Tuesday, May 06, 2025

Reading Update

Book #27 of the year was L'Énigme du Retour, by Dany Laferrière. I downloaded it a while ago because I was craving reading something Haitian, preferably something not about death and misery. This book, though it was published in 2009, was about death and misery, in its own way. After the death of his father, the protagonist, exiled in Canada, returns to Haiti and reflects on what he sees and experiences. Here's an English translation. 


Book #28 was Lady Tan's Circle of Women, by Lisa See. This story, set in 15th century China, is a fascinating look at the life of a wealthy woman who learns about medicine and caring for other women's health. 


Book #29 was Digging in the Dirt: Musings on Missions, Emotions, and Life in the Mud, by Jonathan Trotter. I enjoyed these essays on cross-cultural living and working.

 

Book #30 was Glory Over Everything: Beyond the Kitchen House, by Kathleen Grissom. I read this with my book group. It was the sequel to The Kitchen House (reviewed in this post), which we enjoyed. I think I liked this one even more, though it was equally painful, since it too was about slavery. This one was also about the Underground Railroad and people who lived in the Great Dismal Swamp. It's almost unbearably suspenseful and exciting. 


Book #31 was a reread; I actually read it a couple of times this school year because I taught it to my AP French students. It's Petit Pays, by Gaël Faye. (You can find an English version here.) This book is so good and so well-written. It's also an introduction to the story of the Rwandan genocide. For all of my students this year, it was their first French novel. We also watched the movie when we were finished reading it. Highly recommended!

 

Book #32 was Within Arm's Reach, by Ann Napolitano, a saga of an Irish-American family living in New Jersey.

 

Book #33 was A Long Way Home: A Memoir, by Saroo Brierley. It's the almost incredible story of an Indian boy who gets lost on a train journey with his older brother. When the brother disappears, Saroo, who is only 5, wanders off on his own and ends up on the street in Calcutta. What happens next, and then when he is an adult, makes for amazing reading.

 

Book #34 was The Family Under the Bridge, by Natalie Savage Carlson. Our librarian recommended this when I was looking for a story set in Paris. This middle grade novel won a Newbery Honor in 1959. I enjoyed it.

 

Book #35 was The Salt Path, by Raynor Winn. Brought to the end of themselves by a series of terrible blows, Ray and Moth decide to set off on a walk of 630 miles. This true story is both upsetting and inspiring, and it's also an affecting description of homelessness.

 

Book #36 was this year's Newbery winner,  The First State of Being, by Erin Entrada Kelly. I liked the setting, a few months ahead of Y2K, and the time travel aspect. 


Book #37, Conclave, by Robert Harris, was recommended online by someone after the recent death of the Pope. It's an interesting story in its own right, but it's also a good way to learn about how the process works as the conclave chooses a new Pope.

 

Book #38 was Burn, by Peter Heller. I've read several of Heller's books, and this one includes many of the same elements as the others. Outdoors (including birds), heart-thumping action, apocalyptic setting, and sad back-story. I thought this one was terrific.

 

Book #39 was The Red Tent, by Anita Diamant, another book club choice. I read this when it first came out in the 90s, but I had forgotten many of the details. It's very well-written and a thought-provoking retelling of the story of Jacob and his family from the Bible. This version is extremely different! The protagonist is Dinah, Jacob's daughter.

 

Book #40 was Pay Attention, Carter Jones, by Gary D. Schmidt. I have read lots of Schmidt's books and shared them with students, but last week I listened to a podcast about Schmidt and noted that there are a few that I haven't read yet. This was one. If you like Schmidt's style as I do, you'll like this one.

 

Thursday, May 01, 2025

SJT May: Blossoming

 

I have been very uneven in my participation in Spiritual Journey Thursday so far this year, but I felt I really needed to participate this month (even though I'm a day late). Carol, our host, just lost her husband, and yet is able to post about blossoming. So if she can, I can too.

 

Here in Central Uganda we don't have the same seasons as in the northern hemisphere, but this is rainy season, and the abundant rain contributes to the constant greenness of our area. And yes, blossoming of one kind or another all year round. Here are some recent blossom photos (all taken in April):



 

When I went looking for Bible verses about flowers, I found that most of them are about the temporary nature of these beautiful blossoms.  Like our lives on earth, flowers don't last forever, but while they are here, we can enjoy them. And as Luke 12:27 says, "Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these." Even in our short-lived days, God takes care of us.

 

Although it isn't really spring here, it is definitely exam season, and that's keeping me extremely busy. But nevertheless, here's to blossoming in May! Check out what everyone else is posting here.

Wednesday, April 30, 2025

The Progressive Poem is finished!

You can read the whole thing here!

Monday, April 28, 2025

Friday, April 25, 2025

Tuesday, April 22, 2025

Progressive Poem Line 23

 
 
Today it's my turn to add a line to the Progressive Poem.  It's also my blog birthday; today I've been blogging for 18 years. The Progressive Poem has been around for 13 of those years, since 2012. I've participated in all of them! 

We're coming to the end of our April day, with twilight and stars. I decided we needed some more birds, since we haven't had any since the second stanza. Here are a couple of links where you can see and hear this particular bird (in real life, you're much more likely to hear him than see him): here and here. My line is in bold below. Looking forward to seeing what comes next!


Open an April window
let sunlight paint the air
stippling every dogwood
dappling daffodils with flair

 

Race to the garden
where woodpeckers drum
as hummingbirds thrum
in the blossoming Sweetgum

 

Sing as you set up the easels
dabble in the paints
echo the colors of lilac and phlox
commune without constraints

 

Breathe deeply the gifts of lilacs
rejoice in earth’s sweet offerings
feel renewed-give thanks at day’s end
remember long-ago springs

 

Bask in a royal spring meadow
romp like a golden-doodle pup!
startle the sleeping grasshoppers
delight in each flowering shrub…

 

Drinking in orange-blossom twilight
relax to the rhythm of stars dotting sky
as a passing Whip-poor-will gulps bugs

 

 

April 24 Linda Kulp Trout at http://lindakulptrout.blogspot.com
April 25 Heidi Mordhorst at My Juicy Little Universe
April 26 Michelle Kogan at: https://moreart4all.wordpress.com/
April 27 Linda Baie at Teacher Dance
April 28 Pamela Ross at Words in Flight
April 29 Diane Davis at Starting Again in Poetry
April 30 April Halprin Wayland at Teaching Authors


 

Sunday, April 20, 2025