weekly update

A Week in the Life: August 2, 2019

Posted on by Lindsey
a stack of pita bread in the background and a bread being opened to reveal its pocket in the foreground

The last couple of weeks have been giving off one of those “if it’s not one thing, it’s another” feelings. We bought the new car last month. Now we have to get our shower repaired. It’s been leaking periodically since we moved in but we’ve come to a point where the grout is cracked and some of the tiles are starting to bulge, so that is not great. Much like getting a new car, it’s a little fun to pick out designs and make our shower just how we want it, but it’s not fun to spend even more money. 2019 is proving to be an expensive year. I’ve been emailing contractors and having people come to my house to make estimates. I guess this is what people mean when they talk about the “joys” of homeownership. What I’m trying to say is: I’ve been a little stressed.

Consuming

Here are some things I read, listened to, or bought this week.

Reading

Photo of the book cover on my e-reader. "How to do nothing: resisting the attention economy" by Jenny Odell
How to Do Nothing

I finished Jenny Odell’s How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy this week. I encountered a few negative reviews of this book, but I really liked it. Maybe it comes off as too academic or not focused enough on providing instructions for how to do nothing. But the point of the book is you have to discover your own “nothing” outside of social media and our attention-stealing machines. This book resonated with me and I felt like I was truly in the discourse with the author because I’ve read so many of the books she cited. It was neat to see someone refracting their experience through all these works and how she arrived at her specific way of thinking. The book takes the stance that we can resist the attention economy by creating context and noticing the things in the world around us, which Odell does through learning to identify and connect with the flora and fauna around her. It’s a little hard to sum up this book and my thoughts about it, but I definitely recommend reading it. If you want to pair it with another work, I recommend Anti-Social Media for the full “I’m tired of the modern internet” experience.

Listening

I could omit this section because I haven’t listened to much new or interesting lately. I’ve been enjoying the silence, if you will, since coming back from Rollercon. My neighborhood is very quiet and it’s been nice to sit with that.

Rampant Consumerism

Rampant consumerism or maybe anti-consumerism this week? I finally decided to cancel my Netflix streaming account. I’ve been threatening it for months, but I finally did it. I’ve been frustrated by the lack of things that interest me. I end up browsing forever and watching nothing, which is not the point of Netflix at all. Some months ago I signed up for a one-disc-at-a-time DVD plan again to get access to things I actually want to watch. After cancelling the streaming, I increased that to two. I think this will help me be more deliberate about my time and watch things I actually want to watch, instead of watching things just because they’re on Netflix.

Making Things and Doing Stuff

This week I got back into my groove post-Rollercon. It took me an entire week of doing almost nothing to feel fully human again.

Kitchen Witchery

I’ve had fun trying new things this week. I’ve been interested in cool foods for the hot weather and I’ve felt a little more adventurous about vegetables and meatless meals so we’re getting a bit of that. I made a really nice salad of quinoa, lima beans, green beans, and zucchini this week (not pictured), but was reminded that quinoa makes me sick to my stomach now. Not just uncomfortable, but full on roiling. I felt gross almost all night and I’m never eating quinoa again. Fortunately, I was able to put the rest of the beans to good use though and made a lima bean parmigiana from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian. I also learned the art of pita bread last week (from The Bread Bible). The pitas were delicious and Kirk, who is not a bread lover like I am, liked them and said they were like what you’d get in a restaurant.

Last weekend our cookbook club met! We cooked from The Oh She Glows Cookbook, which I honestly expected not to like—not because it’s vegan but because the recipes didn’t seem especially appealing. I was proved very wrong though. I made a lentil-walnut loaf, which is the kind of thing I’d been wanting to try. It turned out quite tasty. For a dessert, I made “yolos,” which I was skeptical about since the author positioned them as a knock-off of Rolos, yet they contain no caramel. The yolos are a date and peanut butter mixture covered in chocolate and they were surprisingly delicious. I’m not sure if this book is going to enter my regular rotation, but I’m definitely keeping the yolos recipe.

  • a casserole dish of lima bean parmigiana next to a plate with a serving of the same plus broccoli
    Lima Bean Parmigiana
  • a stack of pita bread in the background and a bread being opened to reveal its pocket in the foreground
    Pita bread success
  • chocolate-coated date and peanut butter balls in a glass dish
    Homemade “yolos”
  • plate with potato, lentil loaf and rice pilaf
    Cookbook club: part of this complete dinner

Knitting

I’m in the middle of knitting a sock and I wanted to share it. Turning the heel is the most magical part of sock knitting. How many grandmothers sacrificed to bring this wisdom down through the ages? This is sock one of two, so I’m not even halfway done, but I’m enjoying it. Socks might be my favorite thing to knit.

a half-knitted sock in purple and green variegated yarn
Sock, post-heel turn

Language Learning

Things went well with Icelandic this month, but not so well with Spanish. This month I wanted to focus on getting language input so I started watching an Icelandic cooking show. Although I only watched a few episodes, it was more than before, so I’ll count that as a success. Spanish sort of got derailed. I think I put in too much time to catching up on Icelandic and then, with my Rollercon vacation I didn’t do much else. Alas. One day I may learn balance.

  • picture of my July 2019 Icelandic notebook
    Icelandic notebook: July
  • picture of my July 2019 Spanish notebook
    Spanish notebook: July

Finally, here’s a Huey cat for your nerves.

  • A black and white cat sitting on a table and looking at the camera
    Huey in command.
  • Huey in repose. Husband for scale.
weekly update

A Week in the Life: Rollercon 2019 Edition

Posted on by Lindsey

This year’s Rollercon ran from July 17 to 21. It’s now July 26. I’ve been hibernating all week trying to reclaim some energy in the wake of it all. Rollercon is amazing, but it’s certainly not restful. This was my third Rollercon and it was a frenzy of activity. Of course I always want to do everything because there’s just so much to do. I didn’t do everything, but I did a hell of a lot—I even wrote it all down and actually took some photos this year.

The first year I went I thought this will probably be fun but too overwhelming. I assumed I wouldn’t want to come every year because it’s a lot of ruckus. I’ve really surprised myself by going three consecutive years. It is a lot to handle, but the joy of so many people working to make something great is too wonderful to pass up. It’s even better when you can be one of those people trying to make things great. So, here are some great things I did at Rollercon.

Games

The games are one of the best things about Rollercon because you get a lot of silliness but also a lot of cool match-ups where groups can celebrate their identity, like with Team Indigenous v. Jewish Roller Derby (the first ever borderless derby game!) or Bitch Please v. Side Eye. For me, the best game was one I organized: Pool Partiers v. Lazy River Riders. The point of the game was for everyone to play in a pool floatie. It’s the most fun I’ve ever had playing roller derby and I think everyone who played agreed. I also got to join in on the #derbytwitter game, which was was a physically challenging game but also so much fun because I got to play with all my internet friends.

I had a couple of firsts playing games, like in BDSM v. furies. I didn’t want to buy any BDSM gear for 30 minutes of roller derby, so I skated in just shorts and a sports bra, which is something I’ve never done before and honestly never expected to do. In fact, I’d never even worn a crop top until about a day before said game. That was a personal best for body positivity. In a personal worst, I got expelled from a game for the first time. I was knocked out of play and accidentally hit a referee. The head official determined it was avoidable contact and expelled me from the game. It was very disappointing both for letting my team down and because I really tried not to touch the ref. I hope I never get expelled from a game again! It was an added insult that it was during the Lumpy Space Princess game, and I had a great outfit (recycled from last year’s Reidell party costume, naturally).

Classes

I appreciate the opportunity to learn from people who don’t know me and who have different perspectives on the game. It’s nice to get feedback from someone who hasn’t seen me skate from my baby derby years on up because they don’t have any preconceptions about me. That’s not to criticize my coaches, but sometimes fresh eyes see new things. I took several interesting classes this year. The most fun were Rock You Like a Hurricane with Allie Gator and Fast Feet with Yeti or Not. Both of them had interesting content and just seemed like really nice coaches who want the best for you. I also appreciated Stef Mainey’s How to Control People on the Track because it gave me a totally different approach to moving people around and getting them off balance. I think it will take some time to incorporate into my game, but I definitely want to give her techniques a try.

Announcing

Sometimes I think maybe I like announcing more than playing, but I’ll probably do both until I can’t skate anymore so it’s really a moot point. I had fun calling serious and silly games this year. I got to work the broadcast call for Drag Queens v. Drag Queens. It was a delight announcing that game with Allie Gator. I also got to get on the mic for one of the Team Indigenous games, which I am proud I can support with my vocal talents, such as they are.

What I enjoyed most about announcing this Rollercon was working with new announcers and finding ways we can make announcing more accessible for everyone. I spent a lot of time mentoring newbies and we talked a lot about how we can support some of our dyslexic peers. I think that is going to result in some real action for next Rollercon and I’m proud that I could help start that. I want to be able to make room for other women, especially, to develop their voices and their talents on the mic. To me, it’s an act of feminism and resistance. I’m hoping we can do more next year.

  • Announcing with Schwann
  • Announcing Drag Queens v. Drag Kings with Allie Gator
  • creeping on fellow announcers
  • announcing with Muffin Tumble
  • Giving room to the announcer youth

Doing Everything Else

I try to get out of my usual routine and do a little more socializing than I would really like at Rollercon. Although I think half of my motivation is to dress up. I had a lot of fun unicycling at the circus-themed Reidell party (although I was disappointed to be turned away from the costume contest!). I know that my antics personally delighted Smarty Pants and honestly that made my night. I don’t unicycle much anymore but it’s cool to know that I still can and that I can look boss doing it. I also made an appearance at the Black and Blue Ball, mostly for the announcer group photo and for the questionable tradition of taking a shot of Malört. This year my derby wife joined us for the shots, which made it more fun, if only to witness the miserable reaction.

  • sparkling and ready to party
  • Malört shots with the derby wife

I also ate some really good food, both the meals I brought and warmed sous vide and some tasty food I bought. I posted the sous vide photo collection on my instagram, but here are some more food photos, which, we’ve established, people both love and hate.

  • a “milkshake”
  • room service #richbitchlife

Despite missing my cats (and husband) all week, nearly breaking my thumb, and being generally exhausted, I am planning to do it all again next year. Only 354 days to go!

weekly update

A Week in the Life: July 12, 2019

Posted on by Lindsey
Viola the cat seated on a pillow on the sofa

This was one of those weeks that felt both fast and slow. It’s hard to remember what exactly happened because there was so much chaos surrounding our car (buying a new one, returning the rental, and disposing of the old). I was also tired all week, which always makes it hard to do things. On top of it all, I’m excited for Rollercon, so I’m not very well grounded in the present. All the same, here I am, writing about the week that was.

Consuming

Here are some things I read, listened to, or bought this week.

Reading

This morning I came across the article Small Acts: Finding Friendship with My Spanish teacher and it really resonated with me. The author, Courtney Maum, decided to learn Spanish as an act of political resistance, which I think is wonderful. Although I’ve been learning Spanish for years, I can absolutely relate to the impetus here. Wanting to connect with people that our government is trying to demonize is one reason it’s important to me to keep improving my Spanish (and, perhaps, to eventually remember how to speak Arabic). I also liked that she discussed making friends with her teacher because that is what happens. My Spanish teacher, Via, and I have been meeting for a couple of years now and I really would say we are friends, even though I pay her for our conversations.

I also read about the people who drive all over the country scouring stores for deals that they can resell on Amazon. Amazon Ruined Online Shopping profiles a few people who make their living this way, traveling in search of rare finds like discontinued cereal flavors. Some friends pointed out that this isn’t really a new practice, but for me it’s another reason to be disillusioned with Amazon. We (as a society, but maybe “I” is better) think that retail is magic and Amazon really just has everything. Of course, they don’t. As we learn more about the working conditions that underpin its success and Jeff Bezos’ wealth, Amazon has become a company I can’t patronize in good conscience.

Listening

I’ve had the Lingthusiasm podcast on my radar for some time, but finally listened to an episode this week. I enjoyed the episode on “Untranslatable Words” and the discussion of the fact that nothing is really “untranslatable,” just maybe less conveniently translated.

Rampant Consumerism

Last week we did the most consumerist activity of all: we bought a new car. It was not something we had been planning to do and so was fairly stressful. Our old car had been with the mechanic for an entire month (did you know that, if you keep a rental car for more than a month, you have to go back into their office and sign new paperwork?) and we realized it was never getting fixed. They replaced the car’s computer only to discover that they would now have to open up the engine to deal with some new problem. We got that news on Friday afternoon, decided it was time to give up, and bought the new car on Saturday. We now have a brand-new Prius—it had 13 miles on the odometer when we bought it—which is exciting despite the stressful circumstances. It has a lot of nice features and of course gets great mileage. Overall, we now have a better car, but we also have a car payment. What can you do.

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When your new car has only 13 miles on the odometer

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Making Things and Doing Stuff

Here are some things I did this week.

Getting Crafty

I’ve been working on some cool outfits for Rollercon festivities. I’m preoccupied with adorning myself with as many lights as possible. Here are some action shots of the process. Also my house is full of glitter thanks to that tulle.

  • black tulle with gold sparkles on a cutting mat
    the most glitter-intense tulle ever
  • illuminated bustle
  • the author wearing a crown and fiber optic bow tie
    sneak preview of my Reidell party look
  • a unicycle with lights strung through its spokes
    hot looks for one-wheeled devices

Kitchen Witchery

I haven’t done much noteworthy cooking this week, but I did bake these handsome loaves of zucchini bread based on the recipe in The Bread Bible. They’re tasty and a good use of vegetables.

snall loaves of zucchini bread on a cooling rack
small brauð

Finally, here’s a photo of Viola for your nerves.

Viola the cat seated on a pillow on the sofa
Viola in repose
weekly update

A Week in the Life: July 5, 2019

Posted on by Lindsey

I’ve been stressed this week. The 4th of July stresses me out because of fireworks noise and I know I won’t get to sleep. I’ve been stressed about concentration camps at the border, which I wrote about yesterday. I’ve also been stressed about our car, which has been in the shop for the last month. It broke down on the way to Lake Tahoe in early June and we’ve been driving a rental car since. I realized our total cost for the rental is now over $1,000. The mechanics have gone through various fixes including a new fuel injector and now a new computer. But now that there’s a new computer, it turns out the problem is in the engine. It’s like an episode of Looney Tunes where they keep trying to smash down a dent in the car and it pops up elsewhere. No matter what, we’re out over $2000 between repairs and rental and we’re going to have to buy a new car anyway. I can’t wait to throw money away this weekend.

Consuming

Here are some things I read, listened to, or bought this week.

Reading

cover of the book "The Big Nine," taken outside
“The Big Nine”

This week I read The Big Nine: How the Tech Titans and Their Thinking Machines Could Warp Humanity by Amy Webb. The Big Nine traces the history of artificial intelligence and provides an overview of the companies most involved in its development. She then describes three scenarios—one optimistic, one pragmatic, and one catastrophic—for how AI might change society in the next 50 years. Honestly, this book has fucked me up. All three AI scenarios are highly plausible and rooted in events already in motion. The optimistic scenario really made me feel good, and the catastrophic one evoked dread. Webb makes the argument for a variety of counter-measures that would help individuals have rights over their own data and would encourage corporations and governments to collaborate. I’ve never been so invested in policy around artificial intelligence before. Most of the things that would set AI on the optimistic path are things that happen at institutional levels, but Webb closes the book with recommendations for how we can all take part. One suggestion is that we all need to be more aware and more critical of where our data goes and what it’s used for. We should think about apps before we use them. For example, fun apps that require your picture are probably being used to create data sets to train AI. We have to consider what we’re trading for convenience. One site I thought about amid those suggestions is LibraryThing, which I used to link the title above. A lot of people love GoodReads for their book-related social networking, but I’ve been using LibraryThing for years. I refuse to use GoodReads because Amazon owns it and they don’t need more of my data. LibraryThing isn’t selling data, so I feel good about that choice. These are the kinds of choices Webb is asking us to consider when we use the internet and technology.

I also read an article on Rewire.News called The Image America Shouldn’t Need. It discusses the fact that Americans shouldn’t have to see images of drowned migrants to have empathy for everyone struggling to get into this country. I recommend reading the article because it is powerful.

Listening

Spotify has introduced me to two songs on the topic of horse girls recently and frankly I don’t know what it’s trying to suggest. First, there’s Adam Ant’s Why Do Girls Love Horses. Then, there’s Tacocat’s Horse Grrls. I’ve never been much interested in horses, but it makes me chuckle that it’s enough of a meme to have songs about it.

Rampant Consumerism

There hasn’t been much exciting consumerism here this week, but I did get my other new favorite shirt, based on a second-grade writing assignment I did that my dad dug up recently. You can get your own from my teespring store.

Making Things and Doing Stuff

Here are some things I did this week.

Language Learning

I’m feeling good about my Icelandic studies this week. I feel like I’ve finally recovered from basically taking a year off when my teacher had her baby. It feels like the language is coming together in my brain more and that’s awesome. I’ve started watching this cooking show to get more listening practice. I can’t claim to understand all of it, but the good thing about cooking shows is that they demonstrate everything, so it’s easy to make connections between signifier and signified.

Kitchen Witchery

I didn’t do a whole lot of cooking this week, but I did finally do something with the cake I made a couple of weeks ago. I defrosted half of it, filled it with white chocolate buttercream and topped it with cashew buttercream. The results were not particularly beautiful, but they were tasty. I also finally tested out the sous vide immersion cooker that my sister bought me for Christmas. I have been planning to do some sous vide cooking to feed myself at rollercon this year, which is why I tested it out in a cooler instead of something more conventional like a pot. The results were good. I think I’ll be able to feed myself reasonably well!

  • sous vide immersion cooker warming a water bath in a cooler
    sous vide testing round 1
  • half a round cake on a cutting board
    Sometimes I’m not bothered to make aesthetically pleasing food

Finally, here are some cat picture for your nerves.

  • viola the cat sitting on a chair
    Viola is a person

the world around us

The One about Concentration Camps: Acts of Empathy for Cruel Times

Posted on by Lindsey

I’ve been mulling over what to say about this for at least a week now. There’s no arguing, at this point, that the United States is running concentration camps at our southern border. The conditions are horrific and the guards running them are racist, misogynistic assholes. This post isn’t about how we got here or what’s wrong with detaining refugees and immigrants in camps. It’s about what I’m doing, and perhaps what you can do, in response to it. It’s hard not to feel paralyzed by horror in witnessing our concentration camps. I’m ashamed of what our country is perpetrating in our name.

I’m certainly not the first or the best informed on this topic but I’m here presenting thoughts on what we can do all the same. Writing this out helps me think about the issue. I can only hope this also encourages a few others in my small audience.

Bear Witness

We have to recognize that this is part of a pattern and no one should be claiming this “isn’t who we are.” This is totally who we are. It’s only recently that we’ve tried to redefine who are to not be the kind of people who put other people in camps. It is scary and stressful, but we can’t ignore it. Ignorance will not solve this problem. Maybe it’s shallow, but I don’t want to look back on my life and know that did nothing and ignored concentration camps in our own country.

Send Money

At Rollercon, I’ll be participating in a fundraiser called Reps for RAICES. Derby trainer Prime organized it and invited people to take part. I’m hoping to raise $300 in donations and I’m planning to match up to $500 of donations. I’m very proud to be part of a community that wants to work against oppression.

RAICES isn’t the only organization out there. There are a lot of places you can donate to, depending on how you want to prioritize your dollars. Last year, Slate published a comprehensive list of organizations working against family separation at the border and, since not much has changed in the last year, it’s still a very good resource. Another resource is helpdetainedchildren.org, which lists the organizations working to provide aid to migrants.

I read recently that charitable organizations most appreciate recurring monthly donations because they can plan programs around a stable amount of income. Although they love all donations, recurring donations are the best. I have decided to make a recurring monthly donation to the Women’s Refugee Commission. Even if you can only make a recurring donation of $5 per month, it will make a difference.

You can also send money in other ways. It turns out, you can donate airline miles via lawyersgorgoodgovernment.org to help volunteer attorneys travel to people who need legal support. I have a bunch of Southwest miles, so I will be donating some to support the cause.

Withhold Money

I was cheered by the news that Wayfair employees staged a protest when they “discovered … that Wayfair intended to fulfill an order from BCFS, a government contractor that is operating camps at the border, for $200,000 worth of bedroom furniture,” as the Boston Globe reported. I’ve made the argument before that the only thing that seems to motivate this country’s upper class is money. We have to demonstrate that it is more profitable to NOT support government-sponsored internment camps than it is too supply goods and services.

If you’re looking for companies profiting from detaining migrants, We Are Your Voice Mag has a list. The most notable inclusion is Amazon, if only for its popularity among regular people. Bank of America is also profiting from the camps. If you want to divest and change banks, you can take a look at my posts on divesting from Bank of America.

Make Demands of Congress

Most organizations working for immigrants are saying the most important thing we can demand of congress is that they defund U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The National Immigrant Justice Center has a form you can fill out that will send an email to your congresspeople. I am using it as a template for a letter that I’m sending to my congresspeople via ResistBot.

Volunteer

This one is tricky because a lot of the volunteer work needed is on site at the border, which is not where I live. Additionally, the professions most in demand are lawyers and interpreters. I am not a lawyer, and although I speak Spanish, I’m not confident in my ability to run live interpretation for a bunch of scared people. If anyone discovers other ways to volunteer, please let me know. I am very interested but not sure what to do.

Protest

There are lots of protests happening around this issue. I am personally planning to attend some hosted by NorCal Resist in my area. If you don’t know how to find protests near you, ask your politically savvy friends, search on ResistBot, or try scouring facebook for events near you.

Don’t Take My Word For It

Here are a few other lists for what you can do to help end family separation and support immigrants.

Talk about It

Whatever you decide to do, I would love to hear about it. Leave a comment or let me know what you’re doing to stop concentration camps in our country. Or, leave a comment to commiserate about how terrible it is that we still have to fight so hard against injustice. Talking about what we do makes us stronger! Go forth!

weekly update

A Week in the Life: June 28, 2019

Posted on by Lindsey
a sheet pan of freshly baked rolls

I’m back for another week of talking about my life. I’m proud of me for sticking with this for at least two weeks.

Something I’ve been thinking about a lot this last week is the situation at the border with refugees being kept in concentration camps. I want to write about this but I’m still organizing my thoughts. I’ll probably make a separate post this weekend about what I plan to do and some articles. So, even though that’s been on my mind all week, it’s not making an appearance in the rest of this post.

Consuming

Here are some things I read, listened to, or bought this week.

Reading

This week I finished reading Anti-Social Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy. I started following the author, Siva Vaidhyanathan, on twitter a while ago after reading his book The Googlization of Everything — and Why We Should Worry. Vaidhyanathan is a professor at the University of Virginia who researches communications and technology and their interactions. I really appreciated reading Anti-Social Media and I recommend it for anyone who uses facebook. Although it’s an academic work, it’s very accessible and easy to read. One statement from the book that resonated with me is that facebook encourages declarations, not discussions. You post something and … that’s it. People click on the emotional reactions and most posts don’t get much further. That’s something I have noticed, the lack of discussion. It is possible but it is hard to get it started. Although facebook claims to be a tool that brings us together, it does so only superficially. A lot of what we post could serve as a conversation starter, but I rarely see conversations started, which is why I started these weekly posts for myself.

cover of the book "anti-social media"
Anti-Social Media

Related to this lack of discussion is that facebook rewards emotional engagement and that, according to Vaidhyanathan, contributes to our inability to see large-scale issues. If a political campaign knows people get riled up about abortion, the campaign can make targeted ads about just that. People will share (in outrage or glee) the ad and no one will have discussed the bigger issue of how the candidate actually intends to govern or what our cultural values are and how we promote them through governance. I liked the book for putting words to this phenomenon. I want to keep trying to find ways to connect with my friends and communities that are not mediated by facebook, or at least that encourage a deeper connection.

I also read an interesting article from The Atlantic called The Boomers Ruined Everything: The mistakes of the past are fast creating a crisis for younger Americans. It makes the argument that the baby boomer generation perpetuated a certain level of conservative policy making, which has made it much more difficult for younger people to get jobs and houses. I’ve complained plenty about baby boomers fucking things up for us, but it’s interesting to see a case for specifically how that happened.

Listening

I’ve had the Pussy Riot song “Make America Great Again” stuck in my head all week. It’s something of an anthem for these fucked up times. A warning if you are going to watch the video, it’s fairly disturbing. However, it is a strong, artistic statement. Look up the song on spotify if you’re not ready to watch, but here’s the video link regardless: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-bKFo30o2o

Rampant Consumerism

a bunch of new socks from Bombas
new Bombas socks

I bought some new socks from Bombas recently. A few teammates have been talking about how great they are, so last month I bought two pairs to test it out. I told Kirk they felt great and his response was that all new socks feel great. He had a point. After a few washes, they still feel amazing. I didn’t know socks could actually feel this good, as ridiculous as that sounds. Highly recommended. This isn’t even a paid post, it’s my real opinion. I like the company because they donate a pair of socks to people in need for every pair that people purchase. In the absence of our government using tax dollars for taking care of citizens, I appreciate companies taking the initiative to do so.

a tee shirt with a picture of me wearing a shirt with a picture of me on it
portrait of the artist on a tee shirt

I also finally got my new shirt, which features me wearing a picture of me wearing a picture of myself. This shirt will imbue me with even more power—because what’s more powerful than adorning yourself with your own image? You can get your own on my teespring site, which has this shirt as well as the non-recursive version. Profits go to me and world’s best derby photographer Bone Appétit to fund derby travel.

Making Things and Doing Stuff

Here are some things I did this week.

Roller Derby Life

Our game against Santa Cruz went really well! It was a close game throughout, which means our opponent was a good match, but we won in the end. It’s always satisfying to win a close game. Knowing that the game could have easily gone either way, but that we won, makes it feel like we accomplished something. I thought all my teammates did a really good job and it was fun to have a big crowd at the Rink. I also got the award for best blocker, which is always exciting! Although I am pretty sure that in some games, I’m not actually the best, just the one with the hits that my opponents most remember.

I also found out this week that I did not make the travel B team. It didn’t surprise me but I was hoping for that extra bit of validation. The upside is that I don’t have to adjust my practice schedule and I get to stay with all my friends.

Language Learning

My Spanish teacher Oliva and I discussed learning versus acquiring a language, inspired by this video in which the author spends a year learning Arabic. Linguists differentiate between acquiring a language (learning like a baby would, by interacting with people who speak the language) versus learning it (like you would do in school, memorizing grammar and vocabulary). In the video, the author sets out to acquire Arabic by having language exchanges and lessons with native speakers. I will say it made me nostalgic for learning Arabic, although I suppose the matter of that language is a discussion for another day. I like some of the strategies he used, but I found it presumptuous that he suggested you could just approach people you know and ask them to help you learn a language, as if that’s not a big investment of time and labor. In any case, I am going to try to incorporate some of the spirit of this into my own learning. I tend to focus on my flashcards and drills because it has a certain predictability that I enjoy, but I know I need to spend more time reading and listening and getting that comprehensible input. I’m hoping this will especially help my Icelandic, since that is a tricky language and I’m super bad at understanding the spoken language.

Getting Crafty

If you follow me on instagram, you’ve seen this already, but I am proud of my handiwork, so I’m sharing it again. I finished a baby quilt for my friend Mandy and her forthcoming baby. I choose fabrics to celebrate her heritage and I think the end result turned out great, especially considering my limited quilting experience.

Kitchen Witchery

We went to the farmers market last Sunday so of course I spent this week making lots of good food based on what I found there. For the most part, I didn’t cook anything too elaborate, but I enjoy the task of making simple food extra tasty.

  • two plates with chicken caesar salad
    undressed chicken caesar salads
  • a plate wth a serving of macaroni and cheese and some broccoli
    macaroni and cheese and broccoli
  • a glass bowl full of pesto
    homemade pesto
  • a sheet pan of freshly baked rolls
    walnut, pesto, and cheese rolls
  • a green plate with pork medallions, zucchini, and mashed potatoes
    pork tenderloin with pesto, zucchini, and mashed potatoes
  1. Chicken caesar salad with carrots and lettuce from the farmers market. I grill up a bit of chicken and the result is a very simple meal.
  2. Macaroni and cheese plus some broccoli. This colby jack cheese from the farmers market is basically the perfect cheese for macaroni.
  3. Pesto. I bought a huge bunch of basil from the farmers market with the intention of making pesto, but without a clear idea of what to do with it. Luckily I discovered some inspiration.
  4. Walnut pesto, and cheese rolls. The recipe is from “The Harvest Baker,” and these are basically all I want to eat now.
  5. I grilled a pork tenderloin and glazed (in a manner of speaking) it with pesto. Served with grilled zucchini and mashed potatoes, and of course, more pesto.

Finally, here’s a luxurious Huey for your nerves.

a black and white cat lounging on top of a love seat.
Huey the Cat atop the couch cushion
weekly update

A Week in the Life: June 21, 2019

Posted on by Lindsey

After stating on facebook that I wanted to replace posting there with weekly newsletters, here I am. I did look a little bit at newsletter applications, but then I thought, I’m paying for this website and why not use it? I’m bringing blogging back.

Consuming

Reading

This morning I read an article from The Atlantic called “The Adults Who Treat Reading Like Homework.” I didn’t like the title, but I was interested in the content, since I am, arguably, one of those adults. It discusses people setting reading goals for themselves and talks a little bit about how the process of setting a reading goal impacts reading habits. As someone who has tracked her reading habits for over a decade, I have some opinions. I actually don’t set a goal for reading a certain number of books. It’s something I’ve done in the past, but you never know how the year is going to go. I plan to read as much as I can and make allowances for life. I also try to think about reading as something to do instead of getting lost in the infinite scroll of social media. It has to be an active decision even if you don’t set a specific goal. The article also discusses the site Good Reads and how sends annoying notifications when users are not meeting their goals. This is one of the many reasons I prefer to track my reading and maintain my personal library through LibraryThing, which I’ve been using since 2007.

I also read a really interesting article from The Guardian about trauma and how we react to it. It discusses what is called polyvagal theory, kind of a corollary to the “fight or flight” response that says that, when faced with something traumatic, sometimes people freeze up and that’s normal. I won’t try to summarize it because it is a little complicated, but I highly recommend giving it a read, especially if you are someone or know someone who freezes up when stressed.

Listening

Spotify recommended the band Tacocat to me and I’m enjoying it a lot. I really like “I Love Seattle” (because I do, even though I’m living that Sacramento life). I’ve only seen a handful of episodes of the X-Files, but their song “Dana Katherine Scully” really resonates with me, and the video makes me laugh. “The truth is out there, but so am I.” Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FShqXAqGv4

Rampant Consumerism

I recently discovered the magic of fiber optic fabric. I ordered some to make something (to be determined based on my sewing skills, I suppose) to wear at Rollercon. I also bought a fiber optic bow tie from an Etsy shop and it is amazing. These may or may not end up in the same outfit.

Making Things and Doing Stuff

Roller Derby Life

Speaking of Rollercon, that’s been occupying a big part of my mental space this week. In part from excitement and in part because I got into a big fight with my dad last weekend and I need the emotional distraction. I’ve been thinking about costumes and outfits, and also figuring out my food game. You’re not allowed to cook in the hotel and there are no microwaves, so you have to get creative. My first Rollercon, I brought a tiny crock pot and slow cooked meals every day. This year, on the advice of Bob Uckerlele, I’m bringing a sous vide immersion cooker and some vacuum-sealed meals. My sister generously bought me an immersion cooker for Christmas, but I haven’t found the courage yet to test it. I bagged up some leftovers this week and froze them, so I’ll be doing a test run soon. I’m hoping this strategy keeps me well nourished during Rollercon.

Tomorrow (Saturday, the 22nd) we have a home derby game at the Rink. Tickets are still available online. I’ll be playing with our C team, Kodiak Attack. Even though I promoted to the B team this year, I’ve played basically every C game thanks to a dearth of players. I’m happy for the play time but I’m also looking forward to some of our newer skaters being ready to fill out that roster. Because I’m forever pushing myself, I tried out for our “Travel B” (league top 30/combined charter + B) team. I have no idea if I’m at that level or not but I’m hoping that by moving up a practice level, it will force me to get better. It’s always a shock to go from feeling pretty good to being the worst player at practice. But, of course, that’s how you get better.

I started selling t-shirts with my face on them, mostly for my own amusement but also to earn a little money for me and world’s best derby photographer Bone Appétit to pay for tournament travel. Some of our newer skaters have already joined my fan club. Honestly, I’m honored that anyone wants to wear my surly visage. I hope to stay worthy of having people in my fan club.

Number 1 fans, featuring Cocky and Honey

Spanish

In my Spanish lesson yesterday (which is more just hanging out and talking about things at this point, but that is good), my teacher, Oliva, and I were discussing fluency and what it feels like, more in the context of us learning difficult languages. In that discussion, she said she considers me to be fluent in Spanish! I have been saying for a while that I’m working toward fluency, but it is amazing to get that validation. Obviously, I’m not perfect at Spanish but I am fully operational. Exciting!

Kitchen Witchery

I made a few tasty foods this week, but nothing too exciting. Because everyone likes food photos (or does everyone hate food photos? I can’t keep it straight), here’s some foods of the week, presented at various odd angles:

  • white choclate cake

The cake is the white chocolate cupcakes recipe from The Baking Bible. I made one cake instead of a bunch of tiny ones because of laziness. It’s currently in the freezer. I wanted to bake it to finish using all the leftover egg whites I had from making ice cream last week, but also wasn’t prepared to frost and eat a whole cake. I also made a lentil shepherd’s pie, which is not really a summer food, but is what I wanted. I used some leftover buns I made (recipe from The Bread Lover’s Bread Machine Cookbook) and leftover bleu cheese sauce to make some chicken burgers, which ended up being a really good choice.

Finally, here’s Viola for your nerves.

Viola in repose
the world around us

Fight with your Dollars: Alabama Abortion Ban Edition

Posted on by Lindsey

This week, the Alabama State Senate voted for a complete abortion ban that makes no exceptions for rape or incest. The law would penalize women who get abortions and completely ignore men who contributed to the pregnancy. The state’s governor signed it into law yesterday.

I am outraged. I spent much of the last week fretting about what I can do to stop this assault on our rights. I saw this Guardian article naming and shaming all the male state senators who voted to ban abortion. I wondered what we could do.

If this century’s late-stage capitalism has taught me anything, it’s that the only thing the oppressor responds to is threats to its capital. That is why I’ve compiled this list of businesses interests of the Alabama senators who voted to ban and criminalize abortion in their state. It’s not enough to “boycott Alabama”—it’s also too much. Regular people live there, people who want access to reproductive care, and they need our monetary support. However, we should do everything we can to not give money to people who vote to deny us rights. It’s obvious to me that these men don’t consider us to be people. There’s no amount of pleading and sharing experiences that will get through to them. We have to demonstrate that their actions have consequences that will cost them money.

This post provides a list of businesses first then more detail about who is associated with what and links to the places where I found this information.

Disclaimer: I am just a regular person with a strong sense of moral outrage and very good research skills (thanks, master’s degree in library and information science). I am providing this information as a resource. I cannot tell you what to do with it. I do not encourage anyone to harass these individuals or their families.

List of Businesses to Avoid

I compiled this list based on research of public information that is online. I am certain it’s not comprehensive, but it is a strong starting point for people looking to grab back. I have included businesses that these senators own and businesses for which they occupy senior management positions. I have also included businesses belonging to top donors to the senator’s campaigns. Only businesses related to senators who voted to ban abortion are included. If you have a tip or something to add, please leave a comment and I will update the list.

If you stop doing business with one of these companies, I highly recommend calling or writing a letter to them explaining exactly why you are no longer a customer. They should know why they are losing your business.

Here is the list of companies to boycott:

List of Individual Senators

I researched each senator to find out what they own. Many state on their own websites that they own businesses. I made frequent use of the Alabama Secretary of State’s Business Entity Record search, LinkedIn, Ballotpedia, and Votesmart.org.

I thought I was cynical about politics before I started this research. I had no idea how much worse that could get. One of these senators owns a company that makes ultrasound equipment. The same senator also proposed a bill requiring women to get transvaginal ultrasounds before getting an abortion. I’m learning that there is no deep strategy here. These people are out to make money and that’s it.

Andrew Jones (R), Senate District 10

Andrew Jones says on his website that he is the founder of Deep South Coffee Factory, a “craft coffee roasting company.” He is also a shareholder of Paul Jennings Farms, according to votesmart.org.

Arthur Orr (R), Senate District 3

Arthur Orr is the Executive Vice President/Chief Administration Officer of a company called Cook’s Pest Control, where his responsibilities include “oversight of all of the company’s administrative duties including the areas of Accounting, Human Resources, Property, Marketing and Advertising, as well as handling all legal matters.” This company operates in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Their website lists, along with a mission, their “position:” “Cook’s has been dedicated to God, and we are entrusted to operate it for His honor and glory. We are committed to principals [sic] of honesty and integrity.” Yikes.

Ballotpedia lists Orr’s top campaign contributors in 2014 (although note that none of these are especially large contributions, relatively speaking):

  • Alabama Power Co: Utility company
  • Alabama Bankers Association: Professional organization
  • Cosby Co: Seems to be some kind of lobbying group or PR firm for politicians.
  • Medical Association of the State of Alabama: Professional organization
  • Alabama Trucking Association: Professional organization

As far as I can tell, these are professional organizations and a utility company (Alabama Power Co). Frankly, I do not know how one would go about boycotting these organizations. In fact, nearly all of these senators had professional organizations among their top donors. This is an example of how these people are deeply entrenched in our institutions. If you are a member of one of these organizations, I recommend looking into who decides how to spend your funds and how you can influence that.

Cam Ward (R) Senate District 14

Cam Ward, according to his personal website, seems to have worked in the public sector for his whole career. In 2014, his top campaign donors were:

  • Alabama Power Co: Utility company
  • Alabama Nursing Home Association: Professional organization
  • Boatright Companies: This company has an empty website, but this AL.com article explains that Boatright Companies includes Boatright Vegetation Management, Service Industrial Rail Car, Service Rail Group, Boatright Rail Gear, and Boatright Safety Solutions.
  • Alabama Bankers Association: Professional organization
  • CAN PAC: I cannot find anything useful about this PAC because its name makes for confusing search results.

Ward has a company called House Republican Caucus, LLC registered in his name. The nature of the business is “any lawful activity,” so it’s anyone’s guess what they really do. This is extra puzzling to me because Ward is a state senator, not a state representative. 

Chris Elliott (R), Senate District 32

Chris Elliott, according to his own LinkedIn page is a partner at Elliott Development LLC, President of the Elliott Companies (which includes Service Master Restore, Elliott Builders, and Elliott Catastrophe) and Vice President of Elliott Builders. The Elliott Companies, according to their website, “provide multidisciplinary construction and development services to clients throughout Florida, Alabama and Mississippi.”

  • Elliott Development: “owns and manages professional office spaces primarily in fast growing Baldwin County, Alabama”
  • Service Master Restore: a company that “provides guidance and expertise in disaster restoration” for residential and commercial customers.
  • Elliott Builders: a company for building custom homes
  • Elliott Catastrophe: This sounds similar to the Service Master Restore company. There is a focus on restoring property amid damage, but more information about how they work with insurance companies.

Clay Scofield (R), Senate District 9

Clay Scofield does not have much of an internet presence. As far as I can tell, he is not associated with any businesses.

Ballotpedia lists the following as Scofield’s top campaign donors in 2014:

  • New Alabama Leadership Committee: This is a political committee or political action committee (PAC). The only information I have found about it is in articles like this one, which asks whether PACs are financially up to no good.
  • Alabama Power Co: Utility company
  • Alabama Bankers Association: Professional organization
  • Alabama Trucking Association: Professional organization
  • Alabama Rural Electric Association: A co-op of electric distributors

Clyde Chambliss (R), Senate District 30

Clyde Chambliss, according to his LinkedIn profile, spent 20 years as the “Principle Engineer” at Chambliss Engineering, LLC, “a civil engineering firm providing services to water and sewer systems, local governments, and real estate developers in Alabama.” I don’t know for certain if Clyde Chambliss owns the company. It was incorporated by Tara Chambliss, according to the state’s Business Entity Records search. Based on the header image on Tara’s twitter (which I am NOT linking because I am not trying to encourage DDOSing or abuse), it is reasonable to assume that she and Clyde are related somehow.  

One of Chambliss’ top campaign donors in 2014, according to Ballotpedia, was Joe and Geraldine Chambliss. These two individuals donated $20,000 to the campaign. My best guess is that these are Clyde’s parents, but again, I am not sure. Joe Chambliss is a Partner at Gulf South Culinary Marketing.

Dan Roberts (R), Senate District 15

Dan Roberts is, according to votesmart.org, a board member of Briarwood Christian School. Probably anyone sending their children to Christian school is okay with their legislators banning abortion, but if not, you know what to do. In fact, every organization that Roberts is involved with, perhaps, the exception of the Alabama Policy Institute, is explicitly religious.

David Sessions (R), Senate District 35

David Sessions is, according to votesmart.org, the president of Grand Bay Water Works (a waste management company) and Producers Gin Company (a farming company).

Del Marsh (R), Senate District 12

Del Marsh’s campaign page says he is a “small businessman” who owns “an Oxford, Alabama-based engineering services and aircraft part repair company that employs roughly 150 people in the Calhoun County area.” That company appears to be Aerospace Coatings International, however, it is “privately held” according to Bloomberg and other business sites, so I can’t say with total certainty that Marsh is the owner. This article states that Marsh sold the company to the Wencor Group, so Marsh may no longer have any stake in ACI. The Alabama Secretary of State Business Entity Record search shows registered agent changes in 2015 and 2017.

Donnie Chesteen (R), Senate District 29

Donnie Chesteen used to teach P.E. and coach football. Boycott football, I guess.

Garlan Gudger (R), Senate District 4

Garlan Gudger owns Southern Accents Architectural Antiques, a company his dad started. He also owns Gudger Properties.

Gerald Allen (R), Senate District 21

Gerald Allen owns a business called Cashco Marketing, according to votesmart.org. I cannot find much about the company, but this 2002 news article alleges that Allen was withholding grant money from schools that refused to do business with the company.

Greg Albritton (R), Senate District 22

Greg Albritton seems to not have any business interests. His votesmart.org profile shows a lot of military and public-sector experience (boycott the military?). One of Albritton’s top donors in 2014 was a company simply called “Speed.” There are, predictably, a lot of companies with “speed” in the name on the Alabama Business Entity Records database, but there is one simply called Speed, LLC. I cannot find out what this company is, but the address associated with the record seems to be a beach house. I do not know if this is the same company that donated to Albritton.

Greg Reed (R), Senate District 5

Greg Reed is the current vice president of a company called Preferred Medical Systems, which produces ultrasound equipment. Here’s a 2012 article from Rewire News discussing the apparent conflict of interest of introducing bills mandating transvaginal ultrasounds while having a company that sells ultrasound machines.

Jabo Waggoner (R), Senate District 16

Jabo Waggoner owns a real estate investment company called Birmingham Business Consultants, LLC. Votesmart.org says Waggoner is also the Vice President of Healthsouth Corporation, but Healthsouth has since been acquired by Encompass Health. Based on this description of the rebranding, I would assume that Waggoner is still involved in and profits from the business, but I do not know for certain.

Jack Williams (R), Senate District 34

Jack Williams owns Twin Oaks Nursery, now merged with Tom Dodd Nurseries (per the Alabama Business Entity Records database). I do not know what role, if any, Williams currently has in the merged company, but votesmart.org states Williams is a “former owner” of Tom Dodd Nurseries. Williams is also listed as owning the JBarW Cattle Farm, but I cannot find any records of this farm.

Jim McClendon (R), Senate District 11

Jim McClendon has a private optometry practice. I’m not able to discover if he owns his own optometry business.

One of his top 2014 campaign donors was Swatek Azbell Howe & Ross, which donated $20,000 to the campaign. This is a group of lobbyists.

Larry Stutts (R), Senate District 6

Larry Stutts is a doctor and, according to his own website, opened Colbert OB-GYN in Sheffield, Alabama. One of Stutt’s top donors in 2014 was Anesthesia Consultants Medical Group, which donated $10,000 to the campaign.

Randy Price (R), Senate District 13

Randy Price’s website says he is a small business owner. He runs a “family farm” and “he started a custom homebuilding business and commercial trucking company.” Based on what I found in the Business Entity Records database, I believe the housing company is RLP Homes, LLC. There is also a Randy Price listed as the incorporator for R. Price Company, Inc. and Ontime Solutions, LLC. I cannot say for certain if this is the same Randy Price as the senator, but these may be the businesses he mentions in his profile.

Sam Givhan (R), Senate District 7

Sam Givhan says on his website that he practices real estate and business law. He practices with and, according to votesmart.org, is a shareholder of Wilmer & Lee: A Professional Association. Votesmart.org also says Givhan is the owner of Houston Land Company and SHG Development.

Shay Shelnutt (R), Senate District 17

Shay Shelnutt has been a realtor and a math teacher. He was also his own top donor for the 2014 campaign.

Steve Livingston (R), Senate District 8

Steve Livingston owns, per votesmart.org, two companies: The Fuel Center, Inc. and Discus Oil Company.

Tim Melson (R), Senate District 1

Tim Melson owns a Sheffield, Alabama company called Shoals Medical Trials, Inc., which seems to be dedicated to running clinical trials.

Tom Butler (R), Senate District 2

Tom Butler is a registered pharmacist and works for Rite Aid Pharmacy, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Will Barfoot (R), Senate District 25

Will Barfoot is the owner of the law firm Barfoot & Schoettker.

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the world around us

Suddenly, It’s 2019

Posted on by Lindsey
A collage of images representing my mood for the year

When I started thinking about my goals for 2019, I was initially at a loss. I did a lot in 2018 and feel good about it. I don’t necessarily need to do anything differently. However, after letting my thoughts percolate for a while, I realized that, even if I want to continue making progress on existing projects, I still have goals for 2019. I also have some things that are not necessarily goals, but things I want to do this year.

Self-Sufficiency and Resourcefulness
Something I’ve started thinking about is how to make better use of what I have and not be wasteful—to be a citizen and not a consumer. This is driven by wanting to leave a smaller impact on the environment and by the belief that we are what we do, not what we consume. I have been taking small steps to be more resourceful and conscientious, but this year I want to make a point of behaving responsibly.

In 2018, I learned how to roast a whole chicken and make broth from its carcass, I started sewing again, and I’ve gotten a lot better at knitting. In the coming year, I want to:

  • Knit myself a pair of socks and an item of clothing. I knit my first pair of socks this year, but I didn’t keep them for myself.
  • Sew a cool item of clothing for myself.
  • Consume less, in a broad sense. I want to spend less time on social media (especially facebook), and be less wasteful by not letting food go to waste and by mending clothes. I’ve been inspired by visible mending and the concept of repairing clothing in a way that makes it more beautiful. I also plan to consume less meat and eat more plant-based foods, and eat less sugar.
  • Be informed. Something I was really proud of in 2018 was writing a voter guide and encouraging friends to vote. This year, I want to keep reading (news and books) and stay as engaged as I can without wearing myself out.
  • Cook from scratch using local ingredients as much as is possible and reasonable for me. I’ve really enjoyed going to the farmers market with friends in the last few weeks and making food out of the things I’ve found there.
  • Buy from local or small, woman-owned business, if I do buy things. I want to buy fewer things this year. I don’t really need anything.

Athleticism
I have embraced athlete life. This year, I want to get stronger and better at my sports and take better care of my body (not that I did a shabby job last year!). My goals are to:

  • Deadlift 405 pounds. My current personal record is 380.
  • Compete in weightlifting and mas wrestling. I tied for second place in a competition I did last fall. I’d love to get a first place medal!
  • Keep playing roller derby and defend our title of home team champions!
  • Stretch regularly. Seriously, I need to make this a daily thing or I’m going to be miserable.

Cool Stuff and Hobbies
I’m not really sure how to categorize everything else I want to do this year. But all of it’s cool to me, so let’s call it cool stuff.

  • Announce at least two roller derby tournaments, including a WFTDA Cup or post-season tournament (and visit a new place while doing it, hopefully).
  • Teach derby announcing again. I enjoyed the class we put on, but I think I can improve, plus I know there are more people who want to learn.
  • Take a trip to a national park with my husband.
  • Go kayaking.
  • Keep studying Icelandic and maybe start reading Harry Potter in Icelandic.
  • Keep studying Spanish and take the C1 exam. I wanted to take the test last year, but did not get the opportunity to do so. I’ve realized that I want to do it just to prove to myself I can so, in some ways, it’s hard to muster a sense of urgency for it.
  • Read at least 52 books and read more of the books I’ve already bought! I tend to get distracted by new books instead of the books I already have (insert meme of distracted boyfriend looking towards new books). One goal this year is to read through my backlog.
  • Try cooking new recipes.
  • Improve my baking skills and techniques. I had fun learning how to braid a loaf of bread and I want to master more skills like this.

So, that’s it. Just a few simple goals for 2019! This is a lot of things, but the year is long and it’s possible to get quite a lot done when you’re not exhausted (thanks, modern technology, for my cpap) and when you can tear yourself away from the internet.

books

2018: The 11th Annual Year in Books

Posted on by Lindsey

It feels anti-climactic to post the books of the year after being able to post the books of the decade at the beginning of 2018. But, decades consist of years. We’re into the second decade of book tracking. Here’s to many more!

This year I read 58 books, which is quite close to last year’s total of 62, and more than my annual average (52). Other vital reading stats:

  •  Page count: 22,154, based on what LibraryThing lists. I am sure I didn’t exactly read this many pages, once you count appendices and notes, but it’s the best number I have.
  • Library use: 19 library books (mostly ebooks), 2 borrowed from friends. This year I read more books that I owned. I can’t say if this is because I was working on the backlog or buying more books. We may never know.
  • Female/male authors: 49 by female authors, 9 by male authors. When it’s right, it’s right.
  • Digital and analog: 40 digital, 18 paper.
  • Fiction and non-fiction: 39 fiction, 19 nonfiction.
  • Books in other languages: 4 books in Spanish. I really meant to read more Spanish books this year. I started out strong, but I got bogged down later in the year with exhaustion. I’ve since been diagnosed with sleep apnea and obtained a cpap. I’m hoping next year it will be easier to focus.
  • Favorites: This question always stumps be a little because I love everything I read. The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty was a definite favorite, so was Cat Valente’s Space Opera. I enjoyed Kate Elliot’s women-focused stories in the Jaran series and Spiritwalker Trilogy (which I’m still reading). All the books I got from Powell’s Indiespensible were stunning and made me reflect. This includes Red Clocks, There There, and The Mars Room. As for non-fiction, I think the books that have most stayed with me are Prairie Fires, which I did not expect to like that much, but the history involved was fascinating, and Bodies Out of Bounds. Rage Becomes Her and Text Me When You Get Home both distilled a mood around being a woman and getting along in this world.

And now for the list!

Date FinishedTitleAuthor
1/6The City of BrassS. A. Chakraborty
1/10Provenance Ann Leckie
1/18The Girl in the TowerKatherine Arden
1/24Ghost TalkersMary Robinette Kowal
1/29The Ruin of AngelesMax Gladstone
2/4Freedom Is a Constant Struggle Angela Davis
2/7The Will to BattleAda Palmer
2/8Caramba!Nina Marie Martinez
2/8The Jewel and Her LapidaryFran Wilde
2/11CrosstalkConnie Willis
2/15How We Get Free: Black Feminism and the Combahee River CollectiveKeeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
2/25The Unwomanly Face of WarSvetlana Alexievich
3/1Como agua para chocolateLaura Esquivel
3/4A Wrinkle in Time Madeleine L’Engle
3/7Red Clocks Leni Zumas
3/8EverfairNisi Shawl
3/13The Dorito Effect: The Surprising New Truth about Food and FlavorMark Schatzker
3/17Karen MemoryElizabeth Bear
4/6HildNicola Griffith
4/13Republic of ThievesScott Lynch
4/18Space OperaCatherynne Valente
4/24Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American CityMatthew Desmond
5/4La Maravillosa Historia de EspañolFrancisco Moreno Fernández
5/4The Dream-Quest of Vellit Boe Kij Johnson
5/9Invisible: How Young Women with Serious Health Issues Navigate Work, Relationships, and the Pressure to Seem Just FineMichele Lent Hirsch
5/17JaranKate Elliott
5/20US Politics in an Age of Uncertainty Lance Selfa
5/31Doing Harm: the Truth About How Bad Medicine and Lazy Science Leave Women Dismissed, Misdiagnosed, and SickMaya Dusenbery
6/1An Earthly CrownKate Elliott
6/7His Conquering SwordKate Elliott
6/7Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape CultureRoxane Gay
6/8Learning Together: Children and Adults in a School CommunityBarbara Rogoff, Carolyn Goodman Turkanis, Leslee Bartlett
6/21The Law of Becoming Kate Elliott
6/29Prarie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls WilderCaroline Fraser
7/6There ThereTommy Orange
7/12Tierra de BrumasCristina López Barrio
7/18The Calculating Stars Mary Robinette Kowal
7/22The Invisible Library Genevieve Cogman
7/29The Masked CityGenevieve Cogman
8/5The Mere WifeMaria Dahvana Headley
8/15The Burning PageGenevieve Cogman
9/16The Fated SkyMary Robinette Kowal
9/16Bodies Out of Bounds: Fatness and TransgressionJana Evans Braziel, Kathleen LeBesco
9/24A Study in HonorClaire O’Dell
9/30The PowerNaomi Alderman
10/10The Lost plotGenevieve Cogman
10/16The View From Flyover Country: Dispatches from the Forgotten AmericaSarah Kendzior
10/26BorneJeff Vandermeer
10/26[Un]framing the “Bad Woman”: Sor Juana, Malinche, Coyolxauhqui, and Other Rebels with a CauseAlicia Gaspar de Alba
10/31Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap FashionElizabeth Cline
11/7The BeesLaline Paul
11/12The All New Don’t Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the DebateGeorge Lakoff
11/20Rage Becomes HerSoraya Chemaly
11/30Trail of Lightning Rebecca Roanhorse
12/15Text Me When You Get Home Kayleen Schaeffer
12/24Cold MagicKate Elliott
12/27The Mars Room: A NovelRachel Kushner
12/29Cold FireKate Elliott