Binti: The Complete Trilogy --by Nnedi Okorafor

 Fiction / Science Fiction Fantasy

366 pages / 3758 KB

5 Stars (x4) 

 

Wow! Where to start? The world building was wonderful. I had no trouble finding my way through the worlds. I had some questions, the answers to which were not important to the story, so when they weren’t answered, I was okay with that.

 

Being a math phobe since forever, I wasn’t sure how I would get along with the protagonist being a math genius who did math to relax, fortunately, the wee bit we read was just enough to know she was way beyond me, but not enough to toss me out of the story. In other words, for me, the amount of math was perfect.

 

I became enthralled with the main characters, and hope the author revisits the planets and people again at a later date. I’d like to know what comes next. There were some interesting hints dropped at the end that could be at least one more book. If not, I’ll be happy for the opportunity to read Binti, and look forward to more of Ms. Okorafor’s books.

 

Loved the story, the worlds, the characters.

Pacific Northwest Foraging for Beginners: A 3 Step…Field Guide —by Paul Macy

 Nonfiction / Food Gathering

153 pages / 9249 KB

4 Stars

 

Though I haven’t foraged in night on to 70 years, this book has ignited a spark to once again head for the hills, or at least the flats, and see what can be found. This book is easy to read and understand. Mr. Macy uses actual photos of the plants and fine drawings. I would not hesitate to take his book and forage.

 

I did find the recipes at the end difficult to read, as the brown seemed to bleed into the white letters, but not impossible. And I would have liked, since this is a book on the Pacific Northwest to have seen a few more plants mentioned, e.g., Chamomile, Devil’s Club, Fir Trees, Russian Olive, Miner’s Lettuce, and one found in Eastern Oregon and Washington, Datura. I don’t think we have enough Pine Trees to make them worth the mention, though I could be wrong.

 

I appreciated how Mr. Mace stressed sustainable harvesting, not just when to harvest, but how. I thought his ideas on cooking, serving, or saving/preserving were quite well done and appreciated. I would add one more item to my foraging kit: brand name hand sanitizer. I’ve found it works well on bites and blisters to cut the sting and burn, as well as cleaning hands.

 

If you’ve ever considered foraging for food, fun, or profit, this is the book for you. Nicely done.

 

Deaf Republic: Poems --by Ilia Kaminsky

 Nonfiction / Poetry

80 pages

5 Stars

 

 

I am blown away. Never have I read a book like this. It is a long poem made up of several small poems; it is a play in two acts. It is the beauty of love and survival juxtaposed against the nightmare of war and its cruelty. It is humor, it is tears. It is the most unique book I’ve ever read. Stunning. As someone said, it is something akin to grasping the live wire of poetry and feeling the current traverse your hand, your body, your brain. If you never read another book of poetry, read Deaf Republic.

An Insomniac's Slumber Party with Marilyn Monroe --by Heidi Seaborn

 Nonfiction / Poetry

84 pages

5 Stars

 

Have you ever wondered what it would have been like to have been Norma Jean/Marilyn? Well, wonder no more! Heidi Seaborn did a fantastic job of researching and imagining and then putting all those imaginings into poems.

 

If you plan on your own slumber party with Marilyn, put on your sexiest and go to bed early, because once you start these poems, you will resent having to put the book down before you are finished reading. 

 

I very seldom suggest you read a book of poetry straight through, but these just naturally lead one to the other and you just naturally have to go to the next, the next, the next, the…

 

I laughed. I became intimate with anger. I cried. And when the book was finished, I started over again!

All the Wild and Holy: A Life of Eunice Williams 1696-1785 --by Gayle Lauradunn

 Nonfiction / Poetry

100 pages

5 Stars

 

Like many European girls and women, Eunice Williams found a life worth living with the Indians who abducted her and refused to return to the strangled life of a female in colonial America. The amount of research Ms. Lauradunn accomplished shows in this collection of chronological poems as told by Eunice beautifully imagined by Lauradunn. 

 

We are taken from the horrific abduction to the realization that the Natives not only allowed, but encouraged, singing and dancing and joy in all its manifestations; that women were respected and the head of the family. As an Indian she was a woman of means with a loving husband. As a European woman in the colonies, she would be little more than a drudge in a world of drudge. 

 

When, as an adult, she returned to her family to visit, they could not understand why she wouldn’t stay. Here, in her own words as imagined by Lauradunn, you will understand.

 

I’ve read this book more than once and will read it several times in the future. I have read other books about Eunice Williams with this book being at the top of my favored stack. If you enjoy good writing, history, poetry, this is a must read.

The Philosopher’s Daughter —by Lori Desrosiers

 Nonfiction / Poetry

98 pages / 286 KB

5 Stars

 

I have a bad habit—if I’m truly enjoying a book, I read fast. Poetry should be read slowly, each poem savored. The feel of it in the mouth as you read it aloud, the taste of the spice, the texture of the meat and the vegetables, the subtlety of the dessert—all should be given their own time to be enjoyed. But sometimes when I’m starving, I just want more, more. I did try to slow down in reading this book, but the mouth feel was too good, I wanted more, and I didn’t want to wait.

 

I have a second bad habit—I love good poetry, and I’m book poor. Fortunately, I own my own copy of The Philosopher’s Daughter, and will go back to enjoy the poems, individually, and give them, each and every one, the reverence they are due.

 

My third bad habit—I dog ear pages of the books I own. The bottom corners. When a poem speaks to me, grabs me, evokes laughter or tears, is one I know I want to read again and again, I dog-ear the bottom corner. About a third of the poems in this book are dog-eared. There isn’t a poem in this book I didn’t like, but so many reached out and touched me—from “Conducting in Thin Air” to “Night Writing.” 

 

These poems are about family, about life, and even to someone not “into” poetry, I think they will be accessible and enjoyable. 

Sometimes I Hear the Clock Speak —by Lori Desrosiers

 Nonfiction / Poetry

68 pages

5 Stars

 

In many respects, reading this collection of poems was a trip down memory lane for me although we were raised on opposite sides of the country many of our childhood memories are very close.

 

We both learned of reveille and taps at summer camp, we both played violin. Well, she played, I tried. I haven’t a musical bone in my body.

 

We each have a best friend in our life by the same name. Her first poem is after a sculpture by Isamu Noguchi. There are sculptures in Seattle by him. 

 

There is a poem in the book I didn’t find beautiful, but my favorites are mostly in the second part, Echoes and Voices. At least my favorites the first time I read the book. When I read it again, those will change because I will change.

 

As another reviewer says, these poems are “quiet and delicate, but can soar like violins and waxwings.” Nothing more needs to be said.