Week 2 November 9-15 - Nonfiction Journeys - This week choose a book that reflects a journey for its author or for the reader or both. This can be a physical journey, an emotional, psychological or spiritual journey or a combination of these. Any nonfiction title that leaves its author/protagonist and/or reader in a different place at the end from the start point is good for this challenge.
This past summer my husband and I took a rode trip to visit two national parks: Grand Teton NP and Yellowstone NP, both in Wyoming. As we were driving through the bleak parts of Eastern Idaho we listened to an audiobook of This Land is Your Land by Beverly Gage.
Beverly Gage, a Pulitzer Prize winning historian, embarked on a series of thirteen road trips around the U.S.A. to highlight important moments in the country's history. Gage visited museums, roadside attractions, reenactment sites, even souvenir stores. Some of the places she visited are well known sites (Independence Hall) and others are much more obscure (spending the night in a missile silo turned into an Airbnb). She doesn't try to tell a sanitized story of only heroic moments but also uses her road trips to point out places and events that highlight our country's challenges and mistakes. The words of the Declaration of Independence that gave birth to a new nation in 1776 have been consistent touchstones over the years since, but various people and groups have embraced the Declaration and molded its powerful words to fit a particular viewpoint or support causes across the political spectrum. Gage shows that Americans can honestly face their history -- the good, the bad, and the ugly -- and still love their country.
As Don and I listened to accounts of each of her thirteen road trips, covering the whole history of the USA from colonial time to the current day we were both struck by our messy history and yet we have held together for 250 years. During the time of our listening our country was preparing itself for a celebration of those 250 years. However we were learning that our President was messing with the plans, trying to make the event about him. For example, Trump was planning a UFC event on the lawn of the White House, which people would have to say exurbanite amounts to attend. And what do mixed marital arts have to do with our history, anyway? Everything he was doing and planning seemed to divide the country more than it already was. Few people I know even bothered to celebrate the milestone event on July 4th. Everything about his plans disgusted us. Both Don and I were old enough to remember the bicentennial celebrations in 1976. Every town had a parade and one felt proud to be an American. Not this year.
As we finished the audiobook, Don turned to me and said he wished everyone in our country could listen to or read this book for the country's 250th birthday. Gage had helped us see, through history, that we can endure these current times, when a president is only interested in enriching himself and dismantling a constitution. She said, "I also discovered that it’s very hard to know in our own historical moment how to judge what’s happening around you. One of the things that history does is give us some measures against which to judge our own time."
Sometimes I find myself wanting to hide within fiction, where there is a likely happy ending to the story. But this summer, the book that helped me the most by gaining a historical perspective was This Land is Your Land by Beverly Gage.
Time for another Classics Club Spin. I just looked at my list and discovered I have exactly 20 books left on it. I decided to not pick out the long ones and replace them with some short novel instead. I'm going for it. I'm listing them all. I may not finish the book if it is one the clunksters, but I'll have a nice start on it going forward.
Want to join in? Here are the "rules":
Pick twenty books that you’ve got left to read from your Classics Club List.
Post that list, numbered 1-20, on your blog before Sunday 15th November 2026.
CC will announce a number from 1-20.
Read that book by 3rd January 2027.
Here is my list of 20, organized alphabetically by author:
The Good Earth / Buck
Death Comes for the Archbishop / Cather
Don Quixote / de Cervantes
Heart of Darkness / Conrad
The Tale of Two Cities / Dickens
Crime and Punishment / Dostoevsky
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes / Doyle
Invisible Man / Ellison
The Scarlet Letter / Hawthorne
Odyssey / Homer
On the Road / Kerouac
Elmer Gantry / Lewis
Midnight's Children / Rushdie
King Lear / Shakespeare
Dracula / Stoker
Anne Karenina / Tolstoy
War and Peace / Tolstoy
Scoop / Waugh
The Importance of Being Ernest / Wilde
To the Lighthouse / Woolf
I hope to read Midnight's Children this year, but I doubt I can scrunch it in unless I am forced to by getting it for the Spin book. I'd also like to be forced to read Don Quixote, See how this Spin activity forces my hand?
Weather: It is sunny right this moment but we had a rain and wind storm last. It was pretty dramatic.
Post midterm election thoughts: As you know, if you are a reader of my blog, I was delighted by the results of the election which was called a Blue Tsunami. Here are a few points which I'd like to highlight:
Racism by the republicans was on clear display this election cycle with several states gerrymandering their legislative districts to diminish the chances of Democrats and people-of-color retaining/winning them. In Mississippi people were kicked off the voter rolls because they had low credit scores (I kid you not) and who has the highest chance of lower credit scores? Why poorer people-of-color, of course. But these people all understood the assignment to make sure they were not dismissed. Of all the gerrymandered districts it looks like almost all became dummymanders, with Democrats holding onto almost all of them (a few are still question.) Mississippi is poised to select a Black man, Scott Colom. Take that racists! (Dummymanders)
New records for women as a result of this election:
132+ women will serve in the next House of Representative starting in January. A record.
In Congress there will be 31 Black women, 26 Latinas, 3 Indigenous women, too. (Rutgers)
There will be 17 women governors, 14 of them Democrats. Among them: Keisha Lance Bottoms (Black, Georgia), Gina Hinojosa (Latina, Texas), and Deb Haaland (Native American- Pueblo tribe, New Mexico.)
TEXAS goes blue all the way through (every statewide office is now Democratic, State House flipped blue), Talarico to Senate! Thank you Texans!
I've been busy doing to opposite of doom scrolling the past week. Still keeping my fingers crossed for Alaska and Mississippi senate. The numbers are too close to call but both of these democrats are in the lead.
Blog posts since my last Sunday Salon:
TTT: My Perfect Day -- I hope my family members read this because you will recognize the setting.
I'm participating in Novellas in November again this year so I was pretty delighted to see that this month's six-degrees challenge is about novellas.
I decided to make a themed list this time around. All of these novellas started me down a reading or research path. Follow me down that path for explanations.
Starting with
Black and Whiteby Paul Volponi, c. 2005. Read in April 2012 199 pages After reading this book, I planned an author project for a class of high school juniors which culminated with a Zoom call with the author. It was one of the highlights of my teacher-librarian days.
Mister Orange by Truus Matti, c. 2011. Read in February 2014 156 pages Part of the story focuses on the art of Piet Mondrian. I trip-trapped down a personal research rabbit-hole to learn more about Mondrian, his art, and the museums where it is displayed.
The Bridge of San Luis Reyby Thornton Wilder, c. 1927. Read in November 2023 160 pages This book started me onto a Thornton Wilder tangent where I read a few other books by him or about him, including his famous play, Our Town.
Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo, c. 1955. Read in November 2024 122 pages This book is so unique I had to do additional research on it and the author, on surrealism, and magical realism. Want to know more? Click on the title for my review.
What Does It Feel Like? by Sophie Kinsella, c. 2024. Read in October 2025 133 pages The novel is about a woman with brain cancer. My research helped me learn that the author was struggling with the same cancer and has since died from it.
The Stranger by Albert Camus, c. 1942. Reread in July 2026. 123 pages I first read this book in high school. When I went to see The Stranger at the movies this year, I decided a reread was in order. That led to extensive research about existentialism, absurdism, the author, and the time period.
In 2022 Ada Limón was appointed as the twenty-fourth Poet Laureate of the United States, by Dr. Carla Hayden of the Library of Congress. In 2025 Limón delivered this moving address at the end of her tenure. Against Breaking is the perfect thing to read (should I call it a book?) if you are wondering what poetry has to do with your life or what value it even holds for society today. People often tell me they don't read much poetry and don't know where or how to start doing so. This would be a perfect place to start because Limón lays out so articulately the power of poetry.
Limón delivered this speech in April of 2025, three weeks later Dr. Hayden was unceremoniously removed from her post at the Library of Congress, evidence of how our nation is changing in dangerous ways. It is heartbreaking what this administration is doing to our Constitution and also to the arts, health sciences, etc. In the conclusion of her forward Limón says she wishes we could have all been together in the big room that April night. And by reading this book, to a degree, we are. "I hope you feel invited in the room, the large room we all must create together, the room where we all must work hard to save what matters."
Just imagine for a moment life without the arts. That is certainly something we must all fight against. Limón began her speech with this, "When clarity is hard to come by, when language morphed into a tool for confusion, I put my faith in poetry." She goes on to say that she thinks it is possible poetry saves lives. In her role as the Poet Laureate she encountered many people hungry for poetry, language, and connection and many others who experience poetry as a lifeline. She gave the example of one grandfather she met who started memorizing poetry after he lost his son to war. He memorized poems so he could keep them in his mind while he waited in lines. It kept his mind busy so it didn't go to all the dark, grieving places. I wish I were better at memorizing poems, even lines from poems, so I would have them at the ready when I need them like Limón does. "When I am stuck in the middle of something difficult, some immovable obstacle in front of me, I conjure up the line from Jean Valentine's poem "Door in the Mountain." I stare out a window, or at the challenge in my mind and say her last lines: "Door in the mountain / let me in."
This, Limón says, is the secret power of poetry: little engines of sound urging us on, telling us we aren't alone. Poetry might even move the collective. "Perhaps, in dire and dangerous times like these, all poetry can do is remind us where courage comes from." Who doesn't need a little nudge to keep going, to to be braver?
This last week, since the midterm elections, many people have shared their joy in the collective moment of beating back to cruelty and oppression wrought on us by this Administration. Many have celebrated by sharing song and lyrics (poems set to music) the memorialize the moment. (Here is an example from the Hamilton song.)
The book is only 56 pages long. It will probably take you less than an hour to read but the impact on you my last a lifetime. Find a copy at your public library. Read it. Thank me later!
"If you need to be reminded of what makes us human, tender, brave, flawed, and worthy of love, then you need poetry!"
June 1956 -- God made the trees and men make the kindling.
2nd snippet, page 56:
January 1957 -- Blizzard wind a howl and rack for days, and the blessed quiet when a storm dies down.
Summary:
Anchorage, 1956. When Marie and Lawrence first lock eyes at the Moose Lodge, they are immediately drawn together. But when they decide to marry, days later, they are more in love with the promise of homesteading than anything. For Lawrence, his parcel of 150 acres is an opportunity to finally belong in a world that has never delivered on its promise. For Marie, the land is an escape from the empty future she sees spinning out before her, and a risky bet is better than none at all. But over the next few years, as they work the land in an attempt to secure a deed to their homestead, they must face everything they don’t know about each other. As the Territory of Alaska moves toward statehood and inexorable change, can Marie and Lawrence create something new, or will they break apart trying? (Publisher)
My thoughts: Homestead was a book club selection. Our club utilizes book kits available from the library for clubs. The kit contains ten books and a packet of materials including discussion questions. I'm fairly sure that no one in the club would have picked this book were it not part of a convenient kit for us to use. Don't get me wrong. The book was well written and had a realistic story set in Alaska on the brink of statehood. None of us had read a book from this setting and time period before, so it had value from that vantage point. And we did have a very good discussion of way society has changed since the 1950s, especially concerning the rights of women. Oddly I had just finished reading a Hemingway novel before reading this book. One of my criticisms of that novel was the way Hemingway writes in such a spare style, using few adjectives, with hardly any transitions. There is an immediacy to that kind of writing, I just don't like it. Here Moustakis, the author of Homestead, writes in that same spare style as Hemingway. And guess what? I didn't like it here, either. Reread the two snippet samples I provided. I've read and reread that page 56 quote many times and I just can't make it sing in my mouth. Why doesn't it say, "Blizzard wind howls and racks for days"? The style Moustakis uses actually grates my nerves a bit. Ha!
Not sure if I would recommend this book for your consideration. I rated it 3.75 stars.
Welcome to a combined Book Beginnings on Friday and Friday56 with a new name Friday Book Snippets. I am co-hosting this weekly blogging event with Olivia at Bemused & Bookish. You can link up at either of our sites but be sure to still visit and comment on other participant's blogs to increase our community.
Directions:Share two snippets (a sentence or short paragraph) from a) the book's opening and b) page 56 (or another page) from the book you are currently reading. No spoilers, please.
Click on the "OH-NO" message and it will take you to the linkup this week. I'll find you there.
This past weekend I was with my sister and brother-in-law. While the men talked football the conversation with my sister turned to politics. I asked her if she was looking forward to November 3rd and the end of the midterm campaign season. She said she was so anxious she wasn't sure she wanted the day to come because prior to that day hope was still alive.
Well, I am happy to report that we're well beyond hope. We are smack in the middle of reality. Trump and the GOP were thoroughly trounced last night and the good news keeps coming.
Let's see. Where to start?
First, this guy. I think his experience exactly matches the experiences of so many Americans. We were tired. So tired of Trump, MAGA, GOP hatred and division. I can't stop watching this video. It makes me laugh today.
Secondly, and I didn't really think of this until this morning, the rest of the world was holding their breath, too, and is now celebrating with us. We actually beat back fascism. Phew.
Thirdly, I don't think the magnitude of the election has hit us completely.
Yes, Democrats will take over the House of Representatives with a likely 254+ members (out of 435.) For comparison, the red wave of 2010 seated 242 Republicans and that was considered huge.
Yes, the Senate turned blue with 54+ seat (two are still pending). Pulling new senators from unlikely places: South Carolina, Kansas, and TEXAS! And now we are learning that Mississippi is also a possibility. Mississippi!
And, at the state level, Democrats won over 330 seats giving them full control in 22 state governments and moving into the majority in many state chambers where they had been the minority. This will mean generational change throughout the country.
Talarico won in Texas! Finally a politician who is kind, thoughtful, generous, and concerned with living out his faith -- to love his neighbor and care for the less fortunate. His acceptance speech brought tears to both my husband and my eyes. His rhetoric has been missing from politics for many, many years and it is so comforting to hear him speak. Have a listen for yourself:
Today there is a new term: BLEXAS. It is because the state of Texas elected a Democratic Senator, Governor, Attorney General, Lt. Governor and the Texas State House flipped blue.
Several remarkable, first ever, changes happened last night, all positive for women --
The first ever Indigenous woman was elected to the Senate -- Peggy Flanagan in Minnesota
Three Black women will be serving in the Senate together, the highest level ever -- Juliana Stratton from Illinois will be joining Lisa Blunt Rochester from Delaware and Angela Alsobrooks from Maryland.
The House of Representatives 2027 class will have over 100 female representatives for the first time.
Annie Andrews is the first female senator who won an election in South Carolina.
and more...
Well. That was something.
Time to get down to governing well and bringing accountability to the corrupt Trump administration.
No, I don't have a favorite nonfiction topic. I try to read a variety of topics so that I am learning new information and gaining insights from my readings. I see that of my 5-stars reads this year, three are biography/memoirs, two are histories, two are inspirational.
Is there a topic you want to read about more?
Of the 227 books on my TBR, 55 are nonfiction. The highest topic most represented in this list is inspirational/religious books, with books about nature/climate coming in second.
What are you hoping to get out of participating in Nonfiction November?
I always enjoy being part of a community which is interested in the same types of books that I am. Often when I review nonfiction books I get no comments so I don't even know if others even read the review. I enjoy the interchange I have this month with other nonfiction readers. I also hope to read a few more nonfiction books this month. In fact I started a new one today: The Land and Its People: Essays by David Sedaris.
