Howdy fellow book dragons! I'm feeling anxious and somewhat upset about my latest reading choices. When I read a book that isn't as advertised, I feel swindled, and that makes me angry. Anyway, this post will likely be a bit shorter since I am only reviewing three books instead of four.
This is such a great idea, especially for a small town like Marion.
Swamp Fox Bookstore Expands, Launches Swamp Fox Kids
Swamp Fox Bookstore http://www.shelfawareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz48091897 in Marion, Iowa, has launched a children's division called Swamp Fox Kids. Both are "micro shops" located within the West End Marion, with Swamp Fox Bookstore now occupying a new, larger space while Swamp Fox Kids occupies the space in which Swamp Fox Bookstore used to reside.
Thanks to the creation of Swamp Fox Kids, the main bookstore now carries an expanded selection of books and gifts for adults and young adults. The children's store, meanwhile, carries books for kids, educational games and gifts for children and families.
Owners Ursla Lanphear, Terri LeBlanc and Amanda Zhorne founded Swamp Fox Bookstore last July. Both shops are currently open for business, and a grand opening celebration and ribbon cutting are planned for Saturday, April 24, the same day as Independent Bookstore Day.
My father was a mediator/arbitrator for the National Education Association/Polk Suburban Unit for much of his professional career, so I grew up in a very democratic, pro-union household. That's why I am finding it hard to believe that the CEO at Powell's is telling the truth here, and not just trying to save money by hiring new workers who would work at a lower wage and not have as many benefits. But I guess we shall see. I suspect that a lot of store unions are clashing over rehiring their original staff.
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Powell's Books and Union Clash over Staff Rehiring
On Tuesday, Patrick Bassett, CEO of Powell's Books, Portland, Ore., issued an open letter outlining the latest steps in the gradual reopening of Powell's stores and expanding staff (which was cut severely last year). The move will involve advertising open positions, which the staff's union is objecting to vociferously.
In the letter, Bassett noted that last summer, "as safety permitted, we were able to gradually reopen stores with limited hours. This allowed us to honor our labor contract and recall more than 170 employees who were previously laid off due to the economic impact of COVID-19." (The union has represented 400 staff members at Powell's before than pandemic began.) "Now that vaccination rates are increasing, and signs of economic recovery are starting to appear, Powell's will begin hiring additional employees," Bassett continued.
He said the rehiring process is "not as straightforward as we'd hoped" because under the contract between Powell's and the union "seniority and employment rights have expired for laid-off former employees, including any rights under the recall process."
He said Powell's "reached out to the Union on two occasions to find solutions that go above and beyond the labor contract, without success. Our most recent proposal would have temporarily extended former employees' access to the recall process for a period of six months as well as reinstate their previous paid time-off accrual rate, which would be significant to our longer-term former employees. We appreciate the working relationship we have with Local 5 and our joint efforts to creatively find an agreement beyond the contract. Unfortunately, the Union did not accept this offer. This means the original contract language regarding loss of all seniority and employment rights applies, and we will begin to advertise job openings."
He stated that "former Powell's employees whose seniority and employment were lost under the labor contract remain eligible to apply for new positions. Our hope is that many will express interest in these opportunities and secure reemployment with the company. It is also our goal that when former employees are hired for the same or a similar position that they held before, we will return them at their previous wage."
Bassett added that "Powell's has adhered to the labor contract at all times and fulfilled our commitments as described in the collective bargaining agreement, including maintaining employee benefits and wage increases during the pandemic without requesting mid-contract relief from the Union. We are proud of this work and our commitment to our employees."
In a statement, union representative Myka Dubay responded in part: "We are appalled at Powell's decision to eliminate the recall list and force laid off employees to apply for their former jobs. This action comes nearly a year after the Union and Company had reached mutual agreement, in writing, that the recall list would be maintained without timeline restrictions. The Union is looking into every avenue to hold Powell's to their contractual obligations as well as the moral imperative to treat workers ethically and not use the pandemic as an opportunity to reduce wages and benefits for longtime employees."
In addition, Dubay told the Oregonian that the union had been in talks with Powell's for the last two weeks http://www.shelf-awareness.com/ct/uz3642037Biz48094382 and didn't know that an open letter would be released.
A Single Girl's Guide to Wedding Survival by Melissa Borg is a self published book that looks like it was published traditionally. Add to that that it's supposed to be about a larger gal who learns to accept herself and has a great romance, and I was on the hook for a copy for an early Mother's Day gift. Imagine my disappointment on learning that this glacially plotted, redundant book didn't even get off the ground until well after page 110. The plot, though it speeds up a bit, starts to rattle and fall apart soon after page 170. The low-quality prose is consistently hampered by typos and grammatical mistakes that only an amateur author could make. If any editor worth their red pen were to read this painfully awful novel, I would hope that they would recommend the author to a basic novel writing class. Of course a lot of romance tropes are used here, which is just lazy, and the main character loathes herself so much, she's a doormat for her mother and nearly everyone else she encounters. Here's the blurb: Love thy sister. Unless a wedding’s involved. Even in always sunny Arizona, Victoria Shaw has lived under the shadow of her stunning but self-important younger sister, Dessie. When Dessie announces she’s getting married in three short weeks, Victoria’s single status and routine job suddenly seem like failures instead of choices. To make matters worse, Dessie expects, not asks, Victoria to help. Unable to deny her sister, Victoria soon becomes the bride-to-be’s wedding planner, chauffeur, roommate, and doormat, all while navigating family insanity and blind-date hell.Victoria tries to cope with the help of ice cream, humorous retorts, and her best friend’s sassy reality jabs, but it’s not enough. Faced with a tidal wave of family dysfunction, disastrous dates, and plummeting self-esteem, Victoria is forced to discover who she is, what she wants, and how to live her life not under a shadow, but out in the sun.
The protagonist's sister "Dessie" is a monster, a narcissist who uses everyone around her for her own gain, and of course, her sister just keeps letting her do so, like a spineless coward. Victoria's mother is no better, bullying her daughter and forcing her to go on blind dates with losers. "Tory" continues to let her evil mother and sister abuse her mentally and physically without consequence because she's weak and can't muster the gumption to say NO. Her father is also a LAME and wimpy coward who does nothing to help the daughter he supposedly loves. Then there's all the ridiculous tropes that romance authors foist on their female protagonists, the blushing, the giggling (which should be considered a crime for any female over the age of 5) and the virginal innocence and childish attitude of the grown-ass female protagonist (this makes all the grown male protagonists seem like pedophiles, which is disgusting). The ending was unsatisfying, rushed and predictable. I'd give this sad tale a C-, and I'm being generous. I can't really recommend it to those who are looking for stories of larger women's self acceptance, because this protagonist is such an idiot, she's not at all inspirational.
Namesake by Adrienne Young is a YA romantic adventure/pirate story that is the sequel to Fable, the original book in the series. I was expecting great things from this book, and was, again, disappointed with the choices made by Fable, the female protagonist who is not only anorexic (and considered sexy for being skeletal) but a complete idiot when it comes to the men in her life. Here's the blurb: Following the Hello Sunshine Book Club pick Fable, New York Times bestselling author Adrienne Young returns with Namesake, a captivating conclusion to the duology, filled with action, emotion, and lyrical writing.
Trader. Fighter. Survivor.
With the Marigold
ship free of her father, Fable and its crew were set to start over.
That freedom is short-lived when she becomes a pawn in a notorious
thug’s scheme. In order to get to her intended destination she must help
him to secure a partnership with Holland, a powerful gem trader who is
more than she seems. (Editors note: Holland is her controlling, evil grandmother).
As Fable descends deeper into a world of
betrayal and deception, she learns that the secrets her mother took to
her grave are now putting the people Fable cares about in danger. If
Fable is going to save them then she must risk everything, including the
boy she loves and the home she has finally found.
Other than the never eating anything and constantly having a churning stomach that makes her want to vomit (so there's an element of Bulimia to add to her general insanity), Fable is, after being abandoned, nearly starving to death and being roughed up and nearly murdered several times, still something of a sweet and innocent gal, who for reasons that make NO SENSE AT ALL loves her creepy murdering father Saint enough to bargain with her life to find a rare mineral for her grandmother, so wealthy old granny won't have anyone assassinate dear old dad. WHY? You got me...Saint has, over the course of two books, thrown Fable to the wolves more than once, and has told her that he doesn't care about her or love her at all. He has been cold and ruthless toward her, and makes it clear that he wouldn't risk his life for her, after abandoning her on the Lord of the Flies Island for over four years, while sending one of his young minions/assassins to just "watch" her try to survive, but not interfere. So of course she falls in love with the minion, West, sent to watch her, though he hasn't helped her until she finally broke free of the Island. She forgives him being a killer for her dad, and then, in the most ridiculous turn around of a character ever, Saint suddenly comes through for Fable, acknowledges that she's his daughter, and they have a chat where they cry all over each other and her dead mother. Wow...this all happens in the final few chapters of the book, and readers are given no warning and no reason for Saint's dramatic lean-in to fatherhood and "loving" his daughter. He claims he loved her all along, but the way he treated her belies that claim. Saint's a thug, murderer and an asshat, and the last person who should ever be a parent. Fable's grandmother is even worse, if that's possible, and in the end, Fable finds the famed gem her mother hid, but doesn't bring it up for some murky reason. Anyway, the lame plot and the stupidity of the characters brings this book's grade down to a C, and I would only recommend it to those who have to finish a series.
Dusk, Night, Dawn: On Revival and Courage by Anne Lamott is yet another one of her inspirational memoirs that delves into how to deal with everyday crisis with "courage" and "revival." I've read three of Lamott's other non fiction titles, and while I liked two of them, her famous Bird by Bird struck me as more of a guide to being petty and vengeful than as a guide to writing. Lamotts prose is about as exciting and colorful as dishwater here, and the book meanders from anecdote to anecdote. Here's the blurb: In Dusk, Night, Dawn, Anne Lamott explores the tough questions
that many of us grapple with. How can we recapture the confidence we
once had as we stumble through the dark times that seem increasingly
bleak? As bad newspiles up—from climate crises to daily assaults on
civility—how can we cope? Where, she asks, “do we start to get our world
and joy and hope and our faith in life itself back . . . with our sore
feet, hearing loss, stiff fingers, poor digestion, stunned minds, broken
hearts?”
We begin, Lamott says, by accepting our flaws and embracing our humanity.
Drawing
from her own experiences, Lamott shows us the intimate and human ways
we can adopt to move through life’s dark places and toward the light of
hope that still burns ahead for all of us.
As she does in Help, Thanks, Wow and
her other bestselling books, Lamott explores the thorny issues of life
and faith by breaking them down into manageable, human-sized questions
for readers to ponder, in the process showing us how we can amplify
life's small moments of joy by staying open to love and connection. As
Lamott notes in Dusk, Night, Dawn, “I got Medicare three days
before I got hitched, which sounds like something an old person might
do, which does not describe adorably ageless me.” Marrying for the first
time with a grown son and a grandson, Lamott explains that finding
happiness with a partner isn't a function of age or beauty but of
outlook and perspective. Full of the honesty, humor, and humanity that have made Lamott beloved by millions of readers, Dusk, Night, Dawn
is classic Anne Lamott—thoughtful and comic, warm and wise—and further
proof that Lamott truly speaks to the better angels in all of us.
I was surprised by how much protestant religious tenants are discussed in each chapter of this book...it becomes "preachy" after the first 10 pages, which I had hoped would be only temporary, and that her insights would include more world religions and other faith practices. But no, Lamott is a Sunday school teacher who admits that she only keeps the preteen and teenage students coming to her class with the promise of junk food. She consistently goes on about how wonderful she is, how beautiful and youthful, and yet how controlling and judgemental and downright mean she is to those around her. If you can get through this book without wanting to slap Lamott upside the head, hard, you're a better person than I am. I grew bored with her revised (to be humorous in a juvenile way) bible stories and her constant breakdowns over not being able to summon the strength to just say NO to her husband or anyone else who was asking her to attend an event or do something she didn't want to do. Seriously, Anne, if you're having a nervous breakdown over the boredom of listening to other people's stories at an open mike night, GET UP AND LEAVE! It's obvious that any story that doesn't revolve around you and your escapades will bore you into a huge anxiety attack anyway, so why your husband didn't pick up on this and take you home is a mystery to me. You ramble on and on about what a perfect man he is, how he deals with your childish churlishness on a daily basis, so why didn't he pick up on this, when you were practically rocking and tapping like Rainman before intermission?! Though it was a short book, it was very thin on actual tips of revival and courage, and I grew bored and irritated with Anne's rampant egotism. I don't plan on ever reading any more of her memoirs, so I will give this drek a C, and recommend it to Christians who want to read about what a mess Lamott is and therefore feel good about themselves by comparison. Do not waste your money purchasing this book, get it from the library.
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