Sanibel Sunday: November 11, 2018

Hello from sunny Florida! November is off to a busier-than-anticipated start and, as a result, I took an unintended blogging break. Our daughter visited for a few days last weekend. We made arrangements with a painting contractor to get work done while we're back up north for the holidays. I also started shopping for living room furniture - no decisions yet. We hosted a neighborhood gathering... the air conditioning needed repairing (again!) ... and the election... and all the news...

I signed up to vote by mail, but grew increasingly nervous as my mailbox remained empty. On the last day of early voting, I decided to just go to the polls. By that time, even if my ballot arrived I doubted it would be delivered to election headquarters in time. There were at least  100 people ahead of me in line at the polls... a sharp contrast to early voting in the 2016 presidential election when there was no line at all! I was questioned about my vote-by-mail request, but allowed to vote since my ballot had not been submitted. (The ballot never did show up.)

Now, as you know, the recounts begin...

Recent reading//

White Fragility: Why It's so Hard for White People to Talk About Racism

by Robin DiAngelo, narrated by Amy Landon

I've been exploring race in nonfiction lately and this is my latest book on that topic. The goodreads summary explains it much better than I can:

Referring to the defensive moves that white people make when challenged racially, white fragility is characterized by emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt and by behaviors including argumentation and silence. These behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium and prevent any meaningful cross-racial dialogue. In this in-depth exploration, anti-racist educator Robin DiAngelo examines how white fragility develops, how it protects racial inequality, and what can be done to engage more constructively.

I'll just say this is an important and thought-provoking read which I highly recommended.

The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women by Kate Moore

I finished this book last night and can't recommend it highly enough. It has everything I love in nonfiction - science and medicine, a legal battle, human drama, and good writing, too.

In the 1920s and 30s young women worked in factories where they painted watches, clocks, and military dials with a new luminous substance made from radium. Part of the process involved placing the brushes in their mouths to create a finer point. As time passed, they began to suffer crippling, painful illnesses, which baffled physicians for years before eventually being identified as radium poisoning. As their employers falsely denied prior knowledge of the danger involved and refused to take responsibility, the "radium girls" began a fight for justice. Their victory was instrumental in the establishment of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA.

This book, unexpectedly, turned out to be quite a page-turner.  Toward the end it even brought tears to my eyes. I borrowed the audio version narrated by Angela Brazil from the library, but ended up reading most of the book in print. Read or listen, but don't miss it!

Current listening//

Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood

by Trevor Noah, narrated by the author

I started listening to this one on my walk this morning. It's received rave reviews from many of my blogging friends and I can already understand why.


Up next//

I plan to start a print book later this evening. It will be more nonfiction...likely one already on my kindle.


The week ahead//

Tomorrow is my husband's birthday, so we have a special day planned. Later in the week we'll finalize arrangements to sell a car... never an enjoyable task. On Friday we fly back to upstate NY for the holidays. I just checked the weather forecast... snow nearly every day this week. Sigh.

I'm hoping to write this week's Nonfiction November post before we leave. Fingers crossed.

How was your week? What are you reading?