Just finished Kingsolver's Flight Behavior. Certainly a prescient book. It's unclear to me whether or not Dellarobia catches the metaphorical raft she fashioned for change; a new start. Guess the important thing is she travelled the distance it took to do so. Kind of feels like the butterflies have a better chance of it than mankind in the end. I read The Bean Trees before I had my daughter, Unk, and always wanted to be the mom in the book who gave her daughter roots, watched her climb out on a limb, and then said, "Fly." Loved that book but didn't have the heart to read the sequel. Read the other missive stream and will seek out milkweed for my garden. Am now reading Nomadland; definitely not the most sexy way to go off grid--beginning and ending with limited options about traveling that route. Reading it through the lens of "there but for the Grace of God go I, but we all may be on a similar Grapes of Wrath journey before long."
So glad you read it, Gracesinger. I loved it too.
We have a group in our town that buys and distributes milkweed for people to plant. It needs full sun which is rare in suburban gardens, but I've planted it. Budlea (Butterfly Weed) will provide nectar to all kinds of butterflies, which is good, but milkweed is the only way the Monarch's larvae survive.
Hi Everyone,
Been reading Jeanne's posts (and other posts!) for a while now and really love this site. (Also love Jeanne's meditations!). Just officially registered. Thought a good place for me to weigh in might be on the 'Books We Recommend'. Good recommendations from others! I read The Handmaid's Tale 31 years ago (literally), whilst living in Scotland one summer, sitting in my cousin's home on the Isle of Skye. (funny how I can remember vividly where I was - even where I was sitting - as I read the book. It was that powerful.) Can't say that I am inclined to read any books about Orange Hitler/Orange Voldemort (I refuse to say his name - or read anything about him.) Makes me too angry and I am trying really hard to focus on the positive!
Here are a few books I've read recently that folks might enjoy. All memoirs.
(1) Faery Tale: One Woman's Search for Enchantment in a Modern World, by Signe Pike.-- A charming and interesting book in which the author goes in search of faeries. (really). Part memoir, part study into the 'faerie world', and part travelogue of the British Isles, this is a charming and entrancing book that explores the feeling all people must have when something in the twilight air suggests an energy that is magical, bigger, or different that us.
(2) A Woman in Berlin, by anonymous. This is sometimes a difficult book to read due to its topic - but very powerful. I include it because it isn't well known and it gives a true and interesting personal perspective of what it was like to be a woman in Berlin during the fall and the arrival of the Russian army. This relatively unknown memoir is written by a young female journalist and portrays the realities and horrors of war for the residents (particularly the women) of Berlin living in the area that eventually became East Berlin and East Germany.
(3) Educated, by Tara Westover. Wow. This book is powerful. (the first review that pops up on Goodreads is a real 5-star review by Bill Gates.) The story of a young woman's strive to learn and educate herself living in a family of radical, right wing evangelical mormonism, family mental health issues, abuse, and no formal education. I won't give it all away - but her achievements and talent in the face of adversity are amazing!
(4) Twopence to Cross the Mercy, by Helen Forrester. This book and the others in the series by Helen Forrester may be out of print, so you might have to order them used. I highly recommend them. I found them on Amazon and have recommended them to everyone I know. A true memoir. Think Angela's Ashes in Liverpool during the depression. Powerful, haunting, and one that makes you frustrated that children are forced into these circumstances, yet also makes you incredibly aware of how not everyone is capable of coping with the strain of severe economic challenges.
(5) The Forgotten Highlander, My Incredible Story of Survival During the War in the Far East, by Alistair Urquhart. Another book that I recommend - and gift to people. A powerful story of a man that experienced WWII in the Pacific to a horrific degree - everything from 'The Bridge on the River Kwai' to Nagasaki.
Thanks to everyone for your wonderful posts and the positive energy you send out!
Kind regards,
Mary
I just ordered "The Robes" by Penny Kelly. I watched her interview with Regina Meredith on YouTube and realized many of the predictions here also have a correlation in the book.
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Yeah, I am almost halfway through with it. I highly recommend The Robes by Penny Kelly. Lot of the things the men in the robes predicted have come true.
A few weeks ago I reread one of my all-time favorite works of fiction, The Bone People by Keri Hulme. The Bone People is a dense, idiosyncratic novel, and for that reason I don't normally recommend it to just anyone. But the themes Hulme deals with seem like they should resonate with people on this site. Those themes include cultural reawakening, spiritual revival, deep personal healing, indigenous knowledge, prophecy, dream visions, multiculturalism, and radical forgiveness.
As a whole, The Bone People is an example of vibration-raising literature; I still get goosebumps when I read its opening passages, and I get misty-eyed with joy when I read the final chapter. So if you feel like you need to take a break from dystopian fiction or tell-all exposés of the current presidential administration, I suggest giving Keri Hulme's magnum opus a try.
Some more examples of vibration-raising fiction:
- The Wizard of the Crow by Ngūgī wa Thiong'o
- The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy
- The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
- Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
- Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko
- Tinkers by Paul Harding
- Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
I'm very excited - just found out today Margaret Atwood has written a sequel to The Handmaid's Tale called The Testaments. It comes out in September and is available for pre-order on Amazon. The blurb there says that the story picks up 15 years after Offred's last diary entry. That's exciting because I have always wanted to know how Gilead fell prior to the epilogue.
I looked up "Penny Kelly" on Goodreads. She's also written a book called The Elves of Lily Tree Farm" - has anyone read it? Looks interesting. I just ordered it. I've read several books about Findhorn and am fascinated by the subject of working in conjunction with nature spirits.
From Goodreads:
"This incredible true story revolves around Penny Kelly (owner of Lily Hill Farm) and the "deal" she makes -- with a group of elves -- to produce one hundred tons of grapes from a mere thirteen acres of vineyards. The elves' encouragement to find "the nature of balance rather than the balance in nature" becomes the force behind a re-alignment of intention, energy and physical action. The experience uncovers a gripping truth for us in today's world. "