2014 - More of the same?

Afghanistan, Ferguson, Eric Garner, ISIS, deadlock in Washington, Boko Haram, Charlie Hebdo...

In one way of another, I think these stories are all old news. I mean old as in they've been happening for many years without real change. And all of them seem to me to be the same underneath.

In each case one of the "sides" (maybe both?) sees the other as a thing, an object, a problem, instead of a person.

The solution, so very hard, apparently, is to see a person as a person first. A person like you, with things they want, they love, they dislike. Don't see their sex, their religion, their color, their politics, until you see them first as a person. Then make sure you behave only as you would like to be treated.

Literature has myriad examples of how all of these issues should be handled, many in children's books, though not always. Wouldn't we be a better world if we followed the examples followed or discovered by the protagonists in the following?

To Kill a Mockingbird



The Summer of My German Soldier



Flowers for Algernon



Bridge to Terabithia



Let me know if you have any special books you'd add to the list.

Feature and Follow - Books of 2014

The question of the week is what are your favorite books of 2014 so far.

It occurs to me this is a terrible question for me since I've only read two books published in 2014. One, Birth of an Assassin by Rik Stone, was reviewed here in April. The other, Memories, I wrote.

I have been reading (see other reviews here as well as my GoodReads list), but they are all from my TBR pile which stretches back for years!

I am sure, after this hop, that the pile will be even taller.

Feature and Follow - To Read in 2014

 

I am afraid I don't have a good list like so many of you.

For 2014 my hope is to be able to read some of the many, many interesting books that will come out by independent authors. I want to read a SteamPunk book, an historical novel, and a biography of someone surprising. Any suggestions?

Snow, Amazon, and other musings on the new year.

Three weeks into the new year and two big snow storms in New York where I live. A lot of fun to watch the snow come down - as long as I'm not driving or needing to shovel it!

Of course, my big indoor/outdoor cat hates the snow - it chases away all the other animals, it make moving around hard, and it is cold. He is much more sensitive to the cold now that he's 15.

I did spend my time productively trying to upload old paperbacks for sale on Amazon. It appears that Amazon, mighty Amazon, has trouble determining what is a trade paperback and what is a mass market for old books, precisely because they make their listing that of whoever uploads the product first. Surprisingly (sarcasm), when it gets to technical details, non-technical people sometimes make mistakes. With so many books in print, it IS impossible for Amazon to independently vet every book uploaded.

So about 50% of the harlequin romances came back as errors (Amazon listing is trade paperback) and 50% succeeded on the first try (Amazon listing is mass market paperback). The process to get the listings corrected seems convoluted but I think I understand their logic. We'll see if I adjust my upload to match the (wrong) information or if I go through the vetting process to get their listing updated.

I see a lot of other bloggers have set lofty reading goals for the new year. I wish them all the best of luck with all their goals. I, personally, just hope to find at least half an hour every day to read and at least an hour to write. 2013 saw those at probably 15 and 30 minutes respectively. Wish me luck!

Homage

2013 is now only a "book" of memories. As is popular this time of year, I will pause a moment to remember some things that were lost in 2013. Then read the poem at the end to get a different perspective!

The literary world lost four giants - Tom Clancy, who has defined the military thriller; Elmore Leonard, whose novels had both tough characters and some lighthearted whimsy; Chinua Achebe, one of the first African authors to achieve critical and commercial success; and Doris Lessing whose direct, no-nonsense feminism paved the way for many more. On a more personal favorite, Frederik Pohl also passed away in 2013. His science fiction was part of the wave that popularized the genre in the 1940s and 1950s. I loved reading his "fantastic fiction" as a kid.

New Year’s Day

Just another day

Another sunrise; sunset

Given an artificial importance

Arbitrarily the start;

A new unit of time.

Therefore a day of resolutions,

Of promises and implorations,

Optimism, mostly misplaced,

And good intentions.

Probably better off

Making small changes,

Sticking to them,

At any time, on any day

Instead of this one

Whimsical day.