With rising rates of COVID-19 combined with the annual question mark of the flu season (and did you know you can get both at the same time? Fun!), the second half of 2020 and beyond looks a little hairy.
At this point it appears inadvisable to rely on the implementation of common-sense measures, particularly widespread testing, comprehensive contact tracing, financial support for employees to take off work while ill and after proven exposure, guaranteed medical coverage for those who are out of work or who don’t have access to health insurance through their employers, and back-to-school plans that include routine testing and basic safeguards that offices are putting in place, so our family is preparing to batten down the hatches for fall and winter. This includes attempting to get my daughter’s braces removed, making a plan to maintain an inventory of non-perishable foods to avoid exposure in stores and to prepare for shortages, arranging for meaningful remote social interaction (virtual scout troops ftw!), making a book-procurement plan, keeping an eye out for outdoor flu vaccine clinics, and trying to find a working relationship with my near-debilitating existentialism.
This is a time when looking forward realistically is the same thing as catastrophizing. Because this virus couldn’t care less about our power of positive thinking. It’s here to use our cells to reproduce and our behaviors to spread to new bodies and the United States is doing its damnedest to pave an easy road for it to do both of these things with deadly efficiency.
Winter is coming. And we are not remotely ready.
Visual Interest: Brand-new butterfly.
Finished in June (12):
Children of the Longhouse by Joseph Bruchac (R.A. with my son)
The Children of Jocasta by Natalie Haynes
Renegades by Marissa Meyer
Archenemies by Marissa Meyer
Supernova by Marissa Meyer
Cantoras by Carolina de Robertis (Tailored Book Recommendations selection)
The Regrets by Amy Bonnaffons (Tailored Book Recommendations selection)
Palaces for the People by Eric Klinenberg
Docile by K.M. Szpara (Quit this one 333 pages in. This was the only one of the three titles I got through Tailored Book Recommendations this quarter that was a total bust for me. My family loves it, though; they get a kick out of it when I rant about books they haven’t read.)
Sees Behind Trees by Michael Dorris (R.A. with my son)
If I Ever Get Out of Here by Eric Gansworth
The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty (I went back and forth between the audiobook and paperback for this. Strange thing: The audiobook has 55 chapters plus an epilogue and the paperback has 59 chapters and an epilogue but they seem to contain the same information. If anyone can help me figure out why this is, I would be grateful.)
Currently Reading:
Bossypants by Tina Fey (audiobook. The only thing my kids find more amusing than me ranting about books is me laughing until I cry.)
A Wolf Called Wander by Rosanne Parry (R.A. with my son)
Shelter by Jayne Anne Phillips
Periodic Tales by Hugh Aldersley-Williams (R.A. with my son)
An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, Debbie Reese, and Jean Mendoza
What the Eagle Sees by Eldon Yellowhorn (R.A. with my son)
Turtle Island by Eldon Yellowhorn and Kathy Lowinger (R.A. with my son)
Trickster ed by Matt Dembicki (R.A. with my son)
Becoming a Citizen Activist by Nick Licata
Different Mirror by Ronald Takaki
American Colonies by Alan Taylor
A Kid’s Guide to Native American History by Yvonne Wakim Dennis (R.A. with my son)
To-Read for July:
Still working hard on the Build Your Library U.S. History curricula we’re doing, and I have my Litsy #bookspin list (below). Numbers 18, 19, and 20 are reserved for my Tailored Book Recommendations, which haven’t arrived yet but should very soon.
As you might also have guessed, I got myself a fountain pen in the guise of helping the economy and stayed up late trying to write fancy.
You can see my Litsy profile for status updates throughout the month.
Imperfect Happiness 