May Miscellany

This is the last of my May book list--the books that were neither mysteries nor poetry. Included are short stories, memoir, Buddhism, nature writing, art, and letters in audiobook, e-book, and book form.

Bliss and Other Stories by Katherine Mansfield (audiobook read by Juliet Stevenson)
The title says it all. Juliet Stevenson was a good reader. I enjoyed this book quite a lot.

The Magnetic North: Travels in the Arctic by Sara Wheeler
This book has been on my shelf for a few years and I decided the time was right to read it. The author had spent time in Antarctica and written a book about the experience. She wasn’t very interested in the arctic, until a trip to the area piqued her interest. She embarked on this book project, spending a couple of months in a particular arctic area of each country that has territory above the Arctic Circle. She did not do the entire project in a continuous journey but in chunks, one place at a time. Sometimes one of her children went with her. While her discussion of each place highlights a particular theme relevant to the problems faced in the far north, each chapter provides cultural insights, science, descriptions of weather and landscape, and descriptions of how things are changing. The science is dated, because the book was published over a decade ago, but it was still interesting as background. The author does a good job in her cultural descriptions—much was familiar to me from my time in Alaska and learning about Native cultures and Inupiaq Eskimo language. Her love of what she is doing and the arctic is evident in her writing and the way in which she structures the book. It’s a good read, if not always a happy one.

Letters of Note: Art compiled by Shaun Usher (audiobook read by various people)
The compiler of these letters recognised that letter writing is a dying art form and set out to find and preserve letters of note on a website. He has recently complied theme-based audiobooks of these letters. Various actors and authors read the letters and before each one Usher provides the listener with background on the writer of the letter, the context in which it was written, and a bit about the culture of the time. This was fascinating. I loved it and highly recommend it. There are also audiobooks on the themes of mothers, cats, love, and war. There may be others as well, but these are the ones I saw at the library website.

Elizabeth Taylor: The Complete Short Stories
I was thrilled when Bill came home with this book a few years ago, having spotted it at a pop-up charity shop. I love short story collections, especially complete collections like this one. I gather that Taylor is not as well known as she once was, but is starting to be read more these days with some of her work being re-published. This is an excellent collection. It’s a chunky book at 600+ pages, but it can be dipped into over time. I started it before we moved and then ended up reading other things, partly so I could donate them before it was time to pack them up and haul them here. I think I read about 1/3 of it before I set it aside. Once I picked it up again, I sailed through it, because I really loved it. Most of the books we pick up at charity shops are read (or started and set aside if not liked)—and then passed on, but sometimes I find one I want to keep. This is one of the keepers. I highly recommend it.

Minor Feelings: A Reckoning on Race and the Asian Condition by Cathy Park Hong
This was a new e-book on the library website. This is teh description from the page:
‘The daughter of Korean immigrants, Cathy Park Hong grew up in America steeped in shame, suspicion, and melancholy. She would later understand that these "minor feelings" occur when American optimism contradicts your own reality. With sly humour and a poet's searching mind, Hong uses her own story as a portal into a deeper examination of racial consciousness. This intimate and devastating book traces her relationship to the English language, to shame and depression, to poetry and artmaking, and to family and female friendship. A radically honest work of art, Minor Feelings forms a portrait of one Asian American psyche - and of a writer's search to both uncover and speak the truth.’

This is an excellent book. I read it just before the current uprisings against racism began in the US and spread around the world. The book is extremely relevant to what is going on now.

Welcoming the Unwelcome: Wholehearted Living in a Brokenhearted World by Pema Chodron
Years ago, when I was in the middle of a very serious depression which interfered with my ability to function well, I checked out a set of CDs which was an audiobook by Pema Chodron. I don’t remember which book it was. I was familiar with the name and had read a bit of her work before. I was also aware of the general structure of Buddhism, but I was to find out that I had misunderstood both. As I listened to the audiobook while in bed, crying and unable to make myself get up, I felt myself tuning in to something for the first time in a while. She made so much sense. I found myself mentally nodding as I recognised my own life in what she was saying. Then I saw ways I could begin to heal from right there in my bed and with my tears still flowing. And I did begin to heal. When that audiobook was done, I checked out another and then another. I read other books. I explored Buddhist teachings. I found my place in secular Buddhism as I understood the foundational ideas and put them into practice and felt such peace of mind. When I saw this e-book listed as a new release, I reserved it. It wasn’t all that different than her previous work, but the personal anecdotes and examples she gives are new and often funny. She shows how these practical ideas can help us navigate through pain and difficulty and also deepen our experience of joy and peace. Crucially, she also talks about how this benefits the rest of the world. I recommend her work, whether it’s this book or another.
Here’s the blurb for this book:
'In her first new book of spiritual teachings in over seven years, Pema Chödrön offers a combination of wisdom, heartfelt reflections, and the signature mix of humor and insight that have made her a beloved figure to turn to during times of change. In an increasingly polarized world, Pema shows us how to strengthen our abilities to find common ground, even when we disagree, and influence our environment in positive ways. Sharing never-before told personal stories from her remarkable life, simple and powerful everyday practices, and directly relatable advice, Pema encourages us all to become triumphant bodhisattvas--compassionate beings--in times of hardship.

Welcoming the Unwelcome includes teachings on the true meaning of karma, recognizing the basic goodness in ourselves and the people we share our lives with--even the most challenging ones, transforming adversity into opportunities for growth, and freeing ourselves from the empty and illusory labels that separate us. Pema also provides step-by-step guides to a basic sitting meditation and a compassion meditation that anyone can use to bring light to the darkness we face, wherever and whatever it may be.'

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