Weight: The Myth of Atlas and Heracles by Jeanette Winterson

I've always liked the Greek Myths. I have very early memories of sitting with a kids book version of them with my Uncle Dan (I think) reading about Hera and Iris. I liked the stories about Poseidon. I loved all the changing into animals and crazy hijinks. It was a cleaned up kid's version of the myths clearly. Still I didn't mind the more sinister and sordid overtones when I was older. If anything, they made the stories more relevant to me.

One myth I always disliked though was the story of Heracles. I was always torn between sympathy (because it really wasn't his fault that Zeus is a divine horndog) and contempt because he was such a crude character with rocks for brains. Karen Armstrong says that he's a holdover from the earlier myths of the paleolithic era which makes sense. After all, he has a club. I just have a hard time rooting for a muscle bound pretty boy.

By contrast, Atlas always seemed to get a bum rap. I mean the guy is systematically stripped of all his belongings and eventually punished to carry the entire universe on his shoulders. Even then he can't be left alone, Heracles comes along to 1. remind him of what he's lost by sending him after the golden apples and then 2. tricks him back into his punishment. Just doesn't seem fair.

I found Winterson's adaptation satisfying. Heracles was every bit the dispicable over-sexed lout I always imagined him to be and Atlas was the compassionate figure I always wanted him to be. I even liked how she folded the modern era into the story at the end. It really seemed correct somehow.

Marketing

I hate writing marketing blurbs. I accept that they are necessary and I can whip one out in no time for someone else, but ask me to do one for myself and I just freeze up. They are so deliberately puffed up and fake. For all my faults, and I have many, I'm pretty honest about myself and what I can do.  I have a hard time being all. . . glossy.

Lydia, 35 year old veteran teacher slogs through endless bogs of grammar stew to find the precious stone of your child's work.

I'm being pretty snarky. I know that it's a big deal choosing a school, especially for LD students.

10 year veteran of the English department, Lydia brings her experience as a librarian to foster an enthusiasm for reading in her students. She can, and will, share the wealth of her reading knowledge to steer your child to the books that will speak to him or her.

I even get that marketing is a necessary evil. It's not lying, it's being noticed. . . with panache.

Do you wish everyone could see how brilliant your child is. Is there a Faulkner or Dickens hidden in their psyche? Well bring them on down where our team of professionals with prompt, pry, and push that genius to the forefront.

But all I really want, is to tell them the truth exactly as I see it.

It's tough having an Learning Disability. With all that difficulty, your child deserves someone who cares about them and about their learning. Lydia, a 10 year veteran teacher, will use every tool she has to make your child confident in their abilities. In her class, they'll experience a teacher who will explain and teach using multiple approaches. Your child will be given multiple opportunities to rework writing to show mastery. Reading will be approached as a joyous occupation, and they will be encouraged to find the books that excite their imaginations. Lydia, cannot make your kid's LD go away, but maybe she can help them like learning just a little more.

Is that so wrong?

Health, Fitness, Blah Blah Blah . . .

I bought a fitbit today. I've been thinking about it a long time, and I finally decided to do it. So, now I've done it. I can be physically tracked by the evil computer overlords. I hear you going, "Yeah but Lydia you own a cell phone, the detestable binary tyrants already know what you do."

"Ha ha," I reply, "I'm such a flake, I forget my phone in the couch at least twice a week thus confounding the malignant digital demigods."

At this point the house is raided by several T-1000's and I must revert to my Sarah Conner-esque militia style survival techniques.

. . .  this escalated really quickly. I should go now.

Girl Meets Boy by Ali Smith

This is part of the Canongate Myths Series and is supposed to be the Iphis myth retold. Iphis is one of the sunnier parts of Ovid's Metamorphosis. It tells the story of a child who is born to a family who cannot afford to raise a girl and will have to kill the child by exposure if things turn out that way. (happy, right?) So the very pregnant mother goes to the temple to pray and the goddess Isis tells her that all will be well as long as she raises the child. The child is a girl and her mother calls her Iphis (gender neutral name apparently) and tells everyone that the child is a boy and raises her that way. Iphis grows up as a boy, falls in love with a girl, and, as is the normal progression, plans to marry her. Iphis, however knows that he's really a girl, and that this is a problem and "despairs." So Iphis's mom goes back to the temple and prays for a solution and the gods turn Iphis into a man. Everyone, apparently, lives happily ever after. (See, positively chipper for Ovid.)

I spent most of my time reading Girl Meets Boy frustrated and irritated. Most of the book is basically a love story between two women. It's a nice story, kind of sweet, really fast paced. We also hear from the sister of one the lovers who is having difficulty adjusting to her sister suddenly having a girlfriend. It's drearily devoid of the myth. In fact, the subtle little nods and Iphis seeme a little contrived.  The exceptions to this are the first and last chapter and they lay on the myth super thick. It felt, in fact, like two mostly unrelated novellas squished together and haphazardly linked. So, I spend most of the novel wishing I had more of the direct retelling (that is after all why I picked up the book) instead of enjoying the sweet little love story. Expectation is a powerful thing.

Smith's use of language is beautiful and lyrical. Parts of the book are almost prose poem. It's a good book, even if it isn't quite what I wanted/expected.

Pork Stew

Sometimes the recipes I just throw together are the best recipes. This was much better the next day. The texture thickened to a loose stew or thick soup depending. This is also the sort of dish that is super flexible. You can add whatever vegetables you have sitting around. Just make sure you adjust the liquid and seasonings to compensate.

2 Tbs. olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 bell peppers (not green), chopped
2 Tbs Paprika
1-2 pounds pork shoulder, cut in 1" pieces
water or stock
2 cups egg noodles
1/4 cup cornmeal
salt and pepper to taste

Sautee the onion and peppers in the olive oil until beginning to soften. Sprinkle the paprika over top and stir.

Add the pieces of pork shoulder and brown. When the pieces are evenly brown add enough water to cover. Bring to a simmer and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes.

Sprinkle the cornmeal over top and stir. Simmer for 20 minutes.

Add egg noodles and simmer until soft. You may have to add more water.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 8-10

Progress!

When I was a kid I hated book reports. I didn't mind the reading, not at all, but I found the forms and writing tedious. I'm pretty sure I had teachers who thought I was functionally illiterate when, in reality, I was devouring books by the dozen...I just didn't want to write about it. And, honestly, old-style book reports are dreadful and practically obsolete in a world with the internet in it.

So big shocker, now that I'm an adult, now that I'm in control of my classrooms and get to decide what happens there, what am I doing? I'm delivering book reports to my students. I've been doing a lot of research about literacy lately and it has changed many of my preconceived notions. One of the biggest realizations I've had is that my best weapon is my own love of literature. It really never occurred to me that my own enthusiasm for books could make a difference. It's been three days, and it's already obvious. I've got boys reading April Henry books. I've got freshmen asking me if I think they are ready for Kite Runner. I have kids telling me they are excited to find a book.

It's precious and fragile and new, but it's a start. I'm just so scared I'm going to screw it up.

Girl, Stolen by April Henry

Much like the previous post, I found Girl, Stolen by April Henry through Penny Kittle. However, it was a strange sort of recommendation. In her book, Book Love, Kittle essentially said that she had a hard time reading Girl, Stolen. Kittle's issue was not the quality of the narrative, but rather the subject matter.

She doesn't appear squeamish exactly, it's just that some subjects hit hard and, for Kittle, it seems that young girls kidnapped in a moment, not even on purpose, hits hard. That being said, Kittle mentioned the book in such a way that the title stuck in my head when I chanced upon it in a MacKay's Used Books in Chattanooga.

I read it over a four hour period one Saturday morning. It's not a long book and the plot isn't exactly convoluted. However, it is very well written. It's a YA novel that approaches a tough subject and tries to do so unflinchingly. It did a pretty good job of avoiding over-sentimentality while still making both the girl, Cheyanne, and the kidnapper, Griffin, sympathetic.

I liked this book. I would recommend this book. Clearly, Kittle and I have different baggage.