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Mental Illness Advocacy Reading Challenge for 2015

 

Mental Illness Advocacy Reading Challenge (hosted by: Opinions of a Wolf)

This is an ongoing challenge that I join every year. Our host not only presents us with a great challenge, but he moderates a dynamic list of possible reads as well.




"Many reading challenges already exist in the book blogging community to address racism, sexism, and homophobia, but I could not find any to address the stigma faced by those suffering from mental illness.  . . .  I hope reading and reviewing books featuring characters struggling to deal with mental illness, whether their own or another person’s, will help remove the stigma faced on a daily basis by those with a mental illness."

The three challenge levels are: 

Acquainted (4 books) Aware (8 books) Advocate (12 books)

I am aiming for the Acquainted level again this year, at 4 books.

1.

BOOK REVIEWS. Sort Of.

This is my second post for THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN Book Challenge for 2012. The first can be found here with my reviews of 6 of the 9 books in the challenge. 

As I posted before, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen started as a graphic novel by Alan Moore featuring various classic book characters, and the movie followed in 2003. Once again this challenge comes to us courtesy of Booking in Heels.

I only managed one more book in the challenge. That leaves two unread.
I still plan to read the last two. I just didn't complete this challenge before the end of 2012.

King Solomon's Mines - H. Rider Haggard

I confess, I really wanted to like this one. The writing reminds me a bit of Edgar Rice Burroughs, and I'm sorry to say that I'm not a Burroughs fan. I realize that it was written in a different time, with diferent notions of correctness and acceptability. But . . .

Allan Quartermain may be Indiana Jones' predecessor, but I think Indy benefited greatly from his partnership with Harrison Ford and Steven Spielberg.

~  ~  ~

 

The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde   

The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells (kind of)

BOOK REVIEWS. Sort Of.

Brought to us by Booking in Heels, THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN Book Challenge for 2012 pushed me in directions I don't usually choose. When left to my own devices, for pleasure I tend to head straight for the mysteries. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen started as a graphic novel by Alan Moore (of Watchmen fame) featuring various classic book characters with the movie following in 2003. 

Here is my first set of reviews, 6 of the 9 books in the challenge.

Dracula by Bram Stoker  

Some of the reviews for this on Amazon.com are absolutely hilarious, or sad, depending on your point of view. I'll leave you to discover them for yourself, but here is an excerpt from: A. Barry "THE reviewer" (Elk Grove, CA) "What a terrible read. I couldn't stand it for long, so I started skimming through the thing. Turns out the vampire in this book is an old guy, and he lives in a castle! What?! Any vampire fan knows that vampires roam the streets of upper middle class suburbia and high schools. Whoever this Bram Stoker guy is, it's quite clear that he doesn't know a thing on vampires, and his attempt to cash in on the vampire craze is indeed a failure."

20,000 Leagues Under The Sea - Jules Verne    

Rediscovering an old friend is always a great way to pass the time. I think I was only twelve or thirteen when I last took a trip on the Nautilus with Captain Nemo. Beats the Love Boat hands down!

 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain (ebook)   

I must confess to once having a crush, not on Tom, but on his life. As a bookish tomboy I loved the idea of adventure. As an adult, slowed by time and circumstances, I still love the idea of adventure. But the powerful social commentary looms much larger than it did when I was a naive teen.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson (ebook)    

This book never fails to make me think deep thoughts about heavy subjects. You know, our true natures, the fragments of our psyches, scary green men. Sorry, I just watched Marvel's The Avengers. (loved it)

Actually, Dr. Banner and his friend do relate to this story but I'm sorry, this is not the place for such deep thoughts.

The Phantom of the Opera - Gaston Leroux    

I was expecting beautiful music but there wasn't a note to be heard. As you can see, books do occasionally have their drawbacks but I still prefer the book to the movie. 

The Final Problem from The Complete Sherlock Holmes 

by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (ebook)

A perennial favorite of mine is Sherlock Holmes. This particular short story by Dr. Watson unites Holmes, Moriarty, and the Reichenbach Falls. 

Reading this story again has gotten me to thinking. Have you noticed how fast paced today's mysteries are? We are so used to crimes being solved with cell phones, computers, fast cars, and guns, that it seems so strange when our sleuths are writing letters and walking or riding in carriages.

                                          Sorry, got side tracked again.

Everything Old is New Again

I ran across some fun poetry that puts a modern twist on an old poetry form, the Cento.

Cento hails from the Latin word for 'patchwork,' and has been around since at least the 4th century. It is basically a poem made up of lines from poems by other poets. Each line must be taken from a different poem. and when the lines are put together, they must make sense. The poem doesn’t have to rhyme, but rhyming adds a nice touch. And always give credit to the poets you use.

One of my professors insisted we write these as a way of proving that we were familiar with a broad array of poetry. At first I hated it but it became a fun challenge and as an added benefit I found myself immersed in poetry I might have otherwise overlooked. (I'm sure that was entirely unintentional)

Here is a great example by Simone Muench called:

 Wolf Cento  

Very quick. Very intense, like a wolf at a live heart, the sun breaks down.  What is important is to avoid the time allotted for disavowels as the livid wound  leaves a trace      leaves an abscess  takes its contraction for those clouds that dip thunder & vanish like rose leaves in closed jars. Age approaches, slowly. But it cannot  crystal bone into thin air. The small hours open their wounds for me.  This is a woman’s confession:  I keep this wolf because the wilderness gave it to me.

Sources: [Anne Sexton, Dylan Thomas,  Larry Levis, Ingeborg Bachmann,

 Octavio Paz,  Henri Michaux, Agnes Nemes Nagy, Joyce Mansour,

 William Burroughs, Meret Oppenheim, Mary Low, Adrienne Rich, Carl Sandburg]

The twist   is "Book spine poetry."

It has been around for a few years and if you google it you can find tons of examples by a wide range of people: students, teachers, children, adults. It's as easy as you want to make it.
 

This one is by Travis at 100 Scope Notes.


Look Who's There!
The Watcher
What Do You See?
More
People





Lorne Daniel at Writing:Place created his book spine poetry from poetry books.


What Goes On
Here and Now
A Long Continual Argument
The Poet in the World
Writing Down the Bones
Refusing Heaven

 Many others have tried their hand at book spine poetry here, here, here, here, 

I made my own book spine poem, but technical difficulties have kept me from uploading the picture. (lost cabely thing)

It was fun playing with the books in my own library to create a poem. I think kids would really enjoy this and I can see it as a way to jump start creativity in a dry spell.

I'll admit though, it would have been more fun if I had someone to clean up the mess I made.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep
Reading Lolita in Tehran

A Passionate Apprentice
Wicked
Insecure At Last

East Wind Melts the Ice

[Sources: Philip K. Dick, Azar Nafisi,

 Virginia Woolf, Gregory Maguire, Eve Ensler, Liza Dalby]

How to:

 

Create a Cento

1). Take the time to look through a few poetry books. Enjoy the poems.
2). Find a line you especially like, and make that the first line of your patchwork poem. Write the poet’s last name in parentheses at the end of the line.
3). Repeat #2. Choose your lines carefully—your poem must make sense.

Some things to consider: 
Try to make your poem rhyme. 
Make sure the beats sound right. 
Tenses should agree.  
Person should agree. In other words, pick lines that have all been written in either first or third person. 

4). And remember, at the end, list each poet’s full name. Include the name of the poem in quotes.

Create a Book Spine Cento
1). Find a place with plenty of books: a library, home collection, or even a book store (if they'll let you).
2). Find titles that strike you and write them down – you can refer back to them later.
3). Arrange and rearrange them (in your head or on paper).
4). The Library card catalog can help you find titles with specific words or phrases that fit.

POETRY: Read More, Blog More #7

After last month's mess up where I managed to put up the posts for both that month and this month as well as botch the links, I was left wondering what I could possibly do this month to top that technical sleight of hand.

Some questions should just not be asked.

Anyway, school is finally out for the summer and I've been recouping in my garden. It's amazing how frustrations and anxieties flake off into the dirt as compost and fertilize new life. It doesn't make anything easier really, but it sure does feel good.

Most mornings are spent working in the soil, weeding and watering, and then topped off with tea, breakfast, and a good book in the garden. All the while I'm surrounded by singing birds, dancing butterflies, buzzing bees, wonderful scents - and beauty.

I also mentioned last month that I've started writing daily Haiku. And as it just so happens, most of those little gems are about my garden.

Quelle Surprise!

I don't practice perfectly. Occasionally I miss a day or two and go back to fill in. And on other days I find myself writing several. But those days I miss just feel wrong; I can tell that there is something missing. 

Because I take a few minutes every day to write (often in the garden), I find myself paying closer attention to the things around me. I have cultivated a deeper connection with, not only my garden, but all of its varied inhabitants and visitors, and of course, myself. 

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm still dealing with all the same issues as I was before. The world itself hasn't changed - but I have. 

I'm no Basho; not even close. But the benefits of "living a haiku life" are palpable. I have even expanded my initial goals, but that's for another time.

Here are a couple of my efforts:

brightly colored pot 

now a home for garden frogs
broken no more

no cherry blossoms
just swaying fields of orange
California spring

Haiku copyright © J.F. Spillane.

POETRY: Read More. Blog More #6

To Challenge Myself . . . Living a Haiku Year

 I recently revisited a little book called The Haiku Year, which I had originally discovered while looking for something else. Serendipity, indeed!

I had really enjoyed my original reading of this little book and the reread was no disappointment. The poetry is interesting, as is the story of the book's inception.

But what really struck me was the reactions of those who took the time daily for a year to write the haiku contained in the book.

Tom Gilroy, one of the contributors who also wrote the Forward, called the resulting poems "precious moments." And Steve Earle, who wrote the Introduction, calls his Haiku year "The best year of my life."

Reading these responses got me to thinking.

We all live busy lives, whatever our circumstances, and it is so easy to get caught up in the business of living and forget to really notice, let alone connect with, the world in which we live.

So, here's the challenge:

After rereading this short book and noting the thoughts of the participants, I have decided to challenge myself to "living a Haiku year." That is, I challenge myself to take a few moments each day to write three lines, 17 syllables, one haiku. I even have a beautiful little red book in which to record my "precious moments."

Is anyone interested in joining me?

The purpose is to take a few moments and really notice the world around you, feel it, and capture the experience. Good, bad, mediocre. It doesn't matter. It's not nearly as difficult as it may sound, and like any exercise it actually gets easier with practice.

If you need a little information on the form and its requirements there have been many books written on the subject, as well as many online resources. Some are concerned with form only while others incorporate the writing of haiku into a spiritual journey.

 
These are a few BOOKS I've read myself:

• How to Haiku: A Writer's Guide to Haiku and Related Forms - Bruce Ross
• The Haiku Handbook: How to Write, Share, and Teach Haiku - William J. Higginson
• Haiku - The Sacred Art: A Spiritual Practice in Three Lines (Art of Spiritual Living) - Margaret D. McGee
• Seeds From a Birch Tree: Writing Haiku and the Spiritual Journey - Clark Strand

And a few WEBSITES: 

Haiku World, Composing your own Haiku, Absolute Write, How to write/teach Haiku poetry,  In the moonlight, a worm...,

Here is a book that I have not read, but the title intrigues me: [UPDATE: It just arrived in the mail and is only waiting for me to begin!]

• One Continuous Mistake : Four Noble Truths for Writers - Gail Sher 

And just for fun, 
here is a website with writing tips - WRITTEN IN HAIKU. 

Mental Illness Advocacy (MIA) Reading Challenge for 2012

Mental Illness Advocacy (MIA) Reading Challenge.

I started the Mental Illness Advocacy (MIA) Reading Challenge in December 2010 in an effort to raise awareness, knowledge, and acceptance of mental illness.  Reading, both fiction and nonfiction, is an excellent way to broaden one’s horizons and expose one to new ideas and ways of thinking and being. ...  I hope reading and reviewing books featuring characters struggling to deal with mental illness, whether their own or another person’s, will help remove the stigma faced on a daily basis by those with a mental illness.  They already have to struggle with an illness; they shouldn’t have to face a stigma too.

Challenge Levels:
Acquainted–4 books  /  Aware–8 books  /  Advocate–12 books

Hosted on Opinions of a Wolf, where you will find a very good list of book suggestions, should the need occur.

OCD

1. The Rosary Bride (ebook)- Luisa Buehler
2. The Lion Tamer (ebook) - Luisa Buehler     
3. The Station Master (ebook- Luisa Buehler      
4. The Scout Master (ebook) - Louisa Buehler           
5. The Lighthouse Keeper (ebook) - Luisa Buehler
6. The Innkeeper (ebook) - Luisa Buehler    
7. The Reenactor (ebook) - Luisa Buehler  

This was a short series whose main character is a likeable woman who grapples daily with sometimes crippling OCD. I was sorry to see it come to an end.

8. Hallucinations - Oliver Sacks   

Although not technically a book about Mental Illness, in it Dr. Sacks does discuss the many causes of hallucinations and their continuing role in misdiagnosis and mistreatment of Mental Illness. 

FINAL COMMENTS: I made it to the 'Aware' level this time, that is if you accept my little fudge with the last one. That was still two short of last year.