Sunday Salon: A reaction to the past week, with notes of hope

Teeny-tiny books in jail. A display at the Puyallup Public Library highlighting Banned Books Week.

Weather: sprinkling right now. It rained for a while last night and continues to do so very lightly.

My reaction to the events of this past week: I, like almost everyone I know, spent Thursday in front of the TV watching the Judiciary Committee to hear testimony from Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Supreme Court  nominee Brett Kavanaugh. My heart broke for the woman who had her life altered so dramatically altered one day many summers ago by two drunken boys, one who sexually assaulted her. Dr. Ford was very credible and clearly had very clear memories of the event seared into her brain. As I listened to her testimony and observed how she responded to the senators' (and their surrogate's) questions, I was certain she was speaking the truth. I wondered how the senators could vote to put a man on the Supreme Court who had done such a thing, even though it happened years ago? Then Brett Kavanaugh gave his testimony and the differences couldn't have been starker. He came out angry and deviant. He didn't answer questions. He repeated the mantra, "I didn't do it and I wanted a hearing to clear my name." Yet denied the need for an FBI investigation. He seemed angry and defensive. He even espoused conspiracy theories. At this point the senate committee seemed to fall apart and we witnessed real ugliness and partisanship. I knew Dr. Ford would not be given a fair vote. I went to bed that night with a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. The whole process appeared to be a sham.

Cartoon by Adam Zyglis twisting words from Dr. Blasey Ford's testimony to make a partisan point

Then on Friday, after two brave women confronted Senator Jeff Flake and he turned around and said he would not vote to move Kavanaugh's nomination out of committee unless there was an FBI investigation of the claims, there seemed to be a chance that truth would win out. We'll see if that happens. I am cautious but hopeful.

As a Christian I am disgusted by this: 

Link: Patheos

So what other notes of hope did I experience this week?
1. I am not in church today because this weekend is our Faith in Action week-end where everyone goes out and does a service project instead of going to church. Don is doing yard work right now for an aging couple who can no longer prune their hedges. I spent part of yesterday at a local clothing bank putting away summer clothing and putting out winter wear. Two of the other volunteers explained how powerful the ministry to clothe people has been in our community. It was time well spent, an experience that made me feel hopeful for the goodness of mankind.

2. This rally for Beto O'Rourke this weekend in Texas drew 60,000 people to hear Willie Nelson sing and to support the candidate. Nelson rolled out a new song called "Vote 'Em Out". I agree. If we want change, we have to vote.

3. This book: We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices edited by Wade Hudson and Cheryl Hudson.
The book is dedicated to "those who advocate for and pursue a just society and basic human rights for all people. " Fifty-three YA/Junior authors and artists contributed to this project with the goal of communicating to the younger generation how to stand strong in the face of racism and acts of inhumanity and how to thrive anyway. Many other authors wrote poems, but others wrote letters or small essays. The book was illustrated by a variety of artists creating a delightfully pleasing and colorful book. In the forward, Ashley Bryan says. "If you flip through all the creative gems put unto your hands and hearts by the gifts of people of color, we will hear your voices chanting praises. Then you will realize this is not a onetime read but a resource from any pitfalls of the day...Reading opens treasures, and this book is a treasure to enjoy." It was the perfect thing to read after a contentious week

4. This boy...how can I not be hopeful when I get to spend time each week with this little guy. Here he is enjoying nobs.

5. This dog...things are going a bit better on potty training but accidents still happen. What joy exudes from this little guy. 

6. Women's Bible Study has recommenced. We are studying the book series by Beth Moore, Living Beyond Yourself: Exploring the Fruit of the Spirit.

7. The weather has turned and fall is here. This photo was taken two weeks ago when the Purple Mountain Ash tree in our backyard was just "thinking" about shedding its leaves.

8. And this funny. RBG:"Hey Brett, You think your confirmation hearing is unfair? For my confirmation they threw me in a river to see if I float."

I am still full of hope.

Friday Quotes and a short review: Drama

Book Beginnings on Friday is hosted by Rose City Reader. Share the opening quote from the book.
The Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice.  Find a quote from page 56.

This is the book I'm reading right now---

Book Title: Drama by Raina Telgemeier

Book Beginning:

The book opens with a behind the scene look at a dramatic production.

Friday 56:

Two boys find each other.

Comments:

This is ALA Banned Books Week. Drama was one of the top ten challenged books in 2017 because there are LGBTQ characters in the story.

The note on the back of the book says---Drama brings us a funny, charming exploration of friendship, crushes, and all-around drama.

Are you reading a banned/challenged book this week? Check out this list if you want to participate but need some suggestions.

October 8, 2018---Review: I loved this little gem of a graphic novel. The main character is a 7th grade girl who loves drama and is also at the age where she gets crushes on boys. The book is really about her friends and the relationships she has with them, She learns that just because a boy is good looking or says something nice to her, they aren't necessarily looking for a relationship. She also learns to be accepting of differences in people, including her LGBTQ friends. Everything about  this books makes me smile and it is a real shame that the book is often banned/challenged because it is a powerful tool to show acceptance and positive friendships.

Banned Books Week Review: I am Jazz

Banned Books Week display at the Puyallup Public Library. Teeny-tiny versions of banned books are in book jail.

Today I made a trip downtown to pick up two books on the 2017 Most Challenged Books list published by the ALA: I Am Jazz by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings and Drama by Raina Telgemeier. Both were sitting on the hold shelf waiting for me. I checked them out after stopping by and chatting with the librarians about my choices and their display. I was so excited to get to reading them but I didn't check them out carefully before leaving the library. Drama was a Spanish-language version. Ha! Imagine my disappointment. I don't speak Spanish so I may even have to swing by a bookstore to get this one if I want it before the end of the week. Sigh. But I was able to read I Am Jazz quickly as it is designed for young readers.

Jazz describes herself as a person with a girl brain and a boy body. She never felt comfortable wearing boys clothes or doing "boy-like" activities. Her whole life she has loved things like mermaids, dancing, makeup, singing, back flips, and wants to be a pop star. When she was young, her family would allow her to wear girl clothes at home but not out in public. Finally one day her parents took her to meet a doctor who explained that Jazz is transgender. Since that time her family has accepted her as she is, as do most people at school once they get to know her.

The book is short, probably around 20 pages long, with darling illustrations by Shelagh McNicholas. If I was a parent of young children this would definitely be on my family reading list. Even if you don't have a concern that your child is transgender, it is a beautiful book about how to treat people who are different. It is based on the true life experiences of Jazz Jennings, who is now an advocate for transkids everywhere.

So why was I Am Jazz challenged and possibly banned so many times last year? The only thing I can think of is that some parents are afraid if they mention words like "transgender" or "homosexual" or "Buddhist", etc., that their children will become one. I Am Jazz was published in 2014 and has been on the top ten list of challenged books for each year since then.

Run to your public library this week and check out a banned books. It will encourage your library to make more purchases of banned books in the future!

For the complete list of the top ten challenged books of 2017 follow this link to the ALA webpage.

TTT: My Favorite Banned/Challenged Books

Top Ten Tuesday: I'm going off the board this week and instead of listing favorite authors' books I haven't read, I am listing my favorite books which have been banned or challenged over the past thirty years. I used these lists from the American Library Association to make my selections: Top 100 Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-1999; Top 100 Frequently Challenged Books of 2000-2009; Top Ten Most Frequently Challenged books per year (2010-2017.)

Listed in no particular order.

1. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
2. A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L’Engle
3. The Handmaid’s Tale, by Margaret Atwood
4. The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton
5. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
6. Harry Potter (series), by J.K. Rowling
7. Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo A. Anaya
8. Where’s Waldo? by Martin Hanford
9. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
10. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
11. Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson
12. Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes, by Chris Crutcher
13. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
14. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie
15. Hunger Games (series) by Suzanne Collins
16. Looking for Alaska by John Green
17. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
18. The Curious Incident of a Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon
19. The Holy Bible
20. Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
21. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

In case you didn't know, this week is Banned Books Week (September 23-29). We all need to be mindful of how damaging it can be to all books and authors if any books are banned. I make a point of reading a banned book every year at this time just to make a move for freedom. 

This week I hope to read at least two books on the most frequently banned books of 2017 that I haven't read already. The possibilities are:  Drama by Raina Telgemeir; I am Jazz by Herthel and Jennings; Sex is a Funny Word by Silverberg. I will try to obtain them from the public library, which encourages libraries to purchase books on the banned list so more people will read them!

Join me? Select a banned book this week to read. Check out the links above for suggestions.  You'll be surprised how many of your favorite books are on the lists. 

Sunday Salon....September 23

Ian, one, with his great-grandpa, ninety. Birthday Buddies.

Weather: Cool temperatures but sunny skies. The leaves are starting to turn on the trees and our Mountain Ash tree has started to drop its leaves (it is usually our first tree to do so.)

90 and 1: Last weekend we were in Oregon helping celebrate my Dad's 90th birthday and my grandson's first birthday. Highlights were that all of my sibs and their spouses gathered, both of my daughters and a niece and nephew, along with their families, also attended the weekend full of activities. // My youngest sister read out the list of 90 reasons she is grateful for our Dad. She said it was an incredible experience creating the list and living inside gratitude for the length of time it took to make the list. // Ian, the one-year-old, was his magnanimous self. Even though he was tired from not taking his normal afternoon nap, he still smiled through all the traditional birthday activities, even playing with his new toys as he opened them. (See photo above of the two birthday boys.)

2008: This past week I was leafing through a magazine I found in a basket in the bathroom just in case someone needs reading material. One of the topics didn't seem too relevant so I searched for the publication date. 2008. I have a ten-year-old magazine out for reading material. For goodness sake. Ach.

Peace Sunday: Today is Peace Sunday on the church calendar. Here are the words to one of the hymns we sang. I cried thinking about the state of affairs in our nations today. I hope the lyrics to this hymn touch your heart today. Peace!

"This is My Song" (Finlandia tune)

This is my song, O God of all nations,

A song of peace for lands afar and mine.

This is my home, the country where my heart is,

Here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine.

But other hearts in other lands are beating,

With hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.

My country's skies are bluer than the ocean,

And sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine.

But other lands have sunlight too, and clover,

And skies are everywhere as blue as mine.

O hear my song, Thou God of all nations,

A song of peace for their land and for mine.

Currently reading:

• Fear: Trump in the White House by Bob Woodward. I am reading this book incredibly slowly because it bothers me so much. E-book, 11%.
• A Gentleman in Moscow by Amar Towles. Several friends have recommended this book about a Count who is on house arrest in a hotel in Russia for years. Though his world is small, he lives his life with dignity and respect. Audiobook, 51%.
• She Walks in Beauty edited by Caroline Kennedy. Poems selected by Ms. Kennedy. Print, 9%.

Books completed the past two weeks:

• The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. I finally finished this 500+ page tome which was so dense and difficult. Points for finishing it, right? Do I recommend it? No. (Print and audio.)
• The King Years by Taylor Branch. Essays about the Civil Rights movement. I've been working on this collection sine April. Done. Phew! (Print.)
• Educated: a memoir by Tara Westover. Wow, what a story and such a unique voice in the author. This is for an upcoming book club and I am sure we will have a big discussion. (Audio.)
• Suite Francaise by Irene Nimerofsky. A classic set in France during the early days of WWII. The author, born a Jew, was eventually killed during the holocaust. (Audio.)
• Spooked: How the War of the Worlds Sparked the 1938 Invasion of America by Gail Jarrow. We've heard the story about this radio spoof and the effect it had on society. This book clears up some misconceptions. (Print.)
• The Friendly Jane Austen: A Well-Mannered Introduction to a Lady of Sense and Sensibility by Natalie Tyler. (Print.)
• My Plain Jane by Cynthia Hand, et al. A spoof, including ghosts, of Jane Eyre. Fun. (Print.)

Update on TBR Challenge: This past week I participated in a reading challenge designed to knock a few books off the To Be Read (TBR) pile. Here is how I did:

• Total books completed: 3 (The Name of the Rose; The King Years; My Plain Jane)
• Total pages read: 881 (Which includes pages from all six books I worked on during the week.)

'

The Name of the Rose---sometimes reading is a big chore

Back in July the Classics Club sponsored another SPIN event where participants create a list of twenty classic books. When the spinner is spun the number it lands on is the book to be read. The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco was the book living on the spin number on my list. I had added the title to my Classics Club list several years ago when I read a book about books that shouldn't be missed. It sounded great. On the list it went without one more moment of research.

Little did I know that The Name of the Rose is a uniquely difficult book to read. Nor did I know that it covers minute details of the history of the Catholic church set in the 1300s when the papacy had moved to Avignon and groups of priests were hunting wayward groups of heretics. Minute details. Hundreds of pages of minute details, some of them written in Latin even. I couldn't even begin to keep all the details straight. As I listened to the audiobook my mind would wander or I'd zone out, which made the reading experience less than optimal, needless to say. Eco called his book a murder mystery at its core. I would agree but would add that the core is very small and completely wrapped up in church history.

So why did I finish the book, you ask? There were moments of brilliance which were dispersed so evenly throughout the book so that just about the time I'd be ready to call UNCLE and quit I'd stumble upon one of those moments which would hold me enthralled for a few pages. For example, the book starts off in the prologue with a disclaimer from the author that he has translated a found document which is the terrible tale of Adso of Melk. He is uncertain if it is worthy of publication. The reader, therefore, is set up from the beginning to suspend her disbelief. The book is really about faith, after all.

By far the most brilliant of few brilliant moments was the dream sequence. Adso has a fantastical dream which goes on for pages and pages and turns all the church history on its head and makes fun of just about everything. Kenneth Achity, writing a review for the LA Times, called the dream sequence "the richest in 20th-century literature." It was made even more funny and fantastical by the narrator of the audiobook who read it at break-neck speed as if the listener was also experiencing a dream. I wish I had the print edition so I could go back and reread it for myself.

After bumping up the narration speed to 1.5 and the likelihood of finishing the book came into focus I started comparing the historical faith message of the book to what we are living today. Some people of faith are so intolerant of anyone or anything that is different than what they believe, like the monks in the book who fought over things like if Jesus wanted his followers to denounces money and take  vows of poverty or if he ever laughed. In today's society only a narrow definition of Christianity is acceptable to some followers like the monks who were so quick to call others heretics, hoping they would burn in hell. Classic books are those books which speak to people throughout the ages. This one spoke to me this way.

Nevertheless, I will never, ever tell anyone to read this book but lots of reviews will make you want to. For a great summary of the book, read this one at Medium. For positive reviews try the LA Times or NYT. My favorite is a commentary written 30 years after the book was published is found in Publishing Perspectives. DiCamillo, the author of this review, says that rereading The Name of the Rose is truly a pleasure which never disappoints him. Hmm. I don't think I will ever dare reread this book. But one should never say never, right? Maybe I'll just take another peek at that dream sequence.... some day.

Banned Books Week, Sept. 23-29, 2018

September 23-29, 2018

What book will you be reading next week? 

Consider reading a banned/challenged book.

You could select one of the top ten most challenged books of 2017.
(Watch the video below for the titles.)

or 

select one of the ten banned books we should read again and again. 

(Click on the hyperlink here: Signature)

or

Pick a banned/challenged book from this megalist. (Wikipedia)

and visit the American Library Association for a lot more suggestions of ways to get involved.

(ALA)

Spread the word!

Read banned books!

Friday Quotes: A Gentleman In Moscow

Book Beginnings on Friday is hosted by Rose City Reader. Share the opening quote from the book.
The Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice.  Find a quote from page 56.

This is the book I'm reading right now---

Title: A Gentleman In Moscow by Amar Towles

Book Beginning:

Friday 56 (or whatever page, I don't know):

Comments: I just started this book today in the audio format so I had to grab the quotes from a preview of the book, which was unpaged, so I have no idea where the Friday 56 quote comes from...probably closer to page 30. I am really enjoying the book so far. The language is simply gorgeous. In the top quote Count Rostov is going before the country's leadership and they are taking his freedom away and putting him on house arrest in a hotel. In the second quote, he has to move out of his suite into a very small room so he has to cull down his personal objects and say goodbye to them.

Death of a friend

Louise, photo taken at her 50th wedding anniversary in August.

Today we lost the kindest, sweetest, friendliest person to ever walk the Earth. Louise died today ending a long, long battle with breast cancer. Right up to the end Louise was filled with light. When she could no longer speak for herself, her husband invited friends in to say goodbye, an act of kindness and generosity so they could experience that light one more time.

I "met" Louise at least twenty-five years ago. I say "met" because it wasn't a face-to-face meeting, rather a conversation we had over the phone. I had her eldest son in class at the time and Louise was concerned for him due to the nature of my class. She had just learned that she had breast cancer, and my class, Health, covered topics which might trigger sadness/anger/concern in her son. We spoke several times and I promised to keep an eye out for Micheal's mental health. I did. In a way, the experience helped me bond with Michael and one of his friends in a special relationship, one that remained intact for several years after he left my class.

Louise survived that first bout with cancer, though the treatment was brutal and took a big toll on her health. I finally met Louise in person several years later when she started attending my church. I think, but I am not positive, it was Michael who brought his mom to church. His friend, the one from Health class, was in our youth group so it would make sense that Michael came with him. Anyway, Louise came with her boys and hasn't left until today.

Louise and her husband Jim, were both elementary teachers before retirement. Louise loved kids and her smile when she talked about them, tells me that they loved her back. We had teaching in common but she was sweet whereas I was snarky...the difference between elementary and secondary teachers. Over the years she has maintained a deep friendship with her team of teachers from her last school. In fact many of these friends attended her 50th wedding anniversary party on August and remarked about what a good day Louise had and how radiant she looked. The photo I've used was taken of Louise on that day.

One of Louise's last sewing projects. She made these stuffed cows for a grandson who wants to be a farmer.

I knew Louise best through our membership in our church book club. Louise loved to read and made such insightful comments when we discussed our monthly selections. She and I both loved Lousie Erdrich books. Until this moment I hadn't thought about the name similarity. Of course, she loved a book by another Louise! The last time I was with Louise was at our August meeting. She shared with me that the doctors had nothing new to treat her disease and that she was concerned about the blood transfusion she'd be getting later that week. Otherwise, we talked about her grandchildren, her latest quilting project, and just small talk. Louise didn't want people to feel sorry for her. She'd been battling this recurrence of cancer for five years. She may have thought it boring to talk about cancer treatments. It was a lot more fun to talk about the cow-quilt dolls she had just finished for a grandson who wants to grow up to be a farmer, even though he lives in an urban setting and has never spent any time on a farm. She was doing what she knew how to help make his dream come true. When she left that club meeting she took with her a book for the upcoming month. Louise was always looking into the future with hope and determination.

Last night when book club met again, we talked about Louise and how much she meant to all of us. Then we bowed our heads and prayed for her, for her family, for a peaceful passing. We are a Christian group. We believe in life everlasting. We believe she is in a better place, one not plagued with cancer. But last night, with our prayer, we were all just thinking about losing a friend and how much we will miss her, Louise our sweet friend.

 This is a favorite poem set to music. The rose beyond the wall, shedding sweetness day and night.

Goodbye, dear  Louise. I know you are shedding your sweetness beyond the wall now and we shall meet again some day.

TTT: My Fall TBR

My Fall TBR
Upcoming book club selections:

• Under the Wide, Starry Sky by Nancy Horan
• An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
• Sacrifice by S.J. Bolton
• Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

YA books that are potential award winners

• My Plain Jane by Cyntha Hand, et al (Finish)
• Dread Nation by Justina Ireland
• Rebound by Kwame Alexander
• What I Leave Behind by Alison McGhee
• Votes for Women: American Suffragists and the Battle for the Ballot by Winifred Conkling
• We'll Fly Away by Bryan Bliss
• A Thousand Beginnings and Endings by Ellen Oh, et al
• Proud: Living My American Dream by Ibtihja Muhammad
• The Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Plot to Kill Hitler by Harry Abrams
• Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani
• Girl Made of Stars by Ashley Herring Blake
• Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

Audiobooks:

• Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman
• A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
• Dear Madam President by Jennifer Palmieri
• The Wisdom of Sundays by Oprah Winfrey

Just because I want to read them:

• Fear by Bob Woodward (Currently reading)
• She Loves You (Yeah, Yeah, Yeah) by Ann Hood

Think I have a few too many books on my list? Ha! I do, too!

How did I do on my Summer TBR?

Upcoming book club selections:

• Educated: a Memoir by Tara Westover ✔
• All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr (a re-read) ✔
• Under the Wide, Starry Sky by Nancy Horan

YA books that are potential award winners

• Boots on the Ground by Elizabeth Partridge ✔
• The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert ✔
• Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman ✔
• Picture Us In the Light by Kelley Loy Gilbert ✔
• Americanized: Rebel Without a Green Card by Sara Saedi ✔
• The Prince and the Dressmaker by Wang ✔
• My Plain Jane by Hand/Ashton/Meadows. Currently reading

Audiobooks 

• When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon ✔
• Educated: a memoir ✔ See above
• Hag-Seed by Margaret Atwood.
• My Plain Jane by Hand/Ashton/Meadows (see above)

Just because...

• She Loves You (Yeah, Yeah, Yeah) by Ann Hood

Review--- Spooked: How a Radio Broadcast and The War of the Worlds Sparked the 1938 Invasion of America

For as long as I can remember I've known about the infamous radio broadcast by Orson Wells, John Houseman, and others of H.G. Wells' book, The War of the Worlds. The radio broadcast supposedly sparked nationwide hysteria which led to deaths by heart attack and suicide. Though I've heard the lore about this event my whole life I've never actually read anything about it, nor have I listened to the actual radio broadcast. After reading Spooked: How a Radio Broadcast and The War of the Worlds Sparked the 1938 Invasion of America by Gail Jarrow all my long-held misconceptions have been cleared up.

Orson Wells and John Housemen were among other actors who got involved in radio programming. They created a weekly show called The Mercury Theatre on the Air which aired on Sunday nights. They would take a classic novel and would severely abridge it so that the whole book (plot) could be presented in a one-hour radio broadcast. Prior to The War of the Worlds the team, which included Howard Koch as the the script writer, performed A Tale of Two Cities and The Count of Monte Cristo. For their late October program the team decided to select a classic that might scare their listeners. They hit upon The War of the Worlds about an alien takeover of England. They decided to change the setting to New Jersey and update the plot a bit. Even as late as the dress rehearsal, Koch was making changes to the plot and it was decided to use "breaking news" blurbs to tell the story. This is what got listeners confused.

If a listener had been paying attention to the details parts of the story just didn't add up. The aliens landed in Grover's Mill, New Jersey and within minutes the whole US army was wiped out with only 200 survivors. Minutes later the aliens were in New York City wrecking havoc. The news reporter was remarkably able to travel the distances in the blink of an eye. At the end of the show, Wells announced that the whole program was a Halloween hoax. But by that time many people had panicked and stopped listening.

After the show aired, many listeners complained to CBS about the hoax and how they had been tricked and unnerved. Other listeners wrote to congratulate the network on the good fun. Just like today, news is often sensationalized and reports of the hysteria were exaggerated. And the myth persisted even after reports discredited the vast number of people who fell victim to the hoax.

At this point Jarrow speculates as to why Americans were so susceptible to the hoax in the first place. News of Hitler and the Nazi's actions in Europe were very worrying. Some people probably heard "alien" or "Martian" and transposed it into "German" or "Nazi" in their mind. The panic and reports of hysteria were very worrying because the world did seem to be on the brink of war and Americans seems to be wholly unprepared. Lastly, the broadcast brought to light how easily some people or a group of people could be brainwashed by this relatively new medium, the radio.

I've read several of Jarrow's other books, all targeting middle grade readers with high interest topics on the likes of Typhoid Mary and  bubonic plague in America. I find her writing clear and interesting and the books well appointed with appropriate photos and charts. They include timelines, indexes, lists of sources, and tables of contents. This book is not exception.

I am not sure that students today have heard about the 1938 invasion on America brought on by a spoofed radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds, nor read the original book. Nevertheless I think this book should be purchased by librarians for middle school and possibly high school libraries. It is useful to understanding how easily people can be tricked.

Tackle Your TBR Challenge

Today I am joining another reading challenge. This one is designed to get a few books off the ever-growing to-be-read (TBR) pile.

With this challenge I promise to give a daily update which will help me keep track of the books I've read and/or the number of pages involved (I'll approximate pages for listening hours for audiobooks.)

Here are my planned reads for the week:

• My Plain Jane by Cynthia Hand, et al.  I only recently added this title to my TBR as it was just recently published. I have a copy on hand and it is due back to the library soon. This is my top priority.
• The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. This was my Classics Club SPIN selection which I was supposed to finish by September 1st. Obviously I didn't meet the deadline but am determined to finish the book. Placed this on my TBR list on Jan 14, 2018.
• The King Years by Taylor Branch. I have been "reading" this collection of essays since April 2018 and want to be done with it. "Reading" is in quotes because I haven't actually read anything in it for months.
• Fear by Bob Woodward. I just got this e-book on the day it was published last week.
• A Gentleman in Moscow by Amar Towles. Added to my TBR on Feb. 14, 2018.
• A Girl Made of Stars by Ashley Herring Blake. Honestly this one isn't officially on my TBR (on Goodreads) but I have it checked out from the library and is one of the books from the 2019 Mock Printz project. We'll see if there is time to get to this one.

A few notes before I get started:

1. I suspect there won't be any trouble finishing The Name of the Rose and The King Years because I am already well into both of those books.
2. A Gentleman of Moscow is an audiobook and it is due back to Overdrive soon. When it expires it will magically just disappear from my devise so I may not get to finish it though no fault of my own. But I will start it and see how far I get.
3. Fear is about President Trump. It makes me so angry I can only read it in small doses. I don't plan to race through it. Unlikely I will finish it this week.
4. I am open to switching my plans mid-stream. Who knows exactly what books I will read/finish/start this week?

Here I go. After posting and signing up on the linky at Wishful Endings, first up, an essay from The King Years and an hour of listening to The Name of the Rose.