As the world gets "smaller" and the global population gets larger, we are faced with the opportunity (or burden, depending on one's point of view) to get to know people of other cultures, demographics, and faiths. Many people purport to be Christian, "walking the walk", as the saying goes, but actively disdain people of other religions. The "why" of that problem is a topic unto itself, and one for another book. But for now, Brian McLaren continues with his tradition of controversy and puts his heart into how to bridge the gulf between faiths of different stripes. Living in the SF Bay area, I've made friends from all over the planet, and have evolved a lot from my days of narrowmindedness to an entirely different viewpoint. Well written and thoughtful, with rationale behind his reasoning.

I'd heard about this book over the years, but didn't really know what it was about, other than race. Boy, was I in for a surprise. As it turns out, audacious (white) journalist John Howard Griffin decided, in 1959, to "become" Black, and see how things were in that skin. From Texas, he was used to the southern way of life and had lived in various places, of course, as a white man. After taking larger-than-recommended doses of medication to treat vitiligo in an alarmingly short time, his skin began to take on more pigment. He augmented this with makeup, shaved his unsuitable hair, and off he went, for his six week sojourn as a new person. His experience was eye-opening and heart-wrenching. Has a lot changed since then? Perhaps in some ways, but not enough.

Author Sy Montgomery takes on the topic of the humble chicken and she's not afraid of ruffling a few feathers (ha!) in her defense of the familiar barnyard bird. Chickens, it seems, have a whole lot more going on than the average person was ever led to believe. A tiny book, you'll whiz right through this little gem, crowing at your new knowledge. Her writing style is cozy and warm, and makes you want to have a hot beverage with her while you talk turkey. Okay, that one didn't really work, but I couldn't help it. Highly recommended--don't chicken out. Okay, I need to stop now.

This would be a great waiting room book in any office--the stories are sweet, short and uplifting. Some of the friendships were long, and some were fleeting, but most quite unexpected. A great reminder to us all that love can transcent differences.

The premise of this book is compelling; I couldn't wait to start it. Initially, things started off well, but quickly got mired down to the point where I just wanted it to be over. I didn't form a bond with any of the characters. When I finally got to the end and the big reveal, I was pretty much speed-reading in a race to the finish.

Okay, maybe not quite. But it definitely didn't draw me in. Although the author is a skilled writer, it seemed like there was a lot of filler in this 215 page book . . . would have been a great article, or maybe a short documentary series with the more punchy highlights. But learning all about the financial side of things, for example, while important to the running of the facility, was a tad ho-hum for this reader.

Expecting to find that there were some nuggets of folkoric myth which have been debunked (or, perhaps, that social pressure has squashed since the dark ages of my schooling), I was eager to read this book. I love discovering "fun facts" and righting my knowledge base, shaky as it is. But once I dove (dived?--perhaps another book I need to read) in, I was jarred by the absolute and unapologetic fictional account of our "history" that we've all been spoon-fed. Okay, not all of us. There are some people arguably who have a private or home-school curriculum that gets things right, but the textbooks used by public schools just don't, and there is seemingly no effort to do so, because that might tick some people off. So basically, history is being taught the way a large portion of our (conservative) citizens wish it actually were, and so there you go. Doesn't matter if it happened that way, as long as it sounds good. Gosh, all my life I'd heard about the educational brainwashing that went on in communist countries . . . um, not so different here, folks. "Heroification" is the word author James Loewen uses, and it's an appropriate one. I actually found this book very difficult to read, and had to do so in small chunks because it was too disheartening. Nevertheless, I do think it's a very important read for any teacher, parent, or politically savvy member of society who doesn't want to continue with the fable that has been passed as our official story. I get it--no one likes to admit they were wrong and that they need to change. But the bottom line is that if we don't do just that--face up to our wrongdoings and do better next time, or at least try--we will lose that job, that marriage, that relationship with our kids, or maybe even our democracy.

After a trip to Abilene, my kids found this book and chuckled when they gave it to me, wondering if it would stand up to the rigors of my post-reading critique. My copy is an ARC, with cover art that looked very amateurish to me. Let's just say that faced with this, my expectations were quite low. Nevertheless, this author can write! I was drawn in to the three intertwining stories of the female protagonists, two women and an adolescent girl. The stories held up, the plot moved along, and I would most definitely read another book by author Dare DeLano. I would, however, recommend a new cover design.

This author's wise and unbiased research into the happenings of Charlottesville and the January 6 riot are impressive. That a team would so gallantly take on the task of analyzing both of those horrible events, piece by piece, to discover where things went wrong, is admirable and gives one hope. That is, until you realize that sometimes those in power are not in search of ways to thwart wrongdoing, but rather the ones perpetrating it.

How someone with his hurdles had the fortitude to persevere and do what he needed to be free--secretly attain literacy, escape slavery and gain an international following--speaks to his genius. Yes, he had his grandiose moments, but wouldn't one require that, to achieve what he did? His scathing indictment of the United States' version of Christianity is completely apropos today, as is the gut-wrenching poem, "A Parody", at the end of the book.

If you are a serious musician, well-versed in all of the intricacies of Mozart's compositions, this book might really strike a chord (ha!) with you. I expected a little more biography, which is there, but sketchily, in my view. There was quite a bit of supposition about why he wrote what he wrote and what he was feeling due to the goings-on around him, but of course we don't know the reality of any of that. The writer is a poet and it did, at times, feel a bit like a poetry book with a lot more flowery talk than the straight scoop. Not my jam. (Sorry, I couldn't help it.)

Special Ed teacher Torey Hayden taught the kids that no other teacher would take, and had a history of success despite her (or maybe because of) her outside-the-box style of classroom management. One day she was notified that she would be adding to her classroom a six year old who had committed a heinous crime, until a space was available at the state hospital. This story tells the tale of her introduction to Sheila, the challenge(s) in reaching her, and the breakthrough that occurred due to her relentless pursuit of a connection. I couldn't put it down. There is a sequel, and I got it for Christmas--gotta go read!