̶L̶i̶t̶e̶r̶a̶r̶y̶ ̶C̶a̶n̶d̶l̶e̶s̶ ̶I̶’̶d̶ ̶M̶a̶k̶e̶...

Our assignment today: Pick a book and assign it a fragrance or fragrance combo that would make a nice candle.

My mind is in perpetual emergency mode these days. Please forgive me, but I can't seem to do this today.

Instead, I'd like to go in another direction. 

The Daily Stoic message today reminded me that not everyone has had the same education that we have, and that sometimes others can’t imagine what it's like to be someone else.

That's something we can get from reading books, I think---we can develop empathy for people who have had different experiences than we have had.

I've been thinking about books that gave me empathy for others, both fiction and nonfiction.

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor

Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond

The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

L'Assommoir by Émile Zola

Germinal by Émile Zola

James by Percival Everett

Roots by Alex Haley

How about you? 

What suggestions do you have to help us develop empathy for others?

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each Tuesday That Artsy Reader Girl assigns a topic and then post her top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join her and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.    

The Sunday Salon: Shall We Try to Be Happier?

 

Welcome! I am delighted that you joined us here at the Sunday Salon. 

What is the Sunday Salon? 

The Sunday Salon is a place to link up and share what we have been doing during the week. It's also a great opportunity to visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there. 

Several people asked me to tell more about my Happiness Habits course, so here goes...It's through Action for Happiness located in Great Britain. It's a six-week course delivered over Zoom, moderated by two rather cheerful volunteers, with a small group of other partakers. The course is designed to cover gratitude, self-care, relationships, resilience, kindness, and meaning, and it focuses on the actions we can take, based on science, to be happier. 

Here's the link to the course.

Here is a link to the Action for Happiness website.

What I Read Last Week:

Under the Eye of the Big Bird by Hiromi Kawakami

Katabasis by R. F. Kuang

What I'm Reading Now:

Village School by Miss Read

Tiny Habits by B. J. Fogg

10 Keys to Happier Living by Vanessa King

It was the first night of the 45th season of Inprint Author Readings in Houston and it was a full house at the Wortham Theater for author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Adichie talked about her latest novel, Dream Count, which led to a discussion about the promise of immigration in America historically around the world. As always, it was wonderful to be around thinking, compassionate people.

What I Posted Last Week Here at Readerbuzz:

The Sunday Salon: Sunrise, a Burrowing Owl, and a Happiness Class

Villains

Under the Eye of the Big Bird by Hiromi Kawakami

I began to list 3 Good Things every day during the pandemic. Now I've established a regular routine of writing down my 3 Good Things. Here are 3 Good Things from last week.

I've been cheered this week by 

some lovely surprises in my mailbox/inbox!

Thank you so much, my friends!

Good Thing #1:

Sunflower photos 

from Janet in Kansas.

Good Thing #2:

Margaret Atwood stamps

from Jackie in Canada.

Good Thing #3:

A birding book by Kenn Kaufman,

sticky notes, cards, a fan,

and a beautiful crocheted hot pad

from Patricia in New Mexico.

Weekend linkup spots are listed below. Click on the picture to visit the site.

        

I hope you will join the linkup for Sunday Salon below.

Under the Eye of the Big Bird by Hiromi Kawakami: Book Beginnings on Fridays, First Line Friday, The Friday 56, and Book Blogger Hop

  

Today's Featured Book: 

Under the Eye of the Big Bird

by Hiromi Kawakami

Genre: Fiction

Published: September 3, 2024

Page Count: 289 pages

Summary: 

In the distant future, humans are on the verge of extinction and have settled in small tribes across the planet under the observation and care of "Mothers." Some children are made in factories, from cells of rabbits and dolphins; some live by getting nutrients from water and light, like plants. The survival of the race depends on the interbreeding of these and other alien beings--but it is far from certain that connection, love, reproduction, and evolution will persist among the inhabitants of this faltering new world.

Unfolding over fourteen interconnected episodes spanning geological eons, at once technical and pastoral, mournful and utopic, Under the Eye of the Big Bird presents an astonishing vision of the end of our species as we know it.

 

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAY is hosted by Rose City Reader. What book are you happy about reading this week? Please share the opening sentence (or so) on BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAY! Add the link to your blog or social media post and visit other blogs to see what others are reading.

Happy Friday and welcome to the FIRST LINE FRIDAY, hosted by Reading is My Superpower! It’s time to grab the book nearest to you and leave a comment with the first line.

Let’s go to the baths today, Miss Ikuko said, so we all got ready.

Kawakami, Hiromi. Under the Eye of the Big Bird: A Novel, p. 1. Kindle Edition. 

THE FRIDAY 56 is hosted by Anne of Head Full of Books. To play, open a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% on your e-reader). Find a sentence or two and post them, along with the book title and author. Then link up on Head Full of Books and visit others in the linky. 

The mothers swiftly took the baby away and called in the next watcher.

Kawakami, Hiromi. Under the Eye of the Big Bird: A Novel, p. 56. Kindle Edition. 

I could not find a quote on either the first page or on page 56 that rang with the quirkiness of this book. The book is emotionally cold, but I like the surprise and the cleverness of the story.

The purpose of THE BOOK BLOGGER HOP is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, and befriend other bloggers. THE BOOK BLOGGER HOP is hosted by Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writer.    

September 12th - 18th - Are there any books that are considered terrible but you love? (submitted by Snapdragon @ Snapdragon Alcove)

In generally, I come from the other side of the playground: there are a lot of books others love that I consider terrible. I won't give examples. I'm sure many people hate some of my favorites, too. 

Villains

Ah, villains! You vile creatures! Let's celebrate our favorite kids' books villains this week...

Shrek by William Steig

No, David! by David Shannon

Hank the Cowdog #8: The Case of the One-Eyed Killer Stud Horse by John R. Erickson

The Monster at the End of This Book

Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss

The BFG by Roald Dahl

Chancy and the Grand Rascal by Sid Fleischman

Leonardo the Terrible Monster by Mo Willems

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems

The Bad Guys by Aaron Blabey

Rotten Island by William Steig

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Each Tuesday That Artsy Reader Girl assigns a topic and then post her top ten list that fits that topic. You’re more than welcome to join her and create your own top ten (or 2, 5, 20, etc.) list as well. Feel free to put a unique spin on the topic to make it work for you! Please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own post so that others know where to find more information.    

The Sunday Salon: Sunrise, a Burrowing Owl, and a Happiness Class

 

Welcome! I am delighted that you joined us here at the Sunday Salon. 

What is the Sunday Salon? 

The Sunday Salon is a place to link up and share what we have been doing during the week. It's also a great opportunity to visit other blogs and join in the conversations going on there. 

My sister and I,

after a 16-mile e-bike ride 

around Waco

We came home from spending the week with my sister and her husband in Waco, and I got back to my at-home routine of swimming and doing nature volunteer work and reading and taking some classes. What am I taking this fall? I signed up for a four-week guitar class, an eight-week writing class, and a six-week happiness class. 

What I Read Last Week:

An African History of Africa by Zeinab Badawi (Nonfiction)

Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede (Children's Fantasy)

Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Fiction)

What I'm Reading Now:

Under the Eye of the Big Bird by Hiromi Kawakami

Katabasis by R. F. Kuang

A New New Me by Helen Oyeyemi

What I Posted Last Week Here at Readerbuzz:

Katabasis: A Novel by R. F. Kuang

Children's Picture Books About Jobs

The Sunday Salon: Visiting My Sister in Waco

I began to list 3 Good Things every day during the pandemic. Now I've established a regular routine of writing down my 3 Good Things. Here are 3 Good Things from last week:

Good Thing #1:

I joined friends 

at the beach in Galveston

for the sunrise.

Good Thing #2:

Burrowing Owl

that has (apparently) settled into

life near a Galveston restaurant.

Good Thing #3:

Action for Happiness

online class to practice

happiness habits.

Weekend linkup spots are listed below. Click on the picture to visit the site.

        

I hope you will join the linkup for Sunday Salon below.