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No matter where you go, there you are.

Monthly Archive: January 2015

Sunday

18

January 2015

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COMMENTS

What I’m Reading – January 18, 2015

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Two things first: Happy Birthday Kevan and GO SEAHAWKS! Now, back to depressing shit…

Islamophobia

– “The 28-year-old attacker forced the front door of his neighbours’ house in the picturesque village of Beaucet near Avignon just after midnight on Wednesday shouting “I am your god, I am your Islam” before repeatedly stabbing Mohamed El Makouli, he National Observatory Against Islamophobia said Friday.” Moroccan man murdered in ‘Islamophobic’ attack in France (h/t @imraansiddiqi)

– “Emerson also claimed that “Muslim religious police” patrolled the streets of London, and beat everyone who didn’t dress in “Muslim attire.” That sparked a day of worldwide merciless parodying of the network under the hashtag #foxnewsfacts, most of which riffed off Emerson’s characterization.” Fox News’ terrible, horrible, no good, very bad weekend (h/t @TonyKaron)

– “Writers at Vox have indeed been bombarded with threats for our Charlie Hebdo coverage. But not one of those threats has come from a Muslim or in response to publishing anti-Islam cartoons. Revealingly, they have rather all come from non-Muslims furious at our articles criticizing Islamophobia.” Vox got no threats for posting Charlie Hebdo cartoons, dozens for covering Islamophobia (h/t @roqchams)

Racism

– “But the optics of this year’s slate are particularly egregious when you combine the surprising coolness towards Martin Luther King Jr. biopic Selma—nominated for Best Picture but missing in the Director, Actor, and Screenplay categories—with the fact that all 20 acting nominees this year are white, the first time such a thing has happened since the Oscars honoring the films of 1995.” The Oscars Haven’t Been This White in 19 Years (h/t @TKhatesyou)

Free Speech

– ‘But being offended certainly gives people the right to talk about the fact that they’re offended. If someone calls me, for example, an ugly terrorist bitch, I am not “censoring” them by offering a rebuke. I’m not even censoring them by deciding to block or otherwise not interact with them – free speech does not mean you have the right to a captive audience. In fact, free speech means that if I hear something I don’t like, I’m well within my rights to say, “This is garbage and I don’t want to listen to it, so I’m not going to.”’ How Much is That Free Speech in the Window? (via @jaythenerdkid)

– “Free speech and freedom of the press, like in the United States, are constitutionally protected rights. However, in France this typically comes with a few very important caveats. It is prohibited for an individual to publicly incite another to discriminate against individuals on grounds of ethnicity, nation, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or handicap. However, the definition of “discrimination” remains intentionally murky and is frequently challenged in cases brought under these laws.” How France went from free-speech rallies to 54 hate-speech arrests in one week (via @FusionIsNews)

– “But as reporters have been pointing out, the lineup included traces of hypocrisy—Turkey, Egypt, and Russia aren’t exactly on the vanguard of robust and unshackled journalism. ” Walk Is Cheap: The “Circus of Hypocrisy” Among World Leaders at This Weekend’s Rally in Paris (via @strangerslog)

– “As pernicious as this arrest and related “crackdown” on some speech obviously is, it provides a critical value: namely, it underscores the utter scam that was this week’s celebration of free speech in the west.” Frank Arrests a Comedian for His Facebook Comments, Showing the Sham of the West’s ‘Free Speech’ Celebration

– One Student’s Epic Tweets Call Out the Biggest Hypocrites Marching for Free Speech in Paris

Government Surveillance

– “They — and not just the security services — will be able to use it to intercept all of our communications. That includes things like the pictures of your kids in your bath that you send to your parents to the trade secrets you send to your co-workers. But this is just for starters. David Cameron doesn’t understand technology very well, so he doesn’t actually know what he’s asking for.” What David Cameron just proposed would endanger every Briton and destroy the IT industry (h/t @stavvers)

– “The known facts from this latest case seem to fit well within a now-familiar FBI pattern whereby the agency does not disrupt planned domestic terror attacks but rather creates them, then publicly praises itself for stopping its own plots.” Latest FBI Claim of Disrupted Terror Plot Deserves Much Scrutiny and Skepticism

Police Brutality

– “In every case, in spite of the clarity of the evidence, or the outrageousness of the chokehold, the NYPD completely rejected every single disciplinary recommendation given by the Civilian Review Board.” New York inspector general issues ‘alarming’ report on NYPD’s continued use of banned chokeholds (via @shaunking)

Willful Ignorance

– “Cruz has also spoken out against decades of science that indicate climate change, telling CNN last year that in “the last 15 years, there has been no recorded warming” to support “a so-called scientific theory”. His vociferous opposition to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and his support of extreme budget cuts could spell trouble for Nasa’s less prominent programs, such as its own climate research and sophisticated supercomputers.” Republican senator Ted Cruz to oversee Nasa in Congress (h/t @WilWheaton)

– “Rich straight white guy telling the world he’d appreciate “less outrage”. This notion doesn’t sit well with those who daily face various forms of outrageous and awful kinds of oppression or marginalisation. How exactly should people of colour show “less outrage” while responding to racism? How should rape survivors and targets of sexual assault convey “less outrage”, while daily exposed to men who think they own women’s bodies? How should gay rights activists threatened with death convey “less outrage” in countries where their existence is a crime?” Patton Oswalt fans and how to outrage properly (h/t @tauriqmoosa)

Health Care

– “This conversation isn’t about death at all. “Death” is the word that confuses the conversation, that makes people too afraid, and too angry, and too frantic to keep talking. This conversation is really about autonomy. It is about what makes life worth living, and if, in keeping people alive for so long, we are consigning them to a fate worse than death.” How Americans’ refusal to talk about death hurts the elderly (h/t @elementalnw)

Misogyny

– “So you’re faced with what to do when you’ve been so badly abused it’s made international news. Do you go to the police or not? Well, if you don’t, they’ll claim that it wasn’t real because there’s no police report. They did so with Anita (who did have a police report, which was conveniently ignored). If you do enter the system, you have to accept that all of what I’ve already written is what you’re facing down, with little chance at actually seeing justice, be willing to sign up for the years-long process in the event that it actually goes to trial, and know you have little chance of a court order stopping your obsessive abuser any more than seeing people target and hurt your family and the families of those close to you ever did.” August Never Ends (h/t @thelindywest)

– “But it also reveals some truths that apply to all working women. There is a gender wage gap in nearly every kind of job, from high paying to low paying, and every industry. That gap doesn’t disappear even when taking into account career experience, which includes any breaks taken to raise children.” Charlize Theron Negotiates $10M Raise After Sony Hack Reveals Male Costar Was To Be Paid Millions More (via @ThinkProgress)

Death Penalty

– “If they truly want to honor me, then they will do away with the death penalty for him, and they will give him life in prison without the possiblity of parole,” Waller said in a video that was sent to the defendant’s lawyers.”When he dies, I want it to be because it’s his time, not because he’s been executed due to what happened to me and my child. I don’t want that on my hands. It makes me feel like I’m no different from him.” Mother Of Murdered Infant: ‘If They Truly Want To Honor Me’ They Won’t Execute The Killer (via @ThinkProgress)

Wednesday

14

January 2015

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COMMENTS

It’s My Birthday, Bitches

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Alright. I’m 35, and I’ve decided that it will be awesome. It certainly started out that way. Last night I was greeted with macarons and some adorable tiny spoons. Today I took most of the day off of work and did a bunch of stuff I wanted to do. It was just lovely.

I also received some amazingly thoughtful gifts, especially ones from Austin. Items that I already adore, and that show me that he really knows me well. I mean, some are gimmes (cupcake wrapping paper? Obviously. Emergency cupcake? Even better.) But some – like finding a book of maps and statistics about London – are just beyond my comprehension of awesomeness. I’m a lucky woman.

I’ve said before that I do New Year Resolutions, but I tie them to my birthday. That way I have a couple of weeks to get a feel for the new year, what I want to do, and not be faced with anything drastic (like, say, cutting out all sweets unless it’s a special occasion, which starts tomorrow! Hooray!) during my birthday. I think there are a couple of big things I’m going to focus on between now and January 14, 2016 – finding more joy and being less anxious about what others think of me.

I’m betting the joy part is what will be more challenging. I think I’ve already got a healthy amount of it in my life, but I want to celebrate more things. I want to hang stupid paper hearts up around Valentine’s Day, and bake a cake when someone finishes a big project at work or pays off their student loans. I think it’s super easy to get caught up in the mundane to-do lists; hopefully this year I can get caught up in the awesome little things.

The other part might be surprising to some people, because outwardly I probably seem like I’m very willing to speak my mind on things. And it’s true, I am. But only when I feel really comfortable that I’m not going to ruffle the feathers of the people with whom I’m speaking. Other times I hold back, even though I know that what I want to say is what I believe in.

An example from the past week is the horrible shit that went down in Paris. I have complicated feelings about it (and I’m not going to get into now because it’s 10:30 p.m. and I’m still floating on the last strains of the Veronica Mars theme song after finishing the movie), but I’ve not felt comfortable sharing them here because I have this voice in the back of my head saying “what will people think?”

And the thing is, I do care what people think, and to a degree I think it’s disrespectful to not care about it. I loathe people who try to pass off being an asshole for just ‘not caring what other people think.’ I’m talking about feeling more comfortable about discussing things on this blog, or with friends, that might not fit what others are suggesting is the way to go, and that may not even be fully formed arguments. Sometimes I’ll be shown I’m wrong, and sometimes I won’t be. But I’ll be true to myself, and I feel that now is as good of a time as any for that.

So, here’s to being 35. I’ve got about 364 more days to figure it out.

 

Monday

12

January 2015

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COMMENTS

The Martian by Andy Weir

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Five Stars

the-martian-by-andy-weir

“Tears. I’m not going to say whether they are tears of joy or sadness, but just know. Tears.”

I said that to my husband about five minutes ago, when I finished this fucking fantastic novel. I loved it. I started it last night around 7:30. I finished it five minutes ago. During that time I slept, worked a nine-hour day, and read this book.

I don’t really read science fiction. And I don’t even know if that’s how I’d categorize this book. Yes, it is fiction, and yes, it is all about the science. And it is set some days in the future, enough days that we can already be sending a third mission to mars. But it’s not, I guess, how I pictured science fiction could be.

The Martian is the tale of Mark Watney. He was left behind when the other five members of his crew had to make an emergency evacuation from Mars. They thought he was dead. But he’s not. The story is mostly told from his entries into a computer log. The first lines of the book, in fact, are: “I’m pretty much fucked.” And indeed he is. Six days into a 31-day mission. So he’s got, what enough food for that long, for six people? That’s about it. He doesn’t have any way to communicate with Earth, or the crew that left him back.

What would you do?

Mark is amazing at keeping his sense of humor. He’s a guy I’d want to know. And his will to figure out a way to first, survive and then to get off the planet is amazing. It’s a nearly 400-page book, so you can imagine that shit happens. Not every second, but often enough to keep the book believable but totally engaging. And the science! Oh the science. It’s just a joy to read. So fun. So captivating. I’m sad it’s over.

However … apparently it is being turned into a movie. DO NOT look at IMDB until you’ve read the book, but I can say that I think the casting is perfection.

Sunday

11

January 2015

0

COMMENTS

Burn Unit by Barbara Ravage

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Five Stars

burn unit

My first five-star book of 2015! I was a little worried about picking up a long, dense, science non-fiction book after so much young adult reading the past week or so. But this book was fantastic. I found it at Powell’s in the health and medical section and I’m just so glad I did.

Ms. Ravage does a really excellent job of describing what really goes on when someone is burned. I imagine that when most of us think about a burn injury, we picture a sunburn, or a blister on an arm that bumped up against the oven when pulling out a tray of cookies. Some of us might think about tragic events like the Rhode Island nightclub fire, or perhaps people who have jumped from burning buildings. But how many of us really know what goes on when someone is seriously burned? It’s likely that if you or a close loved one hasn’t experienced it, you don’t know much about it.

This book focuses on the burn unit at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, which is unique in some ways. For example, they don’t use water tanks for debridement (the cleaning and scraping of wounds), whereas most other units across the country do. But the unit is an amazing, close-knit community of nurses, burn techs, doctors, psychiatrists and others offering support for those who are burned and their family members.

I knew a little bit about burns – that they can leave scars, that large wounds need to be cleaned and that it is excruciating. But I didn’t really know about the physiology of burns. Like the fact that the first week isn’t actually the worst; many can survive the first days but then die from the injuries. The impact on the respiratory system is can be huge if smoke or other chemicals are inhaled; the burns themselves trigger all sorts of haywire reactions, like the rushing of fluid to the site (causing major swelling), and metabolism that can start eating through lean muscle. The book also described what shock actually is which, frankly, I didn’t really understand until now.

Through all of this, Ms. Ravage is telling two stories: one of Dan O’Shea (not his name) and one of Mike Parent. Dan was burned while passed out after a night of drinking and was kept sedated for a couple of months; Mike was injured when a pot caught fire, creating burns on his arms. Their stories are interesting and provide a way to apply the knowledge Ms. Ravage is imparting to real people.

If you have any interest in medicine, or in quality science writing, I just cannot recommend this book enough.

Sunday

11

January 2015

0

COMMENTS

What I’m Reading – January 11, 2015

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Bigotry

– “Isabella Sankey, the policy director at human rights body Liberty, said: ‘Turning our teachers and childminders into an army of involuntary spies will not stop the terrorist threat. Far from bringing those at the margins back into mainstream society, it will sow seeds of mistrust, division and alienation from an early age.'” Anti-terror plan to spy on toddlers ‘is heavy-handed’ (h/t @saladinahmed)

Rape Culture

– “What’s truly baffling here is why the show’s producers didn’t edit this stuff out, trim it down, or make some kind of statement about it beforehand. Sure, Cosby wasn’t a big topic a year ago, but he’s easily one of the most loathed celebrities in America right now.” Keshia Knight Pulliam Fired From Celebrity Apprentice for Not Talking to Bill Cosby (h/t @BlackInformant)

– “It reveals that Harding and others were often confused by what the procedures of the hearing were, that Winston and the woman told incredibly different versions of the events that night, and, looking at the whole of what was presented over those two days, it’s unclear how Harding came to his final decision.” Jameis Winston Conduct Hearing Transcript Reveals Mass Confusion and Bizarre Decision-Making (via @scATX)

Racism

– ‘”In [the grand juror]’s view, the current information available about the grand jurors’ views is not entirely accurate — especially the implication that all grand jurors believed that there was no support for any charges,’ the lawsuit says.” Grand Juror Sues McCulloch, Says He Mischaracterized The Wilson Case (h/t @sarahkendzior)

Capitalism

– “Can you imagine the outrage if hotels blocked cell phones, forcing guests to use their profit-hogging landline phones? Of course, the American Hotel and Lodging association is saying this isn’t about gouging customers, it’s about protecting their networks.” Hotel chains are asking the FCC for permission to block personal WiFi devices on their properties (h/t @teigland_cindy)

– “The CBPP’s Ed Bolen said he expects the requirement to accelerate a decline in enrollment that has been driven so far by people getting jobs and earning too much money to qualify for assistance. People who are unable to find jobs will be out of luck, since few states offer training or workfare programs that meet the requirements.” Food Stamp Enrollment Expected To Drop By 1 Million Next Year (h/t @Velma1984)

Misogyny

– “But in a classic example of the difference between surface “equality” and genuine equity, many public restrooms continue to be facilities that are equal in physical space, while favoring men’s bodies, experiences, and needs.” The Everyday Sexism of Women Waiting in Public Toilet Lines (h/t @msfoundation)

Family

– “You’re probably hearing a lot about how no love can compare to the love a mother has for her child. Parents might be telling you that you’ll never ever EVER understand what real love feels like unless you become a parent yourself. Well, now that I’ve crossed over from “nonparent” to “parent,” and with apologies to my fellow parents, I want to deliver this important message: You pretty much get it.” Loco Parentis: You Pretty Much Get It

Friday

9

January 2015

0

COMMENTS

Weekend by Christopher Pike

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Three stars

weekend

Sorry folks. I really should stop reading these books. But this one was available at the library. I was helpless. And I can’t promise that I won’t be going back to the library for more; apparently there’s a five-book vampire series that came out this century, so I kind of feel obligated to check it out.

But back to this one, brought to you by the year 1986. Same basic premise as Slumber Party – a bunch of friends are getting together for a weekend away, and one of them was seriously injured (poisoned to the point that her kidneys no longer work) at a party a few months prior. This takes place at a beach, not a lodge, and there are guys already part of the group. It is set at a fancy house on the Mexican coast (Mr. Pike seems to enjoy his super-rich kids). There are cat-fighting girls. There is a mystical man (one guess as to his described ethnicity). There are snakes.

This one had one twist that I saw about two chapters in; there was another twist that took me maybe four chapters. What I’m saying is that there isn’t a lot left to the imagination. And sometimes the writing is kind of hilarious – Mr. Pike is clearly trying to paint pictures with words. Sometimes he is really successful (I have to say I have no problem conjuring up his worlds in my mind) and sometimes he just goes overboard.

Am I glad I read it? Sure. Can I recommend it? Eh. If you’ve got 90 minutes to kill and want to dive into a little YA fun, you could do worse.

Thursday

8

January 2015

0

COMMENTS

Dirty Wars by Jeremy Scahill

Written by , Posted in Politics, Reviews

Four Stars

Dirty_Wars_book_cover_US_Final

This audio book is TWENTY-FOUR HOURS LONG. Yeah. I mean, I think one of the Song of Ice and Fire audio books is like 48 hours, but following a non-fiction book for 24 hours is a challenge for me. Mr. Scahill does a great job of creating a narrative story in the 680 pages of the book, but there are names of people and places that are unfamiliar, which increased the challenge of keeping up.

I bought this because I had an audible subscription with some extra credits, and the book received great reviews among the political folks I know. Plus, Mr. Scahill wrote Blackwater, which I reviewed last year. He is a journalist who is interested in the war on terror and all the ways it has affected (or perhaps revealed) U.S. military values. Coming on the heels of the release of the torture report at the end of 2014, I can’t help but continue to question nearly everything we are told about this war, the need for it, and how ethically the U.S. military and CIA are acting.

Can we justify assassinating U.S. citizens, killing them without a trial? Can we justify drone strikes that definitely kill innocent civilians because it (might) kill a person who wishes harm to the U.S.? Can we justify the fear that people living in countries like Yemen have as they hear the hum of drones over their heads? And even if we can find a way to justify these actions, should we? What does it say about us that we elect leaders who implement or continue such policies? What does it say about our military leaders that they are willing to take these actions, or about our judicial system if it allows it?

I don’t have the answers. I know that much of what I heard was disturbing. I know that while President Obama has done some great things for this country, his record in this area is deeply, deeply troubling. I also know that there are some people who are acting in despicable ways and yet are utterly convinced that they are saviors on earth, a sort of second coming sent to save the U.S. That should worry us all.

Thursday

8

January 2015

0

COMMENTS

Slumber Party

Written by , Posted in Reviews

Three Stars

slumber

So I think I’ve decided that thrillers set before cell phones and Internet research work well. It’s a lot easier to accept that someone going missing might just be them out on a walk if they can’t be reached by text message. As this book was written in 1986, it makes sense that when, say, one member of the group disappears, it’s totally reasonable that she’s just gone somewhere else. Or when someone seems suspicious, it makes sense to just feel things out, because you can’t exactly Google them to see if their story checks out.

I definitely remember reading this book when I was younger. So it’s hard for me to say whether the book is super predictable, or it was predictable because somewhere in my mind I remembered what happened when I read it 20 years ago or so. The premise is a bunch of high school ‘friends’ (in Mr. Pike’s world, young women always seem to be more like frenemies than true friends) go to a giant house in a ski area for a weekend away from their parents. Skiing and meeting boys are the two main objectives. Oh, and one other thing – Nell, the one whose parents own the house, was burned during a freak accident about eight years prior, when the same group of girls were together at a sleepover. Nell’s younger sister Nicole was killed in that same accident.

Nell’s face was pretty badly burned, so there’s that underlying issue. And of course her dead sister (although she is apparently rarely discussed). There’s Rachel, who is blond and gorgeous (but also mean, because of course); Mindy, Rachel’s dim-witted friend who chews a lot of gun (excellent character development); Dawn, who is a bit pudgy (again, that’s about all we get); and Lara, whose third person perspective is the view we get in the book. Lara and Dawn are clearly close, as are Mindy and Rachel. Lara also brings along Celeste, a new girl at school who is a couple of years younger than the girls.

Things happen. Lara and Rachel end up interested in the same guy, Percy, who is friends with Cal, a guy who apparently got way too fresh with Dawn when they were alone together. There is a party, there is a disappearance, and there is the fear of murder.

When the twist comes, you will either go DUH, saw it coming from a mile away, or you will smack yourself because you SHOULD have seen it coming a mile away. This is not Shakespeare, it is not deep, there is not any sort of serious character development. But it was fun to read on the elliptical this morning.

Monday

5

January 2015

0

COMMENTS

Modern Manners by Dorothea Johnson and Liv Tyler

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Three Stars

modernmanners

It’s an etiquette book with a cute cover. I couldn’t resist.

This is a fairly basic etiquette book that apparently is targeted at those just starting out in their careers, so it isn’t fair for me to judge it based on other etiquette books. But I still will. If you’re going to get an etiquette book, and you’re a young woman who doesn’t mind the occasional f-bomb, you should get The Fabulous Girl’s Guide to Decorum, which includes this gem about breakfast after sleeping with someone: “If the sleepover occurred at your place, you really should offer him something no matter how you feel. You fucked him, you can pour him a glass of orange juice.”

However. If you’re an auntie looking for a cute graduation present for your 18-year-old niece or nephew, this isn’t a bad choice. It includes some VERY basic items, such as handshaking, making introductions, and table manners. On the subject of table manners, I actually disagree with one of the author’s subjective claims: that the European style of eating (where the knife and fork stay in hand while taking a bite) is more elegant than the American style (where you cut a piece, set down the knife and transfer the fork). I have always thought that the European practice of keeping the silverware in one’s hands throughout the bite made the person eating the food look a bit like they were waiting for someone to steal their food and thus had to shove it all in at once.

Because of my mild obsession with manners there wasn’t a lot that was new to me, but I still enjoyed learning a few things, such as the proper way to eat different foods, as well as some tips and tricks about hosting meals. It’s a brief book with some great illustrations (and while I commend the illustrator’s recognition that not everyone is white, it’d be great if the illustrator also recognized that not everyone is skinny) and useful tips for those who would benefit from a bit of etiquette education.

Oh, one last thing. One of the authors is ostensibly Liv Tyler. Yes, that Liv Tyler. She offers a few little nuggets of wisdom here and there, but it definitely reads as though Dorothea Johnson did the lion’s share of the writing.

Sunday

4

January 2015

0

COMMENTS

The Last Story by Christopher Pike

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Two Stars

The Last Story

Again, Spoilers. All of them.

So at the end of the last book (book two in a three-book series), Shari/Jean was pushed from a balcony by Peter/Lenny. But she survived. In this book, she’s become a best-selling author, and is about to start shooting the film version of one of her hit books. She’s still a Wanderer, and she’s still getting guidance from mystical people from Southeast Asia, so that part’s still culturally appropriative.

What else. Well, here’s the thing – there are some genuinely interesting parts of this book. And then there is another story within a story, which is totally out of place and not really what I’m interested in reading about. There are sharks and shark attacks, obvious villains, and a story about aliens attacking the Earth. Mr. Pike is trying to do too much, which ends up meaning he does none of it really well.

Also, he refers, repeatedly, to a character in a wheelchair as a cripple. Really? In what world is that acceptable?

This one, apparently. At least in Mr. Pike’s version of it. I commented on this and my husband asked when the book was written, and I at least got an answer about why this book and book two seem so much … worse, really, than the first book. The original book, Remember Me, was written in 1989. I’m guessing that there was no real plan to write a sequel; maybe Mr. Pike wanted to write something about the meaning of life and figured he’d just tack it onto this one? Unclear. But either way, book two wasn’t published until 1994; this book was published in 1995.

I really don’t think either needed to be published. As I said, there are parts that are okay, but mostly the book meanders and tries to tell more stories than the book can.

I think I’ll still seek out some of the old Christopher Pike books to see if I really was deluded in thinking they were fun, entertaining books, or if more of them have the subtle bigotry, ableism and xenophobia I’ve seen in these books.