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Reading Wednesday
Jan. 31st, 2024 07:23 amJust finished: The End of This World: Climate Justice in So-Called Canada by Angele Alook, Emily Eaton, David Gray-Donald, Joël Laforest, Crystal Lameman and Bronwen Tucker. Yup, loved this. 100% my thing. Might buy a copy to reference. It's the kind of book that includes a section called "But How Will We Pay For It?"
Currently reading: New Moon Magic: 13 Anti-Capitalist Tools for Resistance and Re-Enchantment by Risa Dickens and Amy Torok. I'm kind of a hardcore atheist and non-woo person but. Lately I...haven't been? We can talk at some point about the reasons for that. Anyway, I was at a teacher thing and saw someone reading this and thought hey, research. And it's pretty great so far. Each chapter goes through a different astrological sign, talks about a theme (e.g., needles, potions, writing), tells a few stories about historical or contemporary witches or other powerful women related to that theme, and includes a ritual and incantation that you would do during the new moon for that sign. It's delightfully minimally woo—the authors don't claim magic is real, just that it's useful.
For a very simple example, if you're trying to make a decision, and you flip a coin, the results of that coin toss will not be the right decision. But how you react to that decision—with relief, disappointment, and so on—will help you make that decision.
It's also obviously focused towards activism, and the rituals are meant to help focus you so that you can do practical, real-world things. It's pretty non-judgmental about what those things should be.
The lengthy segment on Buffy St. Marie has not aged well, unfortunately.
Anyway, I'm almost done and finding it very useful, both for the intended research purposes and uh I actually might try some of this stuff??? like it's not as incompatible with my own belief system as I would assume.
Moby Dick by Herman Melville. After the incredible Sperm Chapter and the incredible Whale Dick Raincoat Chapter, we're back to normal stuff, albeit some of the most stunning prose imaginable. Ishmael almost burns the ship down and there's a touch of the unnecessary racism, but we also have lines like "Smells like the left wing of the day of judgment" and "once ignited, the whale supplies his own fuel and burns by his own body," which is just *chef's kiss*.
Currently reading: New Moon Magic: 13 Anti-Capitalist Tools for Resistance and Re-Enchantment by Risa Dickens and Amy Torok. I'm kind of a hardcore atheist and non-woo person but. Lately I...haven't been? We can talk at some point about the reasons for that. Anyway, I was at a teacher thing and saw someone reading this and thought hey, research. And it's pretty great so far. Each chapter goes through a different astrological sign, talks about a theme (e.g., needles, potions, writing), tells a few stories about historical or contemporary witches or other powerful women related to that theme, and includes a ritual and incantation that you would do during the new moon for that sign. It's delightfully minimally woo—the authors don't claim magic is real, just that it's useful.
For a very simple example, if you're trying to make a decision, and you flip a coin, the results of that coin toss will not be the right decision. But how you react to that decision—with relief, disappointment, and so on—will help you make that decision.
It's also obviously focused towards activism, and the rituals are meant to help focus you so that you can do practical, real-world things. It's pretty non-judgmental about what those things should be.
The lengthy segment on Buffy St. Marie has not aged well, unfortunately.
Anyway, I'm almost done and finding it very useful, both for the intended research purposes and uh I actually might try some of this stuff??? like it's not as incompatible with my own belief system as I would assume.
Moby Dick by Herman Melville. After the incredible Sperm Chapter and the incredible Whale Dick Raincoat Chapter, we're back to normal stuff, albeit some of the most stunning prose imaginable. Ishmael almost burns the ship down and there's a touch of the unnecessary racism, but we also have lines like "Smells like the left wing of the day of judgment" and "once ignited, the whale supplies his own fuel and burns by his own body," which is just *chef's kiss*.
