Cammykitty's Reading 2022

KeskusteluA Quiet Corner

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Cammykitty's Reading 2022

1cammykitty
heinäkuu 12, 2022, 12:16 pm

I'd forgotten about this group! I used to be in the Category Challenge for many years, 75ers a few less. The 75ers are chatty! Life is busy, noisy, and I'm in mourning for my dear dog Wanda so I want a place to howl at the walls and hear nothing but myself. So... I'm just tracking my books here. Don't expect me to interact. Boy, I sound like a curmudgeon! Yup, I'm a curmudgeon. I work with people all the time. Sometimes, you need the walls and a place to howl.

2cammykitty
Muokkaaja: heinäkuu 12, 2022, 1:13 pm

When I was a Category Threader, I always had a map and chose a corner of the world which would be my focus. Right now, being someone in the United States, I feel I need to reconnect with my feminist roots and rethink how I want to be in the world. Frankly, Roe v Wade doesn't effect me directly. I'm travelling through menopause and the Minnesota Supreme Court has just ruled that any government regulation on a woman's body is a violation of privacy and therefore against the Minnesota Constitution. Therefore, it effects us because it effects our neighboring states and our medical facilities may be stressed trying to keep up with the additional demand from the neighboring states. However, the fact that the... got distracted. The cheese touch. I had to tell some kids the cheese touch isn't real... so I was rambling on about finding my place in the universe.

The personal is political...

And wasn't I talking about reading maps?

3cammykitty
Muokkaaja: marraskuu 1, 2022, 11:48 am

Reading around the world


visited 54 states (24%)
Buy Douwe's Machine Learning Book

Create your own visited map of The Worldhref="https://douweosinga.com/projects/visited?region=world">Create your own visited map of The World

And I just found this site that has word population totals. Looks like I should be looking for an Indonesian novelist if I haven't already, but I forgot. Pakistan would be Malala. The countries with high populations kind of surprise me. https://worldpopulationreview.com/

1. Suncranes and Other Stories: Modern Mongolian Short Fiction

4cammykitty
Muokkaaja: syyskuu 23, 2022, 9:56 pm

The Personal is Political

1. Ain't I a Woman bell hooks
2. Bad Feminist Roxanne Gay
3. Birth Strike by Jenny Brown
4. My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem
5. This is what America Looks Like by my Squad leader, Ilhan Omar
6. A Good Time for the Truth
7. Being Heumann

6cammykitty
Muokkaaja: marraskuu 1, 2022, 11:46 am

It looks like Africa and the Middle East are my neglected regions. Book options are:

The first woman/a girl is a body of water Uganda
Yaa gyasi GHANA
Ngugi wa Thiong’o Kenya

Iran Persepolis

I also have a book from Moracco in my locker at school and a book from Paraguay ordered.

7cammykitty
Muokkaaja: lokakuu 5, 2022, 7:53 pm

Physical books off my shelves
Currently reading solar storms by Linda Hogan
1. The Bohemian Flats

8cammykitty
Muokkaaja: marraskuu 1, 2022, 11:39 am

Possibles around the world ( by population if missing on map, sort of)

Bangledesh: Tahmimi Anam
Ethiopia: Maaza Mengiste
Philipinnes: Dusk - Sionil Jose
Paraguay - bought book in paperback
Egypt - I want to get married Ghada Abdel Aal or Memoirs from the Women’s Prison, by Nawal El Saadawi
DR Congo The Kingdom of AIDS

9cammykitty
Muokkaaja: lokakuu 28, 2022, 4:13 pm

Now reading Indonesia The Question of Red
Solar Storms

10cammykitty
heinäkuu 12, 2022, 12:17 pm

post 9

11cammykitty
heinäkuu 12, 2022, 12:17 pm

post 10

12cammykitty
Muokkaaja: heinäkuu 13, 2022, 10:09 pm

1. The Maltese Falcon is a strange book to read at a time when I'm focusing on feminism. The era it was written in, and the whole hard boiled detective thing, isn't conducive to feminists. But I will say, Effie was a strong woman even though she took a lot of orders and unwanted? kisses from her boss. Or was that a tentative love affair -- the real woman waiting in the wings. Hard to say. But she was strong, and therefor also described as boyish. Of course she was. And spoiler alert, the femme fatale hides behind stereotypes of her sex, but she's got everyone dancing to her tune. Should we take that as feminist in a way? If someone wants to be offended by this book, the portrayal of the gay man is worse.

13cammykitty
Muokkaaja: heinäkuu 15, 2022, 1:02 pm

I was begining to think Bad Feminist was going to let me down and not live up to it's reputation, and then I hit "The Careless Language of Sexual Violence." Yes! Well done and so true. This was probably my first feminist issue. In the late 70s and early 80s, my family would watch TV together. They liked crime shows like Starsky and Hutch, and to vary from the murderer plots (drug dealer was a little controversial at the time) they would show a scuffle between a man and a woman, an alley, and then the show would be on bringing the man to justice. Clearly, rape wasn't a serious crime and the woman wasn't really hurt. Rape plots were so common that I began protesting by leaving the living room whenever a show centered around rape and ate in my room. My protest never really worked. My family never changed their viewing habits or realized what I was trying to say, that violence against women wasn't ever meant to be an entertaining dinner topic. And my parents aren't around now, so I can't discuss how I never felt safe going out about more urban areas in day or night, or around my apartment building or home, until age and a bit of extra weight came to protect me. I used to go to "Take Back the Night" protests, but to be honest, the night was never mine to take back except when I was young and walking around the block with my family and our Basset Hound looking at the stars and learning my place in the universe.

14cammykitty
Muokkaaja: heinäkuu 17, 2022, 7:38 pm

"Trickle-down misogyny" I wish I had come up with that phrase, but I didn't. Roxanne Gay uses it in Bad Feminist. I do tend to look for female authors, but I wonder what it would be like ending the year solely with books written by women. Right away, I want to add to it, "women and minorities". But all I have to do to find misogyny is 10 minutes of randomly chosen rap music... so women and lgbtq? Then I want to add even more minorities but then I remember the allegations against Sherman Alexie and wasn't there something about that local Japanese American writer? See where this is getting me? A smaller world.

15cammykitty
Muokkaaja: heinäkuu 17, 2022, 7:58 pm

Oh wow, just did some research... which of course doesn't tell the whole story, but it looks like roughly 75% of books published in 2021 were written by non-disabled cis gendered straight white women. But during my borders days, the hottest selling genre was romance which is almost 100% written by non-disabled cis gendered straight white women. I wonder what the stats would be if you took the romance novels out? Cuz it feels like there is still a gender bias toward publishing men, and the Supreme Court has definitely told me I am not as capable as straight men at making decisions.

16cammykitty
Muokkaaja: elokuu 2, 2022, 12:40 pm

Viestin kirjoittaja on poistanut viestin.

17cammykitty
heinäkuu 26, 2022, 3:28 pm

2. Ain't I a Woman was thought-provoking in many ways. I'm glad to have the information, but I didn't really enjoy the book. I also finished it wondering what she envisioned the main goals of feminism to be. She seemed to feel that the fight for equal pay, the ERA and respect was a white woman's struggle, and that black women were not included in that. She criticized white feminists by saying they wanted to join the patriarchy by becoming financially equal to men, when what was needed was a radical shift that... now I may be misinterpreting her... valued the work women traditionally did and addressed their struggles. I want to ask her what is first on your agenda. Confronting stereotypes sounds like it may be high on the list. Living wage or guaranteed basic income sounds like they might be on her list. ... and now, those issues are considered more progressive than feminist.

19cammykitty
heinäkuu 27, 2022, 11:20 pm

3. Bad Feminist came with very high praise, and at first I thought maybe it was over-rated. Now that I've finished, I have to say I love it. Some of the essays are better than others, but some of the essays are brilliant. Many are reviews, but she always quickly leaves off reviewing to make some personal or sociopolitical point. She answered the question I wanted bell hook to answer, what should modern feminists focus on. Pg 317 misogyny, institutional sexism, pay inequity, unhealthy ideals of beauty, reproductive freedom, violence against women, etc. She says on and on instead of etc.

Personally, I think the list of issues is long enough for one person. I've always wanted to do too much, but if I focus more, I might accomplish more. Personal goals: to try to broaden the world of the kids I work with so they think twice before saying/doing something misogynistic or homophobic. Support lgbtq+ people. Decrease violence against women.

The other issues are all important too, but there are other women to work on those issues. Sigh... and I am not even sure about mine.

20cammykitty
Muokkaaja: elokuu 2, 2022, 12:39 pm

Oh Puke. Just skimmed a description of a book in the Early Reviewers about reclaiming education. We've been doing it for 100 years wrong. ... Ok, I could be convinced we've been doing it wrong. But then it went on to say Progressives (read communists) have been winning the battle for our children's minds and it is time to teach them more conservatively. ... In other words, the Civil War was over states rights and should better be called The War of Northern Aggression, Slavery was Forcible Relocation, there never was a Chinese Exclusion Act. Matter of fact, there were no Chinese but some how the Northern Pacific Railroad got built anyway, the Dakota were never starving in Minnesota and were never made to winter enmasse on Pike Island, Trail of Tears is a trail where you can find cool gemstones called Apache Tears. Who are the Apache? .... Puke

So, I've been reading Birth Strike and the idea that political views toward birth control and abortion have more to do with cheap labor and the economy than it does religion and morality sounds plausible. Wish politicians could just say (well some have said it) that because of the boomer generation, we need more young people now to keep our economy going while we care for our older people. I wish they could find ways involving propaganda and social programs etc to increase birth rates when needed and slow them when needed, just like they do with the Federal Reserve Bank. So, here's my next cynical thought. Tell me I'm going into crazy conspiracy theory now. Add gun control to this debate. You want to outlaw abortions while arming every Kyle Rittenhouse with an AR15??? Sound contradictory? Not if your goal is to increase the white population while decreasing minority populations. African Americans have the highest death rate by gun violence in the US. Uvalde killed mostly Latinx kids. Ugh!!!! I want to go screaming into the streets. It's too horrible to think it, but I do think it.

By the way, Marjorie Taylor Green said "The reality is murder is legal." I heard her. For whom? The guy who killed Trayvon Martin?

21cammykitty
Muokkaaja: elokuu 4, 2022, 7:00 pm

4. Birth Strike Grrrrrr, I don't know what to think of this. It's the first time I've been encouraged to think of birth rate as an economic factor that can be politically manipulated just like interest rates can be. It makes me feel angry, manipulated and underpaid. As for an answer for that? She offers some consciousness raising questions and some strategies as a collective feminist organization. Do I see any of this happening? To be honest, no. She also puts a lot of faith in unions. Ha, she's not thinking of my paraprofessional union at the school. The school has been trying ways to sneak improvements to us that our union didn't think to bargain for. Our new contract was made during the pandemic and didn't even get us a bump in sick days due to the pandemic. But... I've also been told that our admin has openly laughed at our union reps, saying when you can get more than half of the available employees to join the union, they might start listening to us. So, yes it's easy to spot what's wrong, and even to find some changes that could help, but getting any of those implemented? Oh, I'm cynical today.

Oh, and btw, I just heard that the Mall of America is in lockdown because of a shooting. A lot of my students like to hang out there, yes, near the Nike store. They love shoes. Can't we get some guns off the street? Really now. It's not that hard. We just have to have the government decide it's a good idea.

22cammykitty
Muokkaaja: elokuu 8, 2022, 6:44 pm

MOA. No one hurt. Hot head shoot three shots into Nike store after getting in argument. He was walking away from argument, when friend convinced him to go back and shoot. Then he made a get away in a best Western hotel van. Two of his friends worked there and managed to meet him at the mall entrance just in the nick of time. His three friends are being held by the police, but no one has caught up with him yet. And he is an adult, but probably just barely. The cops have released his name but not his friends' names. And yes, best Western fired his friends. So, was it worth it?

23cammykitty
elokuu 11, 2022, 3:25 pm

I've been picking through a good time for the truth an essay at a time for over a year now. I will finish it this year. It is an uneven collection by Minnesota writers about the loose theme of equity. The writers who dare to use details and get personal do very well, and have written several essays that open up their world to other people. To use a cliche that will make sense of what I am saying really quickly, they speak their truth. A few of the essays may take a few swipes at Minnesota Nice (which every Minnesotan knows is false) and say in general terms life is bad. Hey, you got to tell me how life is bad. I can only guess what another person's life is like. The least I can do is be a mediator, and I can't do that without real information about what other people's lives like I'm Tibetan so everyone thinks I get all As without even trying but don't understand that's hard for me or I have other interests ... or, my parents want to help me but I need to help them even more because of the language... or... you see me as black but race confuses me because where I come from, everyone has this skin color. ...I am probably not expressing myself well. I'm saying empathy with someone's lived experience is far more transformative than generalizations and statistics. For me anyway. If I were writing some sort of grant proposal, I'm sure I would need both.

24cammykitty
Muokkaaja: elokuu 15, 2022, 11:43 pm

5. I Was Better Last Night by Harvey Fierstein oh noes, only 4 months to read only women and I read a man! Oh noes, woes! I am kidding. I am not upset about it. Anyone who could write Bella, Bella is an ally, and Harvey's idea to use that play as a fund raiser for female politicians is a great one, and I hope it comes to pass. I would love to volunteer for something like set design (set is a hotel bathroom) for Tina Smith. Ok, about last night, I did get a little tired of the chronicle of his successes, but he is clearly such a genuine and loving person, and when he gets personal he doesn't hold back, so I am glad I stuck with it to the very end. I wish it were more easy to find recorded Broadway and off-off-broadway shows than it is because, frankly, I'm dying to see what he did with Kinky Boots.

25cammykitty
Muokkaaja: syyskuu 1, 2022, 6:46 pm

6. My Life on the Road by Gloria Steinem. Not much to say but wow. I needed this right now. I haven't read her or ms magazine before, but I feel she has been a huge influence on my life, working on the backdrop.

As for what I want to work on, and how, and how much time I will have... im ending the summer with long covid... I've narrowed it down to mmiw/violence toward women/domestic violence. And. Autism/disability inclusion. I've been thinking about disabilities for a while, but it really got knocked to the forefront today. I just found out a friend I haven't seen for awhile just fell in her house and became quadriplegic. My friend Phoebe used to say the fastest thing you can do to change your life radically is to become disabled. Damn. She was right.

26cammykitty
syyskuu 1, 2022, 11:52 pm

So happy! California just passed the feather alert, like the amber alert here, for when they feel an indigenous person is in imminent danger. I wonder if indigenous people can block certain people, like convicted sex offenders, from coming on their land. Good idea but probably not practical. Are they going to post a guard to racially profile any unidentified skanky looking white male and turn him back by waving a hunting rifle. Somebody might want the job, but still... that wouldn't be good for pr in the long run.

27cammykitty
syyskuu 7, 2022, 12:20 pm

7. this is what america looks like by Ilhan Omar She is my rep and I'm glad I had a chance to spend some time with her, not in person but via her book. She shouldn't have read it herself, not because of her accent which is actually rather pleasant, but because her cadence was odd. She grouped words together with pauses that didn't seem natural. Yup, and audio book. I'm sure there is an American-Somali woman out there who is voice talent. We would've lost the sense of Ilhan actually talking to the reader, but for emotional impact and ease of understanding, it would've been better.

As for the content! Wow! I like her better now than I already did. And she's the first politician my partner and I have disagreed on. He wanted the person who ran against her in the primaries. Poo, she makes the Republicans seethe. I love her for that.

And knowing what her life was like in Somalia and in the refugee camps. Very interesting, especially since I work with several Somali-Americans and it's good to know what their families' experiences may have been.

28cammykitty
syyskuu 16, 2022, 3:11 pm

29cammykitty
syyskuu 23, 2022, 9:53 pm

9 Being Heumann Disability activism. Special Ed and 504 wouldn't exist today if it weren't for this woman. This goes out to Phoebe and her adoptive parents who were disability activists in their own way.

30cammykitty
Muokkaaja: syyskuu 24, 2022, 5:45 am

Our homecoming game got cut short because of gunshots. Both teams ran off the field and the stadium was evacuated. 2 boys hurt. Don't know who they are because they are minors. Going to have to find that out from the student grape vine. And of course I have a few favorite students on the team, Elijah I, Vegas. Derek B, Ambi who is really quiet and sweet. Elijah and Derek were on that team bus that burned on the highway about 4 years ago. I'm feeling both sick and angry. I dont care about football but these boys do. They should be able to be the center of the world for the space of a game.

31cammykitty
lokakuu 5, 2022, 7:47 pm

10. The Bohemian Flats Epic. Not a page turner, but I found it interesting, especially since I'm a Minnesotan and we teach about the Flats to our 6th graders. The book was dripping with history, but it didn't focus on the amazing squalor and poverty of the neighborhood, for example the outhouses that would wash out with the rain, float downstream with the river and then be returned by neighbors or reused by someone else. Yes, people died from dysentery in the novel, but she focused on the diverse and boisterous community that lived there because there was nowhere else in the city that embraced immigrants. Tragic, but I am still glad I read it.

32cammykitty
lokakuu 12, 2022, 7:10 pm

I just purchased The Question of Red for Indonesia. My tbr pile is getting out of hand.

33cammykitty
Muokkaaja: lokakuu 26, 2022, 11:31 pm

So I am almost finished with the book of short stories from Mongolia and I was looking forward to saying that all the stories had horses in them except one, which had camels. The book has stories arranged in chronological order, and sadly, when I hit the 1990s, the horses disappeared. There is however a kick ass ghost story, reminiscent of Algernon Blackwood had he lived in Ulaanbaatar.

34cammykitty
Muokkaaja: lokakuu 27, 2022, 2:49 pm

11. LOL, and the last story ended with a horse. Suncranes and Other Stories: Modern Mongolian Short Fiction As far as I can tell, at present this is the only book you can buy of Mongolian Stories translated into English. Not bad, but it could've benefitted by another run through by an author/editor rather than a scholar. Just a picky comment. It did start with stories from the 1800s and ended with some written in the 2000s, so it covered the period where people were changing their lifestyle from moving with the land to being urban. It also shifted from more "real" to dream like.

35cammykitty
lokakuu 28, 2022, 10:21 am

Can you tell I got interupted while writing my response to Suncranes. Oh well.