Monthly Archives: March 2020

I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings

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img_3594Book: I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

Date Read: March 1 to March 18, 2020

Rating: 4 (of 5) stars

For March, the Unread Shelf Project challenged everyone to read the book that has been on your shelf the longest. Technically, I did the same last month, when I chose a book that was gifted to me, but also at the “bottom of my pile.” I suppose now is a perfect time to give that a little more context. I joined Goodreads some time in 2010, but only listed books that I had recently read. On January 1, 2o11, I decided to add my list of books to read, which was already quite hefty at that point in time. I added them all to my online to read list within the next couple days, in approximate alphabetical order. This is the bottom of my stack. I no longer have any idea what order I actually obtained these in, so I do not prioritize further. I try to make a point to choose at least a few books specifically from that group every year. There are currently 45 books still remaining from those that I initially added.

When I browsed through the list, I decided on Maya Angelou for a few different reasons. It seemed appropriate for the time of year, as we are transitioning from Black History Month to Women’s’ History Month. Maya Angelou is an author that I know immediately by name, but one that I had never read up to this point. I also have a peculiar and nostalgic back-story to go along with my particular copy: I quite literally found it in an abandoned building. For several years, my primary friend group consisted of a few photographers and other interesting characters that spent a good amount of our free time in urban exploration. We all lived near Detroit, and visited many sites around the city that were no longer in use: churches, schools, apartments, hotels, hospitals, and of course, the well known Michigan Central Station. While we had a fairly strict policy of making as little impact as possible, we did collect a few treasures along the way (no breaking in, no vandalism, and nothing else that could be considered destructive of the spaces). However, the number of unused and forgotten books found inside the old Cass Tech High School hurt my soul, and I had to give at least a few of them a new home. My soul still aches to think of all that remained inside that school when it was torn down in July 2011.

I know this seems a long introduction with little connection to the book that I am supposed to be writing about. However, something about my memories of that time fit too perfectly with my feelings reading this book, and I could not let the opportunity to share my story pass by. While the overall story of Maya Angelou’s early life is intriguing, this book is about her the journey. Born in California, Maya and her brother were sent to live with their grandmother in rural Arkansas. They were raised there, then brought to St. Louis to live with their mother, returned to Arkansas, and eventually returned again to their mother’s care in California. While the places are not essential, the experiences in each of these locations shaped her character and spirit. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings is a memoir told in snippets; each chapter captures a memory or a moment in time. While any one of these moments might not seem significant in the grand scheme, each is an important piece of the puzzle that has shaped the life of this woman. The story is told beautifully from the perspective of a child, but tempered with honesty and perspective gained from reflecting as an adult. Angelou’s language is vivid, but not graphic, as she tackles her experiences of discrimination, violence, rape, and others.

Boris’s Thoughts: “So… where is this bird? I’m confused. 2 paws.”

Unread Shelf Progress for March

  • Books Read: 5 (plus 1 started)
  • Books Acquired: 3
  • Total Unread Books: 260

Meet the Cats

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With the new addition to the Books On My Cat family this year, I thought it would be nice to share a little more here about us. If you’ve been around for a bit, you may have seen the about section, which will soon be updated to coincide with this post! Since you may already know about Boris’s love for books and cheese-flavored snacks, I will try to stick to new information, as well as some more background on our new little girl.

Boris was born in May 2015, but came into my life in November 2015. He originally belonged to the coworker of one of my housemates. The family had a young child and a new baby, and quickly became concerned about the “rough play” the kitten would engage in with the kids. There was also concern about his “constant growling,” although after some investigation we realized they were talking about purring! The family was talking about taking him to a shelter, but instead my friend said that she would find him a home, and that we would foster him in the meantime. He was intended to stay with us for two days, but when it was time to take him to his new home, it was discovered that he absolutely hated being in the car: he cried constantly for the first 30 minutes of a 5 hour drive, before the car was turned around and he was brought back to our apartment. The plan was to search for another suitable home, but at the insistence of our third housemate, and the insistence of Boris, he stayed.

Originally, Boris was intended to be “our” collective cat. We had a rotation of chores related to his care, and all initially vied for his attention. Boris had other ideas. Although we all viewed him as our sweet and lovable boy, very early on into his stay, he began to show clear preference for me. He would happily spend time with any of us, especially if there were snacks to be stolen, but when the snacks were away my lap was the preference, and my feet were clearly the best to sleep on each night. After others had they affections repeatedly rebuffed, most of his care fell to me. The only thing that remained for others to do was to feed him in the morning, as I had the latest work start and he would typically start pestering for food much earlier. Despite the fact that I was not the person to feed him through the week, I was always the one that he woke in the morning when he was ready to eat, clearly marking me as “his person.” We all stayed in the house together for another 3 years, but when I bought a house and moved out, Boris came with me.

One more thing I feel I have to comment on is Boris’s size. You may have guessed this from photos of him with the books, but just to make clear: Yes, Boris is huge. When we first got him at 6 months old, we assumed the family must have been a little off about his age, since he appeared to be nearly full-grown. But then he just kept getting bigger. While his penchant for snack stealing and tricking others into thinking he had not yet been fed was a contributing factor, even at 23 pounds he did not appear to be a particularly fat cat. Perhaps a little fat, but much more noticeably: tall, long, large. Our vet affectionately refers to him as “the puma.”

The new addition to the Books On My Cat family, Minka, is a sassy little calico around the same age as Boris was when I first met him. I know less about her origin: my dad owns a scrap yard, where he found her in mid-July 2019. We do not know for sure where she came from, or when she was born, only that when she was found, she appeared to be too young to be away from her mother. Mother was searched for, but did not return, and no other kittens were found nearby. Our assumption was that she was either abandoned, or perhaps her mother had been hit by a car on one of the busy roads nearby. My dad quickly began to care for her. For several weeks, he brought her back and forth between home to work each day. When my mother insisted that they were not going to be keeping a cat at home, Minka moved into the office building at his scrap yard. The office is not in use as an office, but more of a storage space, with many places for her to climb, explore, and hide.

Minka lived there for several months, visited daily by my dad, brother, and Axel the dog, who soon became her favorite playmate. She seemed mostly happy, but was very attached to anyone who would come to visit her. After some time, my dad decided that it was time for her to have a proper home, where she could get some attention more than an hour or so per day. I was reluctant to take in another cat—Boris is quite independent, and is also a bit of a scaredy-cat. I worried that he would not do well with another cat in the house. After setting up a contingency plan (a potential home in case things did not work our between the cats), I decided to bring Minka home on a trial basis.

Since moving in with us at the end of December, the cats have started to become adjusted to each other. They are not quite friends, but we seem to have passed the point of fights and are moving toward friendly. Minka has also started to show a bit more of her personality. She is very affectionate, and wants to be as close to people as she can. She loves to sit on my lap or feet, and the two have started taking turns with one in each place. She is interested in any food that I may be eating, but is not quite the scavenger that Boris can be. Her favorite thing in the world is to play with her big brother’s tail! Our little girl is still a kitten, so she has a lot to learn from her big brother. He is definitely annoyed with her, but is starting to come around. I am looking forward to seeing this little girl grow up!

Because of Winn-Dixie

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img_2719Book: Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

Date Read: December 2 to 9, 2019

Rating: 4 (of 5) stars

I was prompted to finally get this book off my to read list by two things. I happened to be sitting in on a Fifth Grade class when they started to read this as a group, and was at least a little intrigued. It happened to work out that this also fit into the December prompt for the Unread Shelf Project, which suggested reading the shortest book on your shelf. Until this, I had avoided reading this one for quite some time, as I had been told that it was sad. Considering that I knew this was a book about a dog, I made some assumptions about why it might be sad, and decided to pass—who really needs to read another book where the dog dies at the end? Well, spoiler alert: that’s not what happens. In fact, we actually get a happy ending! Of course, I did not know that going in. Perhaps the surprise of a happier than expected ending biased me some in favor of the book, but I am glad that I finally decided to pick up this quite popular children’s novel.

Our main character, Opal, has recently moved with her father, the Preacher, to a new town. Being new, she is unsure of her place in the town, and seems a bit withdrawn and certainly lonely. Enter Winn-Dixie, the stray dog she claims as her own after he has wreaked havoc in the produce section of the local grocery store. Opal’s father has taught her to help the less fortunate, and this dog certainly fits the bill: he is skinny, gangly, and generally appears to be in rough condition. Winn-Dixie quickly wins over Opal, her father, and then a large number of people throughout the town. With the help of the dog, Opal starts to meet and open up to various people around the town.

One of the things that I found interesting in Opal’s journey is that the lesson she learns through Winn-Dixie about opening up to others and not judging based on looks, is something that she already knew—sort of. Opal has a soft spot for the outsiders, which I suppose goes along well with her taking in a rough looking dog. Opal was quick to befriend Otis at the pet shop, despite being told that he had been in jail. She quickly accepted the woman whom the other children referred to as a witch. While she is willing to let these people into her world, she is quick to judge many of the others around her, especially other children and the people who belong to her father’s church.

This is a great middle and upper elementary novel, and works really well for classroom discussions. I imagine that is not a major revelation to anyone. There is good reason that this book is often taught in school. There can be a lot to unpack here, in Opal’s relationships to the town, to her father, and the catalyst for growing up a bit she finds when she brings home Winn-Dixie.

Boris’s Thoughts: “A book about a dog? Really? 1 paw.”

Fortunately, the Milk

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img_3501Book: Fortunately, the Milk by Neil Gaiman

Date Read: December 14, 2019

Rating: 4 (of 5) stars

This book was a semi-random purchase as a Christmas gift for my cousin’s son. When my family was a bit smaller than it is now, I started the tradition of buying books for the kids that came for my family’s Christmas Eve celebration. It was easy at first. When I started this, there were three; we are now up to 12. I suppose there are worse things than being known as the family member to count on for a new book, but it has become increasingly difficult to find books that the kids will enjoy, and to try to remember which ones I have already given each of them! I usually go to my cousins for ideas for their kids, but both my cousin and I were stumped on this one. He loves adventure, but can be picky. He likes graphic novels, but has read most of the popular ones. I had a few ideas, but nothing I was too excited about, so I decided to browse a bit at the store. I ended up stumbling upon this one which I think was a perfect fit: a sort of adventure, but also a lot of goofiness; not quite a graphic novel, but definitely a nice balance of pictures interwoven into the story.

One day, while Mum is away, Dad is forced to run to the corner store to get some milk for breakfast. When he takes longer than expected, the children are suspicious about where he has been, but fortunately the milk was there to save him on his wild and wacky journey back home. It all starts with a strange noise as he steps out from the corner store, and then there is no stopping this ridiculous and fun tale from unwinding. There is something here to please everyone: aliens, time travel, dinosaurs, pirates, human sacrifice, hot air balloons… all seemingly random, but strung together into the perfect narrative to entertain young and old.

Based on reading level, I think this probably works best as an independent read for mid to upper elementary children. It is novel length, but not really separated out into chapters. There are many pictures incorporated throughout the text, along with interesting text blocking to make everything flow nicely. I can see the interest level on this extending a bit younger, but could see it being a bit difficult as a read aloud book. The length is certainly too much for a typical bedtime story, but without chapters, it’s not quite as easy to break it up for multiple reading sessions.

Boris’s thoughts: “You were supposed to take the picture before you wrapped it and put it in the Christmas bag.”