Day 232: Number the Stars

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry.  ISBN: 9780395510605.

A major concept in this book is bravery and how we recognize it.  I think there are a lot of us out there who do brave things everyday.  Certainly we don't often get the chance to take big risks in order to save people, but sometimes it's the little acts of bravery that we tend to overlook that are the most important.  It could be something like introducing yourself to a neighbor, telling someone they look nice today, or bringing food to someone ill, small acts that have the potential to change someone's day.

There are a lot of bloggers out there, for instance, who take up very serious political issues, some of which are quite unpopular.  I have even delved into it occasionally, and although I have not personally faced some of the abuse, I know there are others out there who have.  In fact I am often terrified of posting something too political or too religious or too something that will potentially offend someone, but this is ultimately a blog about my personal thoughts and feelings in regards to what I am reading and so the topics do come up.  I am thankful to have such polite and open-minded readers that they do not feel the need to try and shout me down on my own forum.  I am saddened by the thought that some of my posts might cause me to lose readers, but it is ultimately their right not to read my blog. 

I do want to say that I think it's incredibly brave to make those posts anyway.  Yeah, okay, I'm sort of patting myself on the back here, but that's not really how it's intended.  I think it is extremely brave to engage in conversation, open dialogue, and to publish your thoughts and feelings.  I think the addage, "It is not polite to speak about politics or religion" has actually done our country a great deal of harm.  I think we need to talk about these things...  but not in the way they're currently being talked about.  We are terribly, terribly out of practice in having polite discourse about sensitive subjects and because of that nothing gets done, we avoid our neighbors, and we lack a reasonable understanding of other cultures and other people because we can't even talk to them about the things that matter to them and deeply affect their lives.

I think it would be a brave thing for an athiest to talk to a Christian about a moment in the Christian's life where they personally felt touched by god.  And I think it would be equally brave for the Christian to accept that said athiest can be a good and righteous person without the influence of Christ in their lives, and that morality is a somewhat fluid concept, and that the athiest does not necessarily need to be converted.  These are both difficult things and difficult concepts for both parties to accept.  But these are the conversations that we need to have and these are the concepts we at least need to start thinking about.  I only used these two as examples...  there are many, many more conversations that need to happen, and everyone needs to feel safe to have those conversations, both to ask questions and express views that may be offensive and to tell people why those views are or could be offensive without automatically assuming that the person who asked them intentionally means harm by speaking/asking.

I hope people will respectfully tell me when I have offended them, and tell me why.  I may not be able to revoke my words, but I can offer an apology for offending their feelings and act more appropriately in the future.  If I continue to offend, at least it will because I actually am a bigot and not through ignorance, and you, my readers, will then know the difference.

I thought the review from little reading room more or less summed up my feelings adequately.  I will say that I think I'm too old for this book as I wanted something much meatier, but enjoyed it anyway.

Day 231: Number the Stars

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry.  ISBN: 9780395510605.

I think one of the things we forget about today is that war often means sacrifice.  This is because it seems like only a few families really make sacrifices anymore, and most of us live in countries where we can go to war and be relatively unaffected now.  How many people out there are still clamoring for the next iPhone or Android while our soldiers are over in Afghanistan where they are risking life and limb everyday?  "That doesn't affect me, and I still want my iPhone."

But it should, it should affect you.  War is supposed to hurt, and it's supposed to hurt everyone, otherwise we would stay in a state of perpetual war where the best of our countrymen go out and die for stupid, stupid things just because it doesn't cost us anything.  Maybe it doesn't have to be a big thing, but I think we could all do with a lot less sugar in our lives (this includes me, although please god not during NaNoWriMo).  We could do with some gas rationing, fewer video games, less junk mail, perhaps even rationed internet time.  I kind of like that last one actually, although it would not be overly productive for job hunting now that it's almost entirely online and cover letters are a bear to write.  But I want to point out this bit of dialogue, because these are the things that stick out in my mind:

"When will there be cupcakes again?"
When the war ends... When the soldiers leave."

What little girl today has to ask when she will be able to have her next cupcake?  What little girl is so fixated on something that she loved and can't have because there is no sugar, flour, butter, or sparkly glitter to produce it?  How can we expect our government to reign in spending when we refuse to give anything up?  We want our tax cuts and we want the deficit to go down, but we still want our libraries and our fire departments, etc.  Well, it doesn't work that way, you can't cut spending, decrease taxes and have nice things.  You can't be at war and balance a budget in a country that doesn't understand the principle of sacrifice.

It seems that Americans nowadays find human lives to be far more expendable than money.  This is certainly the message we're sending to other civilized countries when we shout and holler that we don't want to have people who make over $250,000 a year pay an extra thousand dollars or eight or ten thousand so that a child can get braces or cancer treatment or an old man can live the rest of his life in comfort with appropriate hospice care.  And it sure as hell doesn't make us look civilized when we throw our young men and women at the guns of enemies and leave them there for nearly ten years in a country that had nothing to do with the attack on our country to begin with.

Maybe you disagree with me.  That's fine.  There may be some good reasons not to like socialized healthcare.  I haven't heard any yet, but they could potentially exist.  Maybe you like that we're killing our own country men and women and not really doing all that much to spread democracy, and we're sure as hell not spreading peace.

But don't complain to me about how much the government is taxing you when you can still eat that damned pink frosted cupcake while your neighbors and countrymen and other people just like you have lost loved ones overseas or have died because you weren't willing to give up a pittance of your paycheck to save their lives.  If anything needs to be "shoved down your throat," it's that fucking cupcake.  Less political posting tomorrow, sorry, they slip out sometimes, and just because I might hate your politics doesn't mean I hate you.

I thought the review from little reading room more or less summed up my feelings adequately.  I will say that I think I'm too old for this book as I wanted something much meatier, but I enjoyed it anyway.

Day 221: Gathering Blue

Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry.  ISBN: 9780440229490.

Kira is a thread worker, someone who works with embroidery and other techniques.  While she was taught, most of it apparently comes to her through "magic."  She just feels her fingers take over and do the work.  I think we all wish we had skills like that, but part of the reason they are so cherished is because we have to work so hard at them.  Certainly there are prodigies in every field, and people who just have a knack for learning certain skills.

I remember as a child trying to find that one thing I was good at.  I hopped from ballet to tap dance to guitar to writing to whatever else I could think of.  My parents were generous and encouraging in my interest, but when I felt I had failed they didn't encourage me to continue.  Instead I was allowed to move on to the next thing.

As it is I feel the only thing I really have any "magic" ability for is writing Rupert stories, and that is a stupid, stupid "talent."  By now I've been writing Rupert stories for three days straight for NaNoWriMo.  I'll be making updates on my twitter account @libs_lib, where I also make updates about what I'm reading.  I'll try to keep it updated with what particular story I'm working on, so you can be all excited about buying them and making me rich.  Rupert the Magical Pony, imma turn you into a Magical Cashcow.  Yeah, probably not, but in the meantime I will try to spread much Magical Pony Joy.

Do I wish I had a better talent?  Sure, but I know at least a few people that Rupert makes happy, and I hope there will be others.

A decent, if short, review can be found at Books R4 Teens.

Day 220: Gathering Blue

Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry.  ISBN: 9780440229490.

I loved the idea that as people in the village got older they added syllables to their name.  For instance someone who begins life as Ann could end life as Annabella.  It's almost like building in an honorific into the name: the more syllables you have, technically the more respected you are.  Those who reach four syllables are considered by the community to be "all knowing," the wisest and most informed.

I like this mostly because as we grow older we change as people.  It makes sense to me that we should also change our names, but recognize the past that who we are now was built on.  Women get this opportunity when they marry, and while it does mark a change in their lives and who they are, it also implies some loss of identity.  They once belonged to their father's family, and now they belong to their husband.  Taking another last name does not so much give credit to your past as it erases it from everything but your family tree.  There's always the option of hyphenating, but that gets messy after several generations and most of us only change our last names once or twice.

Personally, I've never really liked my first name.  The only problem of course, is that I don't know what other name to give myself.  For awhile I toyed with Vivian Leigh, but that was a name for a much older woman, a woman who smokes cigarettes with a holder, drinks brandy, wears gaudy costume jewelry, and writes filthy, filthy romance novels in her six bedroom mansionette, probably located in Virginia or possibly Georgia.  I am obviously not there yet, though you will never see me smoking cigarettes, not even with a handcrafted ebony holder.  This is a name I came up with when I was about 13 and actively writing smut.  Had I been ambitious in that area I may have actually tried publishing under that name when I became a little older.

I would consider taking Danny's last name (which is not actually Walker).  It unfortunately ends with an ee sound, which would not go well with my first and/or last name (Amy Leigh).  Yeah, toooooo many ee sounds.  I could see myself becoming an Amelia at some point, which only gets me up to three syllables.  Maybe people who know me can recommend better names?  Do you like your name, do you have other names you use as pseudonyms?  What are they, why do you have them, how long have you had them, and why did you choose that name for yourself?

A decent, if short, review can be found at Books R4 Teens.