The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

So, this was an amazing read. Especially considering it was non-fiction which I've been trying to avoid as much as possible post-grad-school. Bleh. The book was recommended to me by a friend from the local music scene and all-around rad chick Anamieke (check out her band Treasurefruit here). The "tipping point" refers to that mystical, magical place where an idea or trend takes hold and blows up... like an epidemic, but a social epidemic rather than medical. I think just about everyone would find this book interesting. The Tipping Point is a terrifically fertile place for new ideas and new ways of thinking about the world around you.

I , for one example, was taken in by the description of children's understanding of narrative structure, more specifically, of how reliant children are on narrative structure for organizing the world around them in the chapter titled "The Stickiness Factor". Somehow, it offered me hope in the grand sense. I think I have an easier time conceiving of life as something souls would opt into if our lives really are simply narratives at their core, as opposed to random onslaughts of suffering in a sea of just-getting-by... but that might just be me.

Here's a great quote from the book that captures its essence...

"To appreciate the power of epidemics, we have to abandon this expectation about proportionality. We need to prepare ourselves for the possibility that sometimes big changes follow from small events, and that sometimes these changes can happen very quickly."

Coal to Diamonds:: Beth Ditto

In an effort to consolidate my blogging practices in order to free up more fiction-writing time, I have decided to do away with Book.Read.Good. and simply include book write-ups here on my personal mainstay. I found blogging just about books a little frustration mainly because it impeded my reading and writing time. I realized the ridiculous confliction in play and did away with it. Anyhoo, here we go... 

I'm a fan of the band Gossip. I'm a big music fan in general. What I'm not a fan of, however, is biographies so why I decided to pick up Coal to Diamonds still remains a bit of a mystery to me. Of course, I picked it up this morning and I've already knocked it out by the time I sat down to work on posts in the evening so it wasn't a terribly involved undertaking. I think Beth Ditto is an interesting persona - the femme punkrocker and Riot Grrrl in the post-Grrrl era. From her Arkansas upbringing to her emergence on the not-quite-underground scene, Ditto relates (with the help of writer Michelle Tea) her short life (she's only 32) with concision. Touching upon fat-positive body image and LBGTQ identity, the book was worth reading. My favorite quotes from the book are as follows:

"Punk to me has always been a moral philosophy, more than a style of music or a fashion you wear. The underpinnings of all the songs and clothes was, for me, a core rejection of the way the world operates, the mainstream world. It was a critique of capitalism, which makes some people rich on the backs of so many powerless workers. It was about smashing beauty standards that taught fat girls and boys and anyone not adhering to inhuman expectations to hate themselves."

"It's like I've won some crazy fucking lottery, and the prize has been my life."

Goodwilling Adventures

If you read my book blog you must know my love for half-off Goodwill day. I buy an unseemly amount of books. Occasionally, I will find one or two other things. For me, part of being a responsible consumer means trying to find anything secondhand that I can. It does help that I have a deep-seated love of kitsch and vintage. That being said, here are some of my recent Goodwill finds... 

I found many, many books.

And some "new" baskets to keep the recent abundance of produce we've started keeping at the house.

Swamped!

Moving to a new house can turn everything upside down and it has. The fella and I have to keep repeating that the house will never be as messy as it is right now. Never again! My hands are reacting to the cardboard in a very hostile way. Can't wait to get all settled in. Until then, please forgive any delays in posts. This is an across the board fiasco. I need rest and some sort of topical cream. Amid all the chaos, I am trying to cook dinner as often as I can. My current plan of attack in the battle against CPH is to eliminate all processed foods and scary chemicals from my home and diet. Doing well except for the cardboard-contact-rash. Toxins are very bad things, FYI.

Right now, I"m just daydreaming of a quiet reading spot. 

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Reasons I am Thankful...

It's been a big year. Somehow, today being Thanksgiving, it feels like the year is already winding down. Presents and New Year's resolutions will be here before you know it. I have a lot to be thankful this year (every year) and would like to take a moment to acknowledge just some of these things...

1. Eleanor, the dog-faced girl, is my constant companion. Aside from being my ever-cheerful familiar, she constantly adapts the way I acknowledge the I-Thou of the natural world.

2. My growing family. From the addition of my brother's wife and children (one just born yesterday!) to the sudden influx of Andersons in my life, I feel like I went from always being part of a very small family to being part of quite the brood. Plus, we added some new dogs to the pack (Max and Gracie) so we're really a crowd now. It's pretty awesome.

(this is not actually my family. this family was borrowed from awkward family photos here.)

3. The desert. I feel like I belong in the desert. I love the desert at night especially. During the day, sometimes, I feel like my eyes are going to burn out of my face from the light. Just sometimes.

4. Pinterest. Judge me if you must but I'm a hoarder at heart. An information hoarder. I have notebooks full of it. I would clip images and glue blocks of text and scribble things down. Notebooks full of it. Couldn't find anything if my life depended on it. Somewhere there are pages on nothing but rocks. There must at least three notebooks on nothing but Buddhism. Artists. Words. Since I've become more computer dependent I keep documents full of these notes. Some just saved by date. Useless unless I go through them again one at a time. Pinterest has stopped the hoarding of paper scraps... for the most part. The secret boards have kicked my story boards into the electronic age. You naysayers can suck it. I love love love Pinterest. 

5. Books are my favorite thing. I might like books more than people. I don't mean to be a jerk here. I'm just trying to be honest. I really love the people in my life but if given the choice between them and a library full of books that I wouldn't have to leave, I would have to think long and hard about it. 

Family? What family?

a moment of zen

Go ahead. Hug a book today.

Lifting the Library Embargo...

It's been a stressful week between doctors and more doctors but I've kept my goals in sight and I seem to be moving through it. As a reward for my efforts, I decided to break my library ban and triumphantly return to the world of book borrowing. I planned on only allowing myself two books. Of course, I left with an armful but I'm very excited about some of my finds this time...

I was looking for Ben Lerner's novel Leaving Atocha Station. The library didn't have a copy but they did have this collection of poems that I have yet to read.

Never read it. Always wanted to read it. Found the fiftieth anniversary edition in the "new books" section.

David Cross alternately annoys and amuses me. I suppose this must be like effect every person on the planet has on him. Here's hoping his book falls more to the latter side.

I've already read this book and I love it. My friend Mike knew I was looking for a copy so my fella could read it to and he found one on our library trip today. Very exciting times.

Hahaha. I really checked this book out. And, I'm really going to make something from it. Maybe not the roasted boar... maybe more like the honey biscuits. Thankfully, the book offers both the medieval and modern versions of recipes. 

For the home:: Grey Couch

I have an ugly brown couch I try to keep lively (a.k.a covered) with a throw my dog Eleanor slowly destroys over time. It's not a great system but it works for the time being. I want a grey couch. I might need to start a grey couch collection jar in my home.

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