Sunday, February 26, 2012

Book: Midnight Rising

Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid that Sparked the Civil WarMidnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid that Sparked the Civil War by Tony Horwitz

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


First off, the author acknowledges the role that librarians and historians played in helping him access the materials necessary to write this book, so mad props to him for that.

As for the book itself, it brings a depth to Brown that mainstream books haven't provided before. He's not just the wild-eyed butcher of Kansas but a loving father and husband, whose heartfelt beliefs about the equality of men drove much of his life. At the same time, he may have very well led his men into unwilling martyrdom. Additionally, Horwitz demonstrates how Brown's actions at Harpers Ferry directly led to secession and ultimately civil war.

Going to recommend this one to all my WV friends and family, most of whom know only the basics from 8th grade history and field trips to Jefferson County.



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Sunday, February 12, 2012

Incredible piece

Entitled "Anatomy of an Unsafe Abortion" by a blogger doctor.

This story isn't from pre-Roe. It's from this year. American women are still dying from unsafe abortions, and yet people want to go back to the days of kitchen table butchers. This passage especially struck me:

The urologist, a grizzled older man with whom I had nothing in common except a medical degree and this patient, rested his hand on my shoulder. It was a kind, fatherly gesture. The weight was comforting.

“You done good.” He said. And then he added, “Those bastards.”

I knew he was referring not just to the physician who did this procedure, but to everyone in society who had contributed to a disadvantaged woman finding herself in such a desperate situation.

We all contribute, whether we give money to churches that want to force women to give birth or die (but they do so much gooooood work), when we are too frightened to write a letter to the editor to protest insane legislation, when we vote for pro-forced birth candidates because they're the least crazy.

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Book: Zone One

Zone OneZone One by Colson Whitehead

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


This book was something you don't see every day: a zombie novel you don't have to feel ashamed about reading. Of course, the literary bent also meant that the story was non-linear, metaphor was everywhere (hell, the whole book may have been a metaphor for the waste of modern American civilization), and occasionally you find yourself slogging through the prose. However, the book goes beyond 3 stars for 2 reasons: 1, Connecticut was the worst hellhole of the hellholes, and 2, the final destruction all came about because of public relations and marketing people, who I am firmly convinced are Satan's minions on earth.



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Book: The Infernals

The InfernalsThe Infernals by John Connolly

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A fun book that reminds me of Good Omens and similar books. I enjoyed it a great deal, but probably should have read the first one before this one. A little bit too frenetic in spots, like the author was trying too hard.



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Saturday, February 4, 2012

Life on the Gulf Post-K

Even though we've been here for almost 4 years, sometimes I forget the extent to which the possibility of crisis affects behavior here. My first experience with that was in regard to buying food only a week at a time during the summer, so you wouldn't have a full fridge in case of a storm. (Several people I know swear that they can still smell in their homes when the weather is humid that post-Katrina stench of a refrigerator full of food that went, in some cases, weeks or months without power.)

Today the little reminder was in a conversation about dogs at our monthly knitting potluck. Talking about vaccinations and such, one person noted that she's gotten her dogs on a schedule so that they all get their shots in May, so that if they had to evacuate during the summer she'd know they were all up to date. Something else that had never occurred to me, like keeping the car tank to at least 3/4 full or taking photos of all your belongings and emailing them to yourself in case they're needed for the insurance company.