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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
I really did like this book. I love her love of nature and science. She did go on a couple of tangents but for the most part, I found all the essays interesting and good to read. I loved the one about a letter to her child and also the letter to her mother.
DNF — more of an opinion piece than a story and wasn’t into it.
We now know so very much about the world, or at least the part of it that is most picturesquely exploding on any given day, that we're left with a desperate sense that all of it is exploding, all the time. As far as I can tell, that is the intent and purpose of the television news.
I wish our national anthem were not the one about the bombs bursting in air, but the one about purple mountain majesties and amber waves of grain.
Sometimes I've survived anger only one minute at a time, by saying to myself again and again that the best revenge is some kind of life beyond this, some kind of goodness. And I can lay no claim to goodness until I can prove that mean people have not made me mean.
I wish our national anthem were not the one about the bombs bursting in air, but the one about purple mountain majesties and amber waves of grain.
Sometimes I've survived anger only one minute at a time, by saying to myself again and again that the best revenge is some kind of life beyond this, some kind of goodness. And I can lay no claim to goodness until I can prove that mean people have not made me mean.
With this book, Barbara Kingsolver has officially laid claim to the title of My Favorite Author. It's a beautifully written collection of essays, undertaken in response to 9/11, at the request of American journalists and readers looking for answers. Not all of the essays directly revolve around 9/11, but follow the basic theme "America: What is wrong with it and what is right about it". She discusses how/why America may have gone off track and lost touch with its values and purposes, and what some people are doing to correct it.
I agree with so much of what these essays say, it's almost creepy. I feel like Kingsolver has been creeping around in my brain, condensing my opinions, and then reformulating them so that they make sense on paper, in more powerful and inspiring terms than I ever could. And in learning more about her personal background, I find that she and I have so much in common--we were both nerdy, awkward kids, always feeling different than other people; both biologists; similar values and stances. Granted, I can't quite get behind her tirade against ALL television (once you wade through the reality TV and celebrity gossip, some real gems can be found), but even that essay got me rethinking my ways. Some of these essays might make it into my environmental science lessons as required reading; all of them could be used as instructional material for social studies classes. An all-over good read for decent American citizens.
I agree with so much of what these essays say, it's almost creepy. I feel like Kingsolver has been creeping around in my brain, condensing my opinions, and then reformulating them so that they make sense on paper, in more powerful and inspiring terms than I ever could. And in learning more about her personal background, I find that she and I have so much in common--we were both nerdy, awkward kids, always feeling different than other people; both biologists; similar values and stances. Granted, I can't quite get behind her tirade against ALL television (once you wade through the reality TV and celebrity gossip, some real gems can be found), but even that essay got me rethinking my ways. Some of these essays might make it into my environmental science lessons as required reading; all of them could be used as instructional material for social studies classes. An all-over good read for decent American citizens.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
There is so much wisdom and grace on every page of this essay collection. The essays are about country and home, family and community, our environment, about how we are all responsible to each other. These essays are peaceful calls to action, reminders to why we should care. In our world that can be so closed off and cynical, so reluctant to hope for good, these essays are bright spots of joy.
Wow. Her words ring so true, 15 years later. These are essays on ecology, peace, unplugging, motherhood,... so many of the things so many of us deeply care about, and believe in. These essays fill me with hope, and give words to many of my thoughts. I've been criticized, ridiculed, and told "shame on you" more than once for saying that we CAN end war, and gun violence, and racial inequality, and greed, and climate change. It helps to know I'm not alone, and to have an eloquent writer laying it all out.
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced