Gage had his first sleepover with a friend this last week. He’s spent nights away from us before, but always with family, so this was a big step. We all went over there for dinner and were visiting over dessert when Gage says, “I thought you guys were going home.” Needless to say he had a great time and the boys are already planning their next night of fun.
All of the Christmas decorations have been put away, gluten has been avoided, homeschool has resumed and Gage is testing for the next belt in tae kwon do this week, so all is well so far this new year.
Books read this week – 8
Reviewed On Tyranny here. Loved and highly recommend.
Finished The Honeys and will get the review up soon. What a trip!
I already have a 5 star kids picture book, nonfiction.
Just Being Dali was a fantastic book with excellent illustrations. The recurring theme was no matter what people said Salvador Dali just kept being himself. This was one of those quick reads when we studied Spain this week.
On the Screen
Both were fun. My favorite quote came from detective Benoit Blanc, “It’s a dangerous thing to mistake speaking without thought for speaking the truth.”
Puzzling
January is National Puzzle Month and we’ve finished two so far, totaling 2000 pieces. Not bad!
Plans for the weekend
Tomorrow is the Friends of the Library Board yearly audit for my tine as treasurer. I have so much to organize and finish for that today. I can’t wait to hand over this responsibility. Numbers and money are just not my thing and managing non profit status and taxes on top of making deposits, writing checks and presenting monthly reports has not been fun. This year I’m the VP and in charge of book sales, both of which are completely in my wheelhouse.
There’s no better day to review this book than today, January 6. This is an expanded, graphic work taken directly from the book On Tyranny. I didn’t read it, but picked this up on a whim not knowing it had an original. I think every American should read Professor Snyder’s work, in either form. It’s quick, but most definitely packs a punch and I know that I will definitely be giving this a reread. Maybe even every January 6.
Timothy Snyder is one of the most celebrated historians of the Holocaust. In his books Bloodlands and Black Earth, he has carefully dissected the events and values that enabled the rise of Hitler and Stalin and the execution of their catastrophic policies. With Twenty Lessons, Snyder draws from the darkest hours of the twentieth century to provide hope for the twenty-first. As he writes, “Americans are no wiser than the Europeans who saw democracy yield to fascism, Nazism and communism. Our one advantage is that we might learn from their experience.”
from Goodreads
This was such a thought-provoking, visually appealing book about the dangers the United States faces from authoritarianism. The lines are drawn between Europe and the rise of fascists and the US today. Trump is not once mentioned by name, but he’s impossible to miss. Maybe I think a few of the connecting lines were a stretch, but in the context of the greater picture, completely fair. I’m going to include some passages. Do yourself a favor and read the book with an open mind. you don’t need to agree with every word to come away with new understanding.
#2 Defend institutions. It is institutions that help us preserve decency. They need our help as well. Do not speak of “our institutions” unless you make them yours by acting on their behalf. Institutions do not protect themselves. They fall one after the other unless each is defended from the beginning. So choose and institution you care about- a court, a newspaper, a law, a labor union- and take its side. (page 13)
#4 Take responsibility for the face of the world. The symbols of today enable the reality of tomorrow.
You may one day be offered the opportunity to display symbols of loyalty. Make sure that such symbols include your fellow citizens rather than exclude them. (page 27)
#7 Be reflective if you must be armed. If you carry a weapon in public service may God bless you and keep you. But know that evils of the past involved policemen and soldiers finding themselves, one day, doing irregular things. Be prepared to say no. (page 39)
#10 Believe in truth. To abandon facts is to abandon freedom.
You submit to tyranny when you renounce the difference between what you want to hear and what is actually the case. Post-truth is pre-facism.
19. Be a patriot. Set a good example of what America means for the generations to come. They will need it.
It is not patriotic to try to end democracy.
A nationalist encourages us to be our worst and then tells us that we are the best.
A patriot, by contrast, wants the nation to love up to its ideals, which means asking us to be our best selves.
Epilogue & Liberty
The habit of dwelling on victimhood dulls the impulse of self-correction. Since the nation is defined by its inherent virtue rather than by its future potential, politics becomes a discussion of good and evil rather then a discussion of possible solutions to real problems. Since the crisis is permanent , the sense of emergency is always present; planning for the future seems impossible or even disloyal. How can we even think of reform when the enemy is always at the gate? (page 116)
After last year’s whirlwind of reading, I found that I really missed blogging and connecting with all of you. I wanted to blog, but just didn’t have the time to do it. And when I was able to sit down and visit your virtual world my comments were being rejected so some of you never even knew I was there. And…I didn’t have time to figure out how to fix it. And I spent to much time on Instagram. I love taking photos for IG, but I don’t feel the same connection there as I do with my fellow bloggers. I miss the long form, intentional connection.
Just as I missed intentional connections I missed intentional reading. Too many books that I chose were fast reads or once read were too easily moved on from. So, I’m going to take a deep breath between books and I started a book journal with my first book of the year. I’m only writing quotes that touch me in some way, but just the pausing has been satisfying. And in the spirit of that I’d love to get back to writing about all the books I read. I’m not going to make that a hard and fast rule, because I’m trying to take any reading pressure off of myself this year to focus on my big goal. To that end, I set my Goodreads reading goal at an easily achievable 105. In my pre-homeschooling days this would have been a stretch, but not so much now.
I discovered a few years ago that when I ate too much gluten I felt terrible and it causes bloating. But I LOVE bread and pizza and fast food, and…the list is quite long. Gage is already gluten free, so this is the year I’ve decided to make it my goal to get through 2023 without gluten. I admit that I’ve gone without gluten for short periods in the past, but old habits are hard to break and I’ve never been able to maintain it long term. Hopefully, this will be the year I change that! Any other gluten avoiders out there?
I’m wishing you all a fantastic 2023 and hope to see you around here more often!
Stacy's Books 