Reading: The Calculating Stars AND an article from Yes Magazine

 So, I'm reading The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal right now. I think I'll be finished by tomorrow and can tell you more fully what I feel about the book then, but I love it so far. The story is juicy and complex, addressing gender politics and white privilege alongside a fantastic alternative history exploring what might have happened if a meteorite hit had made getting off the earth a matter of survival of our species. I love a book that entertains me and makes me think all at the same time. 

 

One theme in the novel is race politics. Elma, the main character, a white woman, keeps bumping up against assumptions she didn't realize she had. It's easy to be blind to some kinds of slights and attacks when you're not the target of them. You don't mean any harm, but your blindness keeps you from being any help. 

 

This article does a beautiful job painting a picture of what it's still like to live-while-black in our country, where supposedly all citizens are equal (at least under the law). And, as the author says, these are not even extreme examples. They're the ordinary every day experience of too many people. 

Smile a Day

 

21m

#smileaday Honey tea with lemon.

Dang it. I'm sick now. My throat hurts something awful, though the school nurse says it doesn't look like strep, at least. But swallowing hurts and I dread teaching tomorrow, which requires not only a lot of talking, but talking in a way to engage a room full of squirrels, I mean middle schoolers.

But at least I've got honey lemon tea and the space to go to bed early tonight. Here's hoping tomorrow is less painful!