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This is the fastest I have churned through a book in a long time. It's unbelievable. It's even more unbelievable given the incredibly upsetting material Cosby has chosen. It is a credit to his talent that a book handling this subject matter is so compelling.

I haven't seen the movie in 20 years. I read the book about a decade ago. I love how Ende creates this world where all stories exists.

Wow. Straight to the heart of the matter.

Tuskegee
Port Chicago
St. Louis
Dozier
Add Crownsville to that list. As if that's a surprise.

Good on you Christoph Lengauer.

It's not that he corrects the mistakes of the past. But he does openly offer a door to healing that pain, and providing reconciliation.

Everything action the Lacks family takes seems to yield the wrong results. And almost every action they take is wholly understandable.
I'm reading this going, "Yeah, that decision makes total sense."
And two pages later, it's "Oh, so the system works like that."

I'm very happy to be reading this again. Ende does this incredible balancing act. It is a complete fairy tale, but through the very average character of Bastian, we become part of the story as well.

I'm more finishing it to finish it, rather than being invested. The main character is relatable. You probably aren't her, but you know the annoying, self-centered, "struggling despite most of her problems being normal", person.
She's not a bad person, she's just someone you hate to be alone with because every problem becomes a crisis and if you're alone, you're done for 15 minutes.

I got this for a friend, who is nuts about her dog, and they have separation anxiety about each other. She has quietly refused to read it, so I picked it up, to see what might be the problem.
Meh. It's fine.
I don't read much in this genre, if this a genre more specific than realistic fiction. Middle-class, Middle-aged, heavily-based-in life-experience fiction?
I have put away large chunks of it on the bus.

It's not that the scientists are inherently bad people or that the Lacks' family was fooled. It's that these two groups have such wildly different life experiences that it would have been nearly impossible for them to communicate without an intermediary. It still does not excuse the willing callousness of the scientists in their use of the Lacks family and the HeLa cells. People with power have obligations.

Skloot's biggest talent is the ability to move between the advances and abuses of science and writing an honest, but caring biography of the Lacks family.
I'm a big fan of science. Had i worked harder in college, I would have become a paleontologist. 🤞🏼 The abuses described are why there is so much distrust in science. Not just among certain communities, but widespread among Americans.

Ruby and Carlton Lacks (the white Lacks family) would be stereotypes, if they didn't actually exist. Confederate flags everywhere, ashtrays, and as much denial of their history as possible.

This could be the most perfectly crafted chapter I've ever read. Not necessarily the best chapter I've ever read- it's too sad for that.
Essentially, Whitehead tells the allegory of America in a single chapter.

Who would have thought Indiana would be the bastion of enlightenment and tolerance?

I honestly forget the exact quote, but an abolitionist observed that American slavery required the belief that the enslaved were subhuman, and this belief and treatment rendered anyone supporting the system subhuman as well.
That is on display in North Carolina.

I'm struggling a bit with the events of Indiana a bit. Is this a flashback? Is this a new experience that feels old? Both seem reasonable.

I wonder if Arnold Ridgeway is a stand in for America. It's almost like he doesn't hate Black people. He only sees them as a way to advance his own ends- Cora, and his slave-catching occupation.
The ones he does tolerate, he views as children- Homer. And when they are an irritant... well, no spoilers, right?

Slow going these days. My son is starting to embrace reading, especially before bed. That makes my heart soar. It also means I don't get to read to him much anymore. He's a preteen, so it is probably time to phase it out.
I once heard, there will be a last time you ever pick up your child. I suppose there will also be a last book you ever read your child.

One of the most commendable aspects of this book is how Skloot keeps Henrietta Lacks at the center of the story. This could have become a story of scientists playing God. Instead, Skloot makes sure that Henrietta and her family stay central.

Tough that I'm read this chapter at the same time I'm reading Henrietta Lacks. I suppose I'm not surprised by the white disregard for the Black body, in life or death. The callousness and refusal to have a modern reckoning about it is still frustrating. This seems like the easiest possible argument for reparations. "My grandfather was pulled out of a grave to do heart studies. That material belongs to our family."

Quick Introduction: Cora and Caesar are enslaved on the Randall plantation. When they have an opportunity to escape on the Underground Railroad, they take it.

The story is told in alternating perspectives. One chapter is people important to Cora and Caesar's story, like her grandmother and a barbaric slave catcher. The next chapter is the experience of Cora and Caesar at each different stop on their trip.

I'm not crying. You're crying.

We probably forget just how good children's writing can be, after reading the treacle of the Berenstain Bears.
But, Sachar has created real tension, believable friendships, and sympathetic characters. Any adult who enjoys a good mystery will enjoy this just as much.

My son and girlfriend insisted i read this. I wasn't anti-Holes, but I'm probably 30 years over the intended age range. And then I looked at the other books Sachar wrote: the Wayside School series, There's a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom. I must have read each one of those books five times.
This has been great. I have thoroughly enjoyed Sachar's ability to balance childhood optimism with the cruelty of adulthood.

When I was a child, there were few things I would have rather done than read. Early on, this seems like it would have been a winner.

For a book that deals with matters of creation from the scientific and religious perspective, this is remarkably light reading.
I wasn't entirely sure at the beginning, but this is all occurring in the course of a single day, which essentially makes the whole story stream of consciousness.

We are finally getting into the showdown of the trial. Guterson is enjoying the final reveal of Miyamoto's testimony. There is a certain level of stereotyping in the "inscrutable Japanese man". Oddly this contrasts with the pretty obvious critique of the American judicial system.
It's almost like a modern Uncle Tom's Cabin- "racism is wrong. I'll use these generalizations to show you why."