Space Station Mir

Books Read This Month The Places That Scare You by Pema Chodron The German Girl by Armando Lucas Correa The Color of Love by Marra B. Gad Strangers and Cousins by Leah Hager Cohen Briar Rose by Jane Yolen Favorite Book This Month This was a much better reading month than last, and all of the reads above were thoughtful and helpful to me in their own way. The Places That Scare You I will probably read again. It's about those things that everyone knows but needs to be reminded of, about accepting and sitting with your emotions instead of letting them control you OR just stuffing them down, the latter of which I've been guilty of for a long time. It's scary to let yourself be vulnerable and feel and scarier still to make sure you don't give them too much control. The German Girl was most interesting to me for its comparison between Nazi rule in Germany and the Cuban revolution, as lived by someone who experienced both. It's also written by a Cuban auth...

Silk-Prince Kheldar, by First-Fantasy on DeviantArt 1. Silk (aka Prince Khledar) from the Belgariad and Malloreon, because I wouldn't be able to believe anything but I would have plenty of fun trying to decode it 2. Jasmine, because I want to read all her thoughts on women's rights and the global economy 3. Belle, because I need to hear what happens after chapter three 4. Jo March, because Christopher Columbus! somebody needs to keep Laurie in check and pretend to be the maid 5. Anne of Green Gables, because I need more descriptive names for local landmarks and also romanticized versions of Arthurian legends 6. Jen Lancaster should be more active on social media, because she is hilarious 7. Elizabeth Gilbert, I actually do follow her on all social media, for plenty of feel-good spirituality, do-good campaigns, and travel 8. Gansey from The Raven Boys quartet, because who doesn't need to know more about dead Welsh kings? 9. Temeraire, the eponymous dragon...

Books Read This Month I'm Proud of You: My Friendship with Fred Rogers by Tim Madigan The Power by Naomi Alderman The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman Candlemaking for the First Time by Vanessa-Ann Nothing Fancy by Alison Roman Favorite Book This Month I'm Proud of You: My Friendship with Fred Rogers by Tim Madigan I thought this was the book that the recent Mr. Rogers movie is based on. Although I was wrong, it is well worth reading. The friendship between Fred Rogers and Tim Madigan is an inspiration, and Madigan's rich and spiritually detailed account is satisfying to the soul. Madigan is clearly an introspective and thoughtful person who meshed well with Rogers. Rogers' character is every bit as wholesome as we might want, though he is also a real person who grieves the death of a friend, agonizes over the fate of the world, and needs to replay songs to get them just perfect. I'm especially impressed with how vulnerable Madigan is with Rogers an...

Happy Top Ten Tuesday over at That Artsy Reader Girl! I'm in a terrible reading slump right now, so I'm actually having a hard time imagining five-star reads, although I would love to start one right about now! Here are some books I'm hoping will end the slump: 1. City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert 2. The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin 3. The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel 4. The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern 5. The Secret Commonwealth by Philip Pullman 6. The German Girl by Armando Lucas Correa 7. Strangers and Cousins by Leah Hager Cohen 8. Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell 9. Jane, Unlimited by Kristin Cashore 10. To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers I'm banking on some of my favorite authors to lift me out of this slump!