Two more books

1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows ~ by Ai Weiwei, translated by Allan H. Barr, 2022, memoir, 400 pages

This memoir tells the history of China over the last hundred years while also illuminating the author'ss artistic process.  Once a close associate of Mao Zedong and the nation’s most celebrated poet, Ai Weiwei’s father, Ai Qing, was branded a rightist during the Cultural Revolution, and he and his family were banished to a desolate place known as "Little Siberia," where Ai Qing was sentenced to hard labor cleaning public toilets.  Ai Weiwei recounts his childhood in exile, and his difficult decision to leave his family to study art in America, where he befriended Allen Ginsberg and was inspired by Andy Warhol and the artworks of Marcel Duchamp.  He gives details of his return to China and his rise from artistic unknown to art world superstar and international human rights activist — and how his work has been shaped by living under a totalitarian regime.

Ai Weiwei’s sculptures and installations have been viewed by millions around the globe, and his architectural achievements include helping to design the iconic Bird’s Nest Olympic Stadium in Beijing.  His political activism has long made him a target of the Chinese authorities, which culminated in months of secret detention without charge in 2011.  Here, for the first time, Ai Weiwei explores the origins of his exceptional creativity and passionate political beliefs through his life story and that of his father, whose creativity was stifled.

Ai Weiwei provides a deep understanding of the myriad forces that have shaped modern China and serves as a timely reminder of the urgent need to protect freedom of expression.

The Moral Animal ~ by Robert Wright, 1995, psychology, 496 pages

Are men literally born to cheat?  Does monogamy actually serve women's interests?  These are among the questions that have made The Moral Animal one of the most provocative science books in recent years.  Wright unveils the genetic strategies behind everything from our sexual preferences to our office politics — as well as their implications for our moral codes and public policies.

A book of Claude Monet's art

Monet ~ by Janice Anderson, 2003, classical art, 447 pages

Claude Monet, a French painter of the impressionist style, is regarded as the archetypal impressionist.  Just looking at this cover, you can see how I could spend ages musing over the hundreds of color photos in this very heavy big book.

Cat behavior

Decoding Your Cat: The Ultimate Experts Explain Common Cat Behaviors and Reveal How to Prevent or Change Unwanted Ones ~ by American College of Veterinary Behaviorists, 2020, cat training, 368 pages

Every cat owner has wondered why their cat is acting the way it does.  This book likely has the answer.  It provides an in-depth understanding of the underlying reasons for a cat’s problem behavior.  Armed with the science on cat behavior and real-life examples, this book helps cat owners understand why their cats act the way they do and addresses behavior problems.  It gives owners insight on promoting their cat’s physical and psychological health and wellness in order to maintain a good relationship.  It can help you understand how to deal with unwanted behaviors and in general help your cat live a longer and fuller life. 

One person commenting online said, "I liked the clear questions followed by a brief paragraph explaining the behavior."

1. My Tuesday subject was daughters, HERE.
2. My Thursday Thoughts included a dragon, HERE.
3. My Friday book beginning was about smart words, HERE.
4. On Saturday, I wrote about an astronaut stranded on Mars, HERE.

is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz.

A mission to Mars

The Martian ~ by Andy Weir, 2014, science fiction, 387 pages

A mission to Mars.  A freak accident.  One man’s struggle to survive.  Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars.  Now, he’s sure he’ll be the first person to die there.  After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive — and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive.

Chances are, though, he won’t have time to starve to death.  The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old “human error” are much more likely to kill him first.  But Mark isn’t ready to give up yet.  Drawing on his ingenuity, his engineering skills — and a relentless, dogged refusal to quit — he steadfastly confronts one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next.  Will his resourcefulness be enough to overcome the impossible odds against him?

Beginning with ~ "Whoever said ..."

Beginning

Whoever said sounding smart had to be painful?  This book is designed to get you on friendly terms with some of the smart words in our rich, diverse, ever-adaptable, and always surprising language, and to help you recall them in ways that might bring a smile or a spark.

Smart Words: Vocabulary for the Erudite ~ by Mim Harrison, 2008, spelling and vocabulary, 208 pages

This is a fun book for word lovers like me.  It tells us how to use 500 words that make us sound smarter.  From the back cover of the paperback that I have:

If you want to add more variety, nuance, punch, and power to the way you speak and write, you've found the perfect book.  Smart Words will help you be smart about the words you use and the way you use them.

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts

Book Beginnings on Fridays.

I've been busy today

Yesterday, I mostly stayed at home.  The Cafe was closed and I had spent the day before (Tuesday) going with a friend to see her new apartment in a nearby town.  Today?  Totally different!  I've been running all day.  First, I went to the Cafe for breakfast with a friend, who noticed that I picked up my meals and ran them up to my apartment (since I wouldn't be home when they were delivered).  So I explained to her how we could buy five meals a week to be delivered (to your apartment if you live here, or to your home in the community if you don't live here).  I took her to the office and got her information about it, so she can decide.

Then she took me (and my Rollator) to a medical supply place a few miles from here.  When we came back to the Crown Center, we ran in to grab a couple of muffins (one each) from the Cafe before it closed.  We each ate about half (while sitting on the back patio) and took the other half to go.

Knowing that I'd be running around with her, I didn't plan to attend the Chinese harvest festival that was on the Crown Center agenda today.  I headed up the elevator to go home.  On my floor, though, my Chinese neighbor motioned "come on and go" and I decided, "Okay, maybe it's meant to be."  So I went to the party.  Chinese residents made Chinese food for everyone.  They brought in students from a nearby university who wore a huge red-and-white dragon costume (above), running through the audience as we all clapped and cheered.

To top off the day, our Resident Council was meeting at 6:00 p.m.  I knew I wasn't up to that much "excietment" in one day, but — you guessed it — I went.  I even spoke up a time or two.  Later, while I was watching one of the monitors, my Russian friend who speaks English happened to come along, so she and I talked awhile.  She asked where I'd been, since she hasn't seen me lately.  I told her that I saw HER at the Chinese celebration, and I even had a few photos where I could point her out.  She was so caught up in the activities she had not noticed me sitting in another part of the big Community Room.  (What a day!  Can you see me smiling?)

TWOsday ~ daughters of two families

Rashi's Daughters, Book I: Joheved ~ by Maggie Anton, 2007, fiction (medieval France), 384 pages

This is the first novel in a trilogy set in eleventh-century France about the lives and loves of three daughters of Rashi, the great Talmud scholar.  (According to  Wikipedia, the Talmud is, after the Torah or Jewish Bible, the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law and Jewish theology.  It consists of the Oral Torah and its commentaries.)

In 1068, Salomon ben Isaac returns home to Troyes, France, to take over the family winemaking business and embark on a path that will indelibly influence the Jewish world, writing the first Talmud commentary, and secretly teaching Talmud to his daughters.

Joheved, the eldest of his three girls, finds her mind and spirit awakened by religious study, but, knowing the risk, she must keep her passion for learning and prayer hidden.  When she becomes betrothed to Meir ben Samuel, she is forced to choose between marital happiness and being true to her love of the Talmud.

Rashi's Daughters, Book 2: Miriam ~ by Maggie Anton, 2007, historical fiction (medieval France), 496 pages

The engrossing historical series of three sisters living in eleventh-century Troyes, France, continues with the tale of Miriam, the lively and daring middle child of Salomon ben Isaac, the great Talmudic authority.  Having no sons, he teaches his daughters the intricacies of Mishnah and Gemara in an era when educating women in Jewish scholarship was unheard of.  His middle daughter, Miriam, is determined to bring new life safely into the Troyes Jewish community and becomes a midwife.  As devoted as she is to her chosen path, she cannot foresee the ways in which she will be tested and how heavily she will need to rely on her faith.

Rashi's Daughters, Book 3: Rachel ~ by Maggie Anton, 2009, historical fiction (medieval France), 425 pages

Rachel is the youngest and most beautiful daughter of medieval Jewish scholar Salomon ben Isaac, or "Rashi."  Her father's favorite and adored by her new husband, Eliezer, Rachel's life looks to be one of peaceful scholarship, laughter, and love.  But events beyond her control will soon threaten everything she holds dear.  Marauders of the First Crusade massacre nearly the entire Jewish popula-tion of Germany, and her beloved father suffers a stroke.  Eliezer wants their family to move to the safety of Spain, but Rachel is determined to stay in France and help her family save the Troyes yeshiva, the only remnant of the great centers of Jewish learning in Europe.  Rachel is a remarkable Jewish woman of dignity, passion, and strength.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter ~ by Kim Edwards, 2005, fiction, 9/10

On a winter night in 1964, Dr. David Henry is forced by a blizzard to deliver his own twins.  His son, born first, is perfectly healthy; his daughter has Down's Syndrome.  Rationalizing it as a need to protect Norah, his wife, he makes a split-second decision that will alter all of their lives forever.  He asks his nurse to take the infant to an institution and never to reveal the secret, then tells his wife their daughter was stillborn.  Caroline, the nurse, cannot leave the baby at the institution and disappears into another city to raise the child herself.  What happens when secrets are revealed?

This book was among several I got for the Crown Center library after a neighbor died.  I'm excited about adding it to our collection here because I really enjoyed it when I read this book back in 2007.  (See my post about it HERE, where I rated this book 9/10, an excellent book.)