Flying Dandy

1. Take Me To Church : Hozier

2. Ex's & Oh's : Elle King

3. Workin' Woman Blues : Valerie June

4. Like A Hobo : Charlie Winston

5. Over My Head : Asaf Avidan

6. I'm Torn Up : St. Paul & The Broken Bones

7. Birmingham : Shovels & Rope

8. S. O. B. : Nathaniel Ratcliffe & The Night Sweats

9. How You Like Me Now : The Heavy

10. Red Golden : Pimps Of Joytime

11. José : Anis

12. Jolie Coquine : Caravan Palace

13. One Day : Paulo Nutini

The Kickassery of YA

The paths I wear into library carpeting more often than not lead to the children's and young adult sections. The books I find there are populated by heroes and heroines whose courage and wisdom often eclipse my own and I like that. That and they are entertaining as all get out. I like that too. These are the ones that have stood out to me lately...

It's rare to find a young female protagonist who is so unabashedly confident and smart. And so completely her own person. In addition to creating a delightful character, Alan Bradley published the first of his Flavia De Luce mysteries at the age of 69 and for that I love him all the more.  

Despite losing all cover contests, Walk Two Moons is wonderful. Its touching evocation of love among three different generations reduced me to a puddle of tears by the end of the book.

A coming of age story and gay romance that transcends sexual orientation, Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda (the title's probably the weakest part of the book) is a valuable addition to the sex positive reading material that exists in the world. 

Hunger Games meets Ender's Game, Red Rising is about a space chase and revolution among the astroids. Irresistible, even if it's not wholly original.  

Why did the fan who drew this rendition of the Lunar Chronicles team choose to put them all in their underwear? Dunno. I do know that this futuristic retelling of classic fairytales is surprisingly awesome and addicting. 

I'm A Late (Podcast) Bloomer

Everyone and their mother has been hip to the trick of listening to podcasts while traveling for ages now it seems. I, however, am new to the genius of educating myself while being propelled through space by powers that are not my own... 

My favorites? 

Ones I like, but can't keep up with due to the volume of episodes they produce? 

Being Mortal

With folks living longer than ever before, we are all facing a protracted bout of old age. In the United States, we spend more time clinging hopelessly to youth than we do figuring out how to support the elderly in having the quality of life they both deserve and desire. 

Atul Gawande's provocative and thoughtful new book, Being Mortal, asks us to shift our focus from warehousing our parents in nursing homes to meaningfully promoting their health and well being late into life. 

When I finished reading this book, I wanted to force it upon my entire family. With my parents pushing seventy, I am aware of their mortality and health in ways I haven't been before. I want my brothers and I to have prophylactic and creative conversations with our parents about the potentially difficult decisions ahead before we get to those crossroads, while they are both sound of mind and body. 

Dr. Gawande puts forward practical advice and information in his book that I really value. He stresses the importance of foot checks and foot care in preventing falls. He frames fracturing a hip as the gateway drug to poor health among the elderly. He touts geriatricians as the unsung heroes of the medical world. His overarching message, however, is both intuitive and familiar: 

Those who thrive in old age have been able to retain meaning, connection, and love in their lives. 

The Insanity That Is Game Of Thrones

My first, second, third, fourth and fifth exposures to Game of Thrones had me convinced it was a misogynist's tale of rape and boobies. I wanted nothing to do with it, but the zealotry of its followers kept me coming back to give it another go.

Then I sprained my knee on a course in India, a course riddled with Game of Thrones fanatics, and ended up on bedrest in Ranikhet for two weeks. Thanks to the wisdom, generosity and foresight of a friend, the branch was stocked with a complete set of the series. 

So I fell under the spell of the Song of Fire and Ice the same way I fell under the spell of Harry Potter, by accident not design.

And I fell HARD.

The series is around 1,770,000 words so far and there are two more books in the works. Legions of people around the world are praying that the author, George R. R. Martin, doesn't croak before he finishes writing the story.

What makes these books so compelling? 

It's astounding how fully the author realizes the world of this epic saga. It's saying something that the narrative has proven to be a coherent whole so far despite the massive scale of this literary undertaking. George R. R. Martin doesn't appear to leave loose ends, consistently coming back to elaborate on seemingly minor details thousands of pages later. 

The series is also really fun to read in community. When I returned to the field, everyone was somewhere in the story and eager to discuss clues and theories. It felt like we were attempting to unravel a giant and complex mystery together, a mystery that required all hands on deck to solve.

So you see, as a team player, I have to weigh in...

Having finished what's currently published, here are some of my hunches, hopes and questions:

• Theory numero uno is that Jon Snow is the son of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen, making his story a song of fire and ice.
• I want to know what happened to all the missing bachelor uncles (Gerion Lannister, Benjen Stark, and I feel like there is someone else I am forgetting). 
• What's the deal with the White Walkers? What's their end game? I like Jon's impulse to better understand them. 
• Is Tyrion's Tysha the Sailor's Wife in Braavos? In any case, I want Tyrion and Tysha to meet up again.
• I want Stoneheart to deal with Petyr Baelish.
• Jaime and Brienne's romantic duel is going to end badly, with full servings of death, redemption, love, and sacrifice. I don't know who is going to die, but I suspect Jaime. 
• How is Jon Snow going to not fully die? Because he is definitely not dead dead.
• Lightbringer. How? Where? What? When? Is Lightbringer going to be born during Jaime and Brienne's duel?
• I can't wait for Arya to reunite with any of her family members. 
• Theon. I am so tired of Theon. What's his value in all of this? What's the larger role he has to play?
• And I am over Cersei's incompetent, hellbitch ways. And I don't think walking naked across King's Landing makes up for the waste of time and energy that are her and her exploits.
• A fun game to play is who would you put on Daenerys' queensguard and small council. That said, I have forgotten too many names to play this game well. 
• Who will ride Viserion and Rhaegal?

There's a lot to ponder and with every day that passes since I finished the last book, I am loosing my grasp on the storyline. The television series, while visually sumptuous and well cast on the whole (Peter Dinklage), isn't helping as it went off the rails without George R.R.'s guidance in Season 5. 

What's a fan to do? Trawl the internet for crumbs and wait. 

Awkwafina's A Genius

Flights of Fancy

I continue to be awed by those among us who have the courage to identify and express themselves as artists. 

I've been thinking a lot lately about the definition of art. Mary Oliver says that attention and feeling together yield the beginnings of devotion. Being an artist then, by my definition, is devoting yourself to creating something of value. 

Given that we measure the health of an ecosystem by its levels of biodiversity and interconnection, it follows that we cultivate community resiliency when we turn towards each other with love rather than fear and seek to bring forth the artistry within ourselves and others. 

A quote from the Gnostic Gospels that I have always loved is when Jesus says, "If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you." 

If we take that to be true, coming into the full expression of ourselves as artists is both service and salvation on every level, from the micro to the macro.