Library Loot ~ May 8-14

Girl Reading ~ by Katie Ward, 2011, fiction

This novel is told in seven chapters and peopled by girls and women caught in the act of reading, and it celebrates women in culture over the last seven centuries.  It immerses readers into the intimate tales behind the creation of seven portraits by artists ranging from Simone Martini to Pieter Janssens Elinga to a Flickr photographer.  Like Tracy Chevalier's Girl With a Pearl Earring, Girl Reading is evocative fiction rooted in art and, like Kate Walbert's A Short History of Women, it arcs through time elucidating the changing role of women in society.  A young orphan poses nervously for a Renaissance maestro in medieval Siena.  An eighteenth-century female painter completes a portrait of a deceased poetess for her lover.  A Victorian medium poses with a book in one of the first photographic studios.  A young woman reading in a bar catches the eye of a young man who takes her picture.  And in the not-so-distant future a woman navigates the rapidly developing cyber-reality that has radically altered the way people experience art and the way they live.  This novel is an incredible act of imagination and humanity that explores our points of connection, our relationship to art, the history of women, and the importance of reading.

The Cat ~ by Edeet Ravel, 2013, fiction

Single mother Elise is completely devoted to her eleven-year-old son; he is her whole world.  But that world is destroyed in one terrifying moment when her son is killed in a car accident just outside their home.  Suddenly alone, surrounded by memories, Elise faces a future that feels unspeakably bleak — and pointless.  Lost, angry, and desolate, Elise rejects everyone who tries to reach out to her.  But as despair threatens to engulf her, she realizes, to her horror, that she cannot join her son because she must take care of his beloved cat.  At first she attempts to carry out this task entirely by herself, shut away from a frightening new reality that seems surreal and incomprehensible.  But isolation proves to be impossible, and before long others insinuate themselves into her life — friends, enemies, colleagues, neighbors, a former lover — bringing with them the fragile beginnings of survival.

Clutter Busting: Letting Go of What's Holding You Back ~ by Brooks Palmer, 2009

Piles of junk in garages and closets, overflowing papers on desks, items unused for years, masses of unanswered email, clothing never worn, useless gifts that collect dust — all these things come weighted with shame and guilt and have a suffocating effect on spirit and soul.  In this insightful book, Palmer shows how to get rid of the things in our lives that no longer serve us.  By tossing out these unneeded items, we also eliminate their negative influences, free up energy, and unlock our potential.  Based on the premise that your things are not sacred but you are, this book explores such fundamental topics as the false identities we assume through clutter, the fear of change those junk piles represent, the addictive nature of holding on to objects, and how clearing clutter makes room for clarity and sweeps away confusion and stasis (standing still).

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire @ The Captive Reader and Marg @ The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader that encourages us to share titles of books we’ve checked out of the library.  Add your link any time during the week, and see what others got this week.