Saturday, June 06, 2020

Fiona Friday on the Wrong Day, Bloggiversary, and Other Thoughts


I'm combining Fiona Friday on the Wrong Day with a bloggiversary post because . . . well, why not? I often miss the actual day of my bloggiversary but at least this time I'm thinking about it. In recent years, I've actually gone out to buy a chunk of pretty cake and thrown sequins or some other colorful bobbles around a cake plate then lit the appropriate number of candles for my bloggiversary photo. There would have been 14 candles, this year (or a 1 and a 4 candle, since the number is getting to be a bit much for a single slice of cake). But, of course, we're isolating due to the pandemic, so I'm not running anywhere to buy a chunk of rainbow cake and you get a cat munching on celebratory grass, instead. No candles, no cake. It's better than nothing.

This is also, of course, the anniversary of D-Day and it always feels weird to me to put up an enthusiastic, "It's My Bloggiversary!" post on a day that should really be quite solemnly held in the memory of those who fought for our country. This seems even more relevant during a time when our democracy appears to be in peril. The boldness of the brutality inflicted on innocent protesters, the outright lies about events clearly recorded, and the lack of empathy or proposed positive action by our country's leader, all are absolutely shocking. I am grateful to my international friends for expressing their mutual distress and solidarity with Americans seeking change.

My reading is currently very scheduled and, like everything else in life, it feels all wrong for the moment. Seriously, everything feels wrong, right now. All this is to say that while it might look like business as usual at my blog, my heart is elsewhere. I would prefer to be reading about systemic racism and my part in putting an end to it, right now. And, I will do so as soon as possible. I've been unable to locate the books I most want to acquire (I'm not willing to go to the library, for now) but I have a smattering of titles by authors of color, one of which will be released soon, so I'll gather those when I'm done with my scheduled reading. In the meantime, I stand with peaceful protesters.

#BlackLivesMatter


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8 comments:

  1. Yes, everything feels very wrong these days. I've been at a loss for words, but have been reading a lot of posts and IG stories that have inspired me and make me hopeful. I began listening to The Warmth of Other Suns this morning and am already engrossed.

    Happy blogiversary. Mine (14, too) was in February, but I let the day slip by without recognition. I did recently mention it on my monthly summary, but that was all. I look back on some of my earliest posts and miss some of those fellow bloggers who commented and were so much a part of this community.

    Be well and stay safe, Nancy.

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    1. Thanks, Les! Happy belated Bloggiversary to you! Hard to believe it's been 14 years, isn't it? Yes, I miss so many people who have stopped blogging. I wish I'd managed to stay in touch with more of them than I have.

      The Warmth of Other Suns is one of the titles I'm interested in. Glad to hear it's grabbing you. I haven't added everything from all those book-suggestion posts to my wish list; I need to do that so I can refer back to my list when bookstores start getting stock, again. It's kind of wild (and hopeful) how quickly anti-racist and POC author titles sold out once the reading suggestions were passed around.

      You stay well and safe too, Les!

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  2. Happy bloggiversary! You started seven months before I did, so we've been at it for a loooong time, haven't we? Izzy "munching on celebratory grass" is totally appropriate, under the circumstances.

    You wrote, "I would prefer to be reading about systemic racism and my part in putting an end to it, right now." Even though you read Born a Crime by Trevor Noah a couple of years ago, maybe you would like to TALK about systemic racism with a bunch of us discussing this book online. Here's the link, if you want to see what I've set up for us to talk about the issues. Do you still have the book for reference? If not, you can still join in and share what you think.

    https://bookbuddies3.blogspot.com/2020/06/born-crime-by-trevor-noah.html

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    1. Yes, it's been a long time! Hard to believe, really. If you'd asked me in 2006, "Do you think you'll still be blogging in 2020?" I would have said, "No way. It's a passing fad." And, it kind of was, but here we are. LOL

      I've actually read Born a Crime twice, once with a book group, so I'll skip discussing it at the moment. I hope you get plenty of people interested in joining in, though. It's a fantastic book and our discussion was a good one, as I recall. It's been a while. I do still own the book but I have no idea where it is. Need to get my books organized.

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  3. These are strange (and difficult) times indeed. So glad to see you still here in blogland and happy bloggiversary!

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  4. Happy blogiversary! I know what you mean about your heart being in a different place. Maybe you need to go off script and read what your heart desires?

    There are some great bloggers who are no longer doing it, but I am grateful that there are still some old timers around, and that our paths have crossed!

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    1. Thanks, Marg! I would do that (go off script) but I have a few scheduled reads before I can revert to reading only what I want to. I've been working on this for months, though, backing away from ARCs. So, I have literally nothing scheduled after the end of June and I'm looking forward to that.

      There aren't many of us old timers left. I'm so pleased that a lot of us have managed to stay in touch in other ways, aren't you? Much as I dislike the strange choices of Zuckerberg, that's one thing FB is good for.

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