Library Loot ~ three today

Go Set a Watchman ~ by Harper Lee, 2015, fiction (Alabama)

Twenty years after the trial of Tom Robinson,  Jean Louise Finch — Scout — returns home to Maycomb to visit her father and struggles with personal and political issues as her small Alabama town adjusts to the turbulent events beginning to transform the United States in the mid-1950s.  Originally written in the 1950s, this was the novel Harper Lee first submitted to her publishers before To Kill a Mockingbird, which I re-read last month.

It Can't Happen Here ~ by Sinclair Lewis, 1935

A cautionary tale about the fragility of democracy, it is an alarming, eerily timeless look at how fascism could take hold in America.  Written during the Great Depression, when the country was largely oblivious to Hitler’s aggression, it juxtaposes sharp political satire with the chillingly realistic rise of a president who becomes a dictator to save the nation from welfare cheats, sex, crime, and a liberal press.

Not in God's Name: Confronting Religious Violence ~ by Jonathan Sacks, 2015

Rabbi Sacks tackles the phenomenon of religious extremism and violence committed in the name of God.  If religion is perceived as being part of the problem, he argues, then it must also form part of the solution.  Through an exploration of the roots of violence and its relationship to religion, he shows that religiously inspired violence has as its source misreadings of biblical texts at the heart of all three Abrahamic faiths.  By looking anew at the book of Genesis, with its foundational stories of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Rabbi Sacks offers a radical rereading of many of the Bible’s seminal stories of sibling rivalry:  Cain and Abel, Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his brothers, Rachel and Leah.  "Abraham himself sought to be a blessing to others regardless of their faith.  That idea, ignored for many of the intervening centuries, remains the simplest definition of Abrahamic faith.  It is not our task to conquer or convert the world or enforce uniformity of belief.  It is our task to be a blessing to the world.  The use of religion for political ends is not righteousness but idolatry ... To invoke God to justify violence against the innocent is not an act of sanctity but of sacrilege."

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire @ The Captive Reader and Linda @ Silly Little Mischief that encourages us to share the names of books we checked out of the library.  See what others got this week.

Caturday ~ new bed

Oh, it's been weeks since my last Caturday post?  Sorry 'bout that, but I've been busy catnapping in my new bed.  When I got it, I tried to chew through it to get at the catnip inside somewhere.  Okay, I admit I went a little bit crazy.  But it's a nice bed Bonnie got me, isn't it?  Very cozy.  I like it.

Clawdia, 'til whenever   >^. .^<

Beginning ~ by philogagging

Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar...: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes ~ by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein, 2007

Philogagging: An Introduction

Dimitri:  If Atlas holds up the world, what holds up Atlas?
Tasso:  Atlas stands on the back of a turtle.
Dimitri:  But what does the turtle stand on?
Tasso:  Another turtle.
Dimitri:  And what does that turtle stand on?
Tasso:  My dear Dimitri, it's turtles all the way down!

This bit of ancient Greek dialogue perfectly illustrates the philosophical notion of infinite regress, a concept that comes up when we ask if there is a First Cause — of life, of the universe, of time and space, and most significantly, of a Creator.

A bit long for the "beginning" of the book, but necessary to give a feel for it.  So what's it about?  This:

Lively, original, and powerfully informative, this book is a not-so-reverent crash course through the great philosophical thinkers and traditions, from Existentialism (What do Hegel and Bette Midler have in common?) to Logic (Sherlock Holmes never deduced anything).  Philosophy 101 for those who like to take the heavy stuff lightly, this is a joy to read — and finally, it all makes sense!

It covers ten categories of philosophy:

1. Metaphysics
2. Logic
3. Epistemology
4. Ethics
5. Philosophy of Religion
6. Existentialism
7. Philosophy of Language
8. Social and Political Philosophy
9. Relativity
10. Meta-Philosophy

I'm probably the only one here who majored in philosophy in college.  I even taught Ethics at Tennessee Wesleyan, as an adjunct.  If I like this book, I'll have to explore their others:

Heidegger and a Hippo Walk Through Those Pearly Gates: Using Philosophy (and Jokes!) to Explore Life, Death, the Afterlife, and Everything in Between ~ by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein, 2009

Aristotle and an Aardvark Go to Washington: Understanding Political Doublespeak Through Philosophy and Jokes ~ by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein, 2008

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays.  Click here for today's Mister Linky.

Clawdia ~ being insistent

Clawdia knows how to be insistent without saying a word.  When I got back from Christmas Eve dinner, Clawdia ran out into the hall to let me know it was her turn to go out.  We usually walk to the elevators so she can look around after others in our "senior living" facility are no longer apt to be coming and going, so I told her, "Wait until I put this stuff down."  She waited.  After I closed our door — the one on the right, beside the exit to the stairs — we walked all of maybe ten or twelve feet before she sat down at our neighbor's door, wanting to visit.  She knows she's always offered kitty treats when we visit there, so Clawdia refused to continue our stroll down the hall.  Can you "hear" her attitude telling me to knock on the door?  Finally, I shooed her back home and into our own apartment.  My gregarious fur buddy was not amused.

TWOsday ~ TWO new books

Abraham's Children: Liberty and Tolerance in an Age of Religious Conflict ~ edited by Kelly James Clark, 2012, religion

Scarcely any country in today's world can claim to be free of intolerance. Israel and Palestine, Northern Ireland, Sudan, the Balkans, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, and the Caucasus are just some of the areas of intractable conflict apparently inspired or exacerbated by religious differences. Can devoted Jews, Christians, or Muslims remain true to their own fundamental beliefs and practices, yet also find paths toward liberty, tolerance, and respect for those of other faiths? In this vitally important book, fifteen influential practitioners of the Abrahamic religions address religious liberty and tolerance from the perspectives of their own faith traditions. Former president Jimmy Carter, Rabbi Arik Ascherman, Indonesia’s first democratically elected president, Abdurrahman Wahid, and the other writers draw on their personal experiences and on the sacred writings that are central in their own religious lives. Rather than relying on "pure reason," as secularists might prefer, the contributors celebrate religious traditions and find within them a way toward mutual peace, uncompromised liberty, and principled tolerance. Offering a counterbalance to incendiary religious leaders who cite Holy Writ to justify intolerance and violence, the contributors reveal how tolerance and respect for believers in other faiths stand at the core of the Abrahamic traditions.

Outsider in the White House ~ by Bernie Sanders with Huck Gutman, 2015, politics

The political autobiography of the insurgent presidential candidate. Bernie Sanders’s campaign for the presidency of the United States has galvanized people all over the country, putting economic, racial, and social justice into the spotlight, and raising hopes that Americans can take their country back from the billionaires and change the course of history. In this book, Sanders tells the story of a passionate and principled political life. He describes how, after cutting his teeth in the Civil Rights movement, he helped build a grassroots political movement in Vermont, making it possible for him to become the first independent elected to the US House of Representatives in forty years. The story continues into the US Senate and through the dramatic launch of his presidential campaign.

I got these two books last week.  A new half-price bookstore opened a block from me, and I stopped by to see if they had a book a friend needed.  She's still recovering from hip-replacement surgery, and I figured I could save her a trip to bookstore or library by doing it for her.  (She needed To Kill a Mockingbird for today's book club meeting downstairs in the Circle@Crown Café, but that's another story.)  I found a used copy for only $2.99 for her, and she was delighted.  I also found a reduced-price new copy of Abraham's Children, which delighted me.  Half-Price Books is even closer (and less expensive) than Barnes & Noble, which is only a half mile if I drive or two blocks if I walk.  Oy!  I'm living between bookstores, within a couple of miles of two libraries (not counting the small one here in the Crown Center), and zero miles from my mailbox...

...which is how I got Outsider in the White House.  I've already read nearly a hundred pages of this one.  Bernie Sanders seems to be the only presidential contender wanting to make the changes I think this country needs.  Gotta go get ready for my book club discussion in just over an hour.  By meeting in the Café, we can each buy tea or coffee or something to snack on while discussing our books.  I love it!

Mindfulness to-do-list

Thursday Thirteen ~ Happy Chanukah edition

1.  Chanukah at the White House:  (Getty Image by Chip Somodevilla)

Rabbi Susan Talve delivers remarks during a Chanukah reception with Israeli first lady Nechama Shulman, U.S. First lady Michelle Obama, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, and President Barack Obama in the East Room when the White House to celebrate the annual festival of light yesterday.  Why does this interest me?  Read #2 about the rabbi.

2.  Rabbi Susan Talve:

I attended services at Central Reformed Congregation Saturday before last, where Susan Talve is the founding rabbi.  This video shows her speaking at the White House yesterday.  Her portion begins at the 9:15 mark.  Near the end of the video, President Obama smiled, gave her a side-hug, and said, "Got us all fired up."  Talve is an activist who also gets St. Louis fired up.  I knew of her for over a year before I met her.

3.  Black issues:  (UPI photo by Bill Greenblatt)

Rabbi Susan Talve has been active in protests in St. Louis since the death of Michael Brown in August 2014.  A year later, this August, she was arrested when a group of about 200 protesters marched to the Federal Building as part of a day of disobedience.

4.  Neighbors:

Beverly thought of me when she read the "Mutts" comic strip.  Mooch, the cat, was wearing a hat when he informed Earl, the dog:  "Shmillie is posting pics of me on a cats with hats website."  Hmm, it does sound like something I'd do.  Should I take a photo of Clawdia wearing a hat?  Nevermind, she's opposed to that idea, saying she'll write her OWN posts for Caturdays.  Yes, I've noticed she hasn't posted anything since October.

5.  Books:

I didn't tie together the beginning and ending of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1960) until last week.  The first words of the book:  "When he was nearly thirteen, my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow."  I never thought about he how he "got his arm badly broken" until I finished re-reading the novel, turned back to the beginning, and read the first sentence again.  This time, I was there in Jem's bedroom with Atticus and Scout the night he was hurt so badly.  This time, I felt his pain.  This time, I knew what had happened.  Do you remember?

6.  Activities:

Donna and I attended the Vitality Ballet exercise class offered last week.  No, it wasn't a bunch of old ladies jumping around, pretending to be young and agile.  We simply moved our arms (and occasionally our legs) into our closest approximation of the flowing shapes our teacher showed us.  Jessica, a professional ballet dancer here in St. Louis, led the class.

7.  Family:

My granddaughter wrote, "Raegan is excited about her library book about houses.  She said it is like her favorite house show (TV show Fixer Upper).  She loves houses!"

8.  Weather:

As I compose this Thursday Thirteen on Wednesday evening, it's 52° and partly cloudy in St. Louis.

9.  Women's issues:

The Guardian published "He sexually harassed my 13-year-old daughter — right in front of me."  Her daughter "is beginning to experience alternative ways of imagining men — menacing ways."

10.  Discussion groups:

How I know one group may be dying ~ All both of us who showed up decided to chat instead of discussing the topic of the day.  Thanks, Debera!  Oh, you want details?  Okay, one emailed that morning that she wouldn't make it, one was sick with a fever, one was in the hospital after a fall that broke her hip, one was helping her brother who is scheduled for surgery, one asked to be removed from our emails, one was teaching and didn't get back in time, one had an ob/gyn appointment, one said she already knew the subject, and three never let me know whether they would come or not.

11.  Words:

Why don't these words rhyme — tough, though, cough, through, rough, thoughts?  Yet for some reason these words do rhyme — pony, boney, Coney [Island], bologna.

12.  Health:

I caught a cold from someone in my many activities and stayed in my apartment for three days.  When I did mingle again, at the Crown Center's Chanukah party, I wore a mask to keep from spreading that cold to anyone else.  I wore it, even though I was probably no longer contagious by that point.

13.  Food:
 

Henna cookies for a wedding look fantastic!  No, these aren't on my diet — or even on my horizon — but I saw them on Facebook and thought they were beautiful.

The only rule for Thursday Thirteen is to write about 13 things.  The New Thursday 13 is hosted by Country Dew @ Blue Country Magic and Colleen @ Loose Leaf Notes.  If you want to read lists by other people or play along yourself, here's the linky for this week.

Be mindful ~ in the shower

Be mindful of the pleasure

as warm water washes over you.

Be mindful of the smell

of your soap or shampoo.

Free book for Kindle (Nov 28-30)

The Not So Perfect Heroine ~ by Gloria Atcheson, 2014, fiction (Tennessee)

Elizabeth seems to have her life together.  She is married to a great guy, has two wonderful children, and appears to be happy and content. But, the truth of the matter is, most days, she doesn’t even get dressed.  Her house is a disaster zone filled with clutter and trash, and she is living in complete and utter chaos — you know, the kind that keeps you from ever inviting anyone over.  But Elizabeth finds hope one day, when she stumbles across an intriguing post on Facebook.  She discovers that “FlyLady” is coming to her town and decides to investigate the topic.  Slowly but surely, she learns about the FlyLady system for overcoming clutter and chaos in the home — though implementing it in her own life proves quite a challenge.  As she learns the ropes, however, she is faced with various difficulties that make it nearly impossible to continue her journey out of chaos.  You’ll be inspired as you watch Elizabeth emerge with newfound skill, organization, and comfort — because, if a not-so-perfect heroine can do it, so can you!

Gloria Johnson Atcheson, the author, posted this on Facebook yesterday:

"Happy Black Friday.  I wanted to run a special today but unfortunately it won't start till tomorrow.  Nov 28-30 The Not So Perfect Heroine will be free for the kindle. Spread the word.  Have a great time reading and Happy Holidays!!"

I was surprised to find on the very first page that "her town" in the novel is Chattanooga, my hometown.  The story looks interesting, so I downloaded it for my Kindle.  Who else is downloading it?

Beginning ~ with a let-down

The Jew Store ~ by Stella Suberman, 1998,  memoir (Tennessee)

My mother always said she'd felt something of a let-down when she first saw the sign reading CONCORDIA TOWN LIMITS.  They had been riding for three days along rutted dirt roads north and west of Nashville.

Synopsis:

"For a real bargain, while you're making a living, you should make also a life," according to Aaron Bronson.  In 1920, in small town America, the ubiquitous dry goods store — suits and coats, shoes and hats, work clothes and school clothes, yard goods and notions — was usually owned by Jews and often referred to as "the Jew store."  That's how Stella Suberman's father's store — Bronson's Low-Priced Store, in Concordia, Tennessee — was known locally.  The Bronsons were the first Jews to ever live in that tiny town (1920 population: 5,318) of one main street, one bank, one drugstore, one picture show, one feed and seed, one hardware, one barber shop, one beauty parlor, one blacksmith, and many Christian churches.  Aaron Bronson moved his family all the way from New York City to that remote corner of northwest Tennessee to prove himself a born salesman — and much more.  A Jew, born into poverty in prerevolutionary Russia and orphaned from birth, finds his way to America, finds a trade, finds a wife, and sets out to find his fortune in a place where Jews are unwelcome.  Suberman turns the clock back to a time when rural America was more peaceful but no less prejudiced, when educated liberals were suspect, and when the Klan was threatening to outsiders.

I wonder what this would have felt like, 95 years ago.
 

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays.  Click here for today's Mister Linky.

Thursday Thirteen ~ revved to go

The only rule for Thursday Thirteen is to write about 13 things.  The New Thursday 13 is hosted by Country Dew @ Blue Country Magic and Colleen @ Loose Leaf Notes.  If you want to read lists by other people or play along yourself, here's the linky for this week.

1.  Words:

Does a person get "revved" at ordination, as in "she is now the Rev. Jacobs"?

2.  Family:

I've been thinking about doing these Thursday Thirteen posts since one granddaughter's 27th birthday on October 1st.  In the meantime, one of my grandsons got engaged and another grandson took his family on vacation, where 4-year-old Jaxon climbed high.

3.  Health:

My most recent doctor's appointment showed that my blood sugar level (A1C) is down to 6.0, so the doctor took me off Metformin (for diabetes) completely.  We'll see whether diet and exercise is enough to keep me "pre-diabetic" without any meds.

4.  Food:

Donna invited me to help her eat this Frito Taco Pie.  She used crescent roll triangles as the base, ground beef with taco seasoning, tomatoes, olives, shredded cheese, and corn chips.  Maybe more delicious stuff — I don't remember — but it was so goooood!

5.  Weather:

As I compose this Thursday Thirteen on Wednesday evening, it's 57° and cloudy with patchy drizzle possible, here in St. Louis.  On Saturday, we had wet snow flurries.  On Sunday, my building cast a long shadow on a sunny day.

6.  Neighbors:

Rosie

I am now an "ambassador" to two new residents:  Rosie and Judy.  I'm supposed to take each of them on a tour of our home and give them information about various areas and activities — from the computer center and library to the fitness center, from the Circle@Crown Café to the beauty shop, from the laundry room to the community garden and greenhouse, from the culinary studio to the theater room with its big-screen television.

7.  Activities:

Judy

I took Judy to the October Birthday Bash shortly after she moved in. The Crown Center gave me tickets to enjoy a complimentary dinner and to attend any program or bus trip free so I can accompany Rosie and Judy, but I'd rather give the tickets to the newbies, instead.

8.  Books:

I made the "mistake" of going to a bookstore with my friend Joan, so of course I bought a book.  Only one, though, which I consider just short of a miracle.  Zen and the Art of Consciousness by Susan Blackmore (pb, 2011) was first published in hardback as Ten Zen Questions in 2009.  Here's a summary of the book:  "Who are you?  When are you?  What were you conscious of a moment ago?  This groundbreaking book sees acclaimed psychologist Susan Blackmore combining the latest scientific theories about mind, self, and consciousness with a lifetime’s practice of Zen.  Framed by ten critical questions derived from Zen teachings and designed to expand your understanding and experience of consciousness, this book doesn’t offer final ― or easy ― answers, but instead provides an inspiring exploration of how intellectual inquiry and meditation can tackle some of today’s greatest scientific mysteries."

9.  Women's Issues:

One woman wrote about "the every day sexism I’m seeing and witnessing and watching," sexism that nearly every woman and girl knows.  We take "the path of least precariousness" and "mastering the art of de-escalation" is "the reality of being a woman in our world."  Along with this writer, "I’m realizing that men can’t be expected to understand how pervasive everyday sexism is if we don’t start telling them and pointing to it when it happens."  When I discovered this article a couple of days ago, it already had 609 comments.  I printed out the article and several of the comments to use in a discussion group.

10. Catty remarks:

The other day, Clawdia saw sun reflecting off my watch and crept up on it as it "sat" there on the heating/cooling unit.  At first, I moved my arm and let her follow it, but then I held it in place near where she crouched, watching.  She gently lifted a paw, touched it, but couldn't feel anything there.  So she sniffed it, still getting an unsatisfactory clue to what that light really WAS.  That's when she turned away and sat under the step-stool to ponder the mystery.  She seriously likes lights and reflections.  Soon she spotted it again, that light on the wall.  This time, she nailed it!  I took a dozen pictures of her swiping at that white "bug" on the wall.  Unfortunately, I didn't succeed in getting one of both Clawdia and the white spot on the wall.  The white spot is invisible on her black fur, which must have absorbed the light.

11.  Discussion groups:

I accidentally started a new book group when one resident who'd had surgery couldn't go with me to my church book club because of the many steps up to the home of the hostess.  Donna and I agreed to talk with her about the book.  Uh-huh, I invited others and before I knew it, we were planning what to discuss next time.  Donna will lead our December meeting about To Kill a Mockingbird and our January meeting about Harper Lee's recently published book, Go Set a Watchman.  Donna wants us to think about both the scene and the character that most stayed with us from the first book.  What would be your answer?

Shon

12.  Friends:

Shon posted this on Facebook night before last:  "My dear friend, Bonnie Setliffe Jacobs, left an indelible mark on my life over a decade ago. It is through her wisdom, generosity, and faith that I was able to reconcile the certainty of my heart with the confusion in my mind. It's a debt I'll never be able to repay. However, I can promise to follow her example: Openness! Maintain a open heart, an open mind, and to never allow my faith to remain stagnant. It's a living, growing thing! My 24th day of expressing gratitude is dedicated to you, Bonnie. Love and peace to you always!"

13.  Facebook:

Do any of your Facebook friends seem to think the more they "share" Jesus the better?  That's why I loved it when I found this "share."

Library Loot ~ Harper Lee's first novel

To Kill a Mockingbird ~ by Harper Lee, 1960, fiction (Alabama)

The unforgettable novel of a childhood in a sleepy Southern town and the crisis of conscience that rocked it, To Kill A Mockingbird became both an instant bestseller and a critical success when it was first published in 1960.  It went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was later made into an Academy Award-winning film, also a classic.  Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, To Kill A Mockingbird takes readers to the roots of human behavior — to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, humor and pathos.  Now with over 18 million copies in print and translated into forty languages, this regional story by a young Alabama woman claims universal appeal. Harper Lee always considered her book to be a simple love story. Today it is regarded as a masterpiece of American literature.

My book club and my NEW book club (more on that in a minute) are both discussing this oldie in December, so I need to re-read it immediately.  Both will then read and discuss Harper Lee's second novel (second published, though written first).  I'll write about Go Set a Watchman next month.  I'll explain more in tomorrow's post about how I accidentally started a new book group when one of my neighbors who'd had surgery couldn't go with me to mine.  We got together separately, joined by several other neighbors.

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire @ The Captive Reader and Linda @ Silly Little Mischief that encourages us to share the names of books we checked out of the library.  See what others got this week.

TWOsday ~ TWO books I heard about last week

St. Louis Rising: The French Regime of Louis St. Ange de Bellerive ~ by Carl J. Ekberg and Sharon K. Person, 2015

The standard story of St. Louis's founding tells of fur traders Pierre Laclède and Auguste Chouteau hacking a city out of wilderness.  St. Louis Rising overturns such gauzy myths with the contrarian thesis that French government officials and institutions shaped and structured early city society.  Of the former, none did more than Louis St. Ange de Bellerive.  His commitment to the Bourbon monarchy and to civil tranquility made him the prime mover as St. Louis emerged during the tumult following the French and Indian War.  Drawing on new source materials, the authors delve into the complexities of politics, Indian affairs, slavery, and material culture that defined the city's founding period.  Their alternative version of the oft-told tale uncovers the imperial realities — as personified by St. Ange — that truly governed in the Illinois Country of the time, and provides a trove of new information on everything from the fur trade to the arrival of the British and Spanish after the Seven Years' War.

Not in God's Name: Confronting Religious Violence ~ by Jonathan Sacks, 2015

Sacks tackles the phenomenon of religious extremism and violence committed in the name of God.  If religion is perceived as being part of the problem, he argues, then it must also form part of the solution.  When individuals are motivated by what he calls "altruistic evil" — and also think "my religion is the only right path to God, therefore your religion is by definition wrong" — then violence between peoples of different beliefs appears to be the only natural outcome.  But through an exploration of the roots of violence and its relationship to religion, Sacks shows that religiously inspired violence has as its source misreadings of biblical texts at the heart of all three Abrahamic faiths.  By looking anew at the book of Genesis, with its foundational stories of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Sacks offers a radical rereading of many of the Bible’s seminal stories of sibling rivalry:  Cain and Abel, Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his brothers, Rachel and Leah.

"Abraham himself sought to be a blessing to others regardless of their faith.  That idea, ignored for many of the intervening centuries, remains the simplest definition of Abrahamic faith.  It is not our task to conquer or convert the world or enforce uniformity of belief.  It is our task to be a blessing to the world.  The use of religion for political ends is not righteousness but idolatry.  To invoke God to justify violence against the innocent is not an act of sanctity but of sacrilege."

 Here is an eloquent call for people of goodwill from all faiths and none to stand together, confront the religious extremism that threatens to destroy us, and declare:  Not in God’s Name.

Contents

I Bad Faith

1 Altruistic Evil ... p. 3
2 Violence and Identity ... p. 27
3 Dualism ... p. 44
4 The Scapegoat ... p. 66
5 Sibling Rivalry ... p. 87

II Siblings

6 The Half-Brothers ... p. 107
7 Wrestling with the Angel ... p. 125
8 Role Reversal ... p. 144
9 The Rejection of Rejection ... p. 161

III The Open Heart

10 The Stranger ... p. 177
11 The Universality of Justice, the Particularity of Love ... p. 189
12 Hard Texts ... p. 207
13 Relinquishing Power ... p. 220
14 Letting Go of Hate ... p. 238
15 The Will to Power or the Will to Life ... p. 252

I've already gotten St. Louis Rising from the library, but I'm number 24 of 25 holds on the newly published Not in God's Name.  My library has twelve copies, but I suspect — if I want to read it anytime soon — I may have buy myself a copy.  I may do that, since my study groups want to discuss Syrian refugees, terrorism, and Islam.

To meditate

Shadow Sunday

Shadow of my building, as seen from the sixth floor

Wet snowflakes falling

I'm watching the strangest snowfall I've ever seen, and I'm 75 years old.  My apartment is on the SE corner of our building, which doesn't exactly square up with the four directions.  Nevertheless, my windows facing South ― in my bedroom and the living room ― shows snow flying East as it whips to the left past my windows.  Not downward, but mostly level from right to left.  I went into the kitchen to see what it was doing at my East-facing window.  Even stranger, as big white wet flakes are almost at a standstill as they drift North near the building, even though gale winds are sending big gusts of snow South mere feet away at my street.  Seriously, my car is maybe a dozen steps from the building (that's my dark green Subaru on the left), but the snow there is blowing in a different direction from the wet flakes up close.  You can see the snow-rain mix is so wet it half-filled the triangular collection pond across the street during the night.  That's the parking lot behind Walgreen's (top left) and the pre-school parking lot (top right).  Yes, there's been more rain than snow, especially since it's only 36° Fahrenheit.

Friday Five ~ a wee pool of loveliness

Friday Five @ RevGalBlogPals is from Julie:

"In this week of the world spinning off into melt down; and fear and mistrust being the dominant emotions, let us create a wee pool of loveliness.  On Tuesday on the Facebook page a thread of fluffy kittens and heartwarming YouTube clips was started to bring a little light into the darkness, this has brought laughter and feel good goose bumps to many.  On Wednesday this week, many Scottish Gals gathered in Edinburgh for a festive lunch and a time to catch up. We were celebrating a new call and a new job and an imminent wedding amongst other things, and it was a lovely, fun, noisy time!  For Friday Five this week, let’s keep the light, love, and laughter going with a random selection of things to make your heart sing."

1.  Music:  a song or orchestral piece that stirs your soul.

My favorite piece of music is Mozart's Bassoon Concerto in B flat major, so I've posted it a couple of times before on this blog.  Here's Aligi Voltan playing the bassoon.  If the video quits working, hear it on YouTube.

2.  Indoor Place:  Have you got an oasis at home that you can hide away in?

Since I live alone in a very active retirement center, my oasis is my apartment.  When I've had enough of socializing and talking to others, I retreat into my own space.

3.  Outdoor Space:  Is it water, hills, woodland?  Is it the fresh country air or the bustling city?

It's also here at the Crown Center for Senior Living.  If I want to sit outside, I can do it on the patio or in the gazebo.  The photo at the top shows the irises around the gazebo in the spring of 2015.

4.  Picture:  this may be a piece of art, something you created, something someone gave you.

The glazed tile showing T.C. the cat, on the wall behind the man, was painted by Jane Yelliott (on the right).  It is now in my bedroom, given to me by Jane when she was dying in December 2013.  It isn't the only piece of her artwork I have, but this one especially brings Jane back to me every time I look at it because she apologized for not being able to paint MY cat before she died.  I miss her smile and visiting together.  By the way, "T.C." stands for "Top Cat," according to Jane's daughter.

5.  Person:  Do you have a go to person, for when the world is crowding in?

Donna has been my best friend for nearly 20 years, and I can definitely say she's one of the "cool people" who care and make the world better.  This was taken when we attended a program in the culinary kitchen here at the Crown Center.  Behind us is part of the library, where Donna and I volunteer to re-shelve books returned by the residents.

TBT ~ my grandchildren

Back row:  Brandy, Kendall, Cali

Front row:  Chase, Jamey, Kenzie

This was about 1994.  Cady, my 7th grandchild, was not born until 2000.

Library Loot ~ Sapiens by Harari

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind ~ by Yuval Noah Harari, 2015

From a renowned historian comes a groundbreaking narrative of humanity's creation and evolution that explores the ways in which biology and history have defined us and enhanced our understanding of what it means to be "human."  One hundred thousand years ago, at least six different species of humans inhabited earth.  Yet today there is only one ― homo sapiens.  What happened to the others?  And what may happen to us?  Most books about the history of humanity pursue either a historical or a biological approach, but Dr. Yuval Noah Harari breaks the mold with this highly original book that begins about 70,000 years ago with the appearance of modern cognition.

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire @ The Captive Reader and Linda @ Silly Little Mischief that encourages us to share the names of books we checked out of the library.  See what others got this week.

Black Cat Day

It was late in the day that I learned today is National Black Cat Day. I've never heard of it before. Maybe I noticed it this year because I adopted a black cat on July 23rd. Clawdia, the vet says, is about six years old.