Literarileigh just had a nice vacation. Now I'm back at the library and ready for action. Sometimes I wake up in the morning and think "Gosh I'm tired. But I'll have a nice cup of coffee and take a shower and head off work for eight hours." Is this a hard life or what?

The answer is NO, it's not that hard. I recently read the book Working in the Shadows: A Year of Doing the Jobs Most Americans Won't Do by Gabriel Thompson. Thompson talks about three jobs he takes over a year long period - harvesting lettuce, night shift at a chicken factory, and bicycle delivery boy for a restaurant in New York City. At each job he talks to the other employees who are mostly undocumented workers and getting paid on average $8.00/hour. They have no benefits, no sick time, no vacation. They work 10 hours a day or longer, often 6 days a week. Many work two or three jobs, or have a full time night job and spend their days caring for their children. They perform repetitive motions and monotonous line work - lift, carry, bend, repeat. Thompson is actually turned down by several employers, or offered a higher paying, easier position because as a middle class white man, no one believes he would choose to do this kind of work. Always respectful of his fellow workers and filled with both sympathy and admiration, Thompson brings the world of these hard working people to life. A must read for anyone who liked Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich.

Today Space Shuttle Atlantis launched for the last time. And when it lands, it will be the end of NASA's shuttle program. As I listened to details of the launch on NPR this morning, it got me thinking about space exploration and the millions of things that could be out there. While some of the ideas may be my own, I have definitely been influenced by the great imagination and speculation of science fiction.

While the search for extraterrestrials has been written about by many sci-fi authors, the book that resonates with me most is The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. From the opening lines in which Father Emilio Sandoz is released from the hospital, we know something terrible has happened. A mission to make first contact with an alien race that produces beautiful, ethereal music began forty years earlier in 2019. Jesuit missionaries along with civilians formed an eight person expedition to Rahkat where they met and learned to communicate with the peaceful alien race they encountered. But their scientific and spiritual objectives were ended by the more powerful, dominant, and aggressive culture that inhabits the planet. Told in a series of flashbacks, Sandoz unravels the mystery of what went so horribly wrong and why he was the only one left. Beautiful language, humorous moments, vivid description and characterization make The Sparrow a visceral reading experience.

When I was in Paris (much too long ago!), I saw a boy playing in the park. Perhaps ten years old, he was wearing brown shoes, plaid pants, a short brown coat, a red striped scarf and a fedora. None of it matched or looked at all like what the other kids were wearing, but he was able to carry off the look with such panache I took a picture of him.

That's how I picture twelve year old Marcus, only lacking in confidence. In Nick Hornby's About a Boy, Marcus is picked on at school and lives with a rather hippie mother who is dealing with depression, while Will Lightman is 36 and living a "sub-zero" cool life off royalty money from his father's hit song. Trying to meet women, Will passes himself off as a single dad at a SPAT (Single Parents - Alone Together) meeting and abruptly meets Marcus on a trip to the park. Though a highly unlikely duo, Will finds himself helping Marcus feel more like the "regular" kids and actually ends up learning a lot about himself. If you haven't read Nick Hornby before, this is a great one to start with. Funny and sweet. And I definitely recommend his other books, including High Fidelity and Juliet, Naked.

In June I saw a charming group
Of roses all begin to droop
I pepped them up with chicken soup!
Sprinkle once, sprinkle twice
Sprinkle chicken soup with rice

Chicken Soup With Rice (A Book of Months) was originally written by children's author and illustrator Maurice Sendak and published as part of his Nutshell Collection in 1962. However, my first exposure to this fun title was when it was sung by Carole King and my grade school music teacher would play it in our class. How we loved to sing along! It wasn't until later that I discovered what an amazing artist Carole King is in her own right.

Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon--And the Journey of a Generation by Sheila Weller interweaves the lives, loves and careers of these extraordinary songstresses. Each had a vastly different childhood and upbringing, but all three became music pioneers and a hallmark for women everywhere. King's signature album Tapestry was number one on the Billboard chart for 15 weeks (still the record for a solo female artist); Carly Simon has won multiple grammys and an academy award in 1988 for Best Song ("Let the River Run" from Working Girl); and Joni Mitchell's Blue made the New York Times list of the top 25 "most significant albums of the last century" (Jan. 3, 2000). Read Girls Like Us to experience the music, learn where it came from, and what it means to Carole, Carly, Joni, and the rest of us.

 For fun, check out Chicken Soup from the 1975 TV special!