and her mother against the world. Or at least the mysterious being they flee every few months. Although she has begun to suspect that her mom is paranoid, whenever Cora says it's time to go she speed packs her few possessions and gets in the car, ready to head off into the night to the next town where she'll have to assume a new name and identity and not let anyone get too close. 

     But this night is different. A truck smashes into their car. Her dying mother tells her about a safety deposit box in a nearby bank. 

     "'Just go,' her mother rasps. 'It has. Everything you need. You have to go now. Listen to me. Keep running. Don't ever stop. And don't look back. Just go."

      When Harlow opens the safe deposit box she finds a huge wad of cash, a bundle of fake IDs, a will, life insurance papers, a deed to a house in the possession of a Cora Kennedy, a newspaper clipping about the disappearance of an Eve Kennedy whose three daughters remain hopeful that she'll be found, and old photographs of three teenage girls, one of whom Harlow recognizes as her mother. 

      "Now there is a missing mother, and two sisters whose existence her mother never even hinted at, and a place that it seems her mom set off from first, so many years ago. It's the most she's ever had to go on."

      Hoping that she'll be able to finally get answers to the questions that have haunted her for most of her life, Harlow drives to Crescent Ridge, moves into the little house in the woods, and starts asking questions...

      ...which is risky business. Mom was not paranoid. An evil person is honing in on her location...

     ...and this time she may not be able to escape. 

     Hard core chiller affecianados will find And Don't Look Back to be a real treat.

On a purrrsonal note, here in Central Maine the high temperatures are predicted to be in the high 30s. Compared to what they've been recently it feels like a heat wave. Since I'm working at home one more day unless weather goes rapidly downhill I'll supplement my stationery biking with a mid day outside walk. I've been thinking of something safe to eat on nights when I serve Eugene stuff like pork that is a little less plain than sugarless yogurt. My kids are all vegetarians. I was one for ten years until I was having trouble donating blood because of low iron but iron pills upset my stomach. Anyway I mentioned to Amber that now that I'm not donating (I quit after giving 10 gallons) bean based veggie meats might be an option. She sent me info. This looks very promising. I'll see what local stores have when I go on my self designed nutrition field trip. 

I'm also thinking of the research I did awhile ago on entomorphagy which is insect eating which is practiced in much of the world. Insects have more vitamins and protein than beef or pork and are much more environment friendly. And in my opinion insects taste just fine. 

A great big shout out goes out to Amber who provides me with lots of good information. 

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Goodwill finds

These are the Goodwill finds from the road trip Eugene and I went on. Aren't they awesome? Squishmallow Squad shirts are really hard to find. And the dress is a purrrfect fit.

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Valentines Day flowers

These are the flowers Eugene gave me. Aren't they beautiful? As you can see they add a much-needed touch of spring to the winter landscape. 

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Street Cats & Where To Find Them (adult nonfiction)

     Fellow feline fanciers get ready. Have I got a book for you: Jeff Bogle's Street Cats & Where To Find Them: The Most Feline-Friendly Cities and Attractions Around the World. Here's the information you need to plan a truly memorable vaca. Or, if you're like me, daydream about someday being able to afford such a vacation. 

     Now mind you, Bogle did not start out as a friend of felines. He grew up without a ginger or a tuxedo in his home. His parents were always spreading anti cat propaganda. (He would eventually manage to convert his mother to the joys of cat parenting.) When at the age of twenty-four he was told he would have to temporarily take in a feline he was sure it would ruin his life...

     ...Needless to say it didn't...

     ..."Four hours later, Kitt was on my lap kneading biscuits into my doughy body. Roughly four hours and two seconds later, I was an unabashed cat dad who wondered, What in the hell was wrong with my parents? Biscuits in your neck, sleeping on your chest, and purring into your shoulder--what's not to love, Dad?"

     Now Bogle is a travel writer, earning his living and some pretty awesome perks doing what most of us pay to do or want to be able to afford to pay to do. His mobility and his unabashed fondness for felines combine to make Street Cats & Where To Find Them something special. He takes readers to almost two dozen locations around the world--from Chile to Iceland, from Japan to Puerto Rico--introducing us to the defining features of the place, its foods, and the felines who frequent it, and sharing GORGEOUS PICTURES of those felines. For each location he gives the basics--like where to stay, where to eat, how to get around. He also has a section on cat cafés, museums, festivals...

     But he realizes that there are a lot of street cats not as fortunate as those that live out their best lives in cafés and other shops or have their needs met by groups of dedicated volunteers. He knows that for all too many street cats existence is a frightening, exhausting struggle for survival. He fills readers in on the many organizations through which we can help these forgotten felines. 

     I am personally grateful to Bogle for affirming a concept I've intuited since the precious 16 years when Joey cat--short for Joseph Jacob Hathaway--was my beloved cat companion. The soul cat. Don't get me wrong. I've loved all my cats. And you know I adore Tobago. But Bogle affirms what I believe--that there can be the one soul cat. And if she or he becomes part of your life you are blessed beyond measure. At Veazie Vet the doctors frequently remarked that we were one of the most tightly bonded cat-human pairs they'd ever seen. 

     Anyway, if you're a fellow feline fancier I recommend that you get Street Cats & Where To Find Them. But don't stash it on a shelf and forget it. Give it prime space on your coffee table or other central location. You'll be able to flip through those gorgeous photos whenever you want. And you'll impress your cat loving friends and family members with your most excellent taste.

Well I had a simply dreamy Valentines Day. Eugene had given me flowers 💐 the night before. I woke up to find a beautiful sentimental card at my place at the table. He took me to Governors for breakfast and dinner. We went for a road trip, stopping at 2 Goodwills. He paid for the stuff I couldn't resist including a Squishmallow and a Squishmallow Squad shirt. Tobago gave me sweet snuggles and was delighted with her special treat: a tuna Fancy Feast entrée. Our house was lit with love. 

A great big shout out goes out to Eugene and precious Tobago. 

Jules Hathaway 

     

     

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Scholastic Book Fair

It was going on all last week at UMaine. I think that's great. It's a really top notch brand I love to see associated with UMaine. Well I was so darn busy with the Blood drive and career fair and Operation Valentine and my paparazzi duties I didn't get a chance to check it out til Thursday afternoon. I wasn't planning on buying anything. But when I saw the Squishmallow sticker book (if you've read this blog for awhile you know I'm obsessed with Squishmallows) I just had to have it. Then I found a couple of other items I liked. I decided to get myself a Valentines 💝 gift. I love the person I am. It's a good thing because of all my friends I'm the only one I'm spending a lifetime with. I hope you can love ❤️ or at like the person you are. Do something nice for yourself today. 

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The Fall of Iris Henley (YA chiller)

       "DON'T SAY I DIDN'T WARN YOU 

It is so easy to ruin someone's life. To take away everything that matters to them. Their friends. Their family. Their reputation. Even their future. 

     All it takes is fourteen days. A few strokes of the keyboard. A storm of whispers. And just like that, it all crumbles.

     Trust me. I know. 

     Because it happened to me. And if you're not careful, it could happen to you too."

     The first page of Jennifer Graham's The Fall of Iris Henley (due to drop February '26) has to be one of the best crafted chiller introductions ever. It's simple, direct, personal, and highly effective. I can't imagine reading those paragraphs and putting the book down. And the rest of the book lives up nicely to its promise.

"It's one of those nights I used to love. One of those nights with a packed stadium, where the football arcs like a rocket against the sky and the lights feel like a halo around all of us. Where everyone glows a little, even the kids, even the teachers and parents, all their faces painted green and gold. 

     Everyone glows a little. But we glow brightest of all."

     The we Iris is alluding to is her cheer squad. This sport is a major part of her life and identity. She works diligently on perfecting her skills at summer cheer camp as well as during the school year. She's tight with her teammates, especially her besties, Hayden and Sophie. She loves performing at the games.

     Iris hasn't had things easy. The previous spring her football player boyfriend, Rocky, was found dead in a run down cabin. He and a girl, Lynette, who he was cheating with died by gun shot wounds. Rocky was found holding the gun. Their deaths were considered a murder-suicide.

     Now it's October. The football season is underway. Homecoming is on the horizon and life is just starting to feel normal when Iris, attending a party with her friends, sees a post claiming that she shot Rocky and Lynette as revenge for infidelity. 

     Hayden and Sophie tell Iris not to take it to seriously. They think it's just a troll. She's just supposed to pretend nothing is going on and ignore the comments. 

     But there's an awful lot of them, many quite nasty. And soon there are in person and phone aggressions. School becomes hostile territory. Her locker is vandalized. And the police who originally called the deaths a murder/suicide are following Iris around, hinting that they might reopen the investigation. 

     Iris wonders when/if she'll get her life back.

     As a roller coaster ride of a chiller with twists galore and a very relatable narrator, The Fall of Iris Henley is a most excellent read for mystery loving teens and adults. But, dealing with a form of bullying all too many teens are victimized by and all too many adults ignore, it's so much more. I consider it a most worthwhile acquisition for public, high school, and college libraries. 

On a purrrsonal note, I'm looking forward to a three day weekend because I'm tired. I'm looking forward to spending most of it working on my sequel manuscript. I'm also looking forward to Valentines Day. I have a gift card to Eugene's favorite store, a homemade Valentines card, and lots of chocolates for Eugene. I'm going to lay them out after he goes to bed tonight so he'll see them first thing in the morning. Remember Valentines Day isn't just about romance. It can be about celebrating 🍾 family, friends, and that best little cat, dog, rabbit, iguana or other companion animal in the world. I'm gonna surprise precious Tobago with a Fancy Feast entree. And you don't need to splurge on expensive stuff like jewelry. My favorite Valentines Day card from Eugene in nearly 37 years of marriage was one he made when we were starting out on a very tight budget.

A great big shout out goes out to Eugene, my one and only. 

Jules Hathaway 

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Free stuff

This is all the excellent free merch the company reps gave me at the career fair yesterday. So much I had to sort it on the living room floor. Everyone I talked to (and I really enjoyed the conversations) wanted to give me stuff. Some of them had a over two hour each way drive in crappy Maine winter weather to represent at Maine's flagship University. They considered it well worth the slog. They were having a great time. They were highly impressed with the quality and potential of UMaine students as potential employees. The job hunting students were excited and enthusiastic, really rocking the business cas looks, some quite individual. The career center deserves a lot of credit for pulling together such a top notch professional event. 

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The valentine

This is the Valentines card the donors and volunteers created for the Red Cross nurses. Isn't it special? Both creators and recipients were really happy. Operation Valentine is the cat's pajamas!!!

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Family Reunion (adult fiction)

     Families can be complicated--especially when you're going beyond the nuclear to take in grands, in-laws, and aunts and uncles. I never had that experience growing up. Except for very rarely seeing my Uncle Ken and his clan the fam was strictly 2 adults, 2 kids. I was in high school before I learned what in-laws were. When I married Eugene the biggest adjustment was joining a clan with a large and growing family tree. I wasn't sure how or even if I fit in.

     The complexities and conflicts of extended family lie at the heart of Nancy Thayer's Family Reunion. It's centered on a grandmother, Eleanor, and a granddaughter, Ari, who are spend an unforgettable summer together.

     When Eleanor brings her family together to celebrate her seventeenth birthday she has decidedly mixed feelings. 

"They were all coming. Her son, her daughter and son-in-law, her granddaughter. For a moment, she was breathless. Also slightly unsettled. When the family was here for Christmas, Alicia constantly batted away at Eleanor like a cat with a toy mouse, trying to make Eleanor agree to sell the house. 

     This house."

     The house is the magnificent but needing a lot of repairs summer home that has been the family's forever. Eleanor and her mother had been cradle babies there. Eleanor had become a year round resident after her husband died. She loves the house with it's history, familiarity, and prime ocean views.

     Her daughter, Alicia, is intent on her mother moving to a nice assisted living community even though Eleanor is quite healthy and capable. She thinks her current situation is unsafe. She also very much covets her share of the money from the sale.

     Ari has just graduated from college. She has also broken off her engagement just months before her intended marriage. Her very materialistic mother, Alicia of course, is furious at her for turning down such a prime catch. 

     "As worried as she was, Ari was also angry. Did her mother expect her to marry a man she didn't love? And her mother was ashamed of her...

     Too bad Peter (ex fiance) couldn't marry Ari's mom. They'd make a perfect match."

    Ari decides to spend the summer between college and graduate school with Eleanor and her cat, Shadow, to get a break and a job. She becomes a counselor at a day camp for kids whose parents have to work and would otherwise have to leave them home alone. She and Eleanor really enjoy living together...

     ...but these unexpected challenges keep popping up. Ari finds out that she should have been more careful with birth control just as she's entering a really good relationship. Evidence of her father's infidelity turns up...

     ...and there's still the ongoing battle about the house and Eleanor's future. 

     Fans of family centered adult realistic fiction will find a real treasure in Family Reunion. 

On a purrrsonal note, yesterday and today I ran the canteen for the UMaine Red Cross Blood Drive. It was one of our best. I think between the two days we got 125 units. Noone fainted. People really enjoyed their time in the canteen. And donors and volunteers created a huge Valentines Card for the Red Cross  nurses. Today I also spent 2 hours making the rounds of the big career fair. The career center always wants me to. I enjoyed talking to the company reps. And I collected two huge bags of free merch. Someone wants to give me really cool stuff I'm not gonna say no unless I have ethical issues with their company. But with those heavy bags and my heavy backpack 🎒 I was struggling to cross campus. Suddenly a boy was offering to help me. He took my bags and backpack 🎒 and walked me all the way to the Blood drive. 

A great big shout out goes out to all who participated in the Blood drive and the career fair and my knight in shiny denim, the very kind boy who escorted me across campus. 

Jules Hathaway 

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Amber's next event

Amber just sent me this event promotion picture last night. I am so excited and proud of my daughter!!! She is showing how much of a professional writer and an approachable human being she is. I love seeing her doing a reading or answering questions. With her second book dropping this summer, some really awesome events on the horizon, and her book being ordered by more libraries and book stores I truly believe her star is rising. 

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Hello Beautiful (adult realistic fiction)

     Ann Napolitano's Hello Beautiful is a book that under ordinary circumstances I never would have picked up. Adult fiction that isn't a chiller or issue centered--the everyday life of grown ups--is a genre that I tend to pass over. But I'd run out of inter library loans. My emergency stash of thrift shop/yard sale books was really low. 

     This past summer I'd been one of the winners of the Orono Public Library summer reading challenge. Hello Beautiful was one of my prizes. I thought "Might as well."

     Obviously I'm glad I did . I have no qualms whatsoever about ditching books I just can't get into. I read it through to the end. Even though one of my favorite characters gets a terminal cancer diagnosis. 

      A tribute to Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, Hello Beautiful centers on nearly five decades in the life of a family with four daughters: Julia the planner, book loving Sophie, and the twins--artistic Cecelia and nurturing Emeline. The girls are extremely close knit, relying almost exclusively on each other. The parents seem for the most part disillusioned with marriage and life. The mother (Rose) is quite strict and judgmental. When 17-year-old Cecelia gets pregnant and insists on keeping the baby Rose kicks her out and Emeline goes with her.

      "For the first six days of William Waters's life, he was not an only child. He had a three-year-old sister, a redhead named Caroline."

     Unfortunately for William, Caroline's death had a devastating effect on his parents who parented him by what can best be described as benign neglected. Finally when he was ten he was recognized as a basketball player. Entering high school he started for the varsity team, gaining not only an identity, but a tribe. 

     When Julia and William wed it's anything but a marriage made in heaven. Julia is intent on pushing him to become a published writer college professor. Not gonna happen. When their union comes to a very messy end, not only do Julia and baby Alice leave William, but relationships in the larger family unit become strained in new and dangerous ways. 

     What I like best about Hello Beautiful is that it's told by multiple narrators and focuses on their perceptions and feelings in a way that does not create heroes and villains, but flawed and relatable human beings. I think it would be a wonderful read and discuss for open, honest, and trusting book clubs. 

On a purrrsonal note, I'm staying home (which is quite a privilege, one I won't have when I land a job) due to the predicted extreme windchill. The rest of the week will be super exciting. Tuesday and Wednesday I'll run the canteen for the Red Cross Blood Drive. Wednesday before that I'll make the rounds of the big campus career fair. Thursday I will be tabling for Black Bear Mutual Aid Fund. And Friday I'll be paparazzi for and participate in a Valentines goodie bag making event. I should be getting more pictures of the Valentines groups are creating for Operation Valentine. And I'm sure people will be talking about it. It should be a super rewarding week even if the weather outside is frightful. 

A great big shout out goes out to all who will be involved in the events. 

Jules Hathaway 

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Special gift

Today I have something special to share with you. This was Katie's Christmas gift to me about 20 years ago. The cup is one of my favorites. When the ornaments (angel and snowman) aren't on a Christmas tree they have a prominent place in my studio where I can see them every day. They remind me of Eugene and me. I use the box to hold stuff like erasers and pencil sharpeners. I think that we hold on to and treasure says a lot about us. So from now on now and then I'll share pictures of my treasured possessions. What objects do you treasure? What do they mean to you?

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The Bitter End (YA chiller)

     Are you ready for a winter immersive reading experience? Have I got a book for you. Alexa Donne's The Bitter End is a purrrfect read for a blizzard night with the wind howling like a banshee, snow ❄️ piling up, and maybe a power outage. 

     "Ms. Silva squirms under our hot gazes. It's seven against one.

     'I went out this morning to inspect the storm damage. We're completely snowed in. The drifts are five, six feet? Roads completely blocked.' She wrings her hands. 'Not that it matters. We can't call out, so there's no one to reach even if they could get here by car.'"

     The where is an isolated big old house on top of a mountain. The road up the mountain is sketchy even under the best of conditions. Under five or six feet of snow ❄️ it would be extremely hazardous even if they had a car or truck. Which they don't.  

      "So what is this? A digital-detox wellness weekend with noted hard-ass guidance counselor Ms. Silva. She's literally reported seniors to colleges for lying on their applications, and she got one kid's acceptance rescinded a few years ago, rumor has it. Somewhere there's a dartboard with her face on it, riddled with holes."

     The eight students (before they get distracted by weightier matters like staying alive) would gladly put some more holes in it. They all had signed up for more glamorous, exciting Senior Excursion options, only to be bumped to this nightmare at the last minute. They are not happy campers...

     ...nor are they a group you'd want together under the best of circumstances...

     ...never mind in a scene straight out of a survivalist nightmare. Whole lotta bad blood between these kids ever since an eventful party three years earlier. 

       At their first supper one of the students, Eden, drugs the chaperone so they can party. Do they ever! The next morning one of the boys is dead...

     ...And there's no way to call for help...

     ...And another blizzard is intensifying.

     If you're a real chiller affecianado you won't want to miss out on The Bitter End or on Donne's two previous cliffhangers: The Ivies and Pretty Dead Queens. 

On a purrrsonal note, here in Central Maine the temperatures are dropping. We're in for 2 days of really dangerous windchill, possibly accompanied by more snow. But aside from that I am living my best life. I had an amazing day yesterday. The morning was First Friday Bagels. I had my favorite: sweet cinnamon. In the afternoon I was paparazzi for a SWell event on planners where I got some seriously good stuff including 4 adorable squishies for little little land. Catherine complimented me on my running. More people asked for poster board for Operation Valentine. And so many people are so excited about it. It's like real world viral.

And the few with whom I've shared my next project idea are excited for it. 

A great big shout out goes out to all the groups who are participating in Operation Valentine. 

Jules Hathaway 

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Part 2

This is the book wrapped up and the valentines card I made for Eugene. 

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Good stuff

The earrings are the ones Amber gave me Saturday. Aren't they absolutely gorgeous? And the book has an interesting story. Yesterday on campus there was a blind date with a book event. There was a table full of beautifully wrapped books. Each had a description. They were free. I found one I thought would be awesome. When I unwrapped it I discovered it was on my to read list. I'm really looking forward to reading and reviewing it. There were also Valentine card making materials and I made cards for Eugene and my friend Bailey. 

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Why Facists Fear Teachers (adult nonfiction)

     Remember we recently looked at a book that described all the ways oligarchies put almost all of us in serious peril? Why Facists Hate Teachers: Public Education and the Future of Democracy looks at the crisis from another angle, offering a ray of hope in the form of public schools and teachers. Author Randi Weingarten, former teacher and elected president of the 1.8 million member American Federation of Teachers, speaking from history and the personal experience of herself and colleagues, makes a cogent case why we all have a stake in public education. 

     As I think you're aware, public schools and teachers are under attack on many different fronts. There are book banners gunning for unprecedented numbers of volumes, especially those having to do with LGBTQ+ issues and the lived experience of people of color, and historical revisionists diligently whitewashing curricula. There is the taking away of needed resources as in the dismantling of the Department of Education. There are the voucher and charter schools trying to dismantle and replace public schools. 

     It's nothing new. Facist regimes have always early on targeted schools and teachers. Weingarten starts the book off with a description of the courageous resistance of teachers and students to the Nazi occupation of Norway in 1940. So why do they do this? She goes into great detail on four reasons:

*Teachers teach critical thinking, a skill abhored by authoritarians and dictators;

*Teachers create safe, affirming, and welcoming communities for all children and provide the resources that will enable all to thrive;

*Teachers provide opportunities for all which is anathema to those who want to perpetuate a very unequal status quo.

*Teachers build strong unions. Unions are a very strong force against facism.

     In her conclusion Weingarten gives readers a path forward and reasons for optimism but not complacency. I see Why Facists Fear Teachers as a must read for all who care about the future of public education and participatory democracy. 

On a purrrsonal note, I think it's so important to show up for our beleaguered teachers and school librarians. Talk to them. Find out what they need whether it's supplies or advocacy. Let them know you're there for them. Attend school committee meetings and town council budget meetings and don't be afraid to speak up. And if you have the time and inclination run for school committee/board. All too often conservatives try to pack committees with banners, censorers, and other similar minded people. From my eleven years on the Veazie School Committee I can tell you that you do have power and can make a real difference.  

A great big shout out goes out to public school teachers and librarians and their allies. 

Jules Hathaway 

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Me and Eugene...

...at his birthday lunch. He was having a great time. But he does not like having his picture taken. I'm the opposite as you can see. It was a wonderful lunch. The food was divine. I really enjoyed the conversation. Truly a day to remember!

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All Is Calmish (adult nonfiction)

     I almost didn't request Niro Feliciano's All is Calmish: How To Feel Less Frantic And More Festive During The Holidays. I've skimmed enough of these how to books to anticipate bullet points and dogmatism. And under usual circumstances I feel festive rather than frantic. But almost everyone I know falls into the other camp. So I'm always looking for the exception...

     ...and in All Is Calmish I've finally found it. Feliciano starts by asking readers what we actually remember about the last holiday season. She admits that she generally has to look at the pictures stored on her smartphone to recapture any memories with "a warm holiday glow". 

     She says that few people escape holiday stress. One of the things I like best about the book is that she takes into account the intersectionality of the stress. It doesn't take place in a vacuum. Rather it compounds the stresses that may already be going on such as divorce, financial challenges, or a family member's precarious health. 

     "What if this holiday could be different? What if this year we didn't get sucked into the vortex of overdoing and decorating, overspending and stressing? What if we gifted ourselves a meaningful holiday full of memorable moments of joy--ones that we could easily call to mind, year after year?...And what if we held on to a perspective on what really matters every day for the next month--and try to let go of what doesn't?"

     Feliciano's season transforming advice takes the form of thirty-one conversational reflections. The topics they're centered around are ones most of us can relate to: the numerous holiday great expectations;  the unexpected interruptions that can come at the worst times; the dramas that can spoil extended family togetherness; ramped up anxiety; and really disappointing gifts. For each one she not only gives good advice, but personalizes the reflection with questions. On the one about holiday conflict she asks:

"*What is one boundary you need to set this holiday to preserve your peace or the peace of those around you?

*Who can help you hold this boundary or remind you of it?

*What conflict is not worth addressing this year?"

     My favorite reflection is the one in which she reminds readers of the total messiness of the event we celebrate: the unmarried young teen traveling 90 miles on a donkey only to give birth in a messy, smelly, far from sanitary stable. Nothing about it screams Martha Stewart Live.

     I would highly recommend All is Calmish to just about everyone. I know I found it very thought provoking. I just suggest reading it well before December. OK, I know Febuary is probably a bit much. But how about October? That way it's good advice has more time to sink in. 

On a purrrsonal note, growing up in Beverly, Massachusetts, I really loved Christmas and the events leading up to it: decorating the tree, baking and decorating cookies, going to Boston by train to see decorated stores, visiting Santa... But I noticed that it didn't seem as joyous to my mother who seemed to be obsessed with fulfilling obligations: writing Christmas cards to seemingly everyone she'd ever met who hadn't died, making an elaborate meal for just our nuclear family... So when I became a mom I had a toss the obligations and make the most of the subtle and spontaneous mindset that serves me well today. Then in 2023 a Christmas that had the potential to be anything but was joyous. It was the Christmas exactly 3 months after my stroke. I was confined to home like we were during the pandemic spending most of the time working on basic skills so I could be back in school spring semester. I had no presents to give even my nearest and dearest. But surprises kept breaking in. The librarians kept me supplied with books 📚. Amber gave me kids' ornament kits and an Advent calendar with dear little figures of popular toys. Eugene took me on an enchanting decorated trail and drove around to look at Christmas lights. My best friend, Lisa Morin, took me to a special end of semester event at UMaine where people were overjoyed to see me. On Christmas I finally able to ditch velcro footwear for a really awesome pair of high tops I could finally tie before going to the family Christmas party. And my big seasonal epiphany: I gave my family and friends the best possible gift by being alive and getting better. I did tweak my holiday practices. Now I do my shopping at thrift shops and yard sales and start in January. By Thanksgiving they are ready to wrap and deliver. It makes December so much easier. 

A great big shout out goes out to Feliciano for creating this fine book and getting it published. 

Jules Hathaway 

On a purrrsonal note, I had a truly amazing weekend. Saturday was the family birthday lunch for Eugene which was held at Amber and Brian's. Katie, Jacob, Adam, and Brian's mother also attended. Brian made delicious grilled cheese sandwiches, corn chowder, and low sugar carrot cake. We had a delightful leisurely lunch enjoying each other's company. Amber gave me a beautiful pair of cat earrings. 

Then Sunday was the Orono Community Potluck dinner where Black Bear Mutual Aid Fund was involved. We helped with set up and sold tickets to our Valentines basket raffle. At first people were making Valentines. Then there was the dinner which was delicious. I let myself have one miniature chocolate eclaire which was heavenly. As the official paparazzi I went around taking pictures and getting really good ones. It was definitely an evening to remember. 

A great big shout out goes out to all who participated in both events. 

Jules Hathaway 

     

     

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Operation Valentine

This picture shows what's at the ❤️ of Operation Valentine. A group (in this case commuter students) creates a huge Valentines Day card for a group they value/admire/appreciate (in this case the bus drivers), collects signatures, and delivers the card. Last year started as a pilot project with 2 groups. This year I think there are over 50!!! I never imagined it would grow so fast. I think it can become a UMaine tradition and people agree. For the next two weeks this has to be my major focus. 

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Fight Oligarchy (adult nonfiction)

"...Today, one man--Elon Musk--now owns more wealth than the bottom 52 percent of American households. The top 1 percent own more than the bottom 93 percent. And the CEOs of large corporations make 350 times more than their average employee."

     In other words, because people have enough money to spend obscenely huge amounts on what strikes their fancy--for example $3.88 million on a Star Wars poster--millions struggle to acquire or die for the lack of the absolute basics--food, shelter, medical care... And,  according to Bernie Sanders, the evils of oligarchy go much deeper than the wealth gap. In Fight Oligarchy, a volume the size of my hand and the thickness of my fingernail, he explains the very bad direction in which America is going including:

*what oligarchy is and the evils it spawns;

*Trump's rise to power;

* and oligarchies around the globe. 

     One paragraph in that chapter really was an eye opener for me. 

     "All over the world, hundreds of millions of desperate people are unable to access food, clean drinking water, adequate health care, decent housing, or education. Children by the millions die of easily preventable diseases. Meanwhile, the world's top 1 percent have become $33.9 trillion richer since 2015. That, by the way, is enough to eliminate world poverty twenty-two times over."

     But Bernie wants us to rise up, not give up. 

     "The most powerful tool the ruling class has to protect their interests is to make ordinary people feel powerless. Their message: You are alone and there is nothing you, or anyone else, can do to stop us. We have the wealth. We have the power. We will prevail. Just shut up and get out of the way."

     Bernie reminds readers of times in America's history when injustices were overthrown and gives us a blueprint for what we must do to turn things around. If you're anything like me--extremely anxious about the direction this nation and the world are going in--be sure to put Fight Oligarchy on your reading list.

On a purrrsonal note, Bernie would really approve of Black Bear Mutual Aid Fund which I'm deeply engaged in. It's this wonderful manifestation of community, interdependence, and solidarity that is a needed antidote to the ruthless sink or swim individualism that prevails in America. We raise money for students, faculty, and staff encountering financial crises, build solidarity on and off campus, and do volunteering like our weekly cook and clean at a homeless shelter. Tonight we're part of the community potluck at the Keith Anderson Community Center in downtown Orono (where almost 37 years ago Eugene and I had our wedding reception and where for years I participated in plays and open mics). I'm so looking forward to this. The food will be delish. And because of the friendships I've made during decades of volunteering there will be people taking my dietary restrictions into account. And the lines between town and gown will be erased as people freely mix and mingle. It will be a night to remember. 

A great big shout out goes out to my BBMAF crew and everyone who will participate tonight. 

Jules Hathaway 

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