“All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me” by Patrick Bringley

I picked this up at a bookstore recently as it seemed like something I would enjoy: thinking about the experience of being in a museum and how that can help you think through or process emotions. And it was a delightful book, it is short, I would have liked a little more, but it hits deliciously.

Bringley is a late-20s New Yorker who just got a job at… the New Yorker. Unfortunately his brother then gets terminally sick with cancer. After caring for him on his deathbed Bringley does not want to be part of the grind anymore and pretend to be someone he is not. Instead, he applies to be a security guard at the Met. Having grown up around art, he simply wanted to lose himself in the collection and could not see himself doing anything else at the time. He talks about different works of art and interactions he had with museum visitors, as well as special exhibitions and how the museum changed over time.

Eventually Bringley has two kids and realizes that he got what he needed out of this experience. He applies to do walking tours in the city and ends up leaving his position as a security guard. He got what he needed and realized that his life can still change and grow in many ways, and leaves to grow alongside his kids.

Now this might seem like a premise that is a little navel-gazey, but also, any memoir is. I personally really appreciated more the discussions of art than the anecdotes of life. It is cool to see what the guards are doing in the background, and I liked the parts where life and art combined, but hearing about his kids just was not as interesting to me. I liked the parts where he used art to talk about his grief or how his family has processed emotions in the past. I also really liked talking about how patrons come up to guards to ask about the art. So much of life is in art, and separating it out felt bizarre after reading about his date at a museum or his mom crying in front of a pieta.

The best part of the book talks about how some kids doing a school assignment need to learn from the art and not about the art. Because that is a thesis that I inherently agree with, I think you should learn about the artist and the context if you really want to know what they were getting at, but on a basic level anyone can learn from art just by standing in front of it. And thinking about how it makes you feel. What does it bring up? How does it resonate with you? An expert can’t tell you that, only you can. And a security guard is inherently positioned to know this as someone who is paid to stand there for eight hours a day and just keep an eye on the art.

Which is the fascinating thing as security guards are nearly always people that I simply do not notice. I am not one of the patrons who ask them questions or for directions, honestly I try to not get in trouble so I usually avoid getting their attention. But it was so cool to hear about their experiences, and even how they sometimes get looked down on. Even though they are doing what now sounds like one of the most enlightened jobs in the world, protecting and standing near art.

Anyways, I loved this. Again it is not very long and I would have liked more about different works of art and things like that, but probably that is enough for me to not get annoyed with the memoir aspects of it. Art is so powerful and speaks to us so profoundly in different moments of our lives, I thought this was a fascinating look at that during a key point of the author’s life. And it resonated with me as well, there have been so many times I was in crisis and went to a museum and came close to crying in front of different works of art. Some great and some just hitting the chord it needed to. Sometimes that is just all we need.

This Is Beautiful: Organizing

This past weekend I was at a retreat for my university union. It was really nice, I don’t know, I always dread these busy weekends but having to have to put aside the time to focus on exactly one thing is always really great and energizing for me. So had a lot of good discussions and made good progress, and in these times (ugh) it felt good to just be working on this and looking out for each other. I’m glad I picked up this role even though it’s late in my graduate school career.

“Tongues of Serpents” by Naomi Novik

This is the sixth book in the Temeraire series! You can read about the earlier installments here for the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth! This book takes us again away from England and to Australia where Laurence is sent essentially as punishment.

After fighting off Napoleon in England, Laurence and Temeraire are sent to Australia with three dragon eggs. They are charged with bringing up some dragons there to start a group, but it’s really a punishment as mostly convicts are sent to work in Australia. Iskerika and Granby end up coming with them, as Iskerika is determined to get an egg from Temeraire (he doesn’t seem pleased about this). Thrankey comes as well, to explore that part of the world supposedly. Once there, there is instantly a revolt against the leadership in Australia. Laurence is hoping to get a pardon out of this so he wants nothing to do with it. Pretty shortly after they land though, the horrible captain Rankin who practically killed his dragon in the first book shows up for one of the eggs. It’s the offspring of some of the feral dragons in the previous few books, and once he pops out Ceasar ignores Temeraire’s warnings about Rankin and takes to him. The three dragons then are tasked with exploring the interior of Australia, they find a really nice valley that Laurence considers staying in more permanently, and then one of the two remaining eggs is stolen!

They take off after the thieves, but it is slow going. Iskerika has to head back to Sydney to update them on the journey, and to let the ship that’s supposed to take Granby home to not leave yet. Temeraire gets caught in a firestorm and has to spend a lot of time recovering. There are also mysterious bunyips that pick off the men from underground tunnels and almost catch Temeraire in quicksand. While they’re looking though, the third egg hatches. It’s a very small egg and they did not have much hope for it, and when the dragon pops out it looks even weirder and cannot fly. There is an argument over whether to dispose of it as a mercy killing, but Demane (one of the boys from Africa) ends up taking the dragon. He has to hunt for it, but eventually the dragon (named Kulingile) fills out his air sacs and starts practically floating away. The dragon surgeon with them says that means he’ll be able to fly, and in fact this air sacs are so big he’ll likely be a heavy-weight dragon! This causes arguments as the people that wanted Kulingile to die earlier now don’t think that Demane should have control of him.

Eventually they catch up and find that the stolen egg has hatched to the Australian natives, who are very kind to the visitors and have been doing trade with the Chinese for a while. It is revealed that they have sea serpents carry packages between them and have been evading regulation that way. Tharkey has secretly been here to investigate smuggling, so he is pleased with the information. Meanwhile though, the British realize that the port is here and try to attack it, upsetting Temeraire. The natives call upon the sea serpents and it quickly turns into a rescue mission to save the hapless sailors. The book ends with them heading back to Sydney, Granby and Iskerika leaving to return to England and Tharkey going back to India to pass on his information, and Laurence telling Temeraire he would like to return to the valley and set up their life there. He’s had enough of fighting for governments.

Not going to lie, the book is a bit of a slog. A lot of the first half has to do with the Australian politics and who is rebelling against who and I simply don’t care to pay attention to that. It only gets interesting once the egg is stolen, and even after that it is a lot of running around chasing their mysterious thieves. It just reminds me that the best books of this series are the two that take place in England as those feel much more grounded and less like we have to be explained absolutely everything going on. Rankin’s addition does help with this a little as we already are familiar with him, but he’s so horrible it’s more of a love-to-hate situation. I did enjoy meeting the new dragons hatching though!

Kulingile is a really interesting character. I was hoping it would go in a slightly different direction from how the book went, allowing him to live while he couldn’t contribute in the usual way of dragons was super anti-capitalist and imperialist. Temeraire even supposes he could be an artist or a poet at one point. (He doesn’t take to it haha.) But then having the twist of Kulingile actually being able to grow into a very conventionally useful dragon kind of killed it. It took a cool disability narrative and made it “inspirational” or whatever. I can’t help but feel a little disappointed, even if I am still interested in how his story will go.

The series has also gotten progressively nicer to native characters as the series goes. It parallels Laurence’s thoughts on the matter, as in this book he repeatedly stands up for the native Australians when British officials dehumanize them. Having said that, we don’t spend a ton of time getting to know them so it does not feel like rah rah representation, more doing the bare minimum. But you really never know with books set in the Napoleonic Wars so it is nice to see.

I am so close to the end of this series, I will definitely keep going with it! If nothing else I love the dragons and the increased thought process from Temeraire. He somehow manages to be very child-like and endearing while coming up with complex thought processes about duty and loyalty and questioning authority. A really loveable character, I hope I can enjoy his voice up until the end!

This Is Beautiful: Absurdist Theater

 I went to a staged reading over the weekend of this absurdist play "Frenzy For Two" and it just spoke to something I've been feeling for a while. Which mostly has to do with how everything sucks but we keep going on as normal and that feels just so wrong. And it made me think about how much the theater of the absurd speaks to me through things like "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead" and stuff like that. I really need to get out and see more of it but those plays also tend to be logistically difficult. Ugh so hard not being in a city with a big theater scene!

“When Women Were Dragons” by Kelly Barnhill

I picked this up at a bookstore in Denver while I was out there for a conference. I mostly liked that it was about dragons, and vaguely because it was about feminism. I think this was a lefty dream of a book though, the dragons are fierce and communal and hardworking, and one of the main heroes is a librarian! 

The book follows Alex who as a young girl stumbles across a dragon. We then find out that in the 50s there’s a Mass Dragoning event, where many women across the country all simultaneously shed their skin and become dragons. No one knows why, and it quickly becomes taboo to speak of it so no one learns why or how. Alex’s aunt is one of the women who turn into a dragon, leaving her mother to basically adopt Alex’s cousin Beatrice. Alex’s mom eventually dies of cancer though, and her dad dumps both her and Beatrice at a different apartment to keep them away from his new family. Alex is determined to go to college and study math like her mom, but doesn’t know how. The local librarian comes to her rescue, and even gets her in touch with a former doctor who studied dragons and knew her aunt.

Then her aunt comes back. Alex is mad, but dragons all over are returning to their homes en masse. There are more people being accepting of dragons, and slowly things are changing. Alex moves into a giant farm not far from college with her sister (who is popping in and out of being a dragon), and her aunt and her aunt’s three other dragon friends. The dragons all get to work raising Beatrice and Alex can focus on being a student. Alex has a relationship with another girl at school, but that ends when she transforms into a dragon and Alex decides not to. Alex ends up accepting that Beatrice will turn into a dragon, and Beatrice even ends up going back and forth for a while. The book ends with Alex aging and being cared for by her younger sister as a dragon.

I really loved this book and I think I’ll be pondering it for a while. I was concerned that it would be stuck in 50s feminism, but there are trans women mentioned and even men are mentioned as turning into dragons. The dragons are also not all peace loving creatures, many of them eat their husbands before flying off. It’s seen as people’s prejudices leading them to be violent rather than them starting anything.

The lack of labels is also very nice. Alex has this relationship with her friend, but never calls herself gay. Same with her aunt and the dragon polycule, they never label it as anything. They just let everyone be who they are and don’t worry about it. The main label is dragon or human. Which is the most defining one of the book.

I love that Alex never dragons. I love that she comes to peace with her mom not dragooning, I love that it isn’t seen as a lesser option to stay in her human form. I think as I was reading I was worried that those that dragooned would be more enlightened or woke or something, but the book makes it very clear that it’s about thinking about what kind of life you want for yourself. Whether you answer that call or not. And it isn’t a moral failing. Her mom had this power with knots, which opposes the magic of being a dragon. It keeps you a human and grounded, and that is the power that Alex ends up taking on.

The men are also practically inexistent throughout the story. Alex’s dad is useless, the boy she goes with to prom is forgettable, and the librarian guy is also about to blend into the background. The only man that does anything is the doctor studying dragons, and it is made clear that he is a bit of a windbag. I love it.

Anyways this was such a fun book, it was infuriating reading about the things Alex’s dad puts her through, but there is so much beauty and glory in it as well. It really shows how beautiful and incredible women can be, and that there is so much power in being a woman.

This Is Beautiful: Set Schedule

 It's the start of a new semester, and I am viciously protecting my work from home time. I've decided to keep two days as at home only, and then go into work the rest of the time so that I have motivation to see people and get work done. And we are doing it and sticking to it! Only took me five years but we are keeping to this and at least start the semester strong.

“A Victory of Eagles” by Naomi Novik

This is the fifth book in the Temeraire series! You can find posts on the earlier posts here as well, there’s the first, second, third, and fourth! This is the first book to head back to England and honestly it is probably my favorite of the series so far. It was so nice to head back to familiar territory and see how the war is going. This book also does something different in that the narration now alternates between Temeraire and Laurence instead of just being from Laurence’s perspective.

The book starts with Temeraire in the breeding grounds with other dragons and being bored out of his mind. Laurence is meanwhile on a ship in forced servitude more or less, punishment for bringing a cure to the French and essentially committing treason at the end of the last book. Temeraire gets news that his ship sank with him on it, and starts rallying the dragons up there to go fight. They form their own regiment and head out to fight the French. Laurence meanwhile did survive, and was told that times are desperate enough that he has to find Temeraire and report for duty. They eventually catch up to the dragons and Temeraire insists on being treated as a leader in the army and getting pay for his dragons.

Napoleon tragically takes London, and Iskierka (a fire breathing dragon who hatches a book ago) ends up leaving the group and getting herself and her captain captured. Laurence and Tharkey head after her and Laurence runs into the woman he was supposed to marry if he didn’t go into the Aerial Corps and her husband. The husband accompanies them on the rescue mission and gets himself killed. They head off and the army leadership end up using Laurence’s status as a criminal to have him use the dragons to massacre French raiding parties. Tharkey eventually catches up with him and snaps him out of his despair that just led him to agree to this, and they have a huge battle with the French forces. The English are successful and drive them off the island, but Napoleon gets away and the white Celestial Lien blows apart most of the Navy.

During the calm afterwards, Laurence is sent off to a remote island to do a colonialism with Temeraire as his punishment. Iskierka ends up following them so Granby comes along too, and Tharkey agrees as an adventurer. On the way over, Laurence assures Temeraire that he is quite happy with how things turned out.

So a continual conversation going through the books is Temeraire’s insistence on the humanity and rights of the dragons. He has the most progress here in that now the dragons can hold positions of leadership in the military and they start to build infrastructure that can accommodate dragons. We also see Laurence advocate for them more. Temeraire also has an increased understanding of human politics as he realizes just how badly the treason hurt Laurence’s relationships and material prospects. By far though the best part of this is seeing how Temeraire is able to organize the dragons at the breeding grounds and get them to participate in the war and fight for themselves instead of sitting by passively. This leads to a lot of progress for the British in fact, and the dragons seem keen to carry this forward.

What is also fun is to see how on Laurence’s side his treason has impacted his relationships with the other dragon handlers. We don’t see as much of this, but he talks to Jane about how he could have done this more covertly, and he runs into his old girlfriend in London who thinks he’s a traitor. Harcourt just had her baby and doesn’t seem too with it, but she even seems worried about him. They for sure don’t disagree with what he did, but they appear to be very locked into their roles and can’t do much about that. The dragons in a sense are much more free than they are.

I do think one of the shortcomings of this book though was that the switching between narration took away a lot of the transitions and travel time. There were multiple points where I was confused what was happening because something was glossed over or missed in the transition. It is nice to hear from Temeraire, especially with the dragon liberation plot, but that doesn’t mean that we need to get sloppy with it.

All that to say that I don’t think I’m going to like this next book very much. The previous traveling books were fine but they didn’t have a firm base with familiar characters and setting, and we just cut down on the vast majority of the characters that I loved seeing again in the past two books. I am going to read it anyways and it’ll be interesting to see how Norvik pulls this off, but I suspect that my peak interest in the series just passed. This will be a tough installment to follow.

This Is Beautiful: The Woobles

 I don't think I've written about this yet, but I have a new crafting hobby to add to all of the other ones. It's crocheting little amigurumi! This company called the Woobles puts together little kits of everything you need, and they have videos demonstrating how to do it all. It was really easy to learn from, and I love that it's an all-in-one kit (even if I have like 7 crochet hooks now). I also love that the yarn is easy to work with, and they give you a good amount so you aren't drowning in yarn by the time you're done.

Honestly I've found them to be really helpful for crocheting other things too, I now feel pretty confident with reading patterns and have made a few non-Wooble amigurumis. It has made the process just so much easier when you know how to get started. The kits are pricey, but if you have the time, I would really encourage picking one up, it has made my spare time much more enjoyable!

“The Rift” by Gene Luen Yang

I have been slowly making my way through the Avatar: The Last Airbender graphic novels and this is the latest one. (Check out the earlier ones like The Promise and The Search). I think I might have read this one before, a lot of it seemed familiar.

In this story, Avatar Aang wants to celebrate a traditional Air Nomad holiday, but a city has sprung up where the ceremony is supposed to take place. He finds a joint effort from the Earth and Fire Nations to extract metal from the area and refine it. Toph tagged along and loves this venture, while Aang is sad about the loss of tradition. Turns out that Toph’s father is in charge of it, and Aang learns from his past life Yangchen that the festival is to keep a dangerous spirit at bay. An earthquake traps many people underground, and Toph’s metal bending is the only thing keeping them safe. Toph’s students save them, and Aang ends up fighting the spirit, wounding it and causing the spirit to leave while bemoaning how humans destroy everything. Aang speaks to another spirit though, who praises the ingenuity of humans, and he ends up more hopeful about finding balance between their worlds.

Now Toph is one of my favorite characters and I loved seeing more of her here. I just wish that they wouldn’t have her clash with Aang so much. The refinery is clearly horrible for the environment, having her defend it so staunchly just looks bad. But it was cool to see her reunite with her father.

The note that the series ends on is pretty bleak. The spirit storms off saying that the Avatar won’t be enough for balance as the Avatar is human in the end. Balance seems far off, or antiquated at best. I don’t think Aang’s conversation with the hopeful spirit really makes up for that. But it does introduce these ideas that later show up in Korra.

I like chugging through these periodically, they aren’t very long and are a nice way to see characters from Avatar that I love so much. I’ll keep going, there are a few more that are left for me to check out!