HarperCollins – …on the B.L.

Worth A Read Yes
Length 336
Quick Review Green Banks, West Virginia is the heart of a zone with bans on all devices emitting radio frequencies so astronomers can look past the stars. The quiet zone keeps away WiFi and technology, but creates an atmosphere perfect for less than wholesome individuals.

Enjoying quiet time reading in the Grand Canyon.

Stephen Kurczy does not own a cell phone (or at least he didn’t as of the writing of this book). It started out of convenience and evolved into a protest against society. He sought out Green Banks, a place where he was not the only one without technology, and his time there sparked the inspiration for The Quiet Zone. Moving into the town, hearing the stories of the natives and the transplants, learning about the observatory, he learned the area offered a darker story than the one he set out to tell.

Pocahontas County is home to the National Radio Quiet Zone because of the Green Banks Telescope, the world’s largest fully steerable radio telescope, which is under the control of the Green Banks Observatory but was previously operated by the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) until late 2016. This quiet zone is enforced by radio policemen and “Operating any electrical equipment within ten miles of here was illegal if it caused interference to the telescope.” There are other quiet zones in the world, they are largely uninhabited; though Pocahontas County is sparsely populated, it is very much lived in. Kurczy was intrigued by the space like many other media outlets around the world. Instead of breezing through and interviewing a handful of people, he made a space in his life for the place and the people. Taking the time to get to know the nuance, the hypocrisy, the secrets, the community, the history, the science, and more. What he found led The Quiet Zone in a different direction because he took the time, asked questions, and did what others had not: “Had [Sanjay] Gupta and [Katie] Couric so much as searched for a WiFi signal using their smartphones, they might have started to see a messier portrait of the Quiet Zone.”

Green Banks is in the Appalachians; a notoriously difficult area to navigate and inhabited by people who are, at best, wary of outsiders. Over the years, people, from hippies to the electromagnetic hypersensitives to neo-Nazis and everything in between have gravitated to the area for their own reasons. Secluded geography and a lack of technology make it a paradise for those wanting to live off the grid or avoid surveillance, “The physical and bureaucratic barriers isolated an already remote area.” With a heavy neo-Nazi population and a National Alliance base, Kurczy arrived with one story in mind but, so often is the case, realized there was a more interesting story to tell.

The Quiet Zone is well written and intriguing because he captures the essence of a place that exists outside the norm of modern society. He asks the question: is an unconnected life truly idyllic? The portrait of Green Banks is wonderful in all its eccentricities and hypocrisy. No place is as simple as the world believes it to be, and that couldn’t be more true than in Green Banks. Kurczy embraces his quest to find the heart of Green Banks and doesn’t shy away from stomach curdling stories and situations, including tours of the National Alliance’s headquarters, animal cruelty, terrorist plots, unsolved murders, and more.

I read this book in between hikes into the Grand Canyon. I was experiencing my own quiet zone as I was living without WiFi, cell phone service, internet, and even electricity as I was camping. I enjoyed it, but there were definitely some bits that were hard to read. In Kurczy’s place, I don’t know if I would have been able to do what he did. I highly recommend The Quiet Zone to all those who are piqued by a life without technology.

Memorable Quotes
“I felt that I’d stumbled into a pivotal place in the world and, perhaps, in the history of humanity: an area endangered not by climate change or gentrification but by the Fitbit on your wrist, the iPhone in your hand, the anti-collision sensor in your car, the human desire to have what everybody else has.”
“Then I started coming back with stories of electro-allergies and illicit WiFi hotspots, secret government hideouts and neo-Nazi terror plots. The place was less and less Walden and more and more weird.”

bisous un обьятий,
RaeAnna

Buy on Amazon | Buy on Book Depository
Shop the Post
[show_shopthepost_widget id=”4572259″]

Title: The Quiet Zone; Unraveling the Mystery of a Town Suspended in Silence
Author: Stephen Kurczy
Publisher: Dey Street
Copyright: 2021
ISBN: 9780062945495

Books, NonFiction

I’d Like All Advice to Be As Friendly As Amy Poehler’s in Yes Please

October 4, 2020October 4, 2020 RaeAnna

Read Yes
Length 329
Quick Review Amy Poehler is known for a lot of things but mostly for being funny. She does not disappoint in her memoir.

Yes Please by Amy Poehler in Ames, Iowa. | Dress | Sweater | Glasses

I grew up watching Amy Poehler. She was the right kind of funny, smart, raunchy, and sweet for me. Her incredibly supportive, brilliant, fruitful, and genius relationship with Tina Fey was and is an inspiration for what female friendships can and should look like. I bought Yes Please years ago, and I’ve finally gotten around to reading it. It’s real in the way you want memoirs to be; it’s funny in the way you hope a comic’s memoir is; and it’s raw in a way a strong woman who knows her own mind is.

Writing a book is hard. Poehler makes it absolutely clear from the moment you crack the spine that writing a book is hard, she even takes a short break to let Seth Meyers write a chapter so she doesn’t have to. It’s an incredibly poignant moment and a testament to the woman and friend she is. There’s a good chance that she’ll never pen another book again because it’s obvious the process is not her favorite. Poehler also brought on Mike Schurr, the co-creator of Parks & Rec, to annotate her chapter on Parks & Rec, which is heartwarming and funny. She has surrounded herself with brilliant and funny people.

Yes Please is a memoir-advice combo. She’s wise and gives pretty great advice. If I hadn’t learned most of it the hard way, I would have found it even more helpful. It’s a bright, colorful, and bold book filled with large fonts and pictures. It definitely appeals to the kid in me.

In an era of social media and more information is not enough, Amy Poehler is in the public eye and knows what it’s like not to have much privacy. There’s an overarching theme, which is quite explicitly stated, “Nothing is anyone’s business.” Her life motto should be adopted by more, or all, people, “Good for you, not for me.”

I love a quotable book, and this is an incredibly quotable one. Although Poehler is entrancing in interviews, on stage, and on the screen; she has an incredible way with the written word in the way of a brilliant comic. From the funny moments to the more serious moments, she has something to say. She knows when to be funny and when to hold the humor, “A person’s tragedy does not make up their entire life.” She can be serious and bring levity. It is never more evident than in her comparisons. Treat your career like a bad boyfriend, “Ambivalence is key.” Careers can come and go. They’re important, but they shouldn’t define life. Whereas creativity should be nurtured like a good boyfriend because that is important.

Poehler can sum up the entirety of Yes Please in her own words better than I can, “It is not about being a good girl; it is about being a real woman.” It’s not a clean book. There’s mess to it, and I love that about it. It’s a great book to make you laugh during these dark times.

Memorable Quotes
“Writing a book is nothing like that. It is a small, slow crawl to the finish line.”
“…I would stare out whatever window I was near and reminisce about experiences I hadn’t had. Is there a word for when you are young and pretending to have lived and loved a thousand lives? Is there a German word for that? Seems like there should be. Let’s say it is Schaufenfrieglasploit.”
“There is nothing more depressing than a tired dominatrix.”

bisous und обьятий,
RaeAnna

Buy Amazon | Buy Book Depository
Shop the Post
[show_shopthepost_widget id=”4203275″]

Title: Yes Please
Author: Amy Poehler
Publisher: Dey Street Books
Copyright: 2014
ISBN: 9780062379795

Books, Fiction

Letters From Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien

December 18, 2019 RaeAnna

Worth A Read YES
Length 192
Quick Review J.R.R. Tolkien spent over twenty years writing letters and drawing pictures to his children as Father Christmas. They have been beautifully documented in this sweet book.

Reading Letters From Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien at River Oaks District in Houston, Texas. | Skirt | Sweater | Earrings | Red Embellished High Heels |

Letters From Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien

I am a sucker for Santa stories. This is not new to… anyone. I’ve mentioned it more than twelve times throughout my many interweb presences. I also love Tolkien. I’ve read all the Lord of the Rings books, so this book was an obvious holiday choice on my part. Tolkien is brilliant at creating worlds and characters. He also deeply loved his children. Letters From Father Christmas tells an entertaining and beautifully depicted story of Santa Claus’ adventures, but beneath the surface, it’s an embodiment of a man’s dedication and adoration of his children, their innocence, and a preservation of their childhood wonder.

Father Christmas started leaving letters and drawings in a shaky and recognizably unique handwriting for the Tolkien’s oldest son, John, when he was three years old. The letters and images continued arriving for twenty-two years discussing the inhabitants of the North Pole, the adventures, and the setbacks as John, Michael, Christopher, and finally Priscilla grew up. Father Christmas wrote to the children, and his assistant, Polar Bear, often made side notes and comments. Father Christmas is wise and kind but also frustrated by the unique everyday goings-on at the North Pole.

I finished the book in a morning. I loved reading this one. The pages are glossy and feel like heaven on the fingertips. I love that images of the original letters in Father Christmas’ uniquely shaky handwriting are included along with the paintings and drawings. It feels like Tolkien is bringing you into the family for Christmas. Everything about the letters are Tolkienesque. They are well thought out, and each character has their own unique style of writing linguistically and chirography. Polar Bear even went so far as to create his own language – of course Tolkien would.

Letters From Father Christmas is an enchanting world of clumsy polar bears, visits from the Man in the Moon, goblin wars, lost reindeer, busy elves, and more. Father Christmas documents imagination while also harkening back to the ever changing world and the struggles people faced throughout the 1920’s, ‘30s, and early ‘40s. It’s just a pleasure to read. Perfect for children of all ages – how does that song go? to kids from one to ninety-two.

Memorable Quotes
“Very much love from your old friend Father Christmas and Polar Bear.”

bisous und обьятий,
RaeAnna

Buy on Amazon | Buy on Barnes & Noble | Buy on Book Depository
Shop the Post
[show_shopthepost_widget id=”3858243″]

Title: Letters From Father Christmas
Author: J.R.R. Tolkien
Publisher: Harper Collins
Copyright: 2004
ISBN: 9780007463375

Books, Fiction

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson

December 15, 2019 RaeAnna

Worth A Read Yes
Length 128
Quick Review The Herdman kids decide to take part in a church’s Christmas pageant, and it is the town’s nightmare incarnate. The director decides to make it the best pageant ever, anyways.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson is so cute!!! | Buffalo Plaid Flannel Shirt | Black T-shirt Dress | Watch | Snowflake Earrings | Black Suede Over-the-Knee Boots |

I had never read The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson, but I had read the play many, many years ago. Not only did I read it, I played one of the main characters, Imogene Herdman, in the play as a kid. It was fun to revisit this poignant and funny story full of devilish children in a Christmas pageant.

Imogene, Ralph, Claude, Leroy, Ollie, and Gladys Herdman are a nightmare. With almost no parental supervision, they run amok around town and in school. A reputation for bullying, theft, and utter chaos follows them everywhere. None of the other children like them, and even the teachers avoid them. The Herdman’s are all but beyond help. By chance, they end up at Sunday school and take an interest in the Christmas pageant. Even as everything is falling apart for the director, she decides to make it the best pageant the church has ever had, even with the disastrous Herdmans.

Published in 1972, I was shocked by how progressive it was towards gender equality and religious views. Robinson calls out society’s female stereotype for being sweet in the first sentence, “The Herdmans were absolutely the worst kids in the history of the world. They lied and stole and smoked cigars (even the girls)…” The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is 128 page children’s novel and a social critique making points on parenting, religion, the education system, government, and culture in general. Robinson writes an entertaining story full of funny and teachable moments sure to enchant children while leaving adults with a story full of nuance and insight.

A little girl in the same class as Imogene Herdman is the narrator of the story. The narrator is also the daughter of the pageant’s director. She has a fairly passive role within the story, but her narration has a really beautiful arc of understanding and growth, which is the same arc Robinson hopes the reader will travel on.

I grew up in a progressive, Christian church. I knew a lot more about the history of the Christmas story than others, but there is a gap in how the Christmas story is told in church and how it is written in the Bible. Robinson makes a point of calling attention to this gap. The narrator acts as the mirror for the reader to, likely, see themselves in. The Herdman children are the fresh perspective. Without a religious background, they’re making observations on the weird parts of the story most people and churches gloss over. The narrator is a good person, but her mind is opened by the seeming antagonists: The Herdmans. She has really poignant moments of growth, “[Jesus] could have had colic, or been fussy, or hungry like any other baby. After all, that was the whole point of Jesus – that he didn’t come down on a cloud or like something out of “Amazing Comic,” but that he was born and lived… a real person.” and “I had never thought much about Herod. He was just a name, somebody in the Bible. Herodtheking.” I thought these were incredibly beautiful moments within The Best Christmas Pageant Ever because I have seen adults who have not been able to make those same realizations.

One of my favorite moments in the book to read was the line ”We put Glady in a bureau drawer,” from Imogene because I remember saying it on stage. There were several scenes I very much appreciated. Imogene running around with a cigar was another because I had so much fun playing that character. Being a naughty Herdman was so fun as a little girl.

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is such a great story for the whole family. I absolutely loved reading it for the first time as an adult.

Memorable Quotes
“We figured they were headed straight for hell, by way of the state penitentiary…”

bisous und обьятий,
RaeAnna

Buy Amazon | Buy Barnes & Noble | Buy Book Depository
Shop the Post
[show_shopthepost_widget id=”3854924″]

Title: The Best Christmas Pageant Ever
Author: Barbara Robinson
Publisher: Harper Trophy
Copyright: 1972
ISBN: 9780064402750

Books, Fiction

Hiddensee by Gregory Maguire

December 12, 2019 RaeAnna

Worth A Read Eh
Length 304
Quick Review Dirk Drosselmeier died in the forest as a child, and that set him on a unique path full of magic and mystery to become the beloved toy maker and creator of the nutcracker.

Reading Hiddensee by Gregory Maguire | Wool Skirt | Shirt | Heels | Watch

Gregory Maguire is best known for Wicked, a deconstruction of a part of the classic Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. In Hiddensee, Maguire tackles another character in a classic tale, The Nutcracker by E.T.A. Hoffmann. Instead of tackling a deconstruction and retelling of the entire Nutcracker, Maguire takes on a critical yet small character in the original and turns him into the star of the story.

Hiddensee is an anti-fairytale and has nothing to do with the ballet, which is probably why it has a fairly low rating on Goodreads. It’s not a story oozing Christmas, but it is full of magic. I’m not completely sure how I feel about the book. In a lot of ways, I really like it. In other ways, I didn’t love it.

Dirk is a foundling growing up with an old man and old woman in the woods in 1808 in Bavaria, Germany. When he reaches a certain age, the old man takes him to cut down a tree. Due to an accident, Dirk dies and comes back to life. He goes into the world to find his way forever changed by the accident in more than one way.

The narrative style adds to the feeling of an otherworldly fairy tale while cementing it in the real world. Though, the narrative style changes from the beginning of the story to the end. In the beginning, Maguire has a rhythm and rhyme to his descriptions of people and places, which helps set the story in a solidly fairy tale environment. As Dirk wanders further and further into the real world and away from his forest upbringing, the narrative becomes more concrete and less flowing. The poetry dims. There is an honesty to the narrative; to the point the narrator calls Dirk “ A bit of a dolt, that is.” I didn’t love the lack of Oxford comma usage. I think it’s necessary, and Maguire – or his editors – obviously is wrong and disagrees with me.

The imagination in Hiddensee is abundant. Hellenic mythology, curiosity for the after life, hypnosis, German figures from the romantic period, authors, and more mingle in his retelling. The pages are star studded by anyone’s measure. Maguire combines them with ingenuity and prowess.

I loved everything about the book and the way Maguire told the story, but for some reason, it didn’t speak to me. It took me a long time to finish it, and I never really got into the story. I didn’t feel anything for Dirk. Overall, I felt emotionally lackluster about Hiddensee. In theory, I really enjoyed it. In practice, not so much. It is a well done story. I just don’t have any enthusiasm for it.

Memorable Quotes
“Luck and grace: an unmatching pair of boots with which to address a long dusty road.”
“All paths lead to the same place, and that place is whatever comes next.”

bisous und обьятий,
RaeAnna

Buy Amazon | Buy Barnes & Noble | Buy Book Depository
Shop the Post
[show_shopthepost_widget id=”3852002″]

Title: Hiddensee: A Tale of the Once and Future Nutcracker
Author: Gregory Maguire
Publisher: William Morrow (HarperCollins)
Copyright: 2017
ISBN: 9780062684370

Books, Fiction

Christmas Camp by Karen Schaler

December 29, 2018 RaeAnna

Worth A Read Meh
Length 354
Quick Review Haley’s Christmas spirit is less than jolly when her boss sends her to Christmas camp in order to do research for a project. The owner’s attractive son makes it easier and harder to concentrate on her job.

Christmas Camp by Karen Schaler hits all the Hallmark moments we have come to expect from feel-good Christmas stories. If you have a Netflix account, you’re probably familiar with her script from The Christmas Prince, which was a huge hit last year.

Haley is a marketing executive. Her company needs to make a pitch for a Christmas loving toy company. Haley wants to make the pitch more than anything to make partner, but she doesn’t have much of the Christmas spirit. Her boss sends her to Christmas Camp to find her own spirit to help her company. She joins a group of people who are there for many different reasons. The owner’s son is attractive and distracts Haley from completely her job.

To be completely honest, I really did not like Haley. Not for the reason we’re supposed to not like her. I didn’t like her because she just wasn’t terribly likable. Her ambition was about the only thing I could actually relate to.

I didn’t hate the storyline in Christmas Camp. I definitely did not love the storytelling. It reads a lot more like a script than a novel. It makes sense consider Schaler’s background as a screenwriter. There is a lot of telling who there characters are without showing. It’s almost like a “Hi. I’m Haley. I’m a workaholic, but I’m also very nice.” The dialogue is clunky and feels a little bit like I’m being spoon fed the novel. It over simplifies everything.

I think Christmas Camp is a nice novel for the season. If you’re looking for a complex look into human interaction, this is not that. It is all the things a Hallmark movie is but in novel form.

Buy on Amazon | Buy Book Depository

Memorable Quotes
“”There’s always something about Christmas that makes you feel like a kid again.””

Shop the Post
[show_shopthepost_widget id=”3422949″]

Title: Christmas Camp
Author: Karen Schaler
Publisher: William Morrow (HarperCollins)
Copyright: 2018
ISBN: 9780062883698

Tag: HarperCollins

Stephen Kurczy Finds the Dark Side of The Quiet Zone

I’d Like All Advice to Be As Friendly As Amy Poehler’s in Yes Please

Letters From Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson

Hiddensee by Gregory Maguire

Christmas Camp by Karen Schaler