Last of the Spring Reading

T.R. is coming home this weekend, which means that it is time to cut off the Spring reading and begin on the Summer reading.  I have four more books to discuss.

The Future Is Ours by Shaun Bowler and Gary M. Segura traces the implications of the population shift away from a white majority and to an American society that is increasingly made up of minorities, a trend that is likely to continue.  The short version is that the black and brown people of our country can, if they continue to vote as they have in the past, usher in a time of dominance for the Democratic party.  The authors provide a good amount of data to support their contentions and explore the roots and potential branches of minority voting preferences.  The book was written before the 2016 election and I think that the authors might have some words to say about voter suppression among other things were they to write currently.  As a white person who feels strongly that white people have really managed to screw stuff up, I hope that the new black and brown majority can do a better job of creating a good society.

On the lighter side, my little free library brought me Cornelia Funke’s book Ghosthunters and the Muddy Monster of Doom.  It is, apparently, the fourth in a series of ghost hunter books.  I will love her forever for Inkheart, but I do not need to read any other books in this particular series.  I don’t remember the trade term for chapter books that aren’t too long or challenging, but that is the intended audience.  My kids would have liked the book in the same period that they liked the Magic Treehouse books.  The characters are likeable, there is funny gross stuff, and our heroes are victorious at the end.  It’s back in the little free library if anyone needs it; I didn’t need to keep it.

As I have mentioned before, I do not know how I made it so long without discovering the wonder of Terry Pratchett.  I am incredibly thankful that I know his work exists now (even though he has gone on to some other plane himself).  It has also simplified Syd and Sam’s shopping for me for every occasion until I have All The Books.  This time, I read Snuff and The Shepherd’s Crown.  I love the characters.  I love the way that Pratchett understands how story relates to Story.  I love that his witches wear big boots and deliver lambs and cut toenails for old codgers.  There are struggles.  Growth happens.  Things get messy.  And most of it works out, even if there is some sadness along the way.  I’m sure everyone else in the universe already knows this, but, in case there is someone else lingering in my recent darkness:  come into the light!

Totals for the spring:  23 books, of which 4 were fiction, 7 were kid books, 7 were non-fiction, and 5 were specifically for my fitness blog.