Some of the media that gave me The Thinks this year...
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The Truth - Terry Pratchett (novel) Regular dude stumbles into starting the first newspaper...
"Ah," said Mr Pin. "Right. I remember. You are concerned citizens." He knew about concerned citizens. Wherever they were, they all spoke the same private language, where 'traditional values' meant 'hang someone.'
Between this and A Monstrous Regiment, I totally *got* the fuss over Pratchett. By tackling issues like feminism or the media within the context of his made-up world, he's raises old questions in new ways--and is hella funny about it.
The Jerusalem Chronicles - Guy Delisle (graphic novel)Winner of the top prize in comics
Delisle's impressions of living in Jerusalem...
I took several courses on the Middle East and the Arab-Israeli conflict, and Delisle's book is a good primer, as well as entertaining and sometimes anger-making.
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| At a border crossing... |
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I Thought It Was Just Me - Brené Brown (non-fiction book)How shame is used to control, and how it can hold us back...
"We cannot grow when we are in shame and we can't use shame to change ourselves or others."
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Mindsight - Daniel Siegel (non-fiction book)
'Chaos and rigidity can be seen as the fundamental ways we experience “un-health”, in our bodies, our mental life, and our relationships. By realizing that these states of dysfunction emerge from impaired integration, it becomes possible with mindsight to peer deeply into the workings of mind, brain, and relationships to determine where integration is impaired and then very specifically cultivate differentiation and linkage in that domain of life.'
Psychology tapping into all the new brain science. If you've had talk therapy and/or cognitive behavioral, and you're looking for a new approach, you will definitely get some new ideas (and hope) from Siegel's approach. And it convinced me that meditation is like exercise--something everyone should do for everyday health.
Mindsight - Daniel Siegel (non-fiction book) 'Chaos and rigidity can be seen as the fundamental ways we experience “un-health”, in our bodies, our mental life, and our relationships. By realizing that these states of dysfunction emerge from impaired integration, it becomes possible with mindsight to peer deeply into the workings of mind, brain, and relationships to determine where integration is impaired and then very specifically cultivate differentiation and linkage in that domain of life.'
Psychology tapping into all the new brain science. If you've had talk therapy and/or cognitive behavioral, and you're looking for a new approach, you will definitely get some new ideas (and hope) from Siegel's approach. And it convinced me that meditation is like exercise--something everyone should do for everyday health.
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Steering by Starlight - Martha Beck (non-fiction book)"This kind of faux pas--recognizing the scene, knowing your lines, and blurting out the truth instead--is a sure sign that you're beginning to steer by starlight. There's no anger involved; the truth just slips into the space where you know the polite lie should go."
Wanna know what happened at my last job? lol If that passage resonates with you too, then you might like Beck.
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I also liked...
Red Tails (movie) I really respect
George Lucas for a decades-long determination to see the project
through, and for hiring a black director and a black screenwriter.
Bamboozled (movie)'...all I could think of was something the great Negro James Baldwin had written. "People pay for what they do, and still more for what they have allowed themselves to become, and they pay for it, very simply, by the lives they lead."'
Slings & Arrows (finished TV series / 3 seasons) Dramatic Shakespeare performances in a "nutty small town!" Northern Exposure type setting. One of my fave shows of all time.Modern Library Writer's Workshop - Stephen Koch
A Passion for Narrative - Jack Hodgins
Two solid books on craft, from creative writing courses. A bit different than the pop writing books.
3 comments:
great list, thanks for the recommendations. I know what you mean about Pratchett. The Bromeliad trilogy (Truckers, Diggers, and another one I can't remember) were written for grades 4-6, but still is one of the best critiques of religion I've ever read, and he never mentions religion at all. He is brilliant.
Terrific list. Thanks. Some I'm aware of or have read, others I shall make note of. ;)
@barb - yeah someone recently said they like his ya books the best. i haven't read any yet
@robena - it's hard when we all have tbr lists a mile long, and yet keep recommending books at each other! lol
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