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This is the dream, I think. That everyone have enough. And we could have it, if we were just willing.

Picked up on a whim a couple of months ago after seeing it mentioned in a Fediverse post. Might be too similar to my most recent read, but going to dive in anyway.

How do you blend prehistoric cultures of other homo species with climate discussions and quantum wave theories?

This is how.

The story engrossed me, and I wound up blazing through it in two sittings. I loved how Gear brought forward different perspectives of viewing the world's different ways of belief, and the values of stories.

I thought some parts of the story were going a very different direction than they wound up, but I still think it was a great story over all.

Next family read aloud. My spouse has read it already and is ecstatic to be reading it again as a family. Can't wait to find out what inspires such thrills.

Incredible telling if the work and sacrifice of the Navajo Code Talkers to the battle and ending of World War 2. Lots of opportunity to consider our prejudices and how they can lead us to miss out on the ways and the values if other people

I loved getting some insight into the culture and beliefs of the Navajo along the way as well.

Great book to read with middle grade kids. Our 8-14 year olds and both adults really enjoyed this one.

Family read aloud. I was vaguely aware of the Navajo code talkers, but this book really highlights both the importance of their work to the Pacific Theater and also the racism and bigotry they endured before, during, and after the war.

Really thankful to have used the audiobook for all of the Navajo language throughout. Saved me from having to try to stumble through them and also got to appreciate the language heard as well.

Recommend the book for its historical value and its commentary on the value of all people as we work together.

I read many of Gear's novels in middle and high school, but it has been a long time since I read any. I'm looking forward to seeing how she brings her knowledge of ancient cultures to this new work.

Two young lives shaped by the art they make together one summer that goes out into the world in unexpected and even destructive ways. Two different lives entwined and yet traveling different paths. Both affected by the summer, one never wanting to leave it, the other desperate to get away from it.

Makes me want to read more of Wilson's books.

A family read aloud for our literature based homeschool curriculum that I'm really forward to getting into. I hope it lives up to our expectations!

I think most everyone in America needs to read this book, take it to heart, and put it into action. I don't align with the author politically, but that's the whole point. That's okay. We can still learn from each other and create a better country and a better world by talking to each other and engaging in good honest debate. That's how we learn and grow.

Love your enemies, indeed. And you might discover that there aren't nearly as many enemies as we let ourselves imagine.

Despite some frustrations I had with assumptions Brooks makes earlier in the book, I do think he makes an accurate diagnosis of the problems currently raging and keeping America separated from itself. And I think he has a good suggestion on the prescription needed to get back to the debates and iron sharpening iron that have made America a great people and nation. It is one we can be again. But it has to start with respecting differences and disagreeing, as he says here, better.

Excellent story about dealing with loss and memory and change while throwing in some ideas about photography and what makes a great picture. Recommended.

Chapter 4 really, really wants the left and the right to share a "moral foundation" that people's value and worth is in the hard work and labor they provide.

And I just don't share that supposed moral foundation.

People have value because they are people. End of statement.

In this chapter (ch. 4) Brooks is arguing that people have different sets of moral foundations. So here, he suggests that we find common ground in moral groundings we do share and work back from there.

So, we agree that people have value and should be cared for, that's the why. The what is the things that we do, the policies we put in place, the people we elect that help us address the why.

I think it's an intriguing argument, though I was yelling at the dark air of the outdoor space I was sitting in for most of the rest of the chapter. But that's for another time.