home in alaska

So since my last post, I drove to Alaska, lived in a rental unit, bought a house, moved, unpacked and am now finally somewhat at home. And I got my library card!

The first book I dug out of my boxes of books was "The Gastronomy of Marriage" by Michelle Maistro. It is such a cozy read. It is not a book to set the world on fire, but it's like hanging out in a warm kitchen with a friend, feeling free to talk about things like what's for dinner without feeling that your intelligence is being insulted. It's lovely and always puts me in the mood for Chinese food.

Library books -

Speaking of China.... I read "Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of The Cultural Revolution" by Ji Li Jiang. I knew nothing about Chinese history and was totally engrossed in her life story - as a young teenager facing terrible persecution and abuse under Chairman Mao. She shows how everyone was brainwashed into thinking Mao was like a god and yet they were suffering so much. They had no human rights - they were detained, forced to work in fields, searched, humiliated, made to turn in family members. What a tragic time - unbelievable that people were persecuting people just like them. Humans can find something to fight over, no matter what.

I also read "Toast" by Roger Rosenblatt - his memoir about the time he moved in with his son in law and grandkids after his daughter died suddenly. It's sort of like a journal, with a sense of notes being jotted down. He writes about how the family copes and what it's like to be thrust back in the role of active parent of young kids.

"To Dance: A Balleria's Graphic Novel" by Siena Cherson Siegel is about a young girl in Puerto Rico who studies dance in NYC. It's very sweet - her husband Mark Siegel did the illustrations.

"Pride of Baghdad" by Brian K. Vaughan and art by Niko Henrichon is based on the lions from the Baghdad Zoo who escaped after the bombing began. It didn't really speak to me - it's very stereotyptical with violent art and portentous statements. It is for the teenage boy demographic. I thought, because it was based on a true story, it might rise to the next level but it wasn't for me.

"Christmas Tapestry" by Patricia Polacco is a picture book with the happiest ending possible that brought tears to my eyes.