Two Books by Women Who Use Initials and A Magical Librarian 📚

 

       As I listened to the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows audiobook by J.K. Rowling, I slowed it down because I didn't want it to end. And so I went to YouTube! I found an interesting  long video (30 minutes) that hilariously, in a British way, discusses the Christian symbols and themes in Harry Potter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBg2VDST2v8

    My favorite book of the series is the first one, Happy Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Children being rescued for cupboards and attics makes me happy. 

    My least favorite is Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Harry comes into his adolescent anger, and his losses have crushed him. It feels like he loses hope. I see the necessity of this to the story and Harry's development, but it is heartbreaking.

 Here is my list of Favorite to Least Favorite, but I think they're all good:

1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
3. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
4. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
5. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
6. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
7. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

    While the series author, J. K. Rowling, has come under criticism, I admire what she has created. It shows imagination, intelligence, and incredible planning. 

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kind, self-care, morality of keeping house, neurodivergent, quick read

    When I was first married, I struggled with how to keep up with cooking, laundry, and cleaning. I wish I had How to Keep House While Drowning: a Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing by KC Davis. I would have been much kinder to myself. Davis emphasizes that having a "clean" house is morally neutral. Because she is neurodivergent, she needed to find strategies that worked specifically for her. Another lesson is that your living space should serve you, not you your living space. Instead of beating yourself up for not being motivated, consider how can I help future me? I think that is a great idea. I've used it myself. I will stop and get gas in my car--a job I dislike--so tomorrow, Barb won't have to do it when she's running late. I also imagine I'm the only one who struggles with staying on top of it all and it's good to know I'm not alone. When it comes to a clean house, perhaps it can happen, but maybe not everything on the same day. 

    I still can't motivate past, present, or future Barb to dust. Yuch.

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    What You Are Looking For is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama lifted my spirits. I listened to the audiobook read while I lay on the couch with the flu. It was engaging and magical. I love a book with a library at its center with the quirky people that staff it and the desperate souls that go there for answers. This book is a translation and takes place in Tokoyo, Japan. I probably didn't get all the cultural references, but it did not slow down the book. Some things are universal to all cultures--I feel like I'm going nowhere, I'm stuck, I'm trapped--the reference librarian has a list of titles and a felted mascot for you. 

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