Kicking off a week of my top 10 with categories including adult titles, middle grade and YA, manga and manhwa, picture books, and graphic novels, comics, and manga for teens.
The titles ranged from nonfiction including memoir to investigative nonfiction to emotional essays about kitchen objects, comics featuring murder (I think I have a type), and fiction the features witches that continues to remind me of my love of learning that I lean toward nonfiction in general.
The day after Thanksgiving makes me want to go back– to kitchen utensils, food memory, and reading Bee Wilson’s newest book, The Heart-Shaped Tin: Love, Loss, and Kitchen Objects.
When it was released on November 4th, I picked it up that day from the indie bookstore I had preordered it from. I read the first story and had that conflicted feeling I always do with amazing books– I wanted to rip through it and read it in one sitting to gobble it up like a succulent turkey on the Thanksgiving table, but I also wanted to savor it like the apple pie for dessert knowing the meal is at its end with a cup of tea. I decided on the later, reading about a story a day to finish it on my birthday. The book is a collection of stories that begin and end with Wilson’s own object: a heart-shaped tin that she had baked her wedding cake in but felt different now that her divorce was final. It made her think about her own attachment to kitchen objects and made her explore how others feel about their own too. What happens between the pages is a meet-and-greet with others who remember vivid feelings or feel close to relatives in their kitchens. One that sticks out is a mug in Barry’s kitchen:
“Long after he discarded the past bowl, Barry says that there are still certain objects that bring back periods of his life in a way that nothing else could. They are not museum pieces. Over and above admiring, they are for using, and when he uses them his memories come alive again, he says… He could not bear to lose this mug because it ‘radiates’ with such memorable experiences. When the mug is not in use, Barry says it is as if the memories of that Mexican trip become ‘dehydrated,’ like a dried flower. But when he pours coffee in it and holds the mug in his hang, ‘it blooms again.'”
The vivid description of a dehydrated flower that blooms again with use packs a punch. The others stories are just as unique and emotional. It’s similar to an experience several days ago when I made golabki, a dish that my grandmother would make on occasions like my birthday because it was my favorite and my mother makes a version for Christmas Eve. I’d attempted it once or twice but always had to pivot at the last minute turning it into lazy golabki but never quite recreating the taste which I’m convinced is more about others preparing it for me. But this time, I got super close to that taste, the feeling, the love and at the same time I usually enjoy it, my birthday.
As the holidays creep closer starting with Thanksgiving and ending with Christmas celebrations, give yourself a treat. Buy yourself a copy of Wilson’s book, savor a story or two a day, and use it as an exercise to remember and create your own story as Wilson’s did with all of the people she met and interviewed for this book. We all have a story to contribute to a topic like kitchen utensils and food memory just like a conversation I had with my sister-in-law’s father after our meal describing to me the three types of plates we were using for Thanksgiving at her house that included a set from her great grandmother, grandmother, and mother. I thought that the seed of that story would fit perfectly into Wilson’s book and that I might have to reread it.
A friend forwarded an email a few weeks back to make sure I knew that Sy Montgomery would be somewhat close by. There is a bookstore outside of my general area that has a second location the next state over that’s a scenic drive, but not too far. She knew I would travel for turtles.
For readers for youth, most will know the name Sy Montgomery. She’s written over 80 books about animals and those adventures have taken her all over the world. She’s written picture books, middle grade, and adult books about animals from octopuses to hummingbirds, turtles to tarantulas. I’m a big fan. The collaboration for her latest included illustrator Matt Patterson who would also be at the event as they promoted The True and Lucky Life of a Turtle featuring the real life adventure and misadventure of Fire Chief. But I also wanted the change to hear from Montgomery herself, plus get a bunch of books signed for my outdoorsy niece and nephews and one for myself.
If you haven’t read one of Montgomery’s books, you must. She provides depth, insight, and humor in and around the amazingness of animals. My favorites include: How to Be A Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals and What the Chicken Knows.
And the animal adjacent biography of Temple Grandin.
The drive to Vermont from my city on the eastern edge of New York was magical as the leaves have already begun to change, and I even had a little extra time to stop at a few cemeteries (I am a taphophile after all). What a lovely afternoon to spend among author and illustrators and books learning about animals and from each other.
It’s not just the unofficial end to summer, but a day that is set aside to recognize the jobs that make the world go round so I thought I’d share a few favorites from over the years.
I reference often my love of books about animals. I have favorite authors like Sy Montgomery that bring the magic of animals with the science. But there are also plenty of other titles that highlight a connection or relationship with an animal that changed a person’s perspective or others that provide an overarching appreciation for animals’ contributions to the world. I wanted to share a few recent reads that highlight these exact sentiments from a nonfiction picture book about sea turtles to a hare that shifted Dalton’s worldview.
A surprising read was Hall’s Slither: How Nature’s Most Maligned Creatures Illuminate Our World. If you remember my post about our public library’s summer reading kickoff, I held a big snake around my shoulders. This was a first because I have a reasonable/unreasonable fear of them and wanted to find a way to start recognizing the beauty of the animal in a safe environment. Hall provided science and story in equal measure.
If we know each other just a little bit, you know that I like to create challenges for myself as a fun way to feel accomplished but also (often) learn in the process. This challenge started in spring as a lead-up to a much-anticipated trip to Japan with six teenaged boys as part of a bigger tour group. I wanted to dive into the Studio Ghibli films because I didn’t watch them growing up and I was preparing to travel to the country of origin for the legendary film company and creative genius behind it, Hayao Miyazaki.
I borrowed the DVDs from the public library and stole time on the only DVD player in the house, my sons’ Playstation system in the basement. It was slow going, but I chose popular, much-discussed titles. Then I went to Japan and when I got back decided that I would watch the rest of them before summer’s end. But I also needed a new way to watch them, so we bought a small DVD player to hook up to the garage TV which doubles as entertainment during workouts. So now I could walk on the treadmill or do my strength training AND watch an animated classic. Needless to say this accessibility sped up my ability to complete them all before summer’s end– watching twenty-five movies (recognizing that The Red Turtle is not often included in the longlist even though Studio Ghibli co-produced it with a French company, the brainchild of a Dutch animator and French screenwriter). Here are my thoughts on the movies and the journey:
At the beginning, several of them I watched with at least one of my two sons (who also traveled as part of the entourage to Japan). But the majority were watched alone. I am also an infrequent movie-watcher in general. I prefer documentaries to movies though I can say my favorite non-Studio Ghibili animated movie of all time is Inside Out. As I watched the Studio Ghibli movies, I thought about three big items: the storytelling, the visual interest, and time management. And as I watched more and more, I made connections between older titles and newer titles or what was happening in the world. There wasn’t a specific order I watched them in either. I would borrow from the library and just like reading, it was more of a mood choice than anything else. So without a pattern, it was easy to simply enjoy it for what it was. I questioned the length of some movies and others I could tell within minutes that it would be a favorite just from the first scenes that engaged all of my senses. Of course, the ones that elicit a visceral emotional response also found their way to the top of my favorites list. Many would agree that Grave of the Fireflies is not a movie that you watch over and over again, (once is generally enough to be gutted by it) and it begins and ends with the emotional response that makes it memorable.
A brief thought for each movie on my ranked list:
There you have it. How does my list compare to yours? While I’ll be snacking on sushi for lunch to celebrate, I’d love to read your comments.
| Order of films by release date | My ranking |
| Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984) Castle in the Sky (1986) My Neighbor Totoro (1988) Grave of the Fireflies (1988) Kiki’s Delivery Services (1989) Only Yesterday (1991) Porco Rosso (1992) Ocean Waves (1993) Pom Poko (1994) Whisper of the Heart (1995) Princess Mononoke (1997) My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999) Spirited Away (2001) The Cat Returns (2002) Howl’s Moving Castle (2004) Tales from Earthsea (2006) Ponyo (2008) The Secret World of Arrietty (2010) From Up On Poppy Hill (2011) The Wind Rises (2013) The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013) When Marnie Was There (2014) The Red Turtle (2016) Earwig and the Witch (2020) The Boy and the Heron (2023) | From Up on Poppy Hill The Secret World of Arrietty Grave of the Fireflies Kiki’s Delivery Service The Boy and the Heron The Red Turtle Whisper of the Heart The Wind Rises Spirited Away Howl’s Moving Castle My Neighbor Totoro Only Yesterday When Marnie Was There The Tale of the Princess Kaguya My Neighbors The Yamadas Castle in the Sky Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind Ponyo Earwig and the Witch The Cat Returns Ocean Waves Pom Poko Porco Rosso Princess Mononoke Tales from Earthsea |
It’s National Book Lovers Day. What are you doing today?
So far I’ve visited my indie bookstore to buy a favorite picture book (Big Enough by Regina Linke), stopped at my local public library to pick up books for my son and me (he had a hold list of about twenty-five manga titles that he’s taking camping next week), and read (Slither: How Nature’s Most Maligned Creatures Illuminate Our World by Stephen S. Hall).
I’ll also squeeze in time to stare at my bookshelves.
Within the last decade, I have discovered a new hobby: cemetery walking which makes me a taphophile. This has taken me to many spots (though not yet international travel for it) around the area and in other states– it might be a quick stroll or it might be an early morning intensive. I’ve completed a cemetery crawl. I read books about them. And this past week, I finished a four week course on cemetery symbolism. Excitingly, I had signed up for the course before realizing that the book Grave from the series Object Lessons was written by the same person that would be running it. Needless to say, I knew I was going to nerd out. And nerd out I did.
And one cemetery that came up often in the discussions was Pere-Lachaise. It’s basically the mecca of cemeteries so imagine my excitement when I received a copy of the book The Secret Life of a Cemetery: The Wild Nature and Enchanting Lore of Pere-Lachaise by Benoit Gallot. This insightful mix of biography of Gallot’s residence inside Pere-Lachaise as an administrator (where he both works and raises his family on premises), cemetery history, and homage to the ecosystem that exists inside this one, and others, if you choose to see it. What started with a picture of a kit fox walking the grounds on his social media became the book about more than just the fox.
It’s a call to taphophiles like me to book travel to Paris and spend all my time walking the 110 acres.
Who doesn’t love a good quote?
I happened upon Kitt’s quote on social media a while back and immediately saved it both because I’m an avid cemetery walker, so the tombstone reference made me pause but also because as a human being (and likely ones of the reasons I love being a librarian) is that I get to learn every day. We should all strive to learn every day. It’s why librarians curate digital and print collections for others in order to share the joys of learning every day.
I trotted it out again yesterday after signing off on the first of four two-hour webinars I will attend this month. Within five minutes I was furiously taking notes and felt a warm, fuzzy feeling that lasted the entire two hours that this was money well-spent. The expert delivering the content was super knowledgeable and I was with like-minded individuals. The subject has been a hobby of mine for about a decade and I realize that the more I do it, the more I don’t know. So I sought out people who do know more to tell me what they know. And what’s more, she even provided additional materials on top of the wealth of resources she shared. I couldn’t have asked for a better use of my time and energy.
So, here is your permission if you need it to go out and learn something whether it’s free or costs money. Now more than ever, we need to find hobbies and interests that make us feel alive and challenged and connected to a community.
Whether I’ve been in the queue for months or just a few days, the notification that my audiobook has arrived makes me super happy.
Yesterday morning the audiobook of James by Percival Everett popped up.
And yesterday afternoon I picked up volume 13 of Spy x Family by Tatsuya Endo.
I am happy.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Readers Be Advised 