This is a follow-up to my So Many Books post from January (link).
I said: “I wanted to share the crazy fact that I am somehow simultaneously reading or listening to 8 books right now. It’s a bit much.”
I have been feeling kind of overwhelmed and pulled in too many directions so I decided to do an audit of the books I am currently juggling. I was dismayed to discover that it is 10 books!! Technically 11 if you count a Buddhist book that I am re-reading for a mindfulness book club I started. But I only have one chapter left and our final discussion session is tomorrow. And possibly 12 if you count a book I think I’m going to give up on!
Here are all the books I am juggling. I discovered I am reading multiple books about the same topic. Part of me thinks that I should pause one of them and read them sequentially rather than in parallel, but they are all fascinating and they all reinforce each other.
Topic 1: Racism
Learning about its impacts as well as how to talk about it with others.
Calling In by Loretta J. Ross. This book is really about how to be in community with others when you are organizing around issues in a way where we support and hold each other up and don’t rip each other down. One concept she talks about is avoiding punching sideways. Meaning when you’re trying to fight against oppression don’t (verbally) punch the people who are standing with you. You need to direct your energy to the people in power who are actually causing the harm. Don’t try to rip down your comrades and allies because you disagree about the exact words you use or the precise techniques. That is how movements fall apart. (You can check out Ross’s Calling In Framework at this link.)
Speaking of Race: Why Everybody Needs to Talk About Racism—and How to Do It by Celeste Headlee.
I’ve been listening to it as an audiobook through the library. It is read by the author who is a journalist. I really like it but I reached the point where I was writing down in a notebook almost everything she was saying. So I finally concluded that I needed to buy the hard copy of the book rather than transcribing the audio!! I am reading this with my partner’s father who is really committed to engaging in productive dialogue with people across differences.
The Cost of Healing in Silence: Navigating Racial Trauma and the Call for Culturally Responsive Care by Ashley McGirt-Adair.
I am connected to the author on LinkedIn. It has so much depth and is written with such intention. I can sense the heart that went into each word. It’s a gift into the world. (Check out the website for the book.)
Image description: a screenshot of the 3 books. The Cost is 55% through. Speaking of is 44%. Calling In is 33%. Lol! I just realized the percents are all doubles!! 33, 44, 55!
Topic 2: Data
I am considering going into the field of data management. Regular readers of this blog will recognize that I have a lot of interests. I’m not sure how to monetize all of them and I don’t think I want to. Data on the other hand is something that I enjoy working with and making sure it is all tidy and organized and valid. And it is definitely something that people are paid to do. I have a data mentoring buddy (through a women in data group). She said she was trying to prepare to take the CDMP (certified data management professional) certification exam, and wanted to read this textbook to prepare.
DAMA – DMBOK 2nd edition.
I had heard of it a few years ago and considered buying it, but decided I didn’t have enough self-motivation to read a textbook. So we decided to read it together! We have a zoom every few weeks to check in and that’s all I need to keep me accountable. I have been surprised and pleased to discover that I find the content interesting. I am about 100 pages in out of almost 600 pages. It is a little bit stressful because I am not confident that I can implement everything and it is a lot of information to absorb. But thanks to my accountability reading buddy I hope to be able to keep pushing through.
This next book you may recognize from my January list. I paused reading it in January because I found a couple people to discuss it with and then both of them got busy. Last month I was lucky enough to find a new person to read the book with and now I have resumed reading the book. I am in chapter 2. So it has not taken me 5 months to get this far. I paused for about 4 months!
Data Feminism by Catherine D’Ignazio and Lauren Klein. (You can read the book for free on the MIT website for the book.)
Topic 3: Buddhism
I have been slowly making my way through The Places That Scare You by Pema Chödrön. I only read a few pages per day because I want to slowly absorb it. It’s been amazing.
And then this book I worked on reading last year and then paused at the end of November: Lovingkindness by Sharon Salzberg. I just resumed reading it this week. I’m not sure if I will keep reading it or go back to it after I finish the Pema book. Oddly I am in chapter 13 of this book and chapter 7 of the other book and both are talking about the exact same thing!! They both mention the idea of near enemies and far enemies of compassion. They both agree that cruelty is the far enemy of compassion. But they have completely different things listed as near enemies.
The Sharon Salzberg book lists anger, fear, and grief as near enemies of compassion because they may disguise themselves as compassion.
The Pema Chödrön book identifies pity, overwhelm, and idiot compassion as the near enemies of compassion. I connect more with these terms. And the explanations are much more specific and helpful to me. I won’t go into detail defining them in this post, but you can check them out in chapter 13 Meeting the Enemy (in The Places That Scare You).
I am finishing up reading this book a second time: A Walk in the Wood: Meditations on Mindfulness with a Bear Named Pooh by Joseph Parent and Nancy Parent.
Topic 4: Women breaking barriers
This book sort of has a buddy except that I think I will stop reading that buddy. My partner has encouraged me to stop reading books if I don’t enjoy them. I started reading My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor because a friend recommended it, but it wasn’t engaging for me. Meanwhile I realized I had this book by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, another Supreme Court justice. So I decided to see if I was interested in resuming it. I last opened it in mid-March. I got it as a birthday present last year from my dad.
A photo of a physical copy of My Own Words by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Mary Hartnett, and Wendy W. Williams. The image shows blue, yellow, and orange page flags sticking out of the right side of the book.
Topic 5: Young adult fiction books
Last year I decided to include some easier fiction books among all my intense nonfiction books. My partner’s family had recommended the Wings of Fire series. I’ve always hated being trendy and doing anything that was very popular, so I resisted initially. I had a hard time with the first book in the series because it was very violent. But I grew to love the main characters so I persevered. I am now on the ninth book of the series and I had to buy it because my library doesn’t own it.
Talons of Power by Tui T. Sutherland. I’m 65% through.
Because my library didn’t own the whole series, I took a break from these books and found some other young adult books. This is one that was recommended by the amazing website A Mighty Girl.
https://www.amightygirl.com/
(I follow them on Facebook. I highly recommend following them. They have a lot of feminist and political posts.)
Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling. It is about a kid born without arms. I was hesitant to read it because I thought that sounded rough and not like a great break from all the intense nonfiction books. It turns out I was wrong and the book seems fun and the main character is pretty awesome! Image from my Libby app. I’m 12% through.
And there you have it. 10 books I am trying to juggle plus I snuck 2 more in there where I am technically reading them but in one case I’m almost done and in the other case I’m pretty sure I’m going to stop reading it.
Wishing all of you peace, love, and joy in your days. 💜💙💚
This song is not directly related to this post, but I was listening to music while finalizing this blog post, and was inspired to include this song. There is an F-bomb. But I do like the occasional F-bomb. As Elle King says, “you love me anyway!” 😊
PS: This is my 60th blog post since August! 🎉🤩
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