What have your books taught you about yourself, others, or the world??? Share anything at all!!

This week, I already knew that Henry Ford was a garbage human BUT I learned about all of the horrors of his failed "Fordlandia" project in the Amazon in the late 1920's and how people barely talk about the human cost of his failure in 🔗 Jungle of Ashes 🔗

Instead of examples, I'll share part of the author's note about some of the horrors, "These tragedies, which are such pivotal plot points in my story, only take up two paragraphs in Grandin's 372 page book [Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Forgotten Jungle City]. The biggest difference between the true story of Fordlandia and a classic myth is that Fordlandia's protagonist was sheltered from the negative repercussions for his hubris by being the richest man in the world. Mountains of money make for a soft landing. Jungle of Ashes is my attempt to humanize the cost of Ford's grand vision and remind us that even when we don't have the power to change the world for the better, we can change ourselves. That's a good place to start.

What is like a monumental, amazing episode of TV that really wedged itself into your brain permanently?

Mine would be Buffy The Vampire Slayer S5 E15 "The Body"

Okay it was yesterday my time, but 🤷‍♀️ I needed to complete my set. I'm not nearly nerdy enough to ask Pagebound readers about math-related books sooo...

What is your favourite book featuring pie? 🥧 It can be sweet or savoury, I'm not picky here. Delicious baked good in a pie tin is delicious baked good in a pie tin.

This is hands down for me. Dire Straits by Megan Derr. Pie isn't a feature, but where it is used, it is used perfectly. I love it so much.

Do you think larger messages in literature should be hidden deep between the lines or be easier to see? On one hand, literary analysis should necessarily take more critical thinking and close reading than not. On the other, an author should aim to integrate everything they wish to say through a work for the sake of art and accessibility.

As someone who has never delved super deep into analyzing literature and reads largely for engaging entertainment, I’m definitely biased here by my own faults lol. Of course I enjoy when a book gets me thinking, but I’ve never quite been the best thinker 😆. I have maintained so far that I believe the best symbolisms, themes, etc. are those that an author can make intrinsically understood without also making them plain and obvious.

I’m not sure my opinion will be a popular one, so let me hear yours!

“If you’ve ever tried to keep a diary, then you’ll know that the problem of trying to write about the past really starts in the present: No matter how fast you write, you’re always stuck in the then and you can never catch up to what’s happening now, which means that now is pretty much doomed to extinction.”

Somehow, Nao has captured in a more detailed way how I feel about writing any diary 📔 this is why i have given up on every diary I ever started. (besides the fact, my hands get so tired writing by hand for too long like a wuss and i’ve never had clear handwriting. i smush it all together because I learned script which made my bad handwriting more lazy and worse! let me know your thoughts on handwriting and journaling if you’d like 😅 but the quote sentiments also apply to typed journals too!)

However, I respect that Nao was able to write so much for Ruth and us to learn about her 😭😭😭