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Kate always gives me good books to read. So far I can recall the RBG book, Oliver Sacks Gratitude and now this. There are probably more. Thanks K8 the GR8!
I loved reading this book, which is a series of her blogs put into print. I very much identify with lots of ideas Ursula throws out– plants have feelings just like animals; how can you say a carrot is dead because it is in your fridge? Put it in water and see what happens!
The mysteries of science, this world, of what humans do to each other in the way of violence and war– these mysteries, why do we do these things? is much of what I spend my time grappling with as a scientist, philosopher, writer, artist– it’s all kind of mixed together these days. That’s how it felt reading Ursula– like a mish-mash of all the things that are pissing me off (even misbehaving house cats) and how much I wish more people actually cared.
This book gave me a great start into the session. The book on Matilda, an immigrant story in the early 1900s about labor rights and such things, just wasn’t getting under my skin. It’s a bit dense and painful to read, especially as fires burn only a handful of miles away from my home. Mother Earth is expressing her frustration.
I am not sure what I’ll read next. It seems like the chaos of America is introducing chaos in all corners of people’s lives– what might it all mean? California is burning, asylum seekers are being turned back towards death on the daily, military bases are full of armed people ready to kill other people, and so on goes the capitalist machine! At least we have Ursula to make us smile and feel like we aren’t all so crazy.
If you need a lift, read this book!
Open Arts Spring 2023 
Thanks for bringing attention to this book–and thanks to K8 for sending it your way. I keep trying to reach through my own roiling feelings to remind myself that humanity has come through mayhem before, and will likely again…but, oh the suffering. I actually think lots of people care but don’t know what to do other than putting one foot in front of the other every day. I watched the latest in the “Poetry in America” series on PBS this morning, in which Auden’s poem, “Musee des Beaux Arts.” Have you read it? Auden addressing suffering via three Breughel paintings hanging in that museum.
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I think today I see many a torturer’s horse scratching their innocent behinds!
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Exactly.
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I love that you changed books! There’s something so true about needing to have a book get under your skin in order to invest the time reading it. And Ursula! I used her excellent book on writing, Steering The Craft, in a class I took that our fellow book blogger Sejal taught this spring. And I also have No Time To Spare waiting for me on my pile of must-reads. I bought it at my favorite bookstore, Labyrinth Books in Princeton, NJ, happy to do my part in supporting community-based independent booksellers. Coming home with a good book to read made the long drive back home well worth the trip. Thank you for reminding me what I have to look forward to!
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You will love it! Can’t wait to see your thoughts on this book 🙂
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I’m glad you enjoyed this book! Line after line kept shouting “Alison!” at me. This book gave me so much joy and things to think about. I wanted to rush through it so I could share it with you, but I also wanted to take my time and linger, ponder and ruminate.
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