EBN A Book Written in First Person: Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur

Let's get something straight here; I am not a poet. I love to read it, I love analysing it, and I love reciting it, but I suck at writing it. I'm not entirely sure why this is. My grandfather was a poet and some of his work was genuinely good. My dad isn't half bad at it either. I like to think I inherited their love for creative writing, though their skill certainly seems to have missed me. Especially when it comes to poetry. But maybe not, Today's book made me think I might be capable.

Milk and Honey is a collection of poems divided up into four sections; hurting, loving, breaking, healing. The poems attempt to capture the emotional experience a women has in her various relationships. Some of the experiences are good but most of them are not; some of them are truly awful. Much of the book explores the feelings that arise out of sexual abuse. In fact, the only relationships in this book that are not awful are the ones that develop with out sex as an element, with only a couple exceptions). I have to admit, I am kind of bothered by this portrayal of sex. Not that I think it isn't genuine or that we should look the other way. Under no circumstances should abuse and insest be swept under the rug, but the nastiness of that kind of sex taints the truly beautiful variety. That was probably the author's intention. All but a few of the poems in the loving section have dirty shadows over them. The emotions expressed in these poems are deep, intense, and very real. I just wish people could better express, with the same level of passion, the feelings of positive sex without coming across as cheesy. Maybe I should make that a goal of mine, though I think I lack the skill.

 There was one poem in this book that I both loved and hated at the same time it was in the healing section:

you are in the habit
of co-depending
on people to
make up for what
you think you lack

who tricked you
into believing
another person
was meant to complete you
when the most they can do is complement

I love how this poem expresses the possibility we have to be both completely happy and completely independent. We are perfect on our own, others only complement our perfection. This is a really nice idea and enjoy thinking about it, but the more I thought about it the more I disagreed with it. I don't actually think that people are complete by themselves. I think that we all need other people in our lives to make up for what we actually do lack. I'm not the most social of people, there are days I really don't want to talk to anyone, but without my relationships with others I am small, incomplete, and incapable of reaching my greatest potential. As much as I would like to think I can do it all on my own, I need other, and they need me. People can, indeed, bring you down, but there is a need for teamwork to help lift us up.

EBN A Book with a Natural Disaster: Fire Season by Phillip Connors

We got to go to St. George, Utah this weekend for a wedding. It was really great. We had the chance to visit family, climbed and hiked around slot canyons, and swam in the hotel pool. I actually think the kids expect every vacation to involve some sort of water sport. They love the water and splashing around; ironically, none of them know how to swim. We are making a point of putting the kids in swimming lessons this summer at the local aquatics center. We're overdue. Anyway, the drive is about seven hours one way and having a book on tape really helps pass the time.

 Mike checked this book out from the library over a month ago. I think he thought he would have more time to listen to books while working on the basement, but things are crazy as usual and time just didn't seem to cooperate. The trip to St. George was a good opportunity. I'm glad I was able to listen to it too. The book was read by the author, which really brought out the cadence of his voice. 

The book is a collection of thoughts, memories, and experiences the author compiled during one of his seasons working as a wildfire lookout in the mountains in Arizona. He gets really philosophical but openly acknowledges elements of his hypocrisy (a thing old H.D. Thoreau failed to do in Walden.) I can't say I agree with everything  he says but I did enjoy it and agreed with a lot of it.

As some of you might know, Mike is a firefighter. He was even a regular wildland firefighter for a few years and goes out on deployments at least once every fire season. It was really cool to see that world from a the lookout's perspective. I see people who build huge expensive homes in the urban interface and all I can think is how crazy these people must be for doing that and leaving no defensible space in case of wildfire. Don't get me wrong, my ideal home is actually out in the rural mountains somewhere, but there is a huge part of me that doesn't want anyone to do any sort of developing in the wild places I love. There needs to be a balance there. I'm not really sure where it is, but I'm sure it's there.