Community – Page 2 – Finding My Wings

‘Bertrand Court’ reveals the extraordinary in everyday life

Bertrand Court by Michelle Brafman (Prospect Park Books, September 2016)
In 40 words or less: Seventeen stories connected through a cul-de-sac in the Washington area show that familial ties can bind or chafe, lovers connections can linger, and everyone has fragile moments. Brafman has a wonderful grasp of the inner voices of her characters.
Genre: Fiction, short stories
Locale: Washington DC area
Time: 1970 – 2000s
Read this for well-crafted stories of the extraordinary elements of everyday life. Perfect to savor in small bites.

One of the most difficult things an author can do is make the commonplace events of daily life compelling. In Michelle Brafman’s new collection, Bertrand Court, families and friends, colleagues and lovers reveal and conceal themselves in the Washington suburbs. Although some of the people in these stories have careers that are very Washington, the underlying circumstances and insecurities of their personal lives are much more universal.

Brafman tackles the long-simmering jealousies between aging sisters, and couples trying to hide their financial reversals from family and friends. There are those blessed with children and others not as fortunate. Some find a spiritual home in organized religion and one woman wishes for that to fill a hole that her family’s wealth could not satisfy. Husbands question their wives’ choices and vice versa and the children must be shielded, regardless.

While most of the stories need not be connected, it is the periodic convergence of friends and families in Bertrand Court that brings the collection together. Whether it is a birthday party or a (non) book group night, the connection is what counts. No matter how perfect anyone’s life may seem, the stories serve as a reminder that the human condition is fragile and that it’s not the errors or self-doubt that define someone but rather what happens next.

‘TRIBE: On Homecoming and Belonging’

IN A NUTSHELL

TRIBE by Sebastian Junger (Twelve, Hachette Book Group, 2016)
In 40 words or less: An outgrowth of a June 2015 article on soldiers’ PTSD long after leaving the battlefield, Junger posits what is it about modern society that has created this problem. Using recognized research and his observations, Junger provides food for thought.
Genre: Nonfiction/Anthropology
Time: 300 plus years of communities
Read this for an interesting take on the how individualism and independence may leave our society vulnerable to depression, PTSD and other problems.

Sebastian Junger is a familiar name to many for his book The Perfect Storm about the New England fisherman caught as three weather fronts came together in 1991. His writing is fiercely analytical, bringing together the individual, societal and (in that case) climatological factors that marked that tragedy.

Junger spent time embedded with troops in Afghanistan. As a journalist, filmmaker, and long form author, he was struck by the strong bonding of military units regardless of the ethnic, racial, intellectual and social differences that might divide in other environments. Junger saw wounded soldiers desperate to return to their units rather than to be sent home. Many of the same strong and courageous individuals had severe and long-lasting difficulties reintegrating upon returning home. TRIBE is his effort to understand why.

This brief book, less than 140 pages, refers to dozens of psychological, sociological and anthropological studies, business and newspaper articles on the evolution of tribal and group behavior. The primary exemplars are tribes, going back to ancient times through early America, who’s communities were completely interdependent with well-defined communal roles. His contention is the superiority of this model is reinforced by the resistance of captured American settlers to return to their communities, often fleeing to return to those who had been their captors.

Junger asserts that that interdependence is seen in military units and that the loss of it causes/exacerbates reintegration difficulties. On the civilian side, he suggests that this lack of fundamental purposefulness contributes to some instances of depression, abuse of medical insurance and other behaviors. As evidence, he shares data that suggests catastrophes such as 9/11 resulted in reductions in suicide and symptoms of depression. Rather than turning inward, people reached out to help others both selflessly and to fulfill a need to contribute to making society whole. In my opinion, his assessment might also be worth looking at in terms of gang members and those who have been incarcerated.

This is not an academic treatise nor does he proport to be a scholar. Having said that, I’d recommend it to those who study societal dynamics, social workers, and particularly those involved in the serious problem of appropriately training our military and reintegrating them into civilian service. Even if he isn’t spot on, his work provides a starting point for discussion.

What I learned in my week at camp

Posting a blog is just the start of the process. I always wonder what your reaction is when I post a blog. And if you’ve read this far I do mean you!

Last week I participated in Blogging University Commenting Bootcamp. WordPress, the platform (underlying software) for my blog, offers free directed tutorials where many bloggers get together to hone their skills and receive feedback from others. The group was multinational in its makeup and the topics of the blogs were eclectic, to say the least. Blogging U.

Each day we were given assignments to comment on the blogs of others. To be successful required both writing something interesting and informative on the blogs but also encouraging people to look at what I am writing. Saying “Nice job!” just doesn’t cut it.

I write this blog for my enjoyment and to connect with other book lovers and wanderers. It makes my day when someone tells me they read a book because of my review or really enjoyed a particular post. But there is so much more that could be gained by expanding the conversation.

What I learned is that sharing a little bit of myself as a commenter helps move the conversation along. In the face of the horrible events last week in Brussels, a post about dealing with the news by reading encouraged others to react both to the news and the role books play in viewing the world. That opened up a dialog about novels that speak to the political reality even if set in a different time. Here’s that post.

Please take the opportunity to add to the conversation when you read a post. Disagree, offer additional thoughts or suggest a topic for the future. When we talk to one another, whatever the medium, there is learning.

What I learned from my BFFs (Book Festival Friends)

If Malcolm Gladwell is correct and it takes 10,000 hours to achieve mastery of a skill, I’ve certainly done the time to become a fine reader. The difference between mastery and truly owning a skill is the continuing passion to improve and find new opportunities to learn from others.

For the last ten years I have been taking an intensive course in critical reading, no classroom or tests involved. If you have served with me on a book festival committee or been a member of one of my book groups, I have you to thank for the lessons. So here’s some of what I’ve learned:

It isn’t a bad book just because you don’t like it. Not every book works for every reader. Just like the car you test drive or the great looking pair of shoes, it doesn’t always suit. There is no crime in putting down a book if you really can’t get into it. Figure out what it is that turns you off. There are people very uncomfortable with multiple narrators or time jumping. Others dislike lengthy descriptions with little dialog or action. Take a few minutes and consider whether someone you know might enjoy it. And sometimes it is poorly written or flat-out boring and you can chalk it up to experience.
Reading a book knowing nothing about it can be exhilarating. Publishers and authors supply bookstores, bloggers, reviewers and book festivals with advance copies to build a buzz and secure orders. This may be the first exposure to a new author. Often these early editions look nothing like the finished product – no fancy cover, no laudatory blurbs. While you may kiss a lot of frogs before finding a prince, it is great when it happens. Sometimes a published book has just been below the radar waiting for someone to wave the flag. It could be you!
Authors are interested in what readers take from their writing. I’ve been lucky to facilitate discussions with a few authors about their books and to talk to several one on one. With few exceptions they’ve been curious about what has piqued the most conversation and what characters/situations were liked or troubling. Authors of both nonfiction and fiction spend so much time on research these days. They are very appreciative of questions about how they came to their ideas and the process to get from a glimmer of an idea to a finished title.
Sharing the reading experience with others takes time. It just takes longer to read a book that is under consideration as a book group title or to be reviewed. At this point it is almost second nature to create discussion questions as I read and mark passages to go back to later. I spend time thinking about the author’s intention or how a particular title connects to a different author’s work or a museum exhibit I may have seen. My matchmaking goes beyond the people in a living room discussion. It’s so nice when people come up to me about a book they have read and ask for suggestions. My TBR (to be read) pile inevitably gets longer after they share what they have found.
Make time for “just for fun” reading. I love a good mystery. While I don’t completely write the genre off for discussion purposes, many are good reads better consumed and passed along to a friend. Thankfully my facilitator eyeshade doesn’t kick in when I settle in to read one. But don’t be surprised if you see a write-up of a favorite mystery author here before too long because sometimes you just have to share.

So here’s what YOU are reading

Summer is halfway done and my to-be-read pile is still growing. Thanks to those of you who offered up the titles you’ve been reading this summer. It is a very eclectic list, as you can see below. Seeing what others are enjoying encourages me to expand my horizons. Here are some of your choices:

The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant
While the Gods Were Sleeping by Enslin
The Seven Good Years by Etgar Keret
My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me by Jennifer Teege
Albion’s Seed: Four British Folkways in America
My Father and Myself by J.R. Ackerley
Mindset by Carol Dweck
In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume
From Frazzled to Focused by Rivka Caroline and Amy Sweetny

And what have I been reading? Well, I’ve finished The Girl on the Train, The Seven Good Years and Alice Hoffman’s new book, The Marriage of Opposites. The review of Hoffman’s book will post on Monday and look for a write-up on the Keret essays soon. Oops, I forgot about The Book of Speculation, Erica Swyler’s book released last month. Watch for my thoughts on that in a few days.

If you were a big Gone Girl fan, The Girl on the Train may be perfect for any trips this summer. Next up is House of Thieves, Charles Belfoure’s new book scheduled for September release. I posted about his first book, The Paris Architect, and the book group conversations several months ago. I’m hoping to finish Safekeeping by Jessamyn Hope. I started reading it in an electronic Advance Copy which expired before I had a chance to finish. It was one of my buys while on the road.

If you signed up to receive these posts via email I will be sending you a message tomorrow to see if the announcements of the posts are arriving consistently. I’ve been hearing some people have not been receiving them regularly. Please reach out through the comments or by email if you have any thoughts.

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